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Road Food
by Brian Putnam

Traveling for business, pleasure, or both is always an event. Whether camping, condo-ing or staying in motels/hotels, meals play a central part of the plans and experiences. Why is, it, though, when staying at the last option, eating out seems the only option? This was a question I asked myself after putting on 25 pounds when I began to travel frequently on business. I was asked to write this article as a way to share my solution with those who travel a great deal, perhaps to competitions, and want to maintain a healthy lifestyle and still eat great food.

After noticing that most motels these days have refrigerators and microwaves at least upon request, I started thinking of how to utilize them besides just zapping the pre-prepared meals in the grocery freezer case. The first thing I did was turn my attention to my camping equipment. Realizing that these establishments frown upon the use of camp stoves and barbeques in the rooms or on balconies, I rummaged further into my gear. Suddenly, the light bulbs began exploding in my head. In a short amount of time I assembled a kitchen in a daypack and a small cooler, and now take my love of cooking on the road. Maintaining my regular diet and making sure to take time to exercise, I quickly lost the weight.

My "kitchen" includes:

1. A small cook kit you can get at REI that contains basic utensils and many containers for spices, oil and dish soap. To that I added a small knife, a can opener and a corkscrew. T

2. A small cutting board.

3. A one-quart and a two-quart microwavable container.

4. Plastic plates.

5. A small cooler filled with Mexican hot sauces, Thai chili sauce, barbeque sauce and any other type that suits my fancy at the time.

With just the above materials, I now make dishes such as garlic pasta with spinach, tomato and scallops, Thai prawns with assorted steamed vegetables over brown rice, and Mexican rice and vegetables with sliced marinated beef tenderloin. All of these can be ready in less than 30 minutes. To make things easier, I sometimes use boxed meals that I get at the health food store. Not only is the food great, but also it is an enjoyable way to pass the time while I’m on the road.