Toward Ecosophy

I travel for work a lot, often 2-3 weeks at a time. I check a bag and carry two carry-ons, so I have a bit of room (I need it for my safety gear). Most hotels have a microwave and a mini-fridge in each room; occasionally you'll have to go to the lobby to use a microwave. To save money and eat healthier, I carry a ceramic microwave plate for cooking meat, a ceramic noodle pot with a lid, and a french press for real coffee. So I go to the grocery store and get chopped vegetables, chopped meat, ramen, potatoes, salad fixin's, yogurt, sandwich bread, mayo, and deli meat & cheese, a few canned goods, a local good coffee roast, honey, and cream, and I'm fixed up for the week. I eat natto too, so I've ended up learning the locations of Asian grocery stores in locations as diverse as Huntsville, Buffalo, St. Louis, and Omaha (one of my favorites!).

I have searched in vain for a small electric hot pot or cooker that is 1) without nasty chemical non-stick coatings, 2) safe to use on a regular countertop, 3) not a piece of cheap, designed by a pyrophiliac, self-immolating Chinese junk. So, I consider using the room microwave the lesser of two evils.

A few other useful items: a water bottle instead of bottled water, a car coffee mug instead of paper cups, a big, folding, reusable shopping bag for dirty laundry instead of garbage bags, and laundry detergent that comes in dry sheets that I can slip into a ziplock bag.