No-refrigeration foods

[Dingfelder]

Re tomatoes in the fridge, the cold not only messes up the texture but changes the volatile flavor compounds. It's best to buy, or pick, only enough tomatoes as can be eaten before your room temperature makes them no fun to eat anymore.

Matters less with supermarket tomatoes, but it's a shame to lose the flavor and texture of fresh-picked.

 

[VanForNow]

One of my favorite meals is burritos made with rehydrated refried beans, cheese and tortillas. The dehydrated refried beans keep forever, a small package of unrefridgerated tortillas keep for 1 to 2 weeks, possibly longer in cool weather. As for cheese, on the shelf in cool weather it doesn't spoil if kept for several days. Some types of cheese can actually be dehydrated at home, although I haven't tried to do it myself. 

And a note about buying dehydrated refried beans. I only buy *Mexican-style* beans, which are pre-spiced. I think they are absolutely delicious, in contrast to the bland  tasteless refried beans sold in some health food stores.

 

[Dingfelder]

I'm having good results growing mung bean sprouts in a jar even in 100 degree heat in my trailer. They are pretty flexible as to when you use them, as they are good either very young or when they have a couple of leaves out, yellow still or greened in the light. Very good and traditionally put in Asian soups and stir-fries, plus good in salads or as a much more nutritious crunchy substitute for lettuce in sandwiches.

The hulls are a bit of a pain to pick off, but nowhere near the pain of driving to town to buy fresh produce.

 

[John61CT]

Alfalfa's great too, just gotta keep them moist.

 

[QinReno]

I like the vinegar idea to clean fruit and veggies.

I'm not much of a cook, but since getting the van, I've been experimenting with different foods I didn't even know existed before: especially canned white chicken meat, which is very good as it turns out, and boxed dried potatoes, hashbrowns not mashed. The latter take some cooking, but I pour boiling water over them and let them soak for a while before frying.
https://www.target.com/p/hungry-jack-premium-hashbrown-potatoes-4-2oz/-/A-14773138

I cook (fry) everything in olive oil. The canned chicken meat, plus small 40-cent can of green beans or corn, plus some dried hashbrowns, makes a full meal for a bad cook. Plus usually some cut up fresh tomatoes and red/green peppers, kept in the cooler. Mornings are usually bananas, instant oatmeal and coffee using the Bodum coffee press.

Everything canned anymore has a lot of salt, unfortunately, so my doctor is looking cross-eyed at me. I also like a certain brand of chili in a can, and just recently developed a total rice cake addiction (after watching RVCarolyn eating them in Alaska). So, pretty much a lot of non-refrigerated (albeit high-salt) foods. Stagg is great tasting, but Nalley is bland.
https://images.samsclubresources.com/is/image/samsclub/0007110602883_A

In general, I look for food I can simply add boiling water to, or fry up in a few minutes to save on propane.

 

[Minivanmotoman]

One way to reduce salt with tinned meat is too let it soak in water for 5 mins prior to using. Longer or double soak for more reduction.
Drain and cook as usual. This will dilute the salt substantially out of the meat into the water.

Ramen flavor packets, only use half of the seasoning.
Anyone else have any salt reduction tips?

 

[QinReno]

One way to reduce salt with tinned meat is too let it soak in water for 5 mins prior to using. Longer or double soak for more reduction.
Drain and cook as usual. This will dilute the salt substantially out of the meat into the water.

Ramen flavor packets, only use half of the seasoning.
Anyone else have any salt reduction tips?

Right, I also absolutely love Black-Eyed Peas, and I usually drain them to remove salt. You can't do that with regular beans or chili in a can. And for a really quick snack, I used to do regular Ramen but it takes a while to cook and the pot is a mess afterwards, so anymore I dump boiling water into this stuff.
https://www.target.com/p/maruchan-174-ramen-noodle-soup-mix-with-chicken-flavor-2-25oz/-/A-14568314
https://www.target.com/p/bush-s-174-blackeye-peas-15-8oz/-/A-13573116

But I'm reading through the other posts for new ideas. I generally try to cook things that don't require pot cleanup afterwards. The small frying pan with non-stick surface is trivial to clean, but a pot with goo in it is a PITN.

 

[captndiet]

In an earlier life we had a diabetic dog.

The vet told us to feed him healthy low-salt treats.

One day when shopping in a bag-your-own grocery store I saw they had -No Salt Added- green beans.

The dog loved them and I was buying 24 cans at a time.

Most grocery stores have -No Salt Added- green beans, peas and corn. (15 oz cans, not the little ones)

That is all we buy when travelling. (we grow our own and freeze them normally)


If you like rice, look for Near East Rice Pilaf Mix - Toasted Almond.

I would eat it every day if Sue let me.

I had to order it online once I discovered it, as the stores rarely stocked it.

Jeff

 

[Dennis]

You might look at tvp (textured vegetable protein) as a substitute for ground meat, nutritional yeast & powdered milk. They're all healthy, light weight, easy to use & cheap.

perj28......where do you buy the TVP that makes it cheap? Was interested in trying some of it.

 

[Doubleone]

Think along the lines of backpacking or hiking foods but you won't have to worry about weight... Dried fruit, pasta, oatmeal, cereal, boxed milk, bananas, apples, raisins, bread, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, dry sausages, Epic bars, anything canned. Meals = Pasta w/ Alfredo and broccoli or marinara sauce or add meat; Oatmeal or cereal for breakfast, Spam and potatoes with green onions, Pita bread with marinara sauce and pepperoni. One of my favorites is rotisserie chicken with coconut Thai curry sauce over cauliflower crumbles (yum!). Some meals are easier prepared for two rather than one person... I used to put small cans of beenie-weenies on a hot engine and drive around the block to warm it for a snack when I was wrenching...

 

[QinReno]

beenie-weenies when you were "wretching"?

 

[Dingfelder]

I like the vinegar idea to clean fruit and veggies.

I'm not much of a cook, but since getting the van, I've been experimenting with different foods I didn't even know existed before: especially canned white chicken meat, which is very good as it turns out, and boxed dried potatoes, hashbrowns not mashed. The latter take some cooking, but I pour boiling water over them and let them soak for a while before frying.
https://www.target.com/p/hungry-jack-premium-hashbrown-potatoes-4-2oz/-/A-14773138

I cook (fry) everything in olive oil. The canned chicken meat, plus small 40-cent can of green beans or corn, plus some dried hashbrowns, makes a full meal for a bad cook. Plus usually some cut up fresh tomatoes and red/green peppers, kept in the cooler. Mornings are usually bananas, instant oatmeal and coffee using the Bodum coffee press.

Everything canned anymore has a lot of salt, unfortunately, so my doctor is looking cross-eyed at me. I also like a certain brand of chili in a can, and just recently developed a total rice cake addiction (after watching RVCarolyn eating them in Alaska). So, pretty much a lot of non-refrigerated (albeit high-salt) foods. Stagg is great tasting, but Nalley is bland.
https://images.samsclubresources.com/is/image/samsclub/0007110602883_A

In general, I look for food I can simply add boiling water to, or fry up in a few minutes to save on propane.

Canned chicken meat is nice, can be used for almost any dish, and couldn't be more convenient but holy mother of Krom, it could hardly be more expensive.  It comes out to a crazy amount per pound generally, while chicken itself is usually by far the cheapest meat in the store.

Re salt, yeah, canned foods generally have them and usually in catastrophic amounts.  I'm a big fan of some of them ... and don't like to think about the borderline hilariosity of the salt levels in any and pretty much all of them.

 

[Trebor English]

Canned chicken meat is nice, can be used for almost any dish, and couldn't be more convenient but holy mother of Krom, it could hardly be more expensive. 

The price and convenience are similar to canned tuna.  Tuna makes my gout flare up, the canned chicken doesn't.  Two servings for $1  is about the same.  The problem remains storing the second serving for later use.

Dietary restrictions like blood sugar, cholesterol, etc make food preparation more complicated.  No refrigeration just makes it more of a challenge.

 

[Dingfelder]

If you can get two servings for a dollar from canned chicken meat, that's very nice indeed. I'm used to seeing it in small cans, enough for a bite or two, for ... I dunno, 3 bucks? Maybe enough for a single quite modest sandwich. Good on you for finding a better source.

On another note, I am cleaning out the old fridge at home and slowly working a whole pantry down into travel size for my trailer. Found some pickled eggs. Pickled eggs used to be left out on countertops for weeks. I really like their convenience. I've got good, cheap, high-quality protein ready at a moment's notice.

I do get tired of them, but they're one of the few proteins that aren't hyper-full of salt and weird ingredients that I can easily store outside my tiny trailer fridge.

 

[highdesertranger]

Costco usually has a good price on canned chicken and tuna. of course you need to buy 3 fairly large cans. highdesertranger

 

[QinReno]

2 jars of pickled eggs for $38, wow, or else $5-10/jar with $15-118 shipping. Some deal.
https://www.amazon.com/Bay-View-Pickled-Eggs-Jars/dp/B0000X7N5M

You can get canned white chicken meat in smaller or larger cans. Expensive "per pound", but one can with rice and some chopped tomato and peppers makes a big meal. With the small can, no need to keep leftovers.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Chunk-Chicken-Breast-with-Rib-Meat-in-Water-5-oz/36267274
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Premium-Fully-Cooked-Chunk-Chicken-12-5-oz/10315929

On my upcoming trip, I plan to try rice cakes to go with the meal rather than bread, the latter which will get moldy after a few days in the heat. Even salted rice cakes have only 15mg sodium, versus 570mg/serving in precooked rice. So I have been trying all sorts of new non-refrigeration things. I do use a small cooler with ice, and that will keep lunch meat and cheese in good shape for 3-4 days, then over to the non-refrig stuff.

 

[Dingfelder]

2 jars of pickled eggs for $38, wow, or else $5-10/jar with $15-118 shipping. Some deal.
https://www.amazon.com/Bay-View-Pickled-Eggs-Jars/dp/B0000X7N5M

Holy cow, that's hilarious! I had to cliick on that link just to verify it wasn't total horseflooey.  Yup, 38 bucks for two jars, with 3 dollars tops worth of eggs, maybe double that if organic from the store.  

I just boil and peel some eggs and throw them in any leftover brine from pickles, peppers, etc.  I can use the brine again and again, and since the eggs are boiled and the brine is full of salt and/or vinegar, no worries about spoilage.  Doesn't get much easier than boiling an egg.

I remember those giant cans of tuna from Costco. I used to get those a lot. But eventually I thought I was probably overdosing on mercury by many times over, so I cooled out on that. Shame, since I really do like tuna salad a lot, but oh well. The low-mercury, inexpensive canned fish like sardines and mackerel aren't appealing to me.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I get canned chicken at Walmart, four 12.5 oz cans for $7.48.  Works out to about $2.39/lb.  Having extra left over is not a problem with a beagle.

 

[QinReno]

Anyone else have any salt reduction tips?

Just a follow up. I was just out at Walmart searching for new quick foods, and ran across "Minute" rice this and that. Very low in salt, as compared to canned anything and/or Uncle Ben's precooked rice foods. Looks bland and made for microwaving, but I figure I can presoak in boiling water, and then fry it up with the usual stuff, canned chicken, plus fresh tomatoes and peppers. Sodium 10 mg/serving.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Minute-Instant-Whole-Grain-Brown-Rice-28-oz-Box/10848969

Uncle Ben's, Sodium 590 mg/serving.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/UNCLE-BEN-S-Ready-Rice-Long-Grain-Wild-8-8oz/10420818

Trying to make my doctor happy(er).

 

[highdesertranger]

for rice I like Uncle Ben's enriched parboiled rice. it has many more nutrients and 0 sodium. plus it keeps well. I flavor it as I see fit. comparing minute rice to flavored rice really isn't fair. highdesertranger