I'm starting to wonder what would be the best food if I were to buy food on the road be? I'm thinking stuff like ramen and pastas would be good, but what about shit that spoils, what's a good way to persevere it in a van without a mini fridge?
Best Food?
- Thread starter SpiderCricket
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Roosterruler
Deleted Account
I've never found Ramen to be worth it. The body burns through it so fast and I end up feeling like crap in the end.
Brown rice can be insanely cheap, when bought in bulk. Same with rolled oats (instant oats are almost as bad as ramen). Maybe your body is kinder than mine.
For me, if I'm on a budget, I find I save money by buying better quality food (ex. wasa crackers instead of ramen or bread).
I haven't gotten sick off of hummus that isn't kept chilled... that's my favourite travel food. Hummus and spinach and a red pepper on a cracker.
In my van, I also like to cook with eggs. If you can get 'em straight from the farm, no need to refrigerate. I like to cook up eggs and toast with coconut oil over the small marine stove I've got in my truck. Best wait to start the morning (that or porridge) and making the fire heats up the whole truck pretty fast. Basic soup in the evening holds me over till the next day.
I've heard a lot of mixed reviews of the terra-cotta fridge - although can't speak from experience.
I think the "shit that spoils" is something sort of given up when you move into a van - unless you've got the means to keep it chill. There's a whole range of foods out there that don't need to be kept cold. I just skip dairy and meat. Left-overs can usually be consumed within 24 hours.
One of my favourite meals I grew up eating outside was potatoes + assorted veggies, ketchup, and pepper all wrapped up in foil and cooked over a fire. No dishes to deal with if you give the fork a good lick with your tongue when you're done.
Brown rice can be insanely cheap, when bought in bulk. Same with rolled oats (instant oats are almost as bad as ramen). Maybe your body is kinder than mine.
For me, if I'm on a budget, I find I save money by buying better quality food (ex. wasa crackers instead of ramen or bread).
I haven't gotten sick off of hummus that isn't kept chilled... that's my favourite travel food. Hummus and spinach and a red pepper on a cracker.
In my van, I also like to cook with eggs. If you can get 'em straight from the farm, no need to refrigerate. I like to cook up eggs and toast with coconut oil over the small marine stove I've got in my truck. Best wait to start the morning (that or porridge) and making the fire heats up the whole truck pretty fast. Basic soup in the evening holds me over till the next day.
I've heard a lot of mixed reviews of the terra-cotta fridge - although can't speak from experience.
I think the "shit that spoils" is something sort of given up when you move into a van - unless you've got the means to keep it chill. There's a whole range of foods out there that don't need to be kept cold. I just skip dairy and meat. Left-overs can usually be consumed within 24 hours.
One of my favourite meals I grew up eating outside was potatoes + assorted veggies, ketchup, and pepper all wrapped up in foil and cooked over a fire. No dishes to deal with if you give the fork a good lick with your tongue when you're done.
The problem with quinoa is that with it becoming so popular now, the price has risen, thus leaving the indigenous people who grow it unable to afford it anymore.
Barley is an excellent grain, gives you plenty of long lasting energy.
taters work, roasting ears are good. plain ole white rice is good.
course ya need a pot with a lid for rice(slowly pour white rice into boiling water. ratio is two water, one rice. stir it when it all gets in for a moment, reduce to slow simmer, put on lid and wait 20 minutes[longer above 4000 feet] )
taters and roasting ears can be wrapped in tinfoil and tossed in a fire, but the tinfoil is not 100% necessary. if ya can score some of the little butter cup from a truckstop they go well with corn or taters. roasting ears does well with being soaked a while before tossing in the coals.
gotta have salt at least, salt and pepper is better.
pears, apples, oranges, last a long time. bananas are good but don't last long. same with grapes. cherrys seem to last a while longer as long as they arnt crushed.
theres been some talk recently on the forum about really old traveling foods like hardtack and pemmican. takes some preparation in a kitchen setting really, but lasts a long, long time. course pemmican uses animal fats and chunks of meat so that might not be your thing.
I guess I went at the question with the idea of durable foods that are nutritious.
course ya need a pot with a lid for rice(slowly pour white rice into boiling water. ratio is two water, one rice. stir it when it all gets in for a moment, reduce to slow simmer, put on lid and wait 20 minutes[longer above 4000 feet] )
taters and roasting ears can be wrapped in tinfoil and tossed in a fire, but the tinfoil is not 100% necessary. if ya can score some of the little butter cup from a truckstop they go well with corn or taters. roasting ears does well with being soaked a while before tossing in the coals.
gotta have salt at least, salt and pepper is better.
pears, apples, oranges, last a long time. bananas are good but don't last long. same with grapes. cherrys seem to last a while longer as long as they arnt crushed.
theres been some talk recently on the forum about really old traveling foods like hardtack and pemmican. takes some preparation in a kitchen setting really, but lasts a long, long time. course pemmican uses animal fats and chunks of meat so that might not be your thing.
I guess I went at the question with the idea of durable foods that are nutritious.
yeah, that's what i've been hearing for a while.
check out this article though
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/...n_farmers_ignore_the_media_hand_wringing.html
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EmberRabbi
Deleted Account
If you have a van, get a A/C adapter and a food dehydrator. Any fruit, veggies, and even meat will dry and store longer than you'll ever need. Also, fermented dairy, like butter, cheese(till it grows mold), and yogurt(a few days) will keep long enough. Eggs keep for a few days if it's not the summer, if you have been eating from dumpsters on the regular a little salmonella won't even phase ya.
-salted bacon lasts a week before it goes rancid in the summer. before then you could preserve it by smoking the meat over a camp fire. you could use a tarp of just about anything to keep the smoke contained around the bacon laid over a stick. (the make beef jerky by putting them on stainless rods and putting in a locker for many hours in wood smoke)
-hard cheeses don't need a fridge and for that matter most cheeses with a low water content. (most were probably aged in cave temps or something like that)
-I usually carry powdered milk and a good water filter. water is heavy.
-raman is ok...but so is spagetti or any other noodle. egg noodles are tasty. its only carbs, humans need way more than just carbs and protein or you end up with stiuff like scurvy.
-single packs are the most awesome thing for backpacks. its basic spacebag food that you can buy with food stamps.
-carry your spices in straws and you can carry a huge variety
hope this helps.....
-joni
-hard cheeses don't need a fridge and for that matter most cheeses with a low water content. (most were probably aged in cave temps or something like that)
-I usually carry powdered milk and a good water filter. water is heavy.
-raman is ok...but so is spagetti or any other noodle. egg noodles are tasty. its only carbs, humans need way more than just carbs and protein or you end up with stiuff like scurvy.
-single packs are the most awesome thing for backpacks. its basic spacebag food that you can buy with food stamps.
-carry your spices in straws and you can carry a huge variety
hope this helps.....
-joni