Eating healthy, home-cooked (vegetarian) meals while travelling can be challenging, but it’s easier with a kitchen! Long-term hotels, vacation homes, and some resorts have a full-size kitchen that I am happy to utilize.
The following shopping and recipe list provides 14 healthy meals (That’s 7 days of lunches and dinners for 1 person, or 7 meals each for 2 people). These oil-free, low-sodium, low-fat vegetarian recipes share a lot of the same ingredients, so they are cost-efficient, and at the end of my trip, I have no waste!
SHOPPING LIST:
For Recipes (x12 meals – see Recipes section below):
- Vegetable (or mushroom) broth, 7-8 cups (2 32 oz. boxes)
- Onion, 3 medium
- Garlic, 1 medium bulb
- Bell pepper, 3 medium
- Tomatoes, 3 medium
- Sweet potato, 2 medium
- Black beans (or pinto beans), 1 cup uncooked
- Lentils, 1 cup uncooked
- Quinoa, 2 cups uncooked (~12 oz. bag)
- Spaghetti Sauce, 25 oz. jar
- Spaghetti Squash, 1 medium (if it’s out of season, then any healthy pasta)
For Salads (x2 meals) and Snacks:
- Spinach and raw veggies
- Nuts and seeds
- (Healthy) Chips
- Fresh fruit
- Hummus (for salads and dipping)
- Salsa (for salads, dipping, and topping on meals)
- Dark chocolate!
For Breakfast (x7):
- Ezekiel cereal or granola
- Almond milk, 7 cups (2 32-ounce boxes)*
- Berries
- If the hotel has a blender, I use any leftover almond milk, fruit including berries, spinach, and cucumbers to make delicious and nutritious smoothies.
RECIPES:
Garlic, Onions, Bell Peppers, and Tomatoes (Prep)
- Vegetable (or mushroom) broth, 2 cups
- Onion, 3 medium
- Garlic, 1 medium bulb
- Bell pepper, 3 medium
- Tomatoes, 3 medium
- Brown the onions on medium heat.
- Add 2 cup broth, add the garlic and bell peppers. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the chopped tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Spaghetti Squash w/ Chunky Sauce (4 meals)
- Spaghetti Squash, 1 medium (if it’s out of season, then use healthy pasta)
- Spaghetti Sauce, 16 oz. jar
- Bake the spaghetti squash in the oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Cut it in half and use a fork to serve the spaghetti-like squash noodles.
- Warm a jar of spaghetti sauce. Add 1/4 of the Garlic-Onions-Bell Peppers-Tomatoes mix. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the chunky spaghetti sauce to the spaghetti squash noodles.

Sweet Potato with Beans (4 meals)
- Water, 6 cups
- Vegetable broth, 1 cup
- Sweet Potato, 4 medium
- Black beans (or pinto beans), 1 cup uncooked
- Soak the beans overnight.
- Boil the water, add the black beans, and simmer for 4 hours. Drain.
- Add 1 cup broth and 1/4 of the Garlic-Onions-Bell Peppers-Tomatoes mix. Simmer for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bake the sweet potato at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Combine all ingredients into each sweet potato.
Quinoa and Lentils (4 meals)
- Water, 3 cups
- Vegetable broth, 4 cups
- Lentils, 1 cup uncooked
- Quinoa (or brown rice), 2 cups uncooked
- Boil 3 cups water, add the lentils, and simmer for 25 minutes. Drain.
- Separately, boil 4 cups vegetable broth, add the quinoa, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Combine all ingredients. Add 50% of the Garlic-Onions-Bell Peppers-Tomatoes mix. Simmer for 15 minutes.