Guides
What to eat when your kitchen is in a box
Three meals a day, no counters, no drawers, one pan if you are lucky. This is the plan I use, day by day.
The kitchen is the first room to get packed and the last to get unpacked, and you still have to eat three times a day in between. Here is how I plan the food for a move, learned over five moves in two years.
The rule
Keep out one small box, labelled in big letters, with exactly what the week needs: a hot plate or a single pot and pan if the stove stays, a kettle, a sharp knife, a cutting board, a wooden spoon, dish soap and a sponge, a roll of paper towels, and the kit. Everything else gets packed. The box travels in the car, not the truck.
Three days before the move
Eat down the fridge
Plan dinners around what is already there. Anything frozen gets eaten first, because it will not survive the trip. Fresh vegetables go into whatever you cook, in any combination. Condiments get finished or thrown out. By the last night the fridge should hold milk, butter, eggs and not much else.
Cook once, eat twice
A big pot of something on the last night the stove is free: pasta, rice and beans, a stew, a tray of roasted vegetables. Half for dinner, half into a container for tomorrow's lunch. It is the only cooking that has to happen this week.
Packing day
Breakfast is whatever pours: cereal, yoghurt, fruit, toast if the toaster is still out. Lunch is the container from last night, eaten standing up. Dinner is pizza or takeout, and yes, it goes on a real plate, because eating out of a box on the floor of a house full of boxes is the low point of every move and it does not have to be.
Moving day
Coffee and something you can hold in one hand on the way out the door. Lunch is sandwiches made before the counters were cleared, or bought. Dinner at the new place is the first meal in the new kitchen, and it happens with nothing unpacked: takeout, or the simplest thing a hot plate can make, on plates from the kit, sitting on boxes. The utensils are wrapped, so nobody is hunting for a fork.
The first days after
Day one
Kettle out first. Eggs and toast, or oatmeal, for breakfast. Lunch is whatever the nearest shop sells. Dinner is a one-pan meal on the hot plate: eggs again, a stir-fry, quesadillas, sausages and a bag of salad. Nothing that needs a second pan.
Day two
Unpack the pantry box if there is one. Pasta with a jar of sauce is a two-pot meal if you want the sauce hot and a one-pot meal if you do not. Leftovers go on a platter for lunch.
Day three and after
By now the stove is connected or the hot plate has earned its keep. Cook whatever is easy. The kit keeps going until the dishes are unpacked and the dishwasher runs, which is the real end of the move.
Snacks and drinks
Buy more water than you think, and a bag of oranges, a jar of peanut butter, crackers and something salty. Moving is exercise. Keep a bowl from the kit on the counter with fruit in it; it makes the new kitchen feel like one.
The kits, for reference. The 3 day kit holds three 8 inch plates, three 6 inch plates, two bowls, a square platter and six wrapped utensil sets with napkins. The 5 day kit holds five 8 inch plates, three 6 inch plates, three bowls, two platters and ten utensil sets. Everything is palm leaf, sturdy enough for a real meal, and the utensils are fresh for every meal. See the kits
Questions
What can I actually cook when the kitchen is packed?
Anything that needs one pot, one pan, or no pan. A hot plate, an electric kettle and a toaster are worth keeping out until the last morning. Everything else can go in a box.
Do the plates hold up to hot food?
Yes. They are palm leaf, not thin paper, and they hold a full plate of hot food without buckling. Wash them lightly in warm water between meals and let them dry.
How many days should I plan for?
Count from the day you pack the kitchen to the day the first pan is unpacked at the other end, then round up. That is usually a day longer than you think.
Should I just order delivery every night?
You can, and most people do at least once. It gets expensive fast and it still needs a plate. Mixing two or three easy meals in keeps the week cheaper and calmer.
Last updated September 2026.