[sweetpeas]

When we travel with dh (he's on business, we tag along and hit museums and stuff while he's stuck working), I try to do as little eating out as possible (we haven't done any traveling since I got my IP for xmas, that's going to make things SO much easier). We do eat the hotel breakfasts, and I chalk it up to an unheathly "treat" for the kids (we're vegetarian and try to eat whole foods at home, but I'm ok with compromising some when traveling). I usually start the trip with some frozen leftovers that can be reheated for supper the first night. I also bring a freezer bag of frozen, cooked rice (the frozen things act as the ice packs in the cooler) and we have rice and beans (canned beans) for a meal. my kids aren't big on sandwiches, but we usually do egg salad sandwiches for the drive out and sometimes I'll bring enough extra for one more day of that for lunch. Most of our lunches I do things like quinoa salad (cook the quinoa in the microwave, stir in frozen peas & corn, shredded/chopped carrots, seasoning, etc.) "black bean salsa" (beans, corn, chopped bell pepper, cilantro, salt, lemon juice . . . I'm missing something). Ummmm . . . I'm drawing a blank on the other meals I've done, but I pretty much search high and low for things I can do in the microwave. I bring a big (but a good sized glass bowl with a lid for cooking in the microwave). I am soooooo excited that from now on I can bring my IP on trips like this it will make the WORLD of different! I can cook pasta (for supper, or to use for pasta salad for lunches)! I can cook beans & rice from scratch instead of bringing the rice pre-cooked and using canned beans. I can make soups, there are several variations on curry that I make in the instant pot . . . it's SUCH a game changer!

Clean up . . . washing dishes in a hotel sink is a pain, but not very time consuming.

When space is tight, I use insulated grocery bags I got at Trader Joes years ago. They keep things cold longer than the regular grocery store ones do, but mold themselves into available space and fold flat when not in use.

Also I NEVER put fresh produce in hotel fridges. They're too unpredictable. Sometimes they're barely cold, other times they freeze everything solid. So I keep produce in a cooler with containers of ice to keep it cold, and change them out morning and evening.