I only have an electric kettle in my office, no other heating element, and no cold storage.
Right now, I have:
-Tea (green, as I can’t keep milk for black!)
-Oatmeal + Maple Syrup
-Baked Ruffles (crisps)
-Apples
-Annie Chun’s Noodle Bowls (miso)
Plus, I can wash dishes in the bathroom, so I have a bowl for the oatmeal, and a mug for the tea.
Any ideas for more food? I’m vegetarian, but for the edification of the general audience, meat-y ideas are welcomed. The oatmeal was the most recent innovation, and it has the best calories to effort/cost ratio by far.
Difficulty: I can only get groceries on Mondays, so bringing in a pint of milk every morning is not feasible. I am definitely looking for store-able noms.
Couscous- or bulgur-based pilafs? All you do is add boiling water, cover, and let it sit for a few minutes while the water absorbs. You can make your own, or buy boxed pilafs. Couscous cooks faster, but bulgur is a whole grain and thus somewhat healthier.
Yup, couscous mixes and taboule or other bulgur-based mixes, like GilaB says. They’re not that fussy about how much water you add to them, either. Gets me through multi-day grading sessions during finals week every term.
If you won’t over-snack on them, a reclosable can of nuts is nice for some quick protein now and then.
If I were you I’d just make meals at home, freeze them in boilable bags (or regular baggies if you can keep them from direct contact with hot metal), and then use the kettle to heat them up while still inside the bags. I used to do this with stir-fry dishes but it works for any meal. Ten minutes or so in boiling water and they were good and fresh as new. Much better than reheated as leftovers from the fridge.
I don’t know how hot your kettle gets but if you can manage an electric wok it would be good for heating water and also various food items.
As for cold storage, would a plastic or styrofoam cooler with freeze packs be an option?
I second the bags of gorp or whathaveyou for munching.
That’s all I eat during the week at work. I have to wonder what’s gonna happen if I eat too much though.
As a bit of a quirky thing you could keep a ziploc bag of Pearl Barley mixed with some dried citrus peel- add it to your tea kettle with some water and boil the hell out of it… make some barley water. Stuff’s supposed to be good for ya, might leave a flavor in your kettle, however.
I have a Tupperware container full of dried milk in my office drawer so I can add milk to my Irish breakfast tea. It comes in a fairly big box, so you might want to take the box home from the grocery store, and fill a smaller container to take to work.
Boil-in-bag rice. Comes in a box like minute rice but there are 4 individual pouches with holes in them that you just drop in boiling water for a few minutes. Pretty handy.
I like a black bean soup that comes in a cup that you add hot water to. Very tasty. I also like all kinds of crackers for a quick snack - flavoured triscuits are delicious.
Thanks for all the ideas. I’ve never had barley tea, but I had some kind of “7 grain tea” in a Korean restaurant once, and if it’s anything similar, I approve. Do I need to boil it for a while or is this something I can just add boiling water to? I can only do the latter.
I really like the couscous idea, as I don’t have to boil the grain, but only pour hot water on it.
I will get some peanuts and some of those super-duper-pasteurized half-and-halves as well. (I find non-dairy creamer disgusting)
It’s a bit complicated, but I don’t really have access to a kitchen on weekdays, and I can’t transport very heavy or large things to my office.
Yea, the 7 grain tea that you had is a bit of a different animal, it probably did have barley in it however, but it was toasted/roasted. Yes, you have to boil the barley water, but if you have an Electric Kettle, as you claim, the same effect can be achieved by simply adding the barley and water to the kettle and bringing the water to temperature, leaving the element engaged or on a warming setting, and letting the mixture steep for an hour or so. It should be no problem to cook the barley in your kettle.
Man, it sounds like your “office” is in prison. Are you in prison? Because that’s how prisoners cook, with boiling water. Here’s a couple of links to prisonrecipes that might inspire you-
Tamales
1 bag Fritos Corn Chips
1 bag spicy hot Cheetos (you can use Doritos too, or any spicy chip)
Crunch these up as much as you can, and mix then together in a chip bag.
Add just enough hot water to turn it into a thick mush.
Knead the bag to mix the contents well, and drain off any water that’s remaining.
(If you do it right, there shouldn’t be any remaining water.)
Roll the mix up in the chip bag in the shape of a tamale, and let it cook (sit).
After about five minutes, tear the bag open and pour some hot sauce over it, and dig in.
Hrm…I do work in a prison, and that sounds good!
Will have to try it; I’m already hooked on the frito-loco thing going on here, though I simplify it by just ripping open a bag of fritos, dumping hot sauce in it and adding ranch, then digging in with a spoon. I do like the variety that has cucumbers in it too; so good!
Also, regarding the barley water… even though you don’t have a refrigerator, you can add ice to it to bring it down to a cool and refreshing palatabilty (Tell me you can get ice?). Add it to soda water for a refreshing soft drink. If you are worried about the storability of the lemons, you can also use the “real lemon” in a bottle. Of course you can also drink it warm. And you can of course eat the barley if you so wish…
Similarly, if you can get to an Indian grocery store, there are brands (e.g., Swad and Tasty Bite) of entrees that are either ready to eat, or just need to be put in a pot of boiling water for five minutes (which may be possible with an electric kettle). Some of this stuff is available at Trader Joes.
