Healthier Than Room Service Hotel Room Dining

January 30, 2023

This latest business trip has come in the midst of a health kick for both DH and I. We generally eat like poo (read: burritos for dinner every night, Starbucks lunches, 2 daily Starbucks drink breaks & buffet breakfasts) on this trip, as there is not a terrible lot to do and the Mexican options are so much better than where we live. Ooh. And our obligatory trip to Blaze Pizza for as much (halal but still awesome) Italian sausage as my cheese-less pizza can handle.

This last month, we’ve both been focusing our meals on protein first, generally eating low carb and for me at least – still veggies that (probably) won’t cause me issues. It’s not a terribly SMART goal (yet), but baby steps. One of us is digging out of a carb & cheese hole.

We have stayed at this hotel a bunch – but I forgot which one it was in the planning and was super sad to see there was no microwave. Life would be much easier with a microwave.

At least we’ve got a fridge, a kettle and fruit basket. I can work with that. Luckily, DH eats a big salad while at work and I’m generally full from breakfast (1 scoop of the curry of the day + 1 poached egg + 1 serving curry-supporting starch of the day + 2 scoops sautéed mushrooms is my go-to) until late afternoon. So, that makes things easier. We are both people who are happy with appetizers for dinner for the most part and we love a good snack.

The initial plan:

Sounds grand, doesn’t it? I even bought a little egg poaching dish and a covered silicone bowl for steaming sweet potatoes. I was excited.

Aaaaand then reality hit.

Hey, at least we didn’t get just a Keurig.

Thank goodness we also have (half) a mini fridge and can push all the mini bar options to the side.

On to the groceries! My first full day here I made myself grocery shop, sans 3/4 of my plan, and picked up an assortment of options. A little light on veg, but this is only week 1. Hopefully I’ll eventually get into the swing of things.

Cucumbers, bell peppers, baby carrots, an avocado, quick-cook low carb mung bean noodles, dashi starter, 2 kinds of canned tuna, 6 eggs, weird looking potato starch wraps, red pepper relish, beet & orange smoked salmon, cream cheese bites for DH, sliced turkey, sliced salami, mushroom soup mix, 3 types of flavored mixed nuts, banana chips.

This all to go with the things I brought from home & a few staples I swiped from our usual travel day room service club sandwich dinner cart.

My travel kit: 2 lidded silicone bowls, 2 full sets metal utensils, 1 paring knife with lid, soap sheets, soy sauce, black vinegar, oyster sauce, sesame seeds, furikake, mustard powder, garlic powder, red chili flakes, Tony’s creole seasoning & Tajin with a few things purloined from the room service tray: salt & pepper, butter, baby Tabasco, mayo, ketchup, mustard & a tiny spoon. I also picked up a small cutting board I may or may not end up incorporating into my kit at the grocery. It’s a bit bulky – if anyone knows of a good travel cutting board option, let me know!

Meal 1

I had intended on making deviled eggs with a side of salmon cukes for dinner, but forgot how long to cook eggs in a kettle for, was too grumpy about life to look it up, and ended up with not that.

So, I made 3 soft boiled eggs mixed into 1 of the cans of plain tuna with mayo, mustard powder, garlic powder, a little soy sauce, red pepper flakes, black pepper & sesame seeds as seasoning. It was fantastic. Would highly recommend. Was supposed to be 2 servings, but DH wasn’t hungry after all and I skipped any semblance of lunch, so … scoopable bowl of yummy mush for one, please.

There went half my eggs & half my cucumbers, though. Oops. Will rethink for my second dinner.

We also snacked on some of the mixed nuts & I had a banana from the gift fruit basket so I wouldn’t perish while unloading groceries and figuring out how to squirrel them away.

Meal 2

I made deviled eggs right this time with the last of the mayo pot, mustard powder, half the pot of mustard, pepper and garlic powder. I repurposed the guac from last night’s inevitable Mexican to spread on cukes with the beet & orange salmon, and layed out some cream cheese cubes for DH to have with his. A nice little snack spread for dinner – and a pleasant surprise for DH who was gaming and had zero idea what I was up to.

Meal 3

This one was off. Most of the components were good – potato wrap, (halal) chorizo, avocado; but it was either the smoked turkey or sundried tomato spread I wasn’t digging. Probably the turkey. DH grabbed himself some cream cheese & chorizo and made a few little pinwheel wraps for himself with a side of nuts.

Meal 4

This was an evening neither of us were starving – we’d had a big lunch out. Instant mushroom soup for me with mung bean noodles and chicken noodle for DH. Surprisingly good and just what we needed.

Meal 5

We liked the first night of properly boiled eggs, I repeated it for tonight’s dinner. I added garlic mayo we picked up at the grocery to the mix and it was a good add.

Meal 6

Lemon & black pepper tuna mixed with garlic mayo, minced cucumber and a little crushed red pepper. The rest of the cuke was sliced into ribbons (kinda – crappily), and tucked into the wrap for crunch. This worked well and was a filling lunch with a piece of fruit.

Meal 7

Potato wrap, halal chorizo, sliced cucumber, garlic mayo & mustard with a side of fruit basket grapes for lunch. Quick and satisfying.

Meal 8

Another round of a simple soup. Mung bean noodles & mushroom soup mix. Quick and satisfying, and a good opportunity to bust out my collapsible silicone bowl.

Meal 9

Mung bean noodles, plain tuna, cucumbers, soy sauce, oyster sauce, black vinegar, garlic mayo, furikake, sesame & red pepper flakes. I’ll be making this again, though I do wish I’d picked up some spinach to toss in.

Overall, I’d say this meal prep was a success. Most nights one or both of us ate in, and had decently healthy meals. Could have had more veg, and the carrots and peppers were a miss – but loads better than delivery for every dinner & Starbucks sandwiches + chips for lunch. 10/10 would repeat again. Would love to add some precooked chicken slices, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes and hummus so I actually eat the carrots for next time. I’m glad we didn’t subsist wholly on delivery, Starbucks & unsatisfying candy masquerading as a protein bar. Go, us.

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