Temporarily residing in a hotel room while you are working out of town may result in you envisioning greasy burgers and fries or microwave meals as your main sources of food. Not having a kitchen at your disposal does not require you to forego healthy meals. Purchase a crockpot and some ingredients that can be used to create cheap and nutritious meals that are satisfying.

Create A Meal Plan And Purchase Ingredients

Think about some hearty meals that you usually eat when you are at home. If you like roasts, soup-based dishes, or casseroles, you can recreate these dishes in a crockpot. A crockpot will slowly simmer the ingredients throughout the day and the nutritional content of each ingredient will remain intact. A combination of fresh produce, rice, noodles, soups, and low-fat meats can be used to create meals that are filling.

Ingredients that are raw or that don't contain any additives can be purchased in bulk, which will allow you to make several pots of food that can be used to satisfy your hunger throughout your hotel stay. Find out if your hotel room will come with a mini-refrigerator so that you can purchase perishable items in advance. If you are supplied with a room that doesn't come with a refrigerator, invest in a small cooler and use this to preserve fresh foods.

Write down several meals that you plan on preparing and use this to guide you in choosing ingredients. Purchase inexpensive ingredients from a discount wholesaler, a farmer's market, or your neighborhood grocery store. If you don't consider yourself a savvy shopper and tend to overspend on each shopping trip, use some precautionary tips to aid you in choosing the best deals.

For instance, if you would like to use rice as one of the staples that will be included in several of the meals, perform a cost comparison. Break down the cost of the rice by calculating how much each ounce costs. An economy bag of rice may cost quite a bit more than a small bag, but you could potentially save yourself a decent amount of money if the cost per ounce is less in comparison to the breakdown costs of the small bag.

Use Substitutions

If you enjoy steak or seafood, but can't afford to splurge on items that aren't discounted, use substitute ingredients that are less expensive. A less favorable cut of beef can be tenderized by allowing it to sit in the crockpot for many hours and you can increase the taste of less costly ingredients by adding some spices or a flavored sauce mix to the pot.

Purchase a recipe book that features budget meals if you have difficulty coming up with a list of meals that will fall into your budget. Try new foods or make large batches of some dishes to aid you in expanding your menu options and stretching meals throughout the course of several days.

For more tips on making cheap meals, check out bookstores or online for affordable cookbooks.

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