What's the cleanest, cheapest, most minimal eating I can do?

[user 22017]

Have you tried sprouting? It’s very inexpensive and highly nutritious. You can sprout any kind of seed, vegetable, grain, bean and even nuts. They’re stored dry and you simply grow them for a couple of days and have fresh living food!

I loved sprouts when I was young. My favorite sandwich was made with Brownberry Ovens 100% Natural whole wheat bread, sharp cheddar, and alfalfa sprouts. Drizzled with real buttermilk ranch dressing. After having kids I stopped making and/or buying sprouts. Maybe they weren't sold locally. IDK.

A few years ago I read an article in which a doctor said that sprouts are the most dangerous food to eat. I was surprised. Couldn't find that article, but found another explaining why they are so dangerous:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sprouts-e-coli-risk_b_875103

 

[user 22017]

.
Google "pulses" and "daal," there are literally more recipes than you can try in your lifetime.
The only downside to these is the longish cook times for the dried goods to hydrate and soften.

I love dal. A quick search showed that most recipes take from 7 to 20 minutes of simmering. That doesn't sound like too much propane. I'm guessing.

You can also buy freeze dried meats like beef, chicken, sausage, etc., from a company called Nutristore, and they sell products in a #10 can as well, that need no refrigeration. While the #10 cans may not be the best thing for small spaces, they can be repackaged into smaller containers. With any dried food, the food quality will suffer some, but many of these products, it is minimal.

I started reading this thread to see if anyone mentioned free dried foods & in particular the ones from Nutristore. I read about the meat last night at Kaylee's blog. They seemed much too pricey for me at around $65.00 per #10 can, until I read that once opened they last 6 months. That might be an option, since I have no frig. Except it's hard to figure out if I eat that much meat. I do love beef stew, though!

 

[Stvnfarm]

I hear salads are very easy to get tired of at first if you didn't grow up on them.

I just get tired of chewing when eating a salad big enough to be filling.

 

[gizmotron]

I just get tired of chewing when eating a salad big enough to be filling.

What? LOL. So you can get tired of sitting around contented chewing your cud? That's the best argument for being a meat and potatoes person I have seen so far. Thanks.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I love dal. A quick search showed that most recipes take from 7 to 20 minutes of simmering. That doesn't sound like too much propane. I'm guessing.

Try a pressure cooker. A few minutes heating to bring it up to pressure and in 20-30 minutes you have a cooked meal, put it in an insulated bag and it will still be warm 8 hours later.

I just get tired of chewing when eating a salad big enough to be filling.

I read while eating salads - distraction.

 

[vanbrat]

Used to do the dry ice thing with a "5 day" cooler gosh, like 20 years ago.
It was kind of expensive back then, and you had to find a fish bait store or food service place that sold dry ice. It's not common.
However, it did work in 110 degree heat on California BLM land in August.
Me and my friend Steve loved waiting until the 5th or 6th day of a campout in scorching heat to break out a couple gallons of ice cream.
Conpletely astonishing people.
Car fridges have gotten cheaper and smaller lately. There are even dinky little coolers with a tiny cooling element that are less than $100 last I checked.

Not to say it would replace or be as good as ice, but I made an old heavy wool blanket into a cover for our ice chest. I wet it down really well and leave it outside in the shade. BUT outside. it helps keep things cooler. I did this for a week in 100+ weather and it really helped keep the ice longer.... Every morning I rewet the cover...
This won't like I said replace ice but it might help keep things longer.
WE also have a small electric thingy that is our 'freezer. I keep 1-2 icey things in there and swap them with the ones in the ice chest daily... Again just to supplement the ice. We have a 3rd tiny lunch box sized ice chest to keep the drinks and daily 'stuff' in so we don't open our big ice chest during the heat of the day as much.

 

[Stvnfarm]

What? LOL. So you can get tired of sitting around contented chewing your cud? That's the best argument for being a meat and potatoes person I have seen so far. Thanks.

Exactly

 

[user 22017]

Try a pressure cooker. A few minutes heating to bring it up to pressure and in 20-30 minutes you have a cooked meal, put it in an insulated bag and it will still be warm 8 hours later.

I read while eating salads - distraction.

Thanks Spiff. Doubt I'll have room for one in my truck topper, but I'll keep it in mind.

 

[Calaverasgrande]

I just get tired of chewing when eating a salad big enough to be filling.

I used to be this way. A girlfriend introduced me to the idea of putting crazy stuff in your salad.
Thats what I call it, since I grew up in the south and part of my family is from the midwest, salad always meant lettuce, tomato, maybe cucumber.
Try putting raisins, croutons, garbonzo beans, or even hummus in there. My ex used to be a huge fan of dumping mixed nuts on top. Expensive habit!
There is no reason food can't be fun, but it shouldn't be just s source of entertainment. It's literally the fuel your body relies upon.
(he tells himself after he eats a 50 cent cherry pie)

 

[rruff]

Thats what I call it, since I grew up in the south and part of my family is from the midwest, salad always meant lettuce, tomato, maybe cucumber.
Try putting raisins, croutons, garbonzo beans, or even hummus in there.

Raisins, pineapple, nuts, honeyham, hard boiled eggs...

 

[Morgana]

Try putting raisins, croutons, garbonzo beans, or even hummus in there.

Raisins, pineapple, nuts, honeyham, hard boiled eggs...

Yes! Anything can be in a salad. I like to mix warm and cold bits, like scrambled eggs with lots of pico, or regular salad with fried onions.

If regular lettuce bores you, try arugula, yum.

Once when I was in Aroostook County, Maine (aka "the County"), which is prime potato-growing country, I stopped for lunch at a small-town restaurant and virtuously asked the waitress if I could substitute a salad for the french fries. "Sure thing, hon," she said, "would you prefer cole slaw, potato salad, or macaroni salad?" LOL they were the most delicious french fries I ever ate.

 

[thebarefootbadger]

I don’t think anybody uses their car battery for cooking— except for those 12v crockpots and such that folks use while rolling down the highway. I think you’ll find that the folks who use electric appliances while camped have a house battery (not the same as your car’s battery) and solar panels and an inverter.

I know this isn't what you meant but it made me laugh. Who knows, maybe this is where our future is going.

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/manif...PfYaAh7uEALw_wcB#idiq=1995898&edition=4348791

 

[LeftTown]

I can't eat salads any more because of dental issues.

The bizarre thing, though, is that if you roll that salad up in a tortilla or stuff it into a pita bread, it transubstantiates into a "sandwich" and I can eat it just fine.

I think it's all in my head. A lot of us older folks have issues about salads that have more to do with outdated social conventions than actual scientifically provable nutritional needs.

According to the MyPlate posters at the gym, my beloved wholegrains are nothing but starch. It's okay to indulge a bit but it's no better or worse than indulging in fat.

A more sensible way of getting my "peanut butter jelly sammich" fix would be to mix the peanut butter with olive oil and herbs and enjoy my unique salad dressing.

 

[Sky]

I loved sprouts when I was young. My favorite sandwich was made with Brownberry Ovens 100% Natural whole wheat bread, sharp cheddar, and alfalfa sprouts. Drizzled with real buttermilk ranch dressing. After having kids I stopped making and/or buying sprouts. Maybe they weren't sold locally. IDK.

A few years ago I read an article in which a doctor said that sprouts are the most dangerous food to eat. I was surprised. Couldn't find that article, but found another explaining why they are so dangerous:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sprouts-e-coli-risk_b_875103

Cheers Carla, Huff Post lol ~ "what does not kill ya makes ya stronger" Carla can you take extra precautions by pre-washing in ? something vinegar or ?

 

[JDub]

Cheers Carla, Huff Post lol ~ "what does not kill ya makes ya stronger" Carla can you take extra precautions by pre-washing in ? something vinegar or ?

Grow your own. I grow Radish, Alfalfa, Broccoli, and Mung Bean sprouts. Never had a problem. Tip: When you're starting them out, add lemon juice to the soaking water to kill off mold and bacteria that might be present in the seeds. The acid will lyse them (burst their membrane) It's the scientific origin of the name of the disinfectant "Lysol".

Cheers!

 

[user 22017]

Cheers Carla, Huff Post lol ~ "what does not kill ya makes ya stronger" Carla can you take extra precautions by pre-washing in ? something vinegar or ?

The article says irradiation is the only way, but that isn't being done with sprouts. Also says growing your own only slightly reduces the risk.

 

[user 22017]

Cheers Carla, Huff Post lol ~ "what does not kill ya makes ya stronger" Carla can you take extra precautions by pre-washing in ? something vinegar or ?

I looked up "Raw Sprouts Risk" and there are numerous articles and studies. They all say don't eat them. From the CDC:

The most effective chemical treatment currently available is soaking alfalfa seeds in 20,000 ppm active chlorine for at least 10 minutes before sprouting (38). However, this treatment may not be sufficient to eliminate the risk. Further research is needed to identify specific interventions, either applied alone or in combination with other chemical or physical treatments, to eliminate pathogens from contaminated seeds. The effort to address these research needs has resulted in an ongoing collaborative effort among industry, academia, and government, which provides a model example of interagency cooperation to prevent foodborne diseases (40,41). However, until effective measures to prevent sprout-associated illness are identified, persons who wish to reduce their risk for foodborne illness from raw sprouts are advised not to eat them; in particular, persons at high risk for severe complications of infections with Salmonella or E. coli O157:H7, such as the elderly, children, and those with compromised immune systems, should not eat raw sprouts (18,42). ~ https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/5/5/99-0503_article

 

[metaglypto]

I love dal. A quick search showed that most recipes take from 7 to 20 minutes of simmering. That doesn't sound like too much propane. I'm guessing.


I started reading this thread to see if anyone mentioned free dried foods & in particular the ones from Nutristore. I read about the meat last night at Kaylee's blog. They seemed much too pricey for me at around $65.00 per #10 can, until I read that once opened they last 6 months. That might be an option, since I have no frig. Except it's hard to figure out if I eat that much meat. I do love beef stew, though!

I am sure it would be fine in beef stew as long as you didn't cook the meat too long. Being it is already cooked, then freeze dried, it might just mostly dissolve into the gravy if you put it in at the same time as the veggies. I would try putting it in 10-15 minutes prior to eating. Also use it in chili, spaghetti, stir fries, burritos, and a bunch of other stuff. As for the price, I am pretty sure they use decent cuts of meat with little or no fat. Trimming, cutting, cooking and freeze drying all add to the cost.

 

[user 22017]

I am sure it would be fine in beef stew as long as you didn't cook the meat too long. Being it is already cooked, then freeze dried, it might just mostly dissolve into the gravy if you put it in at the same time as the veggies. I would try putting it in 10-15 minutes prior to eating.

I was thinking of the diced beef, not the ground beef. The picture on the label shows beef stew. Were you thinking of ground beef?

 

[metaglypto]

No, I was talking about the cubed beef. I just know that it is fairly tender when rehydrated. Just figured it might to to mush or gravy if cooked too long.