Do car people eat out or make food?

[LayWoman for Christ]

In the city park you can do it. At www.foodstoragemadeeasy.net they showed how to cook on a hot plate using a car charger. I'll try to find the link.

 

[lenny flank]

I'd be careful with that hot plate. Using electricity to produce heat is very inefficient, and it'll be a big draw on the battery.

 

[CityWoman]

FWIW, when I get on the road, I will definitely make sure to include restaurant meals in my budget. I'm a bit of a foodie, but not too keen on cooking, and I spent over a decade working in the restaurant industry -- so, although I don't want to work in restaurants anymore, dining out is one of my favorite things to do, even when I'm broke. And one can take home half of a big restaurant meal for the next day. I will mostly be doing the nomad thing in towns and cities.

 

[Harmonica]

Something as simple as a Jetboil Flash opens up a lot of possibilities. It's small, stealthy, and boils water fast. Then you pour it into a bowl or container. This allows me to make ramen, oats, rice, or couscous in about 3 minutes. And yes, as the above poster said: eat cheap on the road, but give yourself room to eat at a restaurant once a week.

 

[GeorgiePorgie]

Getting back to eating out --- it's quite expensive.  If a person did it three times a day for $6 or $7 per meal, that's $20/day x 30 = $600 a month.

I lived overseas for several decades and eating out was possible for around $1.-$2. a meal. In America it is just too expensive to do very often. That is why I want to be able to cook as healthy and conveniently as possible in my van. I was hoping to be able to use a microwave, but not sure how realistic that is. It sure would make life easier though. For hot water, I am guessing one of these does not use a lot of power and it is 12 volt:


[img=576x576]http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/261753432868-0-1/s-l1000.jpg[/img]

 

[Almost There]

. I was hoping to be able to use a microwave, but not sure how realistic that is. It sure would make life easier though. For hot water, I am guessing one of these does not use a lot of power and it is 12 volt:

Any use of electricity, whether it's a microwave or the water immersion heater you showed is absolutely the most inefficient way to provide food. That immersion heater uses a lot of electricity btw.

A single burner butane stove is $15 or $20., a small kettle for heating water, a couple of small pots and a fry pan will allow you to cook complete dinners from scratch without ever touching your electrical supply.

Using techniques borrowed from backpackers one can have meat, potatoes and veggies all cooked from scratch ready at the same time. Stir fries are another cooking technique that works well with a single burner.

I carry a single burner butane stove for cooking inside the van and a two burner propane stove for outside cooking. The propane hooked to the 20 lb propane tank is definitely cheaper to run but not nearly as convenient for me. I buy my butane wherever I find it cheapest and make sure I have an ample supply on hand.

 

[GeorgiePorgie]

Thanks much. I wondered about that appliance. Another question, using a camp stove, would something like this be the most efficient way to make toast?

 

[Almost There]

That toaster can only be used over propane/butane/wood flame.

There is another style around that I've only heard about that allows you to toast only 1 slice at a time.

But yes, that Coleman toaster design has been around for 50 years at least.

 

[seak]

GeorgiePorgie, I've never had luck with that style toaster. Bread never toasts, just gradually dries out. Look for a Camp-A-Toaster on Amazon. That style makes toast fast. It requires some kind a of a gas stove, though.

 

[LMTLMT]

If you are in a city, like few have suggested like a cooler with cereal, sandwiches, pb & j and on and on. As for heating food, hospital cafeteria usually have microwaves, napkins, forks and even condiments. If you are on survival mode, get someone to add you or buy yourself a Costco membership, eat the samples ALL DAY LONG and no one will say a word. Work your way to each different station, rotate and repeat. To top it off, one hot dog with drink for $1.50. I have no shame when I'm on survival mode but I don't fight or grab multiple servings at once, I have time and I respect other who also wants to sample.

 

[John61CT]

Lots of food pantries / soup kitchens have no problems with people passing through, little or no paperwork.

But IMO for those in survival mode, please don't take advantage if you're not actually in dire straits. And offer to help out if/when you can.

 

[IamMe]

I  live in my van and can't really cook in it. I find my nearest public park that has picnic tables and places to grill. Those places people don't even bat an eye when you cook. 

I am not sure where you are but here in California we have a store called the 99 cent only store(it has stuff for more than 99 cents, lol), they have butane stoves for $9.99 and fuel for 99 cents only.  I have all the camping stuff including propane stoves and I only use my $10 stove now. 

Small pot from thrift store
Small frying pan from thrift store
Basic utensils
Wide mouth food jar - Google Thermos cooking

 

[Victor]

This is an interesting thread. I've been trying to decide what to do about a stove. I'm leaning toward jet boil but I live in the winter so I need something that will burn in the cold.

 

[highdesertranger]

also those canisters that the jet boil uses are like hens teeth in the sticks. highdesertranger

 

[John61CT]

Can get an adapter to burn propane in butane appliances, no jet changes needed.

That type of camping butane fitting is a male "lindal valve", aka "NS", " T-type", EN417

At the other end you want either

1"-20 female for the 1# Coleman style bottles, ideally using proper refillable ones, or

Acme/QCC type 1 (CGA 791) or male POL to attach to 20# BBQ bottles

 

[Victor]

Thanks for the info John61CT. I like the butane stoves because they are a bit cheaper. I did look into the different fuel setups. I won't make a decision on price alone but it does seem cheaper to run propane through a butane stove even after adding the cost of added valves and connectors. The half genesis from jet boil can run on propane or butane. I know there are other stoves that are automatically set up that way also. My main concern is winter burning but those stoves only say down to 20degrees. Honestly, I've been working out my situation and it's challenging to fit all the stuff I want in the Fit without having to move stuff around frequently. Maybe I'll redesign/build.

 

[John61CT]

All butane camping stoves work just fine with propane. The super-tiny ones that take forever to boil a liter of water just take forever*1.2 is all.

A key factor is how **low** can they be reliably adjusted, aka "simmer".

Also a great heating source coupled with a thermal mass like a big pot of water or a big hunk of cast iron