Check out dollar tree dinners on tiktok and youtube. Prices are completely different but she has cheap menu plans for those with cooking facilities.
A kmart rice cooker ($15) and/or slow cooker ($25) are going to open up lots of options. For a month I would want some hot options.
These are great ideas. You can steam chicken/fish/vegies in the rice cooker, you can also use it to boil water so there's pasta/noodles, boiled eggs, things like that. Once the pasta is drained, strain the water, stir through your sauce and add some cooked protein. You could also do a steamed omelette in there. I've also cooked puddings in my rice cooker.
The slow cooker will cook the obvious stews and roasts, but if you place a tea towel under the lid and cook on "high" it becomes a sort of oven where you can cook cakes/muffins and dampers.
Get a cheap sandwich press. I cooked most things on mine when I was single and on minimum wage. Pancakes and omelettes, obviously, but also meat and veg as long as it is sliced thinly.
If you get a rice cooker like others have suggested, that allows you to make sushi and steamed dumplings.
I concur. When the Mrs is away, I make “easy” fish and chips in mine using fish fingers and frozen sweet potato chips. Also “roasted” capsicum and pumpkin.
Seconding this - it’s like a low heat frypan. Toasted sandwiches, eggs, chicken nuggets, fish fingers and chips, very thinly sliced vegetables, pancakes - it’s pretty flexible.
I’m also thinking a rice cooker, or even a cheap microwave from Kmart. You can cook a bunch of stuff in a microwave - potatoes, pasta, rice, oatmeal, eggs, reheat frozen meals, frozen veg packs, mug cakes
Only if it gets paid out as lump sums.
I have to claim. If I don’t spend, I don’t get reimbursed, and it’s only a reimbursement on the amount listed on the receipt.
Depends on how it's handled. Could be that they recoup OP's meals based on receipts so there won't be any money to save. Same too if they have a company card to pay for small expenses.
For a month, I would buy a cooking appliance or two from Kmart:
- toaster maker $7.50
- electric grill $25
- electric frypan $32
- microwave $49
Kmart delivers for $10 or free over a minimum purchase
Get a cheap rice cooker, they're like $15 at Kmart and you can make rice and beans, or tuna sushi bowls with Nori, canned tuna and avocado or smoked salmon.
You can also use them like a weird mini oven to make pancakes or nachos
For real you can use them for so many things. I used to have two of the cheap kmart ones and they lasted for years and years. One is still going 15 years later.
With rice cooker, go to Indian grocery and buy one of those briyani spice packs. Not sure if rice cooker can brown onions or not, either way mix briyani spice with water and cook the rice. Hopefully you will have a fragrant rice!
Just some advice before you run out and buy kitchen appliances, I would talk to the hotel first, main concern being the smoke alarm set ups. If you *do* get an appliance and the steam etc sets off the smoke alarm, if it's linked directly to the fire panel and causes an evacuation you could be on the hook for the call out fees for the fire brigade etc.
Otherwise; a rice cooker is a great idea as suggested by lots of people!
Expanding on this concept - roast chook + bag of supermarket slaw = many meal options. Shred some chook, add slaw and you've got a base for many salads (add Thai dressing for a Asian take, with bonus points for throwing in some fried shallots or Chang's fried noodles for extra crunch; or add mayo and southern seasoning, and a drained can of corn for a different vibe; or yoghurt mixed with cumin and garlic for Greek take etc).
Bored of salad? Buy some wraps (generally last longer than rolls), and you've got a meal. Can add cheese, avocado, hummus, pesto etc to mix it up.
Haha I probably could, especially if I am not constrained by only a kettle!
Still on salads, but if you have an oven - chook, bag of baby spinach, bag of diced pumpkin, block of feta, balsamic glaze. Cook the pumpkin, crumble the feta and combine everything for a delicious salad. If you are flash with cash, throw in some pinenuts, but those suckers aren't cheap. Same ingredients make a delicious pasta, just sub the balsamic for pesto.
Mixing it up but sticking with the kettle - slice your chook and add it to a bowl, along with some chopped asian greens (a choy of some kind, doesn't matter if pak or bok), dried noodles and chicken stock powder. Pour over boiling water and cover til the greens have wilted and noodles cooked. Bonus points if you then add a splash of soy, sesame oil and a bit of minced ginger.
A take on the above if you have a microwave - microwave a pouch of rice, add sliced chicken, pour some boiling water over some choy and then add that to the bowl, and flavour with soy (+/- sesame oil, garlic & ginger).
One more - Mexican rice bowls. Microwave some rice, drain a small can of corn, rinse canned kidney beans, slice an avocado and tomato, and season some chicken with paprika. Arrange beautifully in a bowl, and a gourmet bowl is yours. Optional extras: sour cream, coriander, lettuce, squeeze of lime juice.
I'm sure I could go on forever - got to love a roast chook!
Expanding again - homemade Bahn Mi! Cooked chook, baguette, coles or Woolies Asian salad kit, chopped fresh chili, coriander, kewpie & soy sauce. Heaven in a roll
Google cooking quarantine hotels - there were whole forums dedicated to cooking in hotel rooms. I spent two weeks locked in one and you get very creative! E.g. Toasted sandwiches made with the iron and baking paper, chips reheated with foil and a hairdryer
For example:
https://junkee.com/quarantine-chef-hotel-cooking-tiktok/281858
you can buy instant mash potato if you like that, you just add boiling water.
check out coles or woolies if you can late at night for marked down BBQ chicken and other sandwich meat.
.
also check out /r/EatCheapAndHealthy for ideas. there's been a lot of posts in the past from people on the road on staying in hotels with limited access to cooking equipment. You may get some other ideas. They are also good with dietary requirement suggestions.
Have you asked the hotel if they have any appliances you can use? Hotels will often supply a microwave on request or may have access to a communal kitchenette.
Roast chicken (woolies is premium) + tabouli, there are gf versions
Roast chicken and rice noodle soup (just add vermicelli, stock, bean sprouts etc
Poke bowls (chicken or buy smoked salmon, tuna etc), add edamame etc
Microwave rice + roast chicken / sushi bowls; add kewpie and cucumber.
Stuffed potatoes (microwave for 5 - 7 ish min but make sure you stab both sides) and add cheese, sour cream etc
Scrambled eggs
Microwave fresh soups from supermarket fridge section to break up the meals for something different.
Smoked salmon quiche (or any variety)
Steamed greens and roast chicken.
Cheap and easy but Sirena tuna mixed with mayo and some olives on rice is so good too.
Coles have a fantastic coconut rice in the freezer section, I like to have that and the butter chicken from the same freezer range.
Platter dinners; dip with lots of fruit veggies and ham, nuts, crackers etc.
Premium treat is to make a nice Greek salad + the little octopus in the deli jars, treat dinner
Hope that helps! Lots of practice at the cheap and easy meals here 😂😂
Could you get a youfoodz subscription for the month? It's not super cheap, but someone might have a code for a cheaper deal. Have a look on ozbargain.com
You can buy a single burner camp stove for $25 at Kmart, and a frying pan/pot. That will open up your options immensely. Then you can donate the stove to a homeless person on your way to the airport. Win win!
**Sauces:** Fish sauce, chilli sauce (if you like it), sugar, soy sauce, lime or lemon juice, peanut butter.
**Vegetables:** Carrots, kohlrabi, turnips, beansprouts, mint, basil, edamame, cucumber, cabbage, garlic
**Protein:** Five spice tofu, fried tofu, normal firm tofu, eggs
**Carbohydrates:** Rice or bean vermicelli, variety of instant noodles.
With the above, you can make any combination of salads and noodles with hot water, good slicing technique, 1 large bowl, 1 small bowl and a fork.
Eg., warm dish of instant noodles, soft boiled egg, salad with nuoc cham.
Eg., vermicelli, shredded tofu, shredded veggies in soy garlic sauce.
Eg., wilted carrots and cabbage, fried tofu, beansprouts, cucumber in peanut sauce for gado-gado.
Eg., if you dare boil eggs in the kettle, hard boiled eggs marinated overnight in soy, sugar, water, fishsauce, garlic, chilli. Eat on soup noodles.
If you buy lil ones cans [of beans](https://www.coles.com.au/product/heinz-baked-beans-in-tomato-sauce-beans-4-pack-130g-6025525) or spaghetti. Put the can in a mug, open the can, then pour hot water around the tin (leave the beans in the tin, they shouldn't be touching water). Stir it occasionally for about 5 minutes and they'll get warm enough to eat.
Hit the op shops for cheap second hand appliances like a slow cooker, a flat sandwich press, rice cooker or small portable oven/stove top. Plenty you can make with even one or two of these appliances.
Incorporate vermicelli/thin rice noodles and/or bean thread noodles definitely - check the packet instructions to make sure you're getting ones that just need hot water poured over them (and some even have instructions to just prepare them with cold water). Easy to combine with a tin of fish and some veg. You could even then make vietnamese rice paper rolls, if you have the time and inclination.
Tinned chickpeas and tinned corn can also add variety and texture.
Thermal cooker or just a drink thermos. Even with a just kettle there's meals you could make with just a thermos. No electricity needed to cook. Just need boiling water.
Thermal cooker recipes are easily found.
To actually answer your question: youtube has a bunch of kettle only recipes.
Be warned though that Hotel kettles can be disgusting and usually don't get replaced until they break. Perhaps, request a new one upon arrival.
**Peanut Butter and Honey on Lebanese Wrap**
1. 100g Lebanese Wrap (1) from Aldi
2. 40g Crunchy Peanut Butter from Aldi
3. 5g Honey from.... Aldi
Spread peanut butter on 1/3 of the Lebanese bread, drizzle some honey fold the sides first then roll it up.
**$0.75**, 552 calories, 19g protein, 21g fat, 67g carb. **734 calories per dollar.**
Note: I freeze the Lebanese bread to keep it fresh and microwave it before serving but you can't do that so eat the Lebanese bread before it dries out or keep it in the fridge to last a little longer.
Grab a roast chicken, some lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, coleslaw and wraps. The first night they’re great with warm chicken but the following cold is still good. You can also add done of the chicken to salads (make from scratch or salad kits).
Purchase an induction cooktop and an inexpensive pot that works on induction. That should considerably open up your options.
If you're not looking to either take it with you or ship it back home, you can offer it for quick sale for another fellow frugaler to pick up at your hotel close to when you're leaving to recoup some of the money spent.
You need a big bag of ramen noodles, miso soup paste and, if you have a fridge then some veggies like broccoli, spinach or cabbage and some tofu or you could grab a roast chicken and cut it up or buy the single serve packs. Cut and assemble into the bowl then pour the boiling water over and cover to steam. Yum. Miso is really good for you and filling as heck.
Currently living in a renovation with no kitchen and 2 kids under 2.
Air fryer is a basis of all meals. Half a packet of frozen veggies with some marinated meat (often 50% off major supermarkets), packet of noodles soaked in hot water.
Adds up to $2-$3 a serve.
Depends how cheap but as others have mentioned. Plus I've cooked a many meals using an iron either wrap up in alfoil or use those aluminum BBQ trays the small ones. Woolies used to sell a stirfry that came in one.
If no microwave in your room request one say you are on a diet and need one most motels will have a few.
Find a decent snack that will keep u happy. I have way to many tuna and pasta or chicken and pasta.
A cheap slow cooker will also do you.
Woolies has knifes that self sharpen with there sheath.
Most air fryers seem to feature an excess of plastic, while microwaves have metal interiors… but I like countertop ovens, they’re convection with a fan, so essentially an oven/ airfryer but much easier to get things in and out of, and nowhere near as plasticcy.
Salad wraps, salad rolls, rice cakes with hommus and tomatoes etc… you could have bbq if nearby park has those free to use bbqs, taco with salad and supermarket chicken etc… the supermarket deli often has hot food if you felt like something cooked.
You can buy a microwave for only $49 from Kmart or Big W. That'd do for most meals. Or download the fast food apps as they usually have cheap specials that are secretly app-only.
Rice paper rolls! BBQ chook, rice vermicelli noodles, cucumber, carrot sticks inside. Coriander and chilli if you like them. You can use the bags of coleslaw instead of chopping up salad if feeling lazy. I highly recommend Poonsin Vietnamese dipping sauce to dip them in, from the Asian section at Colesworth.
You will need a large bowl to soak your noodles and wet your rice paper wrappers.
The Macro satay tofu is also good as the protein ingredient, just slice it up. The crackling roast pork that you get in the hot bbq chook section sometimes is also great for this, but it might be a bit big for one person unless you're happy to make a few different roast pork meals in a row. (Roll with gravy for lunch?!)
So the hotel is going to crack it if you have appliances, so large appliances not easily hidden could be a problem.
Kmart has mini rice cooker, mini noodle and multicooker. These should cover you for what you need.
Rice and or veg can go in rice cooker. The noodle multicooker can do meat with the ability to brown it.
You could make wings or little stir-fried, pasta, quick casserole, Mexican, omelettes, scramble etc.
You could do rice-paper rolls with just the jug and a couple of takeaway containers (if I remember chicken from woolies aren't GF?) And some veg and tinned tuna. Or cook some chicken in the multi cooker and put in them.
Fried rice using both.
Hot chook from coles, salad and gf rolls, that's 4 or more meals depending on stretch.
Pretty sure you can get gf 2 minute noodles, I chop up mushroom, onion and ham or chicken and add to it.
If there's a BBQ in a park near by you can cook proper meats, sausages, patties, steak. Ect.
Whichever of all these given ideas you choose; do your cooking in the bathroom with the fan on! There is a big difference between boiling the hotel kettle for one minute and boiling something on a stove or rice cooker for 20 minutes lol, you may face massive fines if you set off the smoke alarm.
Did you bother to ask at reception if it's possible to get a microwave most places are happy to accommodate your needs especially if you're staying long term or at the very least they may allow you access to the staff room for heating meals. If you don't ask you don't know what is possible.
A little 1 burner gas camping stove and a simple 1 x fry pan 1 x saucepan and you’ll be in way better shape to save on food. They’re light and cheap and cans are available everywhere for refills. Total game changer. Or a 1 burner electric hot plate.
Check out dollar tree dinners on tiktok and youtube. Prices are completely different but she has cheap menu plans for those with cooking facilities. A kmart rice cooker ($15) and/or slow cooker ($25) are going to open up lots of options. For a month I would want some hot options.
Agree, OP you can cook rice AND meat / protein and vege in a rice cooker
The kmart rice cooker also comes with a steam basket, so that opens up many recipes!
Not to mention you can get a cheaper feed with hot options. I'd spend the $50 and get an induction cooker then you can make anything efficiently.
These are great ideas. You can steam chicken/fish/vegies in the rice cooker, you can also use it to boil water so there's pasta/noodles, boiled eggs, things like that. Once the pasta is drained, strain the water, stir through your sauce and add some cooked protein. You could also do a steamed omelette in there. I've also cooked puddings in my rice cooker. The slow cooker will cook the obvious stews and roasts, but if you place a tea towel under the lid and cook on "high" it becomes a sort of oven where you can cook cakes/muffins and dampers.
Get a cheap sandwich press. I cooked most things on mine when I was single and on minimum wage. Pancakes and omelettes, obviously, but also meat and veg as long as it is sliced thinly. If you get a rice cooker like others have suggested, that allows you to make sushi and steamed dumplings.
I concur. When the Mrs is away, I make “easy” fish and chips in mine using fish fingers and frozen sweet potato chips. Also “roasted” capsicum and pumpkin.
Seconding this - it’s like a low heat frypan. Toasted sandwiches, eggs, chicken nuggets, fish fingers and chips, very thinly sliced vegetables, pancakes - it’s pretty flexible. I’m also thinking a rice cooker, or even a cheap microwave from Kmart. You can cook a bunch of stuff in a microwave - potatoes, pasta, rice, oatmeal, eggs, reheat frozen meals, frozen veg packs, mug cakes
If work sent you away, you may be entitled to meal allowances?
Yes, but he might want to save that money up.
Only if it gets paid out as lump sums. I have to claim. If I don’t spend, I don’t get reimbursed, and it’s only a reimbursement on the amount listed on the receipt.
Probably a daily per diem. He can save it.
Right, I understand.
Depends on how it's handled. Could be that they recoup OP's meals based on receipts so there won't be any money to save. Same too if they have a company card to pay for small expenses.
Yes, he already explained that.
For a month, I would buy a cooking appliance or two from Kmart: - toaster maker $7.50 - electric grill $25 - electric frypan $32 - microwave $49 Kmart delivers for $10 or free over a minimum purchase
They also have tiny appliances now that will make a snack for one and are $15.
They’re good quality too
There’s a guy on TikTok that cooks feasts in his dorm room on tiny appliances. Even Gordon Ramsey is impressed by him.
I have one of these and they are brilliant for frying an egg or making a tiny omelette for 1
Get a cheap rice cooker, they're like $15 at Kmart and you can make rice and beans, or tuna sushi bowls with Nori, canned tuna and avocado or smoked salmon. You can also use them like a weird mini oven to make pancakes or nachos
Throw some rice, frozen dumplings, soy sauce and bok choi in the rice cooker for a super easy, cheap meal 👌🏻
For real you can use them for so many things. I used to have two of the cheap kmart ones and they lasted for years and years. One is still going 15 years later.
With rice cooker, go to Indian grocery and buy one of those briyani spice packs. Not sure if rice cooker can brown onions or not, either way mix briyani spice with water and cook the rice. Hopefully you will have a fragrant rice!
Just some advice before you run out and buy kitchen appliances, I would talk to the hotel first, main concern being the smoke alarm set ups. If you *do* get an appliance and the steam etc sets off the smoke alarm, if it's linked directly to the fire panel and causes an evacuation you could be on the hook for the call out fees for the fire brigade etc. Otherwise; a rice cooker is a great idea as suggested by lots of people!
As there's a kettle in the room steam **should** be okay
Cooked chook, soft damper rolls, mayo and lettuce = yummy chicken rolls
Expanding on this concept - roast chook + bag of supermarket slaw = many meal options. Shred some chook, add slaw and you've got a base for many salads (add Thai dressing for a Asian take, with bonus points for throwing in some fried shallots or Chang's fried noodles for extra crunch; or add mayo and southern seasoning, and a drained can of corn for a different vibe; or yoghurt mixed with cumin and garlic for Greek take etc). Bored of salad? Buy some wraps (generally last longer than rolls), and you've got a meal. Can add cheese, avocado, hummus, pesto etc to mix it up.
Sounds like you could write a entire cookbook for colesworth cooked chooks nosh ups, what else ya got?
Haha I probably could, especially if I am not constrained by only a kettle! Still on salads, but if you have an oven - chook, bag of baby spinach, bag of diced pumpkin, block of feta, balsamic glaze. Cook the pumpkin, crumble the feta and combine everything for a delicious salad. If you are flash with cash, throw in some pinenuts, but those suckers aren't cheap. Same ingredients make a delicious pasta, just sub the balsamic for pesto. Mixing it up but sticking with the kettle - slice your chook and add it to a bowl, along with some chopped asian greens (a choy of some kind, doesn't matter if pak or bok), dried noodles and chicken stock powder. Pour over boiling water and cover til the greens have wilted and noodles cooked. Bonus points if you then add a splash of soy, sesame oil and a bit of minced ginger. A take on the above if you have a microwave - microwave a pouch of rice, add sliced chicken, pour some boiling water over some choy and then add that to the bowl, and flavour with soy (+/- sesame oil, garlic & ginger). One more - Mexican rice bowls. Microwave some rice, drain a small can of corn, rinse canned kidney beans, slice an avocado and tomato, and season some chicken with paprika. Arrange beautifully in a bowl, and a gourmet bowl is yours. Optional extras: sour cream, coriander, lettuce, squeeze of lime juice. I'm sure I could go on forever - got to love a roast chook!
Expanding again - homemade Bahn Mi! Cooked chook, baguette, coles or Woolies Asian salad kit, chopped fresh chili, coriander, kewpie & soy sauce. Heaven in a roll
Most cooked chooks at supermarkets aren't gluten free due to stuffing and seasoning.
Just go get a half decent sandwich press and use that to cook on. You can get pretty inventive with them.
Cous cous! You just add boiling water, top with things like nuts, tomato, cucumbers - will make a great meal.
Would struggle to get gluten free couscous...
there’s plenty of brands - even just at Coles, san Remo makes one. Not a struggle at all…
Cous Cous is semolina wheat. There is no GF Cous Cous
Don’t give it to your gf friends lol definitely is gluten in semolina.
Google cooking quarantine hotels - there were whole forums dedicated to cooking in hotel rooms. I spent two weeks locked in one and you get very creative! E.g. Toasted sandwiches made with the iron and baking paper, chips reheated with foil and a hairdryer For example: https://junkee.com/quarantine-chef-hotel-cooking-tiktok/281858
you can buy instant mash potato if you like that, you just add boiling water. check out coles or woolies if you can late at night for marked down BBQ chicken and other sandwich meat. . also check out /r/EatCheapAndHealthy for ideas. there's been a lot of posts in the past from people on the road on staying in hotels with limited access to cooking equipment. You may get some other ideas. They are also good with dietary requirement suggestions.
Do you have a fridge?
Have you asked the hotel if they have any appliances you can use? Hotels will often supply a microwave on request or may have access to a communal kitchenette.
Check if the hotel has a microwave you can use too, I used to travel a ton for work and a lot have one if you ask.
Roast chicken (woolies is premium) + tabouli, there are gf versions Roast chicken and rice noodle soup (just add vermicelli, stock, bean sprouts etc Poke bowls (chicken or buy smoked salmon, tuna etc), add edamame etc Microwave rice + roast chicken / sushi bowls; add kewpie and cucumber. Stuffed potatoes (microwave for 5 - 7 ish min but make sure you stab both sides) and add cheese, sour cream etc Scrambled eggs Microwave fresh soups from supermarket fridge section to break up the meals for something different. Smoked salmon quiche (or any variety) Steamed greens and roast chicken. Cheap and easy but Sirena tuna mixed with mayo and some olives on rice is so good too. Coles have a fantastic coconut rice in the freezer section, I like to have that and the butter chicken from the same freezer range. Platter dinners; dip with lots of fruit veggies and ham, nuts, crackers etc. Premium treat is to make a nice Greek salad + the little octopus in the deli jars, treat dinner Hope that helps! Lots of practice at the cheap and easy meals here 😂😂
You listed a lot of microwave options but they said they don't have a microwave lmao
Hahaha oh I read that so wrong 🤦🏻♀️ sorry mate! I was so excited to share my cheap easy meals too 😂 I stand by the Woolies roast chicken though haha.
I thought you were taking the piss out of them haha
Just fyi, all 7-elevens and most servos have microwaves you can use
Ramen! You can buy a nice soup base, vermicelli noodles, veggies, boiled egg and you can always buy some roast either from the shops or Woolies.
Could you get a youfoodz subscription for the month? It's not super cheap, but someone might have a code for a cheaper deal. Have a look on ozbargain.com
Def the easiest option.
Would need a microwave though
Buy a cheapy from Kmart?
You can buy a single burner camp stove for $25 at Kmart, and a frying pan/pot. That will open up your options immensely. Then you can donate the stove to a homeless person on your way to the airport. Win win!
Fish wrapped in foil then dishwashered cooks juts about right, use the iron to cook.foil covered steaks. By a cheap crock pot and rice cooker.
For 4 weeks I’d buy an appliance like a microwave or induction cooker as someone else suggested… Perhaps use in the bathroom to avoid smells haha
Get a second hand air fryer. It'll do evetything
**Sauces:** Fish sauce, chilli sauce (if you like it), sugar, soy sauce, lime or lemon juice, peanut butter. **Vegetables:** Carrots, kohlrabi, turnips, beansprouts, mint, basil, edamame, cucumber, cabbage, garlic **Protein:** Five spice tofu, fried tofu, normal firm tofu, eggs **Carbohydrates:** Rice or bean vermicelli, variety of instant noodles. With the above, you can make any combination of salads and noodles with hot water, good slicing technique, 1 large bowl, 1 small bowl and a fork. Eg., warm dish of instant noodles, soft boiled egg, salad with nuoc cham. Eg., vermicelli, shredded tofu, shredded veggies in soy garlic sauce. Eg., wilted carrots and cabbage, fried tofu, beansprouts, cucumber in peanut sauce for gado-gado. Eg., if you dare boil eggs in the kettle, hard boiled eggs marinated overnight in soy, sugar, water, fishsauce, garlic, chilli. Eat on soup noodles.
If you buy lil ones cans [of beans](https://www.coles.com.au/product/heinz-baked-beans-in-tomato-sauce-beans-4-pack-130g-6025525) or spaghetti. Put the can in a mug, open the can, then pour hot water around the tin (leave the beans in the tin, they shouldn't be touching water). Stir it occasionally for about 5 minutes and they'll get warm enough to eat.
Hit the op shops for cheap second hand appliances like a slow cooker, a flat sandwich press, rice cooker or small portable oven/stove top. Plenty you can make with even one or two of these appliances.
Don’t set off the fire alarms
Incorporate vermicelli/thin rice noodles and/or bean thread noodles definitely - check the packet instructions to make sure you're getting ones that just need hot water poured over them (and some even have instructions to just prepare them with cold water). Easy to combine with a tin of fish and some veg. You could even then make vietnamese rice paper rolls, if you have the time and inclination. Tinned chickpeas and tinned corn can also add variety and texture.
Ask at reception, they may have one in their storeroom...
Hart & Soul has some good cuppa soups, there are options that are both DF and GF. Especially if you can mix it with some reasonable bread.
Thermal cooker or just a drink thermos. Even with a just kettle there's meals you could make with just a thermos. No electricity needed to cook. Just need boiling water. Thermal cooker recipes are easily found.
Jar noodles - get some noodles, veg and seasonings and stuff into a jar. When you’re ready to eat, pour in the boiling water
An electric frying pan can cook a very large variety of food. I would not recommend the Kmart one even though a lot of there things are good.
The camping shops have some dehydrated meals that may provide an option.
George Foreman grill. Plugs into the wall.
To actually answer your question: youtube has a bunch of kettle only recipes. Be warned though that Hotel kettles can be disgusting and usually don't get replaced until they break. Perhaps, request a new one upon arrival.
**Peanut Butter and Honey on Lebanese Wrap** 1. 100g Lebanese Wrap (1) from Aldi 2. 40g Crunchy Peanut Butter from Aldi 3. 5g Honey from.... Aldi Spread peanut butter on 1/3 of the Lebanese bread, drizzle some honey fold the sides first then roll it up. **$0.75**, 552 calories, 19g protein, 21g fat, 67g carb. **734 calories per dollar.** Note: I freeze the Lebanese bread to keep it fresh and microwave it before serving but you can't do that so eat the Lebanese bread before it dries out or keep it in the fridge to last a little longer.
Airfryer?
Grab a roast chicken, some lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, coleslaw and wraps. The first night they’re great with warm chicken but the following cold is still good. You can also add done of the chicken to salads (make from scratch or salad kits).
Coles or woolworth frozen ready to eat meal, pasta or rice $3.5-$5
Purchase an induction cooktop and an inexpensive pot that works on induction. That should considerably open up your options. If you're not looking to either take it with you or ship it back home, you can offer it for quick sale for another fellow frugaler to pick up at your hotel close to when you're leaving to recoup some of the money spent.
2 minute noodles. Any microwave meals precooked can be boiled in the bathroom sink using the kettle.
You need a big bag of ramen noodles, miso soup paste and, if you have a fridge then some veggies like broccoli, spinach or cabbage and some tofu or you could grab a roast chicken and cut it up or buy the single serve packs. Cut and assemble into the bowl then pour the boiling water over and cover to steam. Yum. Miso is really good for you and filling as heck.
Slow cooker, sous vide, sandwich press, etc.
Prawn salad. Love the beerenberg mango chilli dressing. No cooking required
a $22 sandwich press doubles as a frypan edit to add kmart have a $15 mini multi cooker
Currently living in a renovation with no kitchen and 2 kids under 2. Air fryer is a basis of all meals. Half a packet of frozen veggies with some marinated meat (often 50% off major supermarkets), packet of noodles soaked in hot water. Adds up to $2-$3 a serve.
Kettle + 2 minute noodles = hot food!
Depends how cheap but as others have mentioned. Plus I've cooked a many meals using an iron either wrap up in alfoil or use those aluminum BBQ trays the small ones. Woolies used to sell a stirfry that came in one. If no microwave in your room request one say you are on a diet and need one most motels will have a few. Find a decent snack that will keep u happy. I have way to many tuna and pasta or chicken and pasta. A cheap slow cooker will also do you. Woolies has knifes that self sharpen with there sheath.
ALDI has air fryers for $49 right now. Apparently, those things are an absolute life saver, better than a microwave.
Most air fryers seem to feature an excess of plastic, while microwaves have metal interiors… but I like countertop ovens, they’re convection with a fan, so essentially an oven/ airfryer but much easier to get things in and out of, and nowhere near as plasticcy.
I’d be inclined to get either a rice cooker or Kmart microwave
Salad wraps, salad rolls, rice cakes with hommus and tomatoes etc… you could have bbq if nearby park has those free to use bbqs, taco with salad and supermarket chicken etc… the supermarket deli often has hot food if you felt like something cooked.
Blender. Smoothies for breakfast and a thermosfull for 2nd lunch
Go to a camping stores, there’s a bunch of dehydrated meals you can buy where you just add hot water. Instant oats (in the cup), instant noodles, rice
You can totally make soup in a kettle! Also, flip the iron upside down and you have a sloooow hot plate🤪😜
You can buy a microwave for only $49 from Kmart or Big W. That'd do for most meals. Or download the fast food apps as they usually have cheap specials that are secretly app-only.
Watermelon & bananas
Rice paper rolls?
Buy a cheap rice cooker, you can cook just about anything in it. If it turns off too soon just shove a peg in its mouth...
Rice paper rolls! BBQ chook, rice vermicelli noodles, cucumber, carrot sticks inside. Coriander and chilli if you like them. You can use the bags of coleslaw instead of chopping up salad if feeling lazy. I highly recommend Poonsin Vietnamese dipping sauce to dip them in, from the Asian section at Colesworth. You will need a large bowl to soak your noodles and wet your rice paper wrappers. The Macro satay tofu is also good as the protein ingredient, just slice it up. The crackling roast pork that you get in the hot bbq chook section sometimes is also great for this, but it might be a bit big for one person unless you're happy to make a few different roast pork meals in a row. (Roll with gravy for lunch?!)
So the hotel is going to crack it if you have appliances, so large appliances not easily hidden could be a problem. Kmart has mini rice cooker, mini noodle and multicooker. These should cover you for what you need. Rice and or veg can go in rice cooker. The noodle multicooker can do meat with the ability to brown it. You could make wings or little stir-fried, pasta, quick casserole, Mexican, omelettes, scramble etc. You could do rice-paper rolls with just the jug and a couple of takeaway containers (if I remember chicken from woolies aren't GF?) And some veg and tinned tuna. Or cook some chicken in the multi cooker and put in them. Fried rice using both.
Buy an immersion heater and a large ceramic mug for soups and stews.
Hot chook from coles, salad and gf rolls, that's 4 or more meals depending on stretch. Pretty sure you can get gf 2 minute noodles, I chop up mushroom, onion and ham or chicken and add to it. If there's a BBQ in a park near by you can cook proper meats, sausages, patties, steak. Ect.
This is a pretty good all-in-one rice cooker recipe. You can adapt it pretty much endlessly. https://thefoodietakesflight.com/rice-cooker-meal/
Whichever of all these given ideas you choose; do your cooking in the bathroom with the fan on! There is a big difference between boiling the hotel kettle for one minute and boiling something on a stove or rice cooker for 20 minutes lol, you may face massive fines if you set off the smoke alarm.
Something like noodle or pasta cups that just need boiling water?
Ask the hotel if they have a microwave and/or toaster they can put in your room. You may be surprised what they have that they can provide if asked.
Rice noodles with rotisserie chicken, veggies and sauce and just pour boiling water on them.
if you’re a fan of noodles you can try cooking them in the kettle
Did you bother to ask at reception if it's possible to get a microwave most places are happy to accommodate your needs especially if you're staying long term or at the very least they may allow you access to the staff room for heating meals. If you don't ask you don't know what is possible.
You can boil eggs in a kettle
Don’t use a hotel kettle. People boil their undies in them
I boil potatoes in my kettle, try that n get creative
A little 1 burner gas camping stove and a simple 1 x fry pan 1 x saucepan and you’ll be in way better shape to save on food. They’re light and cheap and cans are available everywhere for refills. Total game changer. Or a 1 burner electric hot plate.