One of the challenges of staying at a resort and hotel room is that you usually do not have access to an oven, stove, or other appliances used for cooking. This can make it difficult to cook real meals. A microwave can be handy for reheating some items, but you may start to feel limited. However, there are some tricks you can use to cook real meals using portable appliances such as a coffee pot, hair dryer, or an iron.

Cooking With A Coffee Pot

A coffee pot is a very common appliance included in hotel rooms. Not only might you be given a free cup of coffee, but the pot can be used to cook meals that would otherwise require a range and a pot to boil water on. For example, you could place instant noodles in the coffee pot, fill the coffee maker with water, turn the pot on and allow the pot to heat up the water and the water will boil the noodles. Make sure to clean the coffee pot thoroughly before using it to cook noodles so that the food does not have a coffee taste. If the coffee pot has a strong chemical smell or has a reddish stain, do not use it. Other foods that can be made using a coffee pot include:

• Oatmeal
• Soft-boiled eggs
• Steamed vegetables
• Instant rice 

After you understand the concept of using the coffee pot to cook food, you will think of other options.

Heating Up Food

An iron has the power to replace the skillet. Whatever you will be cooking with the iron needs to be wrapped in aluminum foil before you begin cooking. This approach can be used to cook eggs, grilled cheese and anything else that you could cook with a skillet. Make sure to turn off the steam and set the setting to linen. The water reservoir for the iron should be empty. Otherwise, your iron will not reach the temperature that is necessary to effectively cook. If you simply need to heat up something you have taken out of the fridge, you could use a hair dryer as an alternative to a microwave. 

If improvised cooking appliances are not good enough, the next best option is to purchase a portable range. These are devices that can be plugged into a wall and will serve as a single electric burner. Since they are small and highly portable, it is easy to transport one in a carry-on bag.