MYBIn case you’re wondering about how we’re eating on the road, we are happy to report that we are still eating “good in the neighborhood.” No one’s lost weight yet that we know of. In fact, Caroline and Jasmin may have grown a little taller since we started.
Surprising to us, our RV meals aren’t too different from our home-cooked ones. What’s changed for us is that we aren’t eating out as often so we don’t get the diversity or variety that we are used to. Yes, we miss pizza, baked goods, El Salvadorean, and Indian.
Over the last month, our rv-cooked meals have included: pasta puttanesca, creamy eggnoodle casserole, grilled wings and ribs, chicken fricasee, refried bean and cheese dip with tortilla chips, fried rice, spam, salmon, lots of steamed veggies, chicken stirfries, cheese quesadilla, sandwiches, charcuterie, mashed potatoes, baked beans, Italian kale soup, adobo, hashbrowns, eggs, spaghetti with italian sausage, and the list does go on and on…
We are limited by the appliances we can access (when off the grid) which are the microwave oven (that runs on generator and is powered by propane) and gas burner (runs on propane); both appliances are located inside the RV. We also have a small portable propane grill that we can set up outside.
{RV geek note: we have a 10 gallon propane tank. We’ve filled it up twice during our first month on the road.}
When we do have hookups (connection to water and electricity) which is probably once a week if we’re lucky, we bring out the induction cooktop and instant pot. We can also use the convection oven part of our microwave oven. We used the oven once for to bake taquitos for the girls. In the future, we might try baking cookies or a small pizza in the convection oven.
We are also limited by the types of stores that we find on the road. There aren’t too many Asian grocery stores around so haven’t been able to make egg rolls, red curry soup, or pho. Although we brought some ingredients that we wouldn’t find everywhere (lemongrass, thai chili peppers, fish sauce, for example), we couldn’t bring everything from our home kitchen with us. So in some instances like when we don’t have the proper appliance or correct ingredient, we make adjustments, substitute ingredients, or modify the recipes a bit.
Over the past month, I’m proud to say that we have cooked on a daily basis and are glad that we haven’t limited ourselves to just the staple camp foods of hot dogs, hamburgers, and deli meat sandwiches (although there’s nothing wrong with these yummy, quick, and easy staples). We really haven’t felt as though we are missing out on any food in particular. Maybe Caroline is missing her pupusas which we probably won’t find again until we get to the West Coast.
All of this talk of cooking daily doesn’t mean that we didn’t eat out at all during our first month. We ate out a couple of times but are very selective about when and where (budget constraints are a pain!). We were also very fortunate and grateful that family and friends we visited treated us to or made us some good food. Thanks guys! We love and appreciate you and the meals and travel tips you’ve provided!
Chris
MYB