Camping On-the-Go Foods

Case of Beenie Wienies should about cover all bases.

 

I have a trucker friend that lived on them for several months. Lost all the considerable weight he gained eating truck stop food.

 

Don't forget to pack fresh fruit and packages of nuts! I also always carry around a little squeeze bottle of Honey, ya never know when you might need to add sweet, or more importantly a sugar high! I also keep a couple of them in each rig, honey can literally save your life!

Wife and I always save out the little jam packets the restaurants have on the table, I think we have a couple of shoe boxes worth saved up, also, same with the sugar, salt, and pepper packets! We have been hotel surfing a lot lately, so we also get cofveve packets with sugar and cream, and those soap bars and even the shampoo bottles! Ya never know, it all packs down into small spaces and dosnt weigh very much, again very nice to have in all the rigs!

 

Had a friend like that, After he passed away we his sister and I came across 2 cloths hampers of motel/hotel shampoo and soap.
I'm like damn, Call Holiday inn and ask them if they are buying soap and shampoo?

 

I don't travel often now days other than my yearly trip back home to the badlands and Spearfish. I usually turn a 2 day trip up into a 7-8 trip up and stop and visit friends in MO, KS, and NE along the way. I put the topper on the truck for the trip and a roll up foam pad in the bed for a bed. A small table, a folding chair and 2 burner coleman propane camp stove. Truck has ample batteries to run a dorm fridge, toaster, coffee maker and small microwave on a inverter.

 

I like your mouth wash pictured there ,, especially the one on the right.

 

I have a couple of relatives that it is best if I am sedated or make them sedated when visiting with...... Mom is pushing 80 now but still likes her yearly big bottle of Rum gift. Wish she would come down here and live with us, those cold SD winters get harder on her with each passing year.

 

I'm 100% on board with the visitation sedation ,,,,,,,,
Sometimes them older folks don't take to change to good ,, but I know what your saying.

 

Dinner's almost ready.

 

Ditto on the hard salami. Get the type (like Gallo) that can be sold unrefrigerated. It will have a white powder on the outside of the casing that's a remnant of the mold that dried it out to preserve it. Just keep it in a sealable freezer bag and cut off what you need as you eat it.

Many cheeses can also be kept without refrigeration as well. Sadly, my favorite cracker - seasoned Ry-Krisp is history. That combo of salami, cheese, and Ry-Krisp at a camp is one of my favorite memories.

I also like the combination of dry roasted peanuts and Cheezits. A surprisingly good meal is to add a can of tuna to chicken ramen soup. Easy to make, uses little fuel, and very filling. I even used to take it with me backpacking and mountaineering.

 

HI @Motomom34, I have a quick question. Are you still using the Coleman 5418B single burner propane stove?

The reason I ask is because lots of fancier meals can be prepared with two pans. Maybe not so important if it's just you traveling. I'm from the "you kill, catch or burn it, you eat it" school of field cooking, but having two burners going at the same time can be sweet. Especially for coffee drinkers.



I'm not absolutely anti-propane, especially if you're traveling in the U.S. and can easily resupply with fuel at any Home Depot or Auto Zone. Propane is my go-to for hurricane preps but only because I hate doing a preheat on any stove when it's already steamy in the house. Maybe a second propane burner. A two burner suitcase stove is probably too big, but a second Coleman liquid fuel stove like a 502 would give you two burners, not hog lots of space and give you a Plan B if one ran out of fuel.


.

 

Yeah MM, Tell the boys its an exercise on living off the land, bring fishing gear cooking oil, fish fry and seasoning.

 

Just toss a can of pork and beans or beenie weenies on the dash (or in the back window) and enjoy a hot meal. For dessert, have a "Dixie Smore" (aka a moon-pie) and if you want it hot put it on the dash too!

 

Might be harder to do now days , with these cars ,, but we used to lay canned goods on the old cars intake manifolds .

Back when I was truck driving,, after a long haul ,, or an overnight rest stop ,, and I was wanting a beer or so ,,, if it was cool enough ,, I'd put a few beers under the hood in a spot near the grill that the cool air would hit ,, and in a short time ,, before you got to your stop ,, the beers were chilled off pretty good .. it works if ya want to cool off some room temperature drinks .

 

Hard boiled eggs are a good source of protein. If you have the bucks, a few pouches of your favorite Mountain House food. For first night (or two) buy one of those bags of salad. Just cut the pot off and eat the salad out of it...top with a packet of dressing you got at a fast food place, or leftover stew, beanie weenies, etc others have mentioned. Also, a small canned ham can make a great "go to" food...slice it for sandwiches, cube it for scrambled eggs, mash it up for ham salad, etc. A 2# can can make several meals. Likewise, all sorts of canned meats that are good for one serving meals, leaving nothing to cool afterwards.

 

A frozen steak, thawed by night two. Cook cowboy style, right on the coals.

 

If it was me id just take 4 ribeye steaks around 2lbs each… freeze to keep in the cooler. Cooked directly on the coals. that would keep me happy for 4 days no problem (I usually only eat 1x a day) maybe some coffee and chocolate … bottle of mead to spoil myself. Maybe some wild foraging chanterelles or whatnot depending on season. Something to make coffee in and a cup and thats it, No need for any pans etc (unless the mushrooms pan out)

but apparently im “weird” so….

Any (proper) salami, biltong, Droewors etc will keep without refrigeration.
Any “stew, jambalaya, gumbo, chilli, curry etc” type things can be made ahead of time and frozen to keep in the cooler. Being frozen they will stay cold longer without needing lots of ice.. also freeze a large “block” of ice or a pop bottle full of water instead of using crushed ice. They will stay frozen/cold much longer and takes up less usable space.
If making something like fajitas, you can put thin sliced meat (beef preferred but whatever) in a ziplock along with spices, lime juice, garlic, chillies tequila etc to marinate it, then freeze in a block to keep in the cooler(just take out early enough to alow to thaw. Can be pan cooked or done directly over coals.throw on a tortilla and eat as is or add cheese, avocado, salsa, creme freshe, etc…