Cooking On The Road

[BlessedMommy]

Just thought that I'd post a photo from our recent road trip. It's so easy to whip up some food on the road and cheaper (as well as reliably gluten free) too!

 

This particular cooking implement is a toaster with an attached egg cooker. We stopped at the rest stop, found a plug in, and sliced up some of my home baked millet sandwich bread on my flexible plastic cutting board and then boiled up some eggs at the same time as the bread toasted. With some spreads for the bread, some mixed nuts, and some veggies and fruits, it was a complete meal.

 

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[LauraTX]

Awesome example for the newbies   Thanks for posting!  Next time we go on a vacation, I think I am going to buy a hot plate and a small skillet to make real meals with... the hotel doesn't have to know, LOL!

[BlessedMommy]

It's so great! I also have made great meals with my rice cooker and waffle iron on the road too. Sure beats risking CC or starving!

[BlessedMommy]

Awesome example for the newbies   Thanks for posting!  Next time we go on a vacation, I think I am going to buy a hot plate and a small skillet to make real meals with... the hotel doesn't have to know, LOL!

Is it against policy to make meals in your room? This morning I cooked breakfast in my hotel room. 

[IrishHeart]

Before I respond to this...because I want to make sure I am understanding this post...are you saying you plugged this device into a public bathroom outlet--at a rest stop--- and put this on the floor?

[BlessedMommy]

No, I didn't plug it in in the restroom. The central common area between the bathrooms had a number of electrical outlets. 

[IrishHeart]

No, I didn't plug it in in the restroom. The central common area between the bathrooms had a number of electrical outlets. 

 

 

...but.....on the floor of a rest stop?

[GottaSki]

Many hotels have a no stove rule...I've never had issue with toting a toaster oven or crock pot along.

 

And many moons ago...long, long before celiac diagnosis...hubs and i used to bring camp stove with us to stay in the cheapest hotels we could find so we could ski a week to ten days for very little money...so as long as you are careful a camp stove can work anywhere -- parks with bbqs are my favorite for daytime pit stops...I don't use the Qs, but the picnicking and pit stop facilities are usually a bit nicer than many official places to stop to gas up and empty everyone's tanks

[BlessedMommy]

It was not in a highly trafficked area, but I can see your point, Irish. Maybe next time I'll bring along a blanket next time to put underneath it and then chuck the blanket in the wash when I get home.

[IrishHeart]

I have never had to worry about eating safely on the road. You can bring already cooked hard boiled eggs. Sandwiches, fruits, cut up veggies, peanut butter, yogurt, etc. 

 

I have traveled over 9000 miles  in the last 3.5 years since DX and I bring all sorts of food with me. Invest in a Koolatron cooler. They are GREAT!

You can micro many things at hotels and you can cook in many hotels.

 

I do not know of any hotels that do not have micros--if not in the room, they are in the lobby.

Some have full kitchens and the rooms are not necessarily that more expensive.

 

I just think the floor of a rest stop is not the best place to put a cooking device down.  IMHO

[1desperateladysaved]

I take my electric skillet along and cook in hotel rooms.  I did get some irritated employees when I plugged in my crock pot once.  They made us take it out to the lobby where they could watch it.  The smell tantalized them for hours!

 

Dee

[IrishHeart]

I take my electric skillet along and cook in hotel rooms.  I did get some irritated employees when I plugged in my crock pot once.  They made us take it out to the lobby where they could watch it.  The smell tantalized them for hours!

 

Dee

 

Honestly, unless you were staying in the room the entire time with the crock pot watching it yourself,  I would think that yes, that is a potential hazard for the hotel. Sorry, but I don't think they were irritated because the smell was tantalizing them... I think they were worried about the liability aspect.  

[BlessedMommy]

Our hotel must have been the odd duck, no microwave in our room or in the breakfast area. Probably most do have a microwave though.

[kareng]

Ew! I would use it in my hotel but not on the floor in a public restroom area! Just cook the eggs before you go and take bread or crackers that don't need toasting for lunch. Save the toasting for breakfast or dinner.

[GF Lover]

I have a one of the Hot/Cold cooler things that plugs into the car cig lighter.  Can keep soups etc. hot and sandwiches etc. cool.  Cooking on the ground in public is probably never a good idea IMHO

 

Colleen

[IrishHeart]

Our hotel must have been the odd duck, no microwave in our room or in the breakfast area. Probably most do have a microwave though.

 

That's weird. What motel chain is that? I would think all have them by now. 

[kareng]

Actually, I have found some higher end ones that don't have microwaves and even some don't have fridges.  Usually, you can get a fridge if you tell them it is for a medical need.  I stayed in a really nice hotel and they brought me this dingy, dented fridge  It was clean and worked but still....  

 

I stayed in a hotel with fridges in the room but no microwaves.  But, when we got there in the evening, there was a microwave in the breakfast area.  I thought "Great".  I had brought  little egg casserole thingys that need to be microwaved.  In the morning - no microwave in the breakfast room!  I asked and was told they put it away at breakfast!  I couldn't use it.  They would heat my stuff up in this little toaster oven thing they had behind the bar.  Wouldn't work for the eggs and it was full of trays of frozen cookies baking!  I didn't trust they would be very careful with my food.  I had some back up granola/protein type bars -  but .... I really wanted my eggs!  

[BlessedMommy]

That's weird. What motel chain is that? I would think all have them by now. 

It wasn't a chain motel, just a local privately owned one.

 

I think that until DH and I put out the money for a power inverter for the car, I'll bring along a folding chair on my road trips to put any cooking implements on. Then we can still enjoy making hot meals on the road and can avoid any cleanliness issues. We love making spanish rice & beans on road trips!

 

Thanks for the feedback, sometimes it's easy to overlook important details. 

[LauraTX]

I don't know how exactly the space would compare, but maybe a folding stepstool or a cheap TV tray table would be more compact and fit under seats.  Either way, sorry your thread got kind of hijacked!   *hugs*

[IrishHeart]

Only speaking for myself here, but I honestly do not think the thread was "hijacked"...maybe it veered off course a tad, but . 

I was honestly concerned about Ruth cooking on the floor of a public space. (seems I was not the only one)

 

If Ruth felt hurt by that for some reason, she really shouldn't have--we have taken her under our collective wings since she came on the forum--and we only want the best for her. I don't know; maybe I am just overly-cautious about those things? 

(and anything I say.... feel free to disregard. )

 

I know how hard it is to travel and I had to figure out quite a few things myself. That first 1300 mile trip we made was crazy. I brought

so much extra crap I never even used.  But it all becomes second nature. 

 

P.S. The Koolatron cooler plugs right into the lighter. We did not buy a special adapter of any kind.