Vandwelling 101 - Lightweight Foods

When you're in a van, a lot of the old forgotten ways to store and preserve food actually work better than modern methods.

I travel without a refrigerator or modern conveniences, and I like to eat well. I'm not big on eating out or fast food.

My main implements are my 6 quart pressure cooker and my cast iron skillets. Using those I can cook as well over a campfire, a propane stove, a Coleman backpacking stove as I can in a regular house kitchen.

A friend dehydrated his own beef crumbles. You take hamburger and fry it up. Drain, rinse, fry twice more. Then put away in sealed glass jar.

Another friend carries a pressure canner. When she finds a good buy, she cans it in her van on the spot
Weight and space is always an issue in a van. I like to carry lots of food, but I also like it to be lightweight and not too bulky.

Some of the things I carry are freeze dried or dehydrated foods.

The nice thing about the freeze dried foods is they are not so high in preservatives and artificial ingredients. Their shelf life is ten years unopened, a year once you open them.

I love my freeze dried dehydrated foods. I like Augason Farms, but there are also other good ones out there: Thrive Life, Bear Creek, Wise.

I prefer freeze dried garlic bits to garlic powder. They're a much better flavor.

I also carry macaroni, and various kinds of pasta. Add a sauce, canned meat, and a vegetable, and you're eating well.

The cheese blend power and the tomato powder from augason farms: I buy in number ten cans, about $29, and they generally last me a year with heavy use.

A number ten can of the meat substitute lasts me about a month eating it once or twice a day. At a cost of approximately $10- not a bad deal. I've had friends tell me that their freeze dried meat is excellent.

I can highly recommend the dehydrated potato shreds. A number ten can of those go really fast around me.

Rice: rice keeps well, no expiration date. I like to carry at least a 20 pound bag. Often I'll take it and put it in quart sized zip lock bags.

Dry beans, split peas, lentils, barley: excellent value nutrition wise and space weight wise.

I also like the small cans of chopped ham or chicken breast as a meal base.

Root vegetables keep well and can be used in meals even when they shrivel a bit. Sweet potatoes are one of my favorites.
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Celery and cilantro are easily dehydrated here in the desert. Sit in a glass and out of the sun. When dried, I store them in a glass jar. Empty instant coffee jars are easily repurposed as food storage.

It's actually easy to carry months of food with no refrigeration.

See ya down the road
Lou