Food Jabber

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Me and My CRV – Minimal Prep, Healthy Affordable Eats (2022)

I call this the simple, healthy, and budget-friendly approach to eating while living out of my car.

Kitchen:

Sticking to the simple theme, my “kitchen” consists of the following:

  • MSR Pocket Rocket stove
  • Stansport Black Granite Solo II cook pot (30 ounce capacity, 5.75″ x 2.5″)
  • Scooper Spatula

Shopping List:

I store perishables in a cooler and have found block ice to have the best longevity.

Fruits

  • Bananas
  • Apples
  • Citrus (Tangerines, Mandarins, Oranges, etc)
  • Avocados (fresh or in individual serving cups)
  • Berries, Cherries, Grapes
  • Raisins/Craisins
  • Fruit and Applesauce cups

Vegetables

  • Bagged Salad, Slaw or Spinach
  • Miniature Bell Peppers, Baby Carrots, Tiny Tomatoes
  • Cucumbers
  • Packaged Sugar Peas, Edamame, Broccoli Florets, etc.

Proteins

  • Cheese (sliced, string or block)
  • Precooked Frozen Chicken Pieces/Strips (lasts a few days on ice)
  • Eggs (Raw/Hard Boiled)
  • Yogurt (drinkable or eatable)
  • Packaged Tuna/Chicken/Salmon
  • Deli Meat/Cheese
  • Nuts/Seeds
  • Peanut/Almond Butter

Breads/Grains

  • Tortillas/Flat Bread/Pita Bread (for wraps)
  • Sandwich Thins/Regular Bread
  • Crackers
  • Muesli/Granola
  • Quick Cook Grains (i.e. Couscous, Instant Rice, etc.)

Prepared Foods

  • Frozen Stir Fry Vegetables (with pasta or grains)
  • Hummus
  • Deli Salads
  • Avocado/Guacamole Cups

Meal/Snack Options:

Breakfast

  • Hot muesli with fruit
  • Soft/hard boiled eggs on tortilla
  • Yogurt with fruit and granola

Lunch

  • Bagged salad with protein (hard boiled eggs, chicken, tuna, cheese, etc), raw vegetables, plus fruit
  • Wrap/sandwich or crackers with hummus or avocado, greens, protein (hard boiled eggs, chicken, tuna, cheese, etc) plus a side of fruits and/or raw vegetables
  • Snack options

Dinner

  • Lunch options
  • Stir fry with protein
  • Deli salad with protein

Snacks

  • Yogurt with fruit
  • Protein (i.e. string cheese, hard boiled eggs, deli meat, nuts, etc.) with fruit or raw vegetables

Tips:

  • Add a little water to pan before heating prepared meals
  • IMO items purchased from freezer don’t have to stay frozen to stay safe (i.e. precooked chicken)
  • Single serve items (i.e. avocado, hummus, PB and fruit cups) are easier to manage
  • I don’t carry a cutting board so I prefer bite size vegetables such as mini carrots, mini peppers, small tomatoes, etc.
  • Making my own hard boiled eggs has been a game changer. The prepacked ones have an odd odor and flavor.
  • When I’m craving melons I usually buy ready-to-eat packages. The price is worth avoiding a huge mess and storage or waste issues, plus I don’t carry a large knife.
  • Fruit stands and local farmer’s market are a great way to get produce however keep in mind you might not have a way to clean it, thus the reason I usually avoid most unpackaged produce in stores when traveling.
  • I tend to avoid trail food such as dehydrated meals, bars and jerky when I have access to better quality fresh or “real” food.
  • I avoid items that require long boil times like pasta since I’m relying on fuel canisters.

Examples:

These images might give you a few more ideas.

It might feel overwhelming, but by sticking to the basics, and adding a little variety, you might be less tempted to choose empty calories filled with excessive amounts of salt and preservatives.

While traveling this year I’ll add some photos from my shopping cart and will update this post with more meal ideas. Until then, if you have suggestions please comment below.

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2020 – A Decade of Lessons Learned . . . Eats Drinks and More

Lessons Learned:

  1. I prefer simple and don’t mind repetitive.
  2. Food is fuel; fuel is power.
  3. Try before you carry.
  4. Quantity, quality and quickness matter.
  5. Homemade is best.
  6. It’s an evolving process.
  7. Repackage for weight savings and portion control.

What I take depends a bit on whether I’m prepping from home or on the road, whether I’ll be out for a few days or multiple weeks, and whether I’ll be mailing food in a resupply box.  Basically I’m lazy but I prefer homemade meals and I’m budget conscious. I don’t cook, instead I use boiling water to rehydrate. Figuring out how much food and drink is part science part art. It’s a formula each person needs to figure out for themselves. The biggest challenge is adjusting your personal formula for conditions and situations such as:

  • Day 1 vs 5 vs 21 (hiker hunger kicks in around week 3)
  • Base elevation
  • Temperature
  • Calories burned

Breakfast:

A few times a year, I’ll make huge batches of muesli. I’ve started using Bob’s Red Mill Old Country Style Muesli as the base, then add flax, chia, brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon, nuts, etc. I fill snack size ziplocks using a wide mouth funnel. In camp I pour into a 16-oz Ziploc Twist N Loc Container, add hot coffee and let it sit 5-10 minutes. Yes, I said coffee. I use the Starbucks VIA packets and add one to full pot of water boiled in my Jetboil. It’s my two-in-one prep. I can drink hot coffee while waiting for my cereal to hydrate.

Lunch:

I tend to favor wraps. Most often I’ll bring hard boiled eggs, cheese sticks or extra sharp cheddar and tortillas. I usually throw in a bag of spinach or slaw and maybe an avocado or hummus/avocado spread. It’s convenient that these come in single serve containers now. They say refrigerate but I’ve traveled with them in my pack for several days without issue (except in extreme heat).

Dinner:

Keeping it simple I have a few items I rotate between with all repackaged in snack size ziplock bags. The requirement is calorie dense, tasty and suitable for quick rehydration with boiling water.

  • Mixed grains, beans and greens – I usually make and dehydrate a huge batch with rotating spices.
  • Idahoan potatoes – I prefer the 4 cheese variety and usually buy the family size.
  • Rice noodles with pasta sauce – This is my favorite meal. I make my own sauce and bring a cube of Lotus rice ramen which I crunch up and add to the dry sauce and then rehydrate together.
  • Other meals – I like to dehydrate what I normally eat at home. This might includes some of the following:
    • Turkey, barley, vegetable soup
    • Beef stew with potatoes and carrots
    • Teriyaki turkey, rice and veges
  • Knorrs rice sides are a reliable option. If I don’t have time to prepare meals in advance this is a regular in my rotation.

I’ve had terrible luck rehydrating pasta so as much as I like macaroni and cheese or other noodle-based dishes, they stay home. There are plenty of other options such as rice, quinoa, barley, couscous, and ramen.

Snacks:

Hard boiled eggs are my favorite. You can now buy them in 2 packs at most grocery and convenience stores.

For other protein options I usually brings nuts and might bring jerky or peanut butter. I prefer salty to sweet snacks.

I’ve tried lots of bars and have found I don’t like protein bars. I try to buy my favorites by the box when they are on sale so I always have them conveniently available. My current favorites are:

  • Nature Valley Almond Butter Biscuits
  • Nature Valley Crunch Oats n Dark Chocolate
  • Nature Bakery Fig Bar
  • Luna Bars (Lemon, Blueberry and Peppermint)

Drinks:

I don’t like sweetener in my water and will only go that route for really bad tasting water. I tried several options while on the Arizona Trail and found I preferred cold vanilla coffee, grape or orange flavoring, and recently discovered Cusa powdered teas. I suffer in the heat and have found Himalayan Pink Salt Crystals preferable to electrolyte tablets or drink additives.

How much water? That’s a challenging question and one I discuss further in my post “water, water, water.”

Related Posts:

Links:

Disclosure: Amazon affiliate links may be included which provide me a tiny kickback to help pay for this site.

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Food Jabber – Dehydrating Olives

My friend WhyNot?! introduced me to dehydrated olives. WOW, what a fantastic multi-use piece of gold, or in this case green or black. Where else can you get flavor, healthy fat, sodium and 250 calories per ounce? They are equally good as a snack or as a flavor additive. While many people may need to avoid for the sodium content, hikers sweat especially in the summer and need to replace sodium. I prefer to replace mine with food rather than manufactured options.

I was running short on time so I didn’t shop around to find a nice big gallon jar. I’ve heard some Costco stores carry kalamata olives. I bought store brand green olives as I prefer over the black variety. Online research indicates nutrition is about the same.

Step 1

Drain, rinse, and pat dry olives

Step 2

Cut the olives in half

Step 3

Place the olives cut side down on dehydrator tray.

Pro tip: the liner trays (link) prevent small pieces from falling through and make it easier to transfer items to a bowl  

Step 4

Set dehydrator to 125F degrees for 8-12 hours

End result

I turned 48 ounces of raw olives into 8.5 ounces of dehydrated goodness. That’s 2200 calories in 2 cups!

Suggested Uses

Add to salads, tortilla wraps, meals, trail mix, or just enjoy one bite at a time.

Links

Jan’s Jaunts – Food Jabber

Amazon Affiliate Products:

 

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Long-Distance Hiking and Backpacking Skills, Summary Post

As hikers get ready for another season on trail, I thought it might be helpful to provide links to a few of my popular articles.

Safety first:

Beginners:

Long Distance:

Navigation:

2017 PCT Hiker Survey Results:

PCTA Words of Wisdom:

Let me know if you have questions or would like me to cover additional topics in the future. Have a fantastic hiking season!

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Food Jabber – Greens To Go

Do you want an easy and economical way to add greens to your backpacking meals? Spinach is my vege of choice as it goes with everything and it’s a quick no fuss, no prep dehydrating project.

Step 1:

Place baby spinach leaves on dehydrator trays. A 12 ounce bag fills my 5 Nesco trays.

Step 2:

Dry the leaves. On my Nesco, I set temperature to 125F and cook for 8-12 hours. I rotate trays maybe once or twice.  Leaves need to be dry and crunchy. 

Step 3:

Remove leaves from tray. I find tipping the tray into a large bowl is the easiest. 

Step 4:

Crumble the leaves. I like filling a gallon ziplock bag and then mashing with a rolling pin. Any leaves that don’t crumble are not sufficiently dry. Either toss those leaves or put them back into the dehydrator. If you add to your completed batch you’ll run the risk of mold. 

It takes about 20 ounces of fresh leaves to make 2 cups of dry spinach crumbles. I add a pinch or two to all my dinners before rehydrating such as mashed potatoes, rice-based meals, hummus, etc.

Link to more Food Jabber posts

 

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Food Jabber – Budget, Time, and Health Friendly Meal Prep

Food is fuel and while many can get away with Pop Tarts, Snickers and Top Ramen as their primary nutrition, it doesn’t work for me. Others have big wallets and live on Mountain House meals. The majority of hikers though find themselves somewhere in between. I’ve experimented a lot over the years and this is what I’ve found works for my current lifestyle.

Breakfast

At home, I eat low carb, high protein. I’ve never been able to tolerate sweets in the morning. If I don’t start my day with protein, I bonk. I’ve created my own cereal mix which can be eaten hot or cold. It has sufficient calories and protein to keep me climbing hills while also keeping my taste buds satisfied.

Pick your ingredients and customize to match your personal palate. You can easily increase the protein by adding nuts, milk or quinoa.

For this batch I started with a multigrain cereal (rye, barley, oats and wheat). Then added steel cut oats, regular oats, flax, chia and hemp seeds, bran, dried fruit, cinnamon, brown sugar and the secret ingredient, egg white protein powder which has 16 grams of protein per 1/4 cup, is tasteless and dissolves easily. Buying in the bulk food bins makes this even more economical. This large bowl made 45 servings (heaping 1/2 cup dry). I didn’t price out the ingredients so not really sure of cost per serving but I’m sure a fraction of prepackaged cereal.

Tip: use a wide-mouth funnel to fill bags to keep crumbs out of zip track. 

Another option I’ve discovered is crackers combined with a protein-rich spread. Each of these makes a 400 calorie meals with 10 grams of protein. 

As part of my second breakfast, I like to have cold coffee with chia seeds (60 calories per tablespoon and 3 grams of protein). SmartWater bottle + vanilla coffee + chia seeds = YUM! Tip: use a funnel to fill the pill bag. Cut the corner of the bag to pour into bottle (avoid spillage in wilderness especially near water supply). Tip: leave bottle on side while seeds are absorbing water, shake frequently, otherwise you’ll have an undrinkable glob at bottom of bottle.

Lunch and/or Dinner:

Although I much prefer homemade meals, they are time consuming to create and dehydrate, plus they tend to have a shorter shelf life and are sensitive to heat. Thus, I choose to take the easy, but less delicious route. My meals need to work with hot or cold water since I frequently hike stoveless. I don’t like packaged meat such as tuna, chicken, spam, etc. so I use soy (TVP) as my protein instead. I’ve not had success rehydrating regular pasta with cold water but have found bean-based products by Explore Cuisine work great and are a perfect substitute.

Base ingredients:

  • Instant rice
  • Instant potatoes
  • Rice sides
  • Bean noodles
  • Couscous
  • Quinoa

Primary sources of protein:

Flavorings:

  • Seasoning packets (i.e. taco, spaghetti, stew, pesto)
  • Bouillon
  • Powdered cheese
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Olive oil

Sample Meals:

  • Instant rice + TVP + refried beans + taco seasoning
  • Instant potatoes + TVP + powdered cheese + red pepper flakes
  • Edamame noodles + TVP + bouillon seasoning
  • Adzuki noodles + TVP + spaghetti sauce seasoning
  • Stuffing mix + couscous + TVP

Within a few hours, I packaged up nearly 70 meals. My portion size is about 1/2 cup dry.

Snacks:

I prefer savory to sweet. My base ingredients tend to be nut based, then I add various flavors to different bags so I don’t get the same mix daily. 

Bars are my least favorite snack, especially protein bars. I seem to carry them around more than I ever eat them . . . My motto is keep trying new things and have a nice assortment to choose from. The Trader Joe Sweet and Salty granola bar was my latest purchase. In the future I’ll buy my sweet items at resupply stops.

All packed up and ready to hit the trails. 

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Jan’s Long-Distance Hiking Jabber Link