Car food (no cook, no fridge)

[BigT]

I know you don't have much room, but you can get really tiny camp stoves. Mine is so little it, and its gas canister, fit inside the pot when being stored.
I used to use it for motorcycle camping where space was *really* at a minimum. The whole kit is no larger than a cantaloupe.

If you're going to be driving regularly, another good way to heat soup is to place the unopened can on top of the engine. There's all sorts of foods you can heat up under the hood.

 

[LeeRevell]

The one problem with the pre-packaged no-cook foods is that they generally have high levels of salt/preservatives. So, not really so healthy. But okay for a short time til you can improve your situation. Being a motorcycle camper I too have a tiny single burner stove that works well for a minimalist cooking system. But if you have good sun, placing packaged food on the dash top can work well, and no fuels to worry about!

 

[surfer]

Recap +

Results from googling - cooking on your car engine (Engine Cooking)
https://www.google.com/search?ie=UT...=android-browser&q=cooking+on+your+car+engine:

videos-
https://www.google.com/search?ie=UT...r+engine#q=cooking+on+your+car+engine&tbm=vid

on line recipes-
http://jalopnik.com/5913336/the-ten...our-car/#kxsegs=o7mp4e3md,o9i68fk9g,pexi6me2k

& cook books-
https://www.google.com/search?ie=UT...ngine#q=cooking+on+your+car+engine+cookbooks;

cooking/boiling water with a fresnel lens (from scrapped tv)
https://www.google.com/search?ie=UT...our+car+engine#q=cooking+with+a+fresnel+lens;

cooking with a windshield sun shade-
https://www.google.com/search?ie=UT...=cooking+with+a+windshield+sun+shade&spell=1;

cooking/baking through a windshield on your dash-
https://www.google.com/search?ie=UT...dshield+on+your+dash&norc=1&zx=1429239275992;

thermos cooking (of course this needs a heat source so added small stoves bellow)
https://www.google.com/search?ie=UT...cooking+on+your+car+engine#q=thermos+cooking;

Following 2 stoves aprox. the size of tuna fish can & fuel the size of Heet or alcohol bottle
30 second build, no tools required, alcohol stove-


Easy alcohol stove. No holes.-
.

Add a stove with thermal cooking to conserve fuel (of course it takes up space so probably not interested).
thermal cooking -
https://www.google.com/search?ie=UT...t+is+thermos+cooking+called#q=thermal+cooking

 

[SoulRaven]

This thread made me think of a guy I met who made a simple solar oven out of a mylar emergency blanket to cook inside his rig without requiring any fuel or power.

 

[surfer]

This thread made me think of a guy I met who made a simple solar oven out of a mylar emergency blanket to cook inside his rig without requiring any fuel or power.

Did you see or remember how he rigged it up to do it?

 

[SoulRaven]

It looked like a deep dish steering wheel sized umbrella. It appeared to be just a circle made of a mylar blanket held together with binder clips.

 

[akrvbob]

There are thousands of plans for home-made solar ovens on line:

http://solarcooking.org/plans/
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Cooking/cooking.htm
http://www.solarcooker-at-cantinawest.com/buildingasolarcooker.html

your best source of info is this Yahoo solar oven group:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SolarCooking/info

Ask a question and you will get help. Go to their photo album page and there are thousands of plans and photos of different home built ovens.
Bob

 

[SoulRaven]

Late to the party, as usual. I've been living without cooking and a mostly unplugged fridge as an ice cooler since mid-december of last year and have only very gradually discovered techniques that opened up my diet. I began with literally living off of nutrition bars purchased cheaply in bulk. I have severe food restrictions that rule out the vast majority of prepared foods (e.g. no gluten, dairy, corn, soy, onion or garlic, which eliminates 98% of everything out there, seriously) so you can probably figure out more options than I have, but here are some tips I've gathered so far.

Instant oatmeal, unheated. It has a different texture to it than oatmeal from hot water, but I find it just as tasty and actually prefer it now. \The flavor I can have, cinnamon & spice, is absolutely scrumptious with coconut water instead of plain water. I learned to buy it in the little cans instead of the big glass ones because even with my cooler they'd go bad before I got through them.

Nut butters, plain or with/on anything. I eat Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut butter by the spoonful when I have it. I can't eat celery anymore but celery and peanut butter is a great combination that wouldn't require any prep or cleanup. I'll have peanut butter by the spoonful too. I love it on apples, but without a cutting board...dang I need to get myself one of those apple slicers, I bet I could have apples again. *makes a note*

Tangerines are great finger food. I keep a couple out on the dash as quick snacks inbetween driving places, and have a trashbag nearby for peels.

Sandwiches and lettuce wraps have been a godsend to me. I know you don't have space for a cutting board but hear me out. I wasn't sure I'd be able to pull it off, but I've learned how to make sandwiches in less than 1 square foot of space with only paper towels, a sandwich spreader/cutter, and optionally Water Wipes as my only tools. No plates, no cutting boards, no proper knives. My fridge/cooler sits between the two front seats, I pull ingredients from the fridge, then lay a paper towel down on the lid and use the paper towel as my prep area. I've become so accustomed to this that when I recently made myself a sandwich at a friend's house I did the exact same thing, in the midst of a massive empty counter space! They found it hilarious. So my tomatoes are more butchered than neatly sliced, but whatever. When finished I simply wad up the paper towel, use it to wipe down anything that needs it and toss it. Water Wipes' ingredients safe to eat so I use those to wipe down produce, utensil(s?), hands, and whatever else needs damp cleaning.

I second the romaine lettuce recommendation.

Deli meat, I tend to require the fancypants health nut kinds and those aren't cheap, but if you actually get it from behind the counter it's cheaper per ounce and you can order smaller quantities than purchasing it packaged in plastic. The smoked types and honey types will last longer in the cooler. I once discovered some 2.5 week old smoked turkey that still smelled perfectly good, but having had food poisoning a few times I couldn't bring myself to risk it. If I could have cooked it for safety I totally would have tried it, though.

Eating out, if you can afford it, is always nice.

I've eaten canned beans cold, and while I managed to choke it down it really wasn't worth doing again for me personally. It turned my stomach enough that most days I'd prefer to go hungry if that were my only option. Deli meat combined with canned pizza sauce was amazing, though. Or even just dipping pastrami slices in mayo. Mmm. Okay now I'm hungry, danggit!

 

[LeeRevell]

Being Gluten-free, you mention sandwiches. Gluten free bread? I have a good friend who has Ciliac Disease, and cannot eat wheat, barley and similar products. His wife has gotten really good at making gluten free bread with rice flour, garbanzo bean flour and potato flour. Tastes pretty good too! She also makes gluten free cookies and pizza dough. Luckily he can eat corn products and oats. But.... I read that some oat products might be contaminated by the machinery, if it had been used for wheat products too. So care must be taken with oat products. I too like the instant oatmeal, but haven't tried it cold. Need to try that.
I have noticed the grocery stores here have recognized the gluten problem and now carry a lot more G-free products than the did just a few years ago.

 

[SoulRaven]

Being Gluten-free, you mention sandwiches.  Gluten free bread?

Yep, there's only one variety of one brand of gluten - free bread I can actually eat. Same with instant oatmeal. Same with mayo, mustard, salad dressing, pastrami, and plastic packaged deli beef. The list goes on.

It's always been my dream to be able to make my own stuff from scratch. Ketchup, for example, would be easy enough to make from scratch if only I had a more proper kitchen!  I have yet to find a ketchup that doesn't have corn, onion,  or garlic in it. It's sad.

 

[GotSmart]

Bitty;

PLEASE start a thread with the gluten free foods and preparations!

More people have that problem than know about it.

I could never live anywhere without a proper knife. When I was at my brothers house, I went and brought in my 1970's set of Chicago Cutlery knives from my van to cook with. He and his wife both used them exclusively until I left.

 

[SoulRaven]

Bitty;  

PLEASE start a thread with the gluten free foods and preparations!

More people have that problem than know about it. 

I don't think I'd be very helpful,  as there a TONS of gluten-free options out there, only a tiny percentage of which contain ingredients safe enough for me that I can even sample.  My combination of extensive food issues means that my advice is going to be of little value to anyone with 'just' celiac. Most people with a gluten issue can browse the gf aisles in comfort and select what sounds yummy.  I scour gf aisles searching for even one thing I can eat. It's quite a different beast. Sorry!

 

[GotSmart]

It is the personal experience and successes that are most helpful to me, and helpful to the other members of this forum.  


Your oatmeal idea is a good one, and I think by playing with ways of making cookies/bars from the packets I can make myself some great road snacks.

You do know you can believe everything you read on the web!  

The members here are not out to sell things, but just trying to survive.  

 

[anewbiewannabe]

Most people with a gluten issue can browse the gf aisles in comfort and select what sounds yummy.

Or at least they think they can---due in part to celebrities who are monetizing their diagnoses. I'll break out a basic gf thread later after I'm done outside if nobody starts one in the meantime.

 

[Almost There]

Or at least they think they can---due in part to celebrities who are monetizing their diagnoses.  I'll break out a basic gf thread later after I'm done outside if nobody starts one in the meantime.

That will be much appreciated.

I tried to go gluten free and still do as much as possible. But gluten intolerance is secondary to lactose intolerance and a whole lot of the gluten free products contain milk products so I had to rule them out too.

It's a constant experiment to see what my digestive system will tolerate and what it won't ...good thing my hours of work are flexible and I work from a home office...

 

[LeeRevell]

Being borderline Type 2 diabetic means I too have some food restrictions, but they pale to my buddy's gluten problems! He is much more restricted than I am. When I was on the blood thinner Coumadin (Warfarin) it too had food restrictions that sometimes went against the diabetic restrictions. Now I am on Xarelto, that restriction is gone.
I don't have any lactose trouble so milk products are on my dietary list - I love cheese!
But as I age, certain foods that I like may no longer 'like' me!

 

[Canine]

Food, well, it used to be pretty important for me. You'd never guess now would you?

Being of large uhh, girth, it's surprising just how little it actually takes to maintain weight. I mean, people look at me and automatically assume I'm headed down the ice cream isle or need a 2nd grocery cart or somethin'. Never understood why...

I pretty much live off of the Big Soup cup of soups, .79 each unless you catch a twice a month Safeway sale for .50 each. Then there's raw carrots and spinach in the 2 pound containers. My ice chest kept the spinach and carrots good, the soup and various on sale canned goods is fine in our local heat. Only drink water now, it doesn't taste as good warm but it's no calories.

I watch for the 10 for $10 sales at Safeway, Albertsons and Frys foods. Always something worth eating on those. You just have to be willing to eat what's in season instead of having foods that are frozen when you live in a van. At least with a cooler...

So yes, with such urban mobility you don't need to store or cook a lot. A little propane stove, one or two burner goes a long way.

A side note for earning extra income. I get those "wrap" places that do mobile advertising to size me up, I can make 3-400 a month walking around with their ad... The other thing I do is sell protection to the buffets. I walk in, threaten to stay there and eat unless they give me a few bucks to leave. I do have a retainer service for some clients like the Golden Corral and the Super Asian Buffet. Hey, pays the bills.

 

[DougV]

Are there any people here who have suggestions for eating without storage space, a heat source, or a cooling source?




I'll not tell you to plant a tree, buy a stove or set-up solar.

I lived in the woods for about 6 months eating the following noncook, no fridge foods.

Breakfast bars - I found a simple store brand that wasn't full of sugar and salt - they were cheap.  

Box cereal - store brand Cheerios was my start, later I switched to a reasonably price granola. Straight out of the box.

Raisins, unsalted roasted peanut and dried cranberries (at a certain time of the year they are cheap in bulk)

Combine the above cereals, peanuts and dried fruits. Yep, straight out of the box.

Bananas, I've learned to like them all the way to super ripe.

Apples, nothing better than sitting down w/ an apple, a jar of peanut butter and my Spork. Take a bite of apple and smear some peanut butter on the edge of the bite. Repeat...

I found a tortilla chip that only had 2% salt per serving. El Milagro is based out of Chicago, I suspect it's a regional item. I had a lot of Chips & Salsa. A jar of salsa would last 2 or 3 days.

I live on an island. Every two weeks I'd get off island and drive to the "big" town to buy groceries. I'd buy big salads at the build yr own salad bar. These days cooking and refrigeration have been sorted out. I still regularly eat and apple w/ peanut butter and my Spork.

GL -Doug 

 

[Annie W]

grow a garden, plant some fruit trees, get a couple of chickens, become a vegetarian.

YES, twice yes, & for sure yes............................................. Savoring nutritional eggs, & then the old chickens in soups.

Skip the vegetarian. All the others, including a positive attitudes, beliefs etc. will keep you   healthy-for-life....

We are nearer God's

heart in a *RAINBOW

GARDEN*, than anywhere else on earth.



PS: tried to share 4 (of 100's) of my garden pictures, but the program here will not let me, sigh.

 

[southern.nomad]

the eggs.......and the feathers

... And don't forget the squak!