Last month, in the Substack Chat (a feature that I sometimes forget about!), a great topic came up thanks to Alison: protein-focused meal planning when you’re on the road. I’ve taken a screenshot up above.
I love this topic, and really love all the replies. To be honest, “portable meals” is one of my favorite categories of cooking and eating. Aren’t the rewards just so satisfying? A little bit of foresight and/or strategy reaps dividends.
It inspired a new feature in the newsletter: Ask a Friend, something of a hotline to ask questions about recipes, nutrition, meal prepping, grocery shopping, travel food, and anything else you think of that might feel pertinent to this space. When a good topic comes up, I’ll pull my thoughts together and do some research, and then hopefully you will be compelled to chime in with your ideas.
You can add questions and reply to them in the chat, or feel free to message me here on Substack or by responding to this email, and on a monthly basis, I’ll dig into one. Inspired by Alison’s question, today is the first installment.
Lest you think I’m on Brunch with Babs level of vacation/travel cooking, I’m focusing today’s Ask a Friend on store-bought components that make meal assembly from your destination easy. And to give the components a bit of an anchor, I’ve chosen a format that speaks straight to my ‘90’s-teenager heart: healthy, high-protein wraps.
Wraps are easy to make your own and require no special equipment when it comes to assembly, just some counter space. This makes them perfect for hotel rooms, wanting rental kitchens, camping, or even when the trunk of the car is your work space. Sealed in plastic or parchment, they’ll then keep for hours.
The extra advantage is that while the items below are nutrient-dense components for wraps, they’re also pretty handy foods to have around for snacking.
You probably know that these types of store-bought tortilla wraps are, across the board, quite processed. But I love them still. They hit a nostalgic chord, and are easy to find and easy to pack, no fear of crushing or damaging in transit. Just make sure to get the big, “burrito-sized” ones.
The wrap can be a good source of fiber when you seek out whole grain options or those advertised as high fiber, such as the Ole’ brand above. Some of the gluten-free or alt-grain tortillas, like almond- or cassava-flour ones, tend to be prone to tearing/cracking, at least in my experience. I save those for quesadillas.
Do you have a favorite wrap brand or alternative? (I wish these ready-to-cook roti/chapati were big enough to use.) Please share if so.
Again, this is convenience-focused rather than recipe-focused — the idea here is no prepping or pre-cooking required.
Canned, jarred, or precooked beans (such as steamed lentils or edamame), marinated beans, or spiced/sauced beans like those from Heyday Canning Co.
Seasoned tofu, such as the ones by Hodo Soy (I’m very interested in their new “Lightly Fried” Chili Crisp, Golden Turmeric, and Gochujang Tofu, which I haven’t yet seen at my grocery stores). Even unseasoned tofu works well as long as the other components deliver plenty of flavor; just try to find the vacuum-packed rather than water-packed varieties, so that the wrap doesn’t get soggy as it sits
Boiled eggs, of course — in a pinch get these at the grocery store, though I have to admit something about a sealed bag of boiled, peeled eggs on the shelf grosses me out
Cheese: slabs of feta, cheddar, or mozzarella, or another substantial cheese
Other prepared protein like tinned fish, deli meats, leftover cooked chicken are of course also super handy here
If you don’t have time to prep vegetables in advance, pre-cut, ready-to-eat veggies and vegetable mixes will slot right in (though, given current events, it’s still probably a good idea to give them a wash).
Bulking fresh veg, like chopped or shredded cabbage, crunchy lettuce like romaine or gem lettuce, or a prepared slaw or other salad mixes
Crunchy, quenching veg, such as sliced cucumbers, shredded carrots, sliced radishes, bell peppers, a prepared crudités medley
Sprouts help bulk things up and add plenty of freshness: alfalfa sprouts, sunflower sprouts, micro greens, sprouts blends
Crisp fruits like apple or pear slices add a little sweetness and crunch
Think of these as the accessories, adding personality and concentrated bites of flavor.
Antipasti are one of my favorite things in this category: Roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, marinated mushrooms, olives. If there’s an olive or antipasto bar at the grocery store, you can customize your own mix
Pickles: quick-pickled onions, cucumber pickles, giardiniera, pickled hot peppers or pepperoncini peppers
If time allows: Grilled or caramelized onions packed into a tub, adding tons of deep flavor. A packed of grilled onions, peppers, and other veggies works similarly.
Dried fruit like cranberries, cherries, currants, raisins, diced dried apples add fun pops of sweetness
Store-bought dips for smearing or drizzling: Pesto, hummus, tzatziki, guacamole, baba ganoush — and Bitchin’ Sauce is a summer favorite of mine
Spiked yogurt, made in advance right in the tub it comes in: Season Greek yogurt to taste with hot sauce, ranch seasonings, tahini, hot honey, or just some garlic powder and salt
Spreadable cheese: Cream cheese or flavored cream cheese, cashew cheese, labneh, goat cheese
Classic sandwich condiments: Mustard (honey-mustard for me, please), mayonnaise or vegenaise, oil and vinegar, hot sauce
These are more of a “nice to have” than a “need to have” — and essentially great snacks to stock up on, too.
Dry-roasted beans, like chickpeas, lentils, or edamame: I recently found these Ranch Flavored Dry-Roasted Edamame in a snack-pack format from Costco and have been a bit obsessed: 12 grams protein and 4 grams fiber per pack.
Roasted/toasted nuts like almonds, cashews, walnuts…. or coconut chips
Tempeh Chips: I’ve only come across these Mamame tempeh chips once at the grocery store but I loved them. Evidently there’s also a TJ’s brand, and now I’m curious about making them at home, too.
Cheese crisps like Whisps or Parm Crisps
What am I missing here? Please chime in, and let me know if there’s another topic you’d like me to explore next month!
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