no fridge, no stove, no oven- what do you eat?

GangreneHeart

So, my husband and I are moving in with my in-laws for about two months while we wait for our rental house to be ready. I have basically been told that it would be for the best if I did not put food in the fridge or cook anything while I am there. We will have a microwave in the room we will be staying in though. My problem is that I am having problems thinking of a menu that requires no refrigeration or cooking. Any ideas?


I am not interested in any advice on how to handle my in-laws and such. I am here strictly for food suggestions.

Also, forgive any typos- I am posting this on my phone.

dumb_blondes_rock

Buy a mini fridge with a freezer in it and a hot plate

dumb_blondes_rock

Oh there are those tuna snack packs with crackers, you can buy already popped popcorn, oatmeal, peanut butter and jelly sammiches, or pb and bananas, trail mix, beef jerky, fruit, get some take out menus and preplan meals in mfp before you order

There are soups you can microwave, walmart has non refrigerator needed indian microwave dinners, I like red curry lentils

Edit to add more options

jayjay12345654321

A few nights would be easy to plan for, but 2 months will take some creativity.

Canned goods would be the obvious go-to, such as soups and chili. You can buy the pre-cooked Uncle Ben's rice pouches that take 90 seconds to heat in the microwave and make chili. Any canned veggies, or the boxed meals like scalloped potatoes or the Lipton or Knorr pasta packages can be cooked in a microwave. Most fruits are actually recommended to be kept at room temperature, like apples, oranges, bananas, tomatoes and avocados. Those mini cups of fruit are also easily stored without refrigeration.

You can buy mayo and mustard packets (or grab a few extra if you go to a fast food place that offers them) and make tuna sandwiches. Vinegar based items don't have to be refrigerated, so you can keep hot sauce, buffalo wing sauce and pickles out of refrigeration.

I don't know where you live, but in Southeast Texas, we have hurricane season. We are always advised to stock up on canned goods because if a storm hits, we could be out of electricity for weeks. Those are things going through the list in my head right now.

It won't be gourmet, and probably not what you'd like, but it will get you by for a few months.

lynn_glenmont

Peanut butter or other nut butters, small containers of tuna (so no leftovers), tinned meat (chicken, deviled ham), bread, crackers.
Cold cereal and milk in single serving (one-cup) aseptic, shelf-stable packaging.
Some fresh produce (apples, citrus, bananas, kiwi, avocados, tomatoes).
Small cans of vegetables (again, so no leftovers).
Canned chili (heat in microwave).
Microwave popcorn.
Individual-serving size applesauce.
Shelf-stable meals (Hormel, Barilla, Dinty Moore all make versions of these).


Good luck with this.

paperfiish

I basically lived out of a minifridge and a microwave for 6 months while I was living in a studio for college. I definitely advise getting a minifridge if you can, as that will at least let you keep some basic foodstuff. Learning to cook one portion at a time is important, since you can't really store leftovers, and it kind of means almost daily grocery trips, since you can't store a lot of stuff that'll go bad, so anything fresh will have to be bought and used relatively immediately. Try this webpage for some microwave meals that don't taste like junk (http://allrecipes.com/recipes/everyday-cooking/campus-cooking/microwave/).

Good luck! It kind of sucks logistically but it's not impossible to do. I actually cooked more/ate better when I had to buy fresh every other day than now when I can just keep leftovers.

Alatariel75

Your sodium intake may look scary, but there are a lot of ready meals that don't need refrigerating, like Hormels and the like, there is pre-cooked 1 and 2 serve pasta and rice which can be microwaved. You havent said if you have a supermarket close, but small served of fresh veg which you can microwave for the night can work, microwave egg cookers are good, I've had one for almost a year I keep at work and it means I can have eggs on toast. A mini-fridge can be cheap, especially if you can get one second hand, but if thats totally not an option, then the read-meal aisle and frequent very small shops will be your friend.

tammyc226

If you can get one of those flat sandwich machines they are miracles. I have literally cooked steak, chicken skewers and even hamburger on there as well of course making toasted sandwich. Would involve regular trips to the shops and immediate cooking but would be a nice change from just canned goods. You could also get an insulated bag to keep foods stuff in for short periods of time
Good luck!

bheathfit

Military MRE's
Store bought roast chicken (Eat within two hours of purchase)
Lipton sides and microwave rice packs
instant oatmeal
Cold shrimp platter (eat within two hours of purchase)


You may want to find a close by hospital. Many times they have reasonable cafeteria pricing and healthy choices. Otherwise look on internet for discounted gift cards to restaurants. You may be eating out a lot...

If you could purchase and use a slow cooker in your room that would open up a world of possibilities...