No Cook Meal Suggestions?

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StayFocused01023
StayFocused01023 Posts: 60 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am going out of town next week and staying in a hotel for 5 days for a work conference. Meals are not provided with the conference so I'm on my own. The suggested nearby dining list is mostly restaurants but there is a grocery store within 7 minutes walking distance. I want to plan out my meals for each day (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & 1 or 2 Snacks), and grocery shop the first day I'm there to set myself up for success.

I'll have a fridge but no cooking appliances, I'd love some suggestions for healthy no-cook meals!

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  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
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    Salads, pb sandwiches, veggies and hummus, fruit with cottage cheese/yogurt, nuts. Take a small blender for smoothies. Shrimp cocktail. Rotisserie chicken sandwiches.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    edited October 2019
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    I'd get some salad greens and a rotisserie chicken, etc. and have chicken salad. I like the previous poster's veggies and hummus idea, too.

    ETA: You could also research the nearby restaurant menus and look for healthy choices ahead of time. That way, you could do your own meals by shopping at the grocery store part of the time and go out to restaurants part of the time... :)
  • skinnytacular
    skinnytacular Posts: 159 Member
    edited October 2019
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    You've got some great suggestions above. If you have a coffee pot or a microwave to heat water you can buy instant oatmeal. Also fruit, yogurt for breakfast. Some grocery stores sell hard boiled eggs, which are a good breakfast or snack. Also, if they have it, smoked salmon and whole grain crackers. (Make sure to buy ziplock baggies!)

    Will you have access to a knife and cutting board to chop vegetables? If not, pack your own --this is when a Swiss Army Knife comes in handy-- in your checked luggage. I'm trying to think of a couple of recipes where you won't need to buy a ton of jars and bottles of condiments, etc. but you will need to buy a couple of things for the below--lemon juice, olives. Maybe bring your own salt & pepper. Instead of buying mustard for the deviled eggs, maybe bring your own ground mustard. Also, paprika and cumin and garlic powder or cinnamon for the below recipes. And a can opener!

    Avocado Deviled eggs: I'd use lime so you don't have to buy both lemon and lime if you also want to try one of the below tuna or bean salad recipes.
    https://gethealthyu.com/recipe/avocado-deviled-eggs/

    If you can chop vegetables, you can have tuna, salmon or bean salad with whole grain crackers or sandwich thins. These recipes both call for different kinds of olives--I'd use the same olive for both recipes.

    Tuna salad (I'd sub mashed avocado for the mayo so you don't have to buy a jar of mayo--plus, healthy fats!)
    http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/251518/mexican-tuna-salad/

    Bean salad--this recipe strands you with a small bottle of olive oil, so maybe choose the smallest you can. You can also add tuna to this and buy tuna in olive oil. Drain off the olive oil to use in your vinaigrette.
    https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/escarole-salad-with-white-beans-and-lime-vinaigrette

    Microwave popcorn--https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/how-to-pop-popcorn-the-microwave-paper-bag-method/

  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    edited October 2019
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    Jerky
    String cheese
    Apples or other fresh fruit
    Raw veggies (many grocery stores sell cut prepared carrots, celery etc)
    Individual tuna or chicken pouches

    Deli take out. Hot food in many supermarket delis, or cold cuts like turkey breast.
  • aries68mc
    aries68mc Posts: 173 Member
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    I'm really surprised that the conference doesn't provide any meals at all. Perhaps they will have snack type food out for breaks. Keep a look out. If the hotel you will be at offers continental breakfast, you could check that out the first morning and see what they have. And maybe see if they have a microwave.

    I'll add some suggestions snack wise I haven't already seen mentioned...grapes (you could get snack size zip locks and wash them all then portion out so easy to grab and take with you), granola, granola bars, whole grain crackers, string cheese.
  • aries68mc
    aries68mc Posts: 173 Member
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    Oh, if you have or can get a collapsible (usually silicon) strainer, that would be easy to pack and you can use for rinsing any veggies/fruit you get.
  • Hollis100
    Hollis100 Posts: 1,408 Member
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    Here are a few suggestions since you have a fridge:

    If the grocery store has a salad bar, buy 2 salads, one for today, one for tomorrow. Add your own salad dressing to keep it from getting soggy. I would stick to the vegetables and add a protein (in other words, stay away from possibly high calorie prepared salad bar dishes where you don't know what's in them).

    If the grocery store doesn't have a salad bar, you could make your own and refrigerate them.

    Overnight oats (make, refrigerate, and eat the next day)

    Make sure you take some containers with lids and some eating utensils

    You could buy a 1 or 2 burner hot plate like this one, which would allow you to have hot meals like soup, stir fry, etc. Here's one from Amazon, but other stores have them, too. Amazon will deliver to your house the next day:

    https://www.amazon.com/Countertop-Adjustable-Temperature-1700-Watts-BGS102B/dp/B07HY4RYPD/ref=sr_1_6?crid=82OFSGKAJCC7&keywords=portable+cooking+burner+electric&qid=1570103909&s=gateway&sprefix=portable+cooking+,aps,150&sr=8-6
  • aries68mc
    aries68mc Posts: 173 Member
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    Some groceries have eggs already hard boiled and peeled in a package. You might look for those if you eat hb eggs.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,910 Member
    edited October 2019
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    aries68mc wrote: »
    I'm really surprised that the conference doesn't provide any meals at all. Perhaps they will have snack type food out for breaks. Keep a look out. If the hotel you will be at offers continental breakfast, you could check that out the first morning and see what they have. And maybe see if they have a microwave.

    I'll add some suggestions snack wise I haven't already seen mentioned...grapes (you could get snack size zip locks and wash them all then portion out so easy to grab and take with you), granola, granola bars, whole grain crackers, string cheese.

    Yes, I've never been to a conference without minimally snacks. I've had a hard time moderating the cookies!

    When I used to travel, I'd bring nuts, single-serve pull tab cans of tuna fish, and Cliff bars.

    In this case, I would definitely look for hard boiled eggs at the grocery store, in addition to many of the great suggestions above.
  • jwoolman5
    jwoolman5 Posts: 191 Member
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    You can make pasta in a microwave, so you might ask if they provide them in the rooms. In my old 500 W microwave, I heat up a cup of water for 4 minutes in a Pyrex measuring cup, then add 2oz dry pasta. Cook for 4 minutes for wheat, 3 minutes for non- wheat. Stir and cook for another 4 or 3 minutes. Stir and taste to see if it needs a couple more minutes. Drain and you're done. Bring something to help drain unless you are more dextrous than I am. I even have a lid for that which fits on the Pyrex cup.

    Times would be adjusted for higher power microwaves. Sometimes non-wheat pastas do better if rinsed with water after cooking. Wheat pastas do pretty well if you heat up for a few minutes and then let sit for a few minutes, at least if they are durum wheat. Be careful not to let them sit very long or they become an inedible mush.

    Any source of hot water would allow you to use a variety of meal cups. I like McDougall's and Nile Spice myself.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,628 Member
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    If you buy a rotisserie chicken which will last you several days, make my favourite super easy chicken salad on one occasion. Some chopped up leftover chicken, a chopped up avocado, mixed up with a jar of commercial tomato salsa. Optional garnish of some chopped fresh coriander. Have it wrapped in a pita or soft tortilla shell.
  • StayFocused01023
    StayFocused01023 Posts: 60 Member
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    Such great suggestions and ideas!!! Thanks everyone!
    I wouldn’t have thought of packing a can opener until I needed it!😝
  • StayFocused01023
    StayFocused01023 Posts: 60 Member
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    caprihana wrote: »
    One tip, don't do what I did and take a camping stove. Tried cooking pasta late one night and it set the fire alarm off. I ran to reception to tell them it was my husband soldering a lead (long story) but the fire service still had to come. Everyone had to evacuate the building. Needless to say I hid behind a tree......oooooops B)
    Whoa! That sounds like a nightmare! But to be honest I laughed out loud reading this!!😂
  • skinnytacular
    skinnytacular Posts: 159 Member
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    StayFocused01023 wrote: »
    Such great suggestions and ideas!!! Thanks everyone!
    I wouldn’t have thought of packing a can opener until I needed it!😝

    You can often buy the pop top cans or foil packets of tuna and salmon, but you never know! If its a robust grocery store you could buy a can opener too!
  • FireyChimera
    FireyChimera Posts: 155 Member
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    cottage cheese, canned sardines, peanut butter sandwiches, fruit, yogurt, tuna pouches, peanut butter on anything lol! trail mix, dried fruit, crackers and even already popped popcorn! Just to name a couple things

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