Four flexible foods to stock your next Airbnb home: bread, eggs, potatoes and nuts
If you’re sitting in your rental home and can’t think what to eat, here are four essential food items that are cheap, delicious and can be found in groceries all over the world
With private accommodation rentals being such a popular option for so many travellers, preparing for your next getaway with readily available, multipurpose meal items will give you more time for making meaningful memories and enjoying the atmosphere.
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While I always make room in my budget for fun local ingredients and a few fancy accents, I also make it a point to maintain a working list of basic items around which I can craft a multitude of menus.
Here are four favourites.
Eggs
I’m all about bringing plant-based protein to the holiday dining table, but finding tofu in places such as rural Morocco is easier said than done. When I’m on the road in places unknown, I find I can always count on eggs. Boiled for a fast portion of protein in a packed lunch, cooked with potatoes in a Spanish omelette, or added to a fried noodle dish, eggs can provide the basis for filling and delicious meals anywhere in the world.
Nuts
Provided you don’t have an allergy, nuts can be a frequent traveller’s saving grocery grace. They can tide you over during a long airport delay, serve as an impromptu picnic snack or be a basic part of a packed lunch.
Dry roasted peanuts can be eaten by the handful with fruit and a bottle of water, added to fried rice, or chopped and used as a soup garnish. So can almonds, cashews and pistachios.
Bread
While tortilla wraps are popular when it comes to whipping up breakfast burritos and easy lunch sandwiches, my money’s on English muffins.
An unsung hero of the baked goods aisle, these cost-effective, calorie-conscious goodies can be used to create everything from a vegetarian eggs Benedict to miniature toaster oven pizzas.
Other ideas include basic breakfast sandwiches and an alternative to avocado toast. Whether your holiday food shopping options include a high-priced gourmet grocer or you only have access to a discount store, this flexible bread item is always affordable.
Artisanal loaves can also elevate simple meals. Sliced and toasted as breadsticks, cubed and added to a salad, or sliced for elegant open sandwiches, choosing a great loaf from the farmers market can make you feel like you are living large for less.
Potatoes
Inexpensive, flexible and able to be transported on road trips without a cooler, potatoes bring a great deal of variety to the traveller’s dinner table. Serve fresh from the oven with a topping bar for a family of picky eaters, slice and bake for a casserole, shred for hash browns or chop up for a chowder. The options are extensive, and the price tag practically perfect.
Figuring out your shortlist of favourite food items for stocking your holiday rental is about more than keeping your travel budget on track. Having fun, easy meals to prepare means you can spend more time enjoying where you are staying. Whether the purpose of your trip is to enjoy the slopes or splash in the surf, having easy-to-prepare groceries you can predictably access at numerous locations around the world will help keep meal prep on autopilot.
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Lifestyle and travel expert Myscha Theriault has sold her home, all her furniture and most of her other belongings to travel the world full-time with her husband. You can follow her adventures on Instagram via @MyschaTheriault.
