I travel a lot for work and have developed coping strategies for on-the-road living such that I don't have to eat at Outback Steakhouse and the like that is often found near hotels.

But my methods involve a little more than relying on a coffee maker. It might seem a bit much, but having control over eating good food is paramount to me, as I'm sure it is to any member of this tribe. This is especially true when I'm traveling away from home and I'm already stressed and tired. I don't always bring along the whole she-bang unless I'm going to be away from home for 4 days or more, which I often am. I also often travel in places where I know I will be hard pressed to find a nice restaurant but a local grocery store will do me just fine.

I pack a mini "kitchen" in my suitcase (my co-workers think I'm crazy and you might too) that consists of:

-electric one burner hotplate
-small non-stick skillet
-small saucepan - I found one at a thrift store with the handle broken off so it packs better
-plastic plate / bowl / travel mug
-a few ziplock bags and a couple of disposable "tupperware" containers that stack
-fork / spoon / one good knife / camping-set pot grabber (for the saucepan) / silicone spatula
-sea salt / ground pepper / small bottle olive oil / small bottle vinegar
-small Melita coffee filter / paper cone filters / my own GOOD *fresh ground coffee
-travel size bottle of dish soap / kitchen sponge cut in half for compactness

Sometimes I bring along some dry goods that I'm worried I won't find on the road or that would be a pain to buy in a big package in a local grocery store. I always always bring my own ground coffee along. *My most important mantra is "Never leave your coffee to chance." Although Starbucks has swept the nation like a virus, there are many places in middle America that have yet to discover the Arabica bean.

I used to eat Quaker instant oatmeal for breakfasts (which you can make with just a hotel coffee maker) but i got tired of the high sugar content in the packets. Now I usually pack my own rolled oats now along with some nice dried fruit, nuts, and a little container of brown sugar and cinnamon.

When I get to my destination I hit a local grocery store, avoiding Walmart like the plauge, which is sometimes hard to do. I buy plenty of bottled water because like the Arabica bean, much of middle America has yet to discover decent municipal water treatment. This goes back to the ever important principal of "Never leave your coffee to chance." Shitty water makes shitty coffee no matter how good your beans are.

Now, whether or not you've reserved hotel rooms with a mini-fridge will make a difference in what you can pull off, but if you have one you can do a lot. For long trips I bring a small cooler along (the size just a little bigger than for one person's lunch) as one of my checked pieces of luggage. This gets me from one hotel to the next if I'm changing locations every couple of days.

I also buy simple staple ingredients like pasta, canned albacore tuna, a head of garlic, small onions, a lemon or two, canned beans, marinated artichoke hearts, olives. I also buy any fresh vegetables that are a tolerant to not being chilled for a little while. Bell peppers, carrots, fruits, zuchinni, tomatoes, avocados, etc. In a small town the produce section usually sucks and I end up buying more canned vegetables that I can tolerate like canned corn or beets. I try to go to the grocery store every couple of days so I can buy small quantities to keep things fresh. If you've got a fridge in your room you can splurge on small portions of fresh meats or fish for just that day's use. Don't bother with ice cream. The freezers in the hotel fridges never work right.

I just try to buy what looks good in the store in small quantities and make simple but healthy dishes in my room based on whatever I find. For example, a simple salad of chopped tomato and avocado with salt/pepper/OO/vinegar is great. Especially if you can get your hands on an heirloom. Pasta with beans or tuna, veggies, and one savory item like olives or artichoke hearts is great too. Lemon juice, garlic, and salt are all the seasoning I usually need.

My favorite part is that instead of spending an hour every night sitting alone in Applebees and hating what I'm eating, I get to eat healthy food that I like and I have more personal time on the road. I consider it an interesting challenge to put together impromptu meals, and I can cook my dinner while I'm in my PJ's watching TV and checking my email. I usually find eating alone in restaurants depressing, and when my choices are limited I'm really unhappy.

Sooooo, that's my crazy story, but it works for me and has kept me sane on the road for many years.

a couple of years ago i purchased a kettle designed
for cooking food in...it looks like a small electric kettle,
but the whole lid comes off, and the elements are not
inside the pot. Its very light weight, doesn't take up much room
and holds about 4 cups of food. I bought it because the studio
i was working at was very chilly in the spring and autumn, and it was nice to
have a hot lunch (microwaves kind of freak me out).
i cooked and reheated all kinds of meals in it...and when i
was running late for work and didn't have time to put together
lunch, i always had the old standby of quinoa, tamari sauce and
nutritional yeast on hand.
worked well for rice (white or brown) and pasta too!

cook at your place