No kitchen Paleo tips needed

[BeachBabe]

My kitchen is about to be demoed. For a month or so I will have a microwave and fridge/freezer only. Dishes will have to be washed in the bathtub, so I would like to avoid those. I can purchase salads and rotisserie chickens from the grocery store (not ideal, but better than fast food), as well as fresh, raw produce. Other than that I'm at a loss for meal ideas and something tells me that chicken and salad will get old if I eat it 2-3 times a day for a month.

Anyone have any ideas or tips to help get me through this month?

[Gobnait]

Do you have time to borrow a pressure canner before your kitchen is destroyed? Perhaps a set of disposable microwave safe freezer containers and a full-on cooking session.

Honestly, I'm more in-line with sucking it up and eating from a crock pot, rice cooker, waffle iron combination. (I guess paleos are more likely to pick up a countertop grilling thing than stick a porkchop into a waffle iron.)

Look up hot pots.... that's vegetables and thin meat boiled at the table.

If you can keep a crock-pot meat and veggie porridge going, it might just be "everyone showers with their own bowl" affair.

[PrincessHeather]

You could buy those steamer bags, they should be near the ziploc bags in the store. I've only ever used them to steam veggies, but supposedly you can cook cut up chicken or shrimp and such in them.

[Gobnait]

Duh, I was passively watching the blog-mistress of http://www.simpleorganizedliving.com/ deal with this. She's SAD and I recall she had a crock pot and no mention of avoiding dishes.

[Anivair]

I'd make a lot of stuff before it gets gutted (stew, soup, bone broth, etc) and cook that all up ahead of time and freeze it in meal-sized portions. Then just nuke it when you need to eat.

[BeachBabe]

If you can keep a crock-pot meat and veggie porridge going, it might just be "everyone showers with their own bowl" affair.

This is absolutely hilarious!!! Love it, thanks for tips.

[BeachBabe]

Duh, I was passively watching the blog-mistress of http://www.simpleorganizedliving.com/ deal with this. She's SAD and I recall she had a crock pot and no mention of avoiding dishes.

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out!

[BeachBabe]

You could buy those steamer bags, they should be near the ziploc bags in the store. I've only ever used them to steam veggies, but supposedly you can cook cut up chicken or shrimp and such in them.

I had no idea you could steam meats with those. That's awesome!!! Thanks

[BeachBabe]

I'd make a lot of stuff before it gets gutted (stew, soup, bone broth, etc) and cook that all up ahead of time and freeze it in meal-sized portions. Then just nuke it when you need to eat.

You're right Anivair- that's probably my best bet. I'll have to get to it this weekend!

[LRB]

Also, if you have close friends (emotionally AND physically close), you might be able to borrow their kitchen for a couple of hours of batch-cooking for freezing, especially if you offered to make them dinner in the process.

[MuayTyson]

A hot plate or griddle is rather inexpensive and can still be put to use after the kitchen is back in order.

[Ryan Sannar]

If you have an iron (like for clothes) and some aluminum foil you basically have a stove no plate either. Just toss the aluminum foil away after... or reuse. If you have access to a time machine you can go back to the 70's-80's and cook it on your car engine.

Option two. Put two or three eggs in a mug. Microwave one minute at a time, scrambling and putting it back in for a minute. You get scrambled eggs this way.another option is to cook them inside of a bell pepper instead of the mug. Same procedure.

You can shred zuchinni and microwave it with some water until soft. Then you have paleo spaghetti.

Local burger places can generally remove the bun if you ask (and if you're doing paleo).

Offer to pay for the ingredients and eat at a friends house.

If you have a slow cooker, you can toss a roast and some vegetables into it and cook in your room. No need to clean in the bathtub, just reuse within the day to avoid bacterial growth. (Soup and chili can be made as well).

Good luck.

[Raincloak]

ah, the good old days of cooking without a stove. I remember life in the dorms was like that. Boy, did I hate it. (Try googling "dorm cooking" for a few tips.) If you haven't yet gone full paleo, this might not be the best time to begin. But if you're determined...

Most things can be cooked in a microwave if you're careful. For instance, You don't need a steamer baggie to steam veggies in the microwave. Just rinse and chop the veggies, dump in microwave safe bowl, sprinkle with a little water (just a couple tablespoons), and nuke on moderate power until they're cooked. Check every minute or so and add more water if needed. I sometimes make "egg drop soup" in the microwave at work. You just heat up some broth to near boiling, beat an egg, then pour the egg into the broth and mix with a fork. Nuke it for another minute if the hot broth doesn't cook the egg all the way.

definitely see if you can borrow a friend's kitchen and stock up on freezer meals. It is unlikely one weekend's worth of cooking will get you through the whole month, but parcel it carefully with other means, and it should help a lot. Make some broth, hardboil a bunch of eggs, prep some sauces, etc.

also, consider buying an electric skillet, grill machine, hot pot, etc. It doesn't have to be nice since you're only gonna use it for a month. but it will give you the equivalent of one burner to work with. You can also use a rice cooker as a steamer, or even as an electric cookpot (though they're not supposed to get too hot, so this may be challenging).

don't forget nuts and canned fish, which are paleo approved and don't need cooking. You could also cheat a bit and get some natural sausages, salami, jerky or hot dogs that can be eaten cold. If you consume dairy, yogurt and cheese are also edible cold.

[BeachBabe]

Thanks for the tips! I'll probably use a combo of all of your advice to get me through