No Refrigeration MEALs for One

[VanLifeCrisis]

I would like to find some lower sodium protein alternatives beyond unsalted peanuts/nuts. My BP can get away from me real easily.

I found bumblebee canned chicken breast has half the sodium as any other brand but its still pretty high. 100 something per serving....a can is like 5 servings, so very small amount of chicken. lol But the other cans of the same size have 200+ and are still 5 servings (1000 a can!).

I try to stay around or below 100mg of sodium for any item im eating.


I also get gout, and that is a dietary nightmare.

 

[WriterMs]

they coat the eggs with sodium silicate(liquid glass).  this is another old time way to preserve  without refrigeration.  sodium silicate used to be commonly available at any drug store but might be hard to find now.  I find if you get farm fresh eggs they last at least three weeks without refrigeration so I really find no need to use this.  when I make scrambled eggs for breakfast burritos I mix 1/2 fresh eggs with 1/2 powdered eggs.  can't tell the difference.   as a side note sodium silicate makes a great radiator stop leak it will even seal a blown head gasket,  however never use it if you have antifreeze in the system must be water only.  highdesertranger

I had not heard of the sodium silicate treatment, but I have no doubt you are right about both uses.

Since I had mentioned it but with a question mark, I went to the source where I first learned of the egg preservation "trick." It was Kellene Bishop (known in her blog and business as the "Preparedness Pro." She has written that after 10 years of other egg preservation methods, she finally learned of using a quarter cup of warm mineral oil. She writes that this method works on store-bought refrigerated eggs so she no longer had to go get farm-fresh eggs. She demonstrated her method on an episode of Doomsday Preppers. It had to be an episode in the first couple of years since I have not seen that program in years (no cable TV).

What she does is warm some mineral oil a bit and puts on food handling gloves, then she rubs the oil on the egg to coat it completely and puts each egg point side down in an egg carton to store it. The episode of DP showed her serving several guests a variety of her long-stored food items. This included eggs preserved with the mineral oil that were (according to the program) about 9 months old.

But as others have written, I think I'd not take nearly that much of a chance. LOL

 

[ccbreder]

Most modern commercial eggs are coated with food grade oil to seal the pores in the shell. It can't hurt to re-coat, as they are only dipped or sprayed. If you keep eggs for lengthy times, float in a bowl of water. Bacteria cause eggs to float, good eggs sink. Avoid surprises.

 

[highdesertranger]

very good I had never heard of the mineral method. highdesertranger

 

[Marie]

I noticed just today that my local "health food store", similar to Whole Foods, has cooked then dried beans in several varieties. Takes just a few minutes to rehydrate and cook.

 

[WriterMs]

I noticed just today that my local "health food store", similar to Whole Foods, has cooked then dried  beans in several varieties. Takes just a few minutes to rehydrate and cook.

I've not heard of rehydrating beans but then I have not been anywhere near a Whole Foods or similar store in months and months. I will try to check that out. So many on here like beans and rice (me, too) that this might be a hit if they are good.

I had researched the quick cooking brown rice that has been on shelves for a while and the consensus is that it is as good or perhaps a bit more nutritious than long-cooking.

 

[SoulRaven]

My opinion is that most people are too over-cautious of spoiled food.

Sure, food poisoning is a real thing, and no one wants it. But how do you think people survived for thousands of years before the refrigerator was invented? Exercise a little common sense, is all. As HDR said reheat foods with a high liquid content. Heavily salted items (bacon) will keep at room temperature a while. Salting and candying were both early methods of food preservation.

I regularly eat stuff that's been out a day or two or more. The only time I've gotten sick eating something was with dairy. Do pay attention to dairy.

I've had severe food poisoning 3 times and milder forms of it at least half a dozen in less than a year of vandwelling. That is with an ice cooler and practicing common sense, e.g. if it smells/looks bad at all, assume it is, and try to use things up fast, and no dairy whatsoever.

I've learned that without the option of a kill step - that is, heating up the item - I need to go above an beyond to prevent food poisoning. Perhaps it's just my weaknened immune system. I do trust that lots of things don't actually need to be refrigerated. But if you have yet to experience the toxic smelly ooze of mayonaise gone bad you're missing out! Keep mayo totally clean and it'll keep forever unrefrigerated. Use a dirty knife in it once and it's suspect from then on. Or use the little mayo packets.

minimus.biz is a great place to buy tiny containers of food.

One meal I've been enjoying lately is to purchase a small amount of deli meat (there's no minimum) and then some local fries, combine them with mayo and basically I have ingredients for a baked potato, with fries instead. Add whatever toppings you like on yours.

Another meal I've done before is to purchase a small can of pizza sause and dip deli meat in that and eat it.

Instant oatmeal is another.

I do bread and a butter substittute. If the non-dairy butter gets too hot it will seaparate, and the texture is less desirable, but it doesn't go bad. Then again, back when I could eat dairy we never refrigerated our butter and it never went bad, so YMMV.

 

[Electric Mayhem]

Apparently Europeans laugh at us for refrigerating our eggs. Everyone keeps them out on the counter there. But the reason we have such a problem with salmonella is the way they stuff too many chickens into a small space. So if you plan on keeping eggs refrigerated, I'd go with a local farm.
Why not buy a small portion of fresh veggies to use? Buy 5 green beans and 1 squash. The cashier might look at you funny, but you wouldn't have to worry about leftovers.

 

[cyndi]

Why not buy a small portion of fresh veggies to use? Buy 5 green beans and 1 squash. The cashier might look at you funny, but you wouldn't have to worry about leftovers.

Some of us are either not close to stores to do daily shopping or prefer not to shop daily

 

[B and C]

We stock up on Del Monte fruit cups and the Fusion cups.  No refrigeration needed and lasts longer than it stays in the van   (Months I think).  http://www.delmonte.com/snacks Sure nice to have the fruit when the fresh is gone.

 

[surfer]

VanLifeCrisis,
There are many results for 'Best places to get protein without meat' & ' high protein with low sodium list' including http://ultimatepaleoguide.com/start/ listing better over lesser protein sources.

You might consider protein powders to drink as shakes or add in foods like soups and casseroles.

 

[Binxie]

A woman at the last RTR had a unique meal system. She bought large containers of freeze dried vegetables and fruit, grains and pasta, and spices. Then she mixed different combinations of the ingredients into baggies to make meal sized portions - just  add water and cook. I'm not sure what she used for protein. I think that she gave a little talk at her camping spot for anyone who was interested. Anyone here attend it?

I would love a seminar on this. I'm starting to experiment with the same thing myself. Maybe by January, I'll even have a few "lessons learned" to contribute.

 

[WriterMs]

For those who have a Pinterest account, you can search things like "meals in a jar" or "freeze dried meals" and you'll get dozens and dozens of Pinterests links to these "add water" dishes.

The freeze-dried foods seem so expensive though... I've often wondered how it works out per meal.

 

[dhawktx]

I have gotten a lot out of a blog that was the result of several prepper moms who were challenged to feed their families from their pantry stores. They found out a lot about palatability. The result was some really great posts on this blog:

http://myfoodstoragecookbook.files.wordpress.com

 

[Binxie]

The freeze-dried foods seem so expensive though... I've often wondered how it works out per meal.

I've been looking at bulk dried (not freeze-dried) foods, such as those from Harmony House. The price differential isn't nearly as high. They reconstitute in 10-15 minutes. Not all veggies, few fruits, and definitely no meats are available this way. But for fruit, there's always dried fruit, like raisins and figs. And for meat, I have actually made stew with jerky, and you can make fairly cheap jerky using lean ground meats to save money.

 

[highdesertranger]

this morning while I was getting ready to go to the ranch I had the TV on and saw an add for a home freeze dryer, not a dehydrator but a freeze dryer. I will see if I can find it later and post it up. I think the name was harvest-something. highdesertranger

 

[Ken in Anaheim]

By the way...if you're "experimenting" with egg storage. If you have eggs you're unsure of.....shine a flashlight thru them and see if there is a dark spot in them. If there is....DO NOT crack them to be sure, just toss'em. You'll stink up your kitchen for a week (Imagine in your van). And I mean STINK !! Wish I had known the light trick.
KinA

 

[highdesertranger]

well I found the home freeze dryer. here's the link. Warning please sit down before clicking on the link. https://harvestright.com/store/# . highdesertranger

 

[WriterMs]

MY goodness.... well, those prices are an excellent excuse not to even think of doing that work. LOL The $3-$5 bags of freeze-dried veggies and fruits at Target are looking pretty thrifty now.

And are their geodesic domes made of silver struts (if that is the right word for the metal bars)? Must be a TOP quality company... and maybe it really is.

 

[highdesertranger]

they are really proud of their stuff no doubt about it. highdesertranger