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Old 10-03-2008, 06:17 PM   #1
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Let's talk road food!

What do you eat when you're traveling but not eating out at restaurants? What do you cook in hostels? What do you bring when you have a car? What about if you are moving around and sleeping on buses and trains?

Recipes? Let's hear it. You first.

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Old 10-03-2008, 07:15 PM   #2
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Subway
plain spaghetti
nutella with toast
potato chips
water
soda
bananas
hotdogs
stuffed dumpling thingies

wow my diet is awesomely uninspired...i should so learn how to cook
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Old 10-03-2008, 07:39 PM   #3
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If I'm unfamiliar with the country, I will ask the front desk where the closest Grocery store is, then I basically eat everything out of there, or street vendors. Usually, dry cereals for transport from place to place, then breads, meats, cheeses for the hostel. I always do well in local produce markets etc... When I'm in the Grocery store, I always hunt for nonperishable foods, that don't need to be refrigerated etc.....
I can't emphasize enough the beauty of street vendors, sometimes its a crap shoot, but most of the time it pays off with a nice tasty meal
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Old 10-03-2008, 09:20 PM   #4
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When I was el pooro in australia we used to go to the supermarket and buy discounted dinted cans of soup, then we would grab the rice of the 'free' shelf and put the rice in the soup. It was an instant fulfilling meal. and it cost like 99 cents. I ate that around ozzie land. But I also am the queen of pasta and stir frys.
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Old 10-04-2008, 04:02 AM   #5
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lots of ham and cheese sandwiches, or fruit. I like to get a baguette and some dip sometimes, but we found dip pretty hard to come by in a lot of european supermarkets... cereal is a good cheap snack. Some cereals like mini-wheats or fruity bites (I think thats an aussie one though..) are really great for snacking. We would buy a box or cereal, pull the bag out and throw away the box, then fill up a little ziplock bag each morning to put in our day packs for snacks.
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Old 10-04-2008, 08:19 AM   #6
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It depends. When I was traveling through Europe, I usually survived on:

Granola Bars
Turkey/Salami/whatever meat was cheapest sandwiches with cheese
Peanut Butter spread on rice cakes
Pasta
Pasta
Pasta
Street food if the hostel didn't have a refrigerator (i.e. Berlin where I ate a ton of Currywursts and Kebabs)
Also, last but not least..... swiss nuggets



-One of the guys in the hostel and I saw these in Murren and decided to make swiss flags with ketchup and the nuggets. In retrospect, the flag probably should be a bit more square.

If I'm driving across the States, I tend to eat more fast food than is good for me.
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Old 10-04-2008, 10:34 AM   #7
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I'm an awful cook anyway, so I stick to pasta and rice!

Don't like cooking in hostels, I honestly don't trust people enough or want to spend too much time in a over crowded kitchen! plus there are always diners etc with bargins, so go hunting!
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Old 10-04-2008, 12:45 PM   #8
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I like hunks of bread with cheese and summer sausage to take, and bars are good & filling, like granola or clif bars.
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Old 10-04-2008, 03:16 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aliz View Post
cereal is a good cheap snack. Some cereals like mini-wheats or fruity bites (I think thats an aussie one though..) are really great for snacking. We would buy a box or cereal, pull the bag out and throw away the box, then fill up a little ziplock bag each morning to put in our day packs for snacks.
Hehe I do this at home when I make my lunch to take to work I put some Nutrigrain in a small container and snack on that - mainly cas I don't eat breakfast and don't like milk - but it makes a great snack!!
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Old 10-04-2008, 03:37 PM   #10
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~I always carry a few emergency Cliff Bars
~Eat a lot of cereal & oatmeal for brekky
~Pasta is a classic staple
~Love getting bulk Almond, dried cranberrys & chocolate chips and mixing them together- not just when I travel, anytime
~apples
~soup
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Old 10-04-2008, 05:57 PM   #11
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In a hostel w/ cooking facilities:
Peanut butter sandwich with fried bananas (mmm - so easy)
Grilled cheese with pepperjack and minced garlic clove
Ramen with veggies
Peanut butter and apples/celery
Refried beans w/ onions & garlic
Cheese quesadillas
Whatever others have left behind or I can find in a dumpster
I try to find a local farmer's market and load up on cheap fresh veggies

On the road w/o car:
Avacados and nuts for protein
Fruits (apples, oranges, ones that don't become a mess)
Block o' cheese w/ some hard italian bread

On the road w/ car:
Same as above
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Old 10-08-2008, 01:04 PM   #12
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What do you eat when you're traveling but not eating out at restaurants?
As stated earlier.... street meat, baby. Or street veggies. BUT avoid street dairy, as your system may not cope with foreign dairy. I only eat street stuff that is fried or roasted.

What do you cook in hostels?
Usually sandwiches. But I stopped using the hostel kitchen as soon as I realised that you could live off street food.

What do you bring when you have a car?
I try to eat nothing, although I have an emergency stash of trailmix bars that saved my ass at various times.

What about if you are moving around and sleeping on buses and trains?
Same, trailmix bars.
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Old 10-15-2008, 12:16 PM   #13
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K, well I like to cook and I like to eat. A lot.

I love street food, for sure, but I also like getting into local supermarkets and seeing what kinds of ingredients they have, and what I can come up with using local stuff wherever I'm at.

If I have access to a kitchen I often cook pasta because I can do it a million different ways depending on what I find at the grocery store, and it's filling and it travels well for lunches etc. In spain, there was beautiful seafood everywhere I went, and good cheese and cheap table wine. I cooked spaghetti a la vongole at a hostel one time, and the next night 4 ppl hired me to make them the same meal. it's spaghetti with clams and white wine. I also stir-fry veggies and make rice. cheap and easy.

hard cheeses and cured meats are great for when you don't have fridge access. I eat a lot of bread/cheese/meat/olive picnics with some fruit or veggies on the side.

I'll carry granola then buy a small container of milk or yogurt whenever I want to eat. also, dried fruit and nuts. sometimes I make fruit and nut bars, if I'm really thinking ahead. these are great for traveling or even just keeping in my bag for when I am out and about and get hungry but don't have time for a snack

basic recipe for 1 bar is
1 tablespoon nuts
1 tablespoon dates
2 tablespoons dried fruit.
chop it all up and mix together. the dates are like glue.
my favorites are: hazelnut cranberry, almond cherry, and almond blueberry.

when I've traveled long distances by car I bring a cooler and ice packs and lots of sandwich supplies, pasta salad, fruit & veggies, roast chicken, whatever, LOL

I'll probably think of more stuff as I prepare for this cross-canada trip. I'd love to hear anyone else's ideas too

Molly
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Old 10-16-2008, 01:02 AM   #14
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Like Canadian Bacon I too endulge in the street meat. I know a lot of guide books will tell you not to and by all means you MUST be careful in some places but some of the nicest meals I have had abroad have come from a small BBQ or van of some kind.
Sandwiches are also essential to my diet as they are hearty, versitile, easy to make/store and above all-cheap. Seriously, some bread and something for filling like meat or cheese. Infact, I remember in Belgium after running low on cash my friend and I basically lived on ham sandwiches.

If I can cook in the hostel I would buy some meat, some veg-most likely peas or corn, rice and a can of soup/broth and combine them. For me its all about the heartyness and cost of making a meal.
If you feel its a tad generic then localize! Use local meats, or maybe local veg as well.
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Old 12-01-2008, 12:13 PM   #15
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Shin ramen is not replaceable and is hard to find if you're not in a Korean neighborhood..

All of you spicy-food-loving asians out there know what I'm talking about, yea? haha
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Old 12-01-2008, 02:48 PM   #16
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I'm gonna sound like a broken record but:

I love street food. If I can cook I love to go to the grocery and make something for a new friend at a hostel (bonding through food is powerful). I rarely take anything with me on a car trip. For trains I like bread, cheese, fruit and wine.
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Old 12-01-2008, 03:22 PM   #17
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Hostel:
Fruit from a market or grocery store
toast and nutella
noodles and tomato sauce
yogurt and muesli
sometimes I will make up homemade soup once I get sick of bread

Out around the city:
Food from street vendors
fruit
granola and fruit bars I bring from home
cheap kebabs

Trains/buses etc:
snack foods
pastries (eat waaay to many on vacation)
chocolate bars
biscuits
fruit
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Old 12-08-2008, 11:18 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clanshrapnel View Post
Shin ramen is not replaceable and is hard to find if you're not in a Korean neighborhood..

All of you spicy-food-loving asians out there know what I'm talking about, yea? haha
Totally, but I think I eat enough instant noodle wax at home =)
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Vincent: "So what you gonna do?"
Jules: "Well, basically, I'm just gonna walk the earth."
Vincent: "What you mean 'walk the earth'?"
Jules: "You know, like Kane in 'Kung Fu'...go places...meet people...get in adventures."

Trips (only counting recreational travel):
FIRST TRIP (2005): FIRST EUROTRIP EVER! UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland
SECOND TRIP (2007): First Solo Trip! Greece, Turkey, Syria, Spain
2008: China (Beijing, Shanghai, Yangshuo) ...right before the Olympics!
2009: Japan & HK, Southern Spain
[size=1]2010: All over Lebanon, Ibiza (Spain), Oktoberfest (Germany), Thailand.
2011: India (Goa), Jordan, Jerusalem, San Sebastian (Spain), Amsterdam (again), London, Driving from Vancouver to L.A. (stopping in Portland, Seattle, San Fran and all the little stops), Montpellier (France), Geneva and Lausanne (Switzerland)

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Old 12-08-2008, 11:32 AM   #19
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This threads contains so many useful tips! Pinned !
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Old 12-08-2008, 12:08 PM   #20
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Here are my random food tips:

In Germany I found the most brilliant snack - a small little container of Nutella with dipping sticks... amazing. it was like 99 cents too. It was called "Nutella & Go"... I took a pic cos I was so excited.


All the hostels I've been to had kind of a free selection of breakfast or cheap anyway, so I always noshed on cereal and toast. If I'm running low on money I will make some to-go stuff on my way out. The hostel I stayed at in Munich had a HUGE breakfast buffet for like 2 euros and while it sucked to pay, there was so much that I made enough sandwiches and fruit to last me literately all day.

In Poland, my first day I stopped at a grocery store and got bread, jelly, and paid a lot of $ for peanut butter (peanut butter is something that is apparently very hard to come by in Europe so I was excited to see it in Poland) and carried the loaf of bread around with me all over. My bread I bought in Krakow lasted me until I got back to Germany.

Here's my deal on restaurants and food vendors... if there is a local delight I am trying to eat, I will eat out once in each city while I'm there to enjoy it. Often times the local stuff is less expensive! My favorite was my 1am crepe with applesauce purchased in the Dortmund, Germany hauptbahnhof. Yeah it was like 3 euros but it was chilly and hit the spot. I also tried those yum pizza sandwiches in Krakow (cannot remember for the life of me what they're called, but it was on bread that was like as long as my arm) and it was like 4 or 5 zloty, much less than a meal at one of the sit down places or the McDonalds. And the big pretzels in the train stations might be a little much but they fill you up cos it's bread and it's huge.

I eat a LOT of bread & jelly cos things for breakfast that are sweet are hard to come by in Europe I found out, and I've got a ridiculous sweet tooth and if you do too, that's my suggestion.
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