How do you feed yourself!

[Marie]

Hi!

I'm a brand new member and I'm warning you this is probably going to be one of the stupidest questions ever. When you're in a hostel that has a kitchen how exactly does it work?

Do you have to buy a whole box of pasta or an entire loaf of bread? If there is a fridge, can you just put a carton of juice in it?

I've just started planing my first trip to Europe for next summer, I've been before but this is the first time on my own, so I'll probably be asking a whole lot of questions.

One more thing, I think this website is FANTASTIC especially this message board. It's so useful, informative and friendly! I'm reading all of it! Thanks!

Marie

[Kim]

Hi Marie,

Not a dumb question at all!

Basically, you shop for yourself just like you would at home-you have to buy all the things you need. If you end up travelling with a few people, it's common to split things. You get good at buying only a few items so they won't waste and you don't have to lug them from city to city.

If there is a fridge, everyone is allowed to use it. Basically what usually happens is you have to write your name (and sometimes the date) so they know it hasn't been left by an old guest. Fridges usually have a certain cleaning date (say, every Friday) and if your things aren't labelled, they get thrown away.

This is one thing we made quite often;

Boil spaghetti noodles.

Steam some vegetables (carrots, brocolli etc)

Fry some garlic in a pan and added steamed vegetables. Add some soy sauce and let the vegetables cook in it for a bit.

Add cooked noodles, let the whole thing cook a bit.

Sounds bad, but it's just a quick stirfry. This way you only end up with a bit of garlic, a small bottle of soy and some pasta-which are all light and can be brought to the next city. Gives you a bit of a break from noodles and tomato sauce!

For hostels that don't offer breakfast, buying a box of cereal is easy. Only buy a small container of milk-whatever you will need for that city. When you are ready to travel, take the cereal out of the box and just take the bag of it (tape it shut).

Glad you like my site and these boards-we look forward to answering your questions!

Kim

[Patrick]

Welcome Marie! Don't worry about asking questions you may think are dumb. I always say that if you don't know something and don't ask, how will you ever find the answer, right?!

[Marie]

Thanks for answering so quickly! So there's usually all the cooking pots and pans and utensils at your disposal? And if you leave things in the fridge, will other people take some? I used to work at a camp andlets juts say your orange juice would disapear rather quickly!

Marie

[Kim]

If there is a kitchen, it's usually fully stocked with pots, pans etc. A kitchen is a great bonus in a hostel, cooking for yourself will save you a lot of money. Many hostels don't have them though, it's worth doing a little research on which do have them.

If you do leave things in the fridge, there is always that risk of someone taking/using them. I usually put it in a plastic bag and tie the top, then write my name on that.
That way it seems not to be so appealing and a bit harder to get at. Never had anything go missing!

Kim

[nitsansh]

I had my food stolen from the refrigirator once, at Helsinki stadium hostel. It was very frustrating!!

Best hostels as far as self catering is concerned are in the Brittish Isles and Scandinavia. In England and Scotland many hostels have in-house shops, which is very convenient, and they often sell food in small quantities you rarely see in supermarkets.

[snorkelman]

you can always find stuff at a grocery store to eat in a hostel. I rarely ever brought left overs with me. Too much wasted weight. I have even bought a whole pack of hot dogs for about $2 and had a few as a meal. Who says that you must have a hotdog on a bun?

I liked buying a bagget (bread) and maybe a cooked chicken or cold cuts or cheese. Nothing saying that you have to cook pasta every night. Pasta is always cheap. the sauce is what gets expensive.

In a hostel you might be able to share food or pay others for them to give you some ingredients or to cook an extra portion of food for you if you are really lazy and have extra cash.

But if you budget about $60USD per day you will usually be able to eat out many of your meals and will not have to cook much. If you try and budget only $40USD per day, you will be cooking almost all of your own meals.

I always ate 3 meals per day plus some snacks. I always tried to get a pastry for breakfast. Pastry and a 1/2 liter of orange juice usually is $3 or less. If you buy a 1/2 liter of OJ or milk and you don't want to finish it, offer it to someone else, and if nobody wants it, then trhow it out. Don't carry around too much food with you - way too much weight.

if you want emergency food, then have a few granola bars. Otherwise, buy it as you need it (this means buy food before getting on a long train ride).