Longer campground stays

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Bobbie Mayer

Thom, which meals in a bag are particularly good? I haven't tried any of those things since the early 70s. When I'm by myself I usually don't do a lot of cooking- frozen foods for a day, then things like brats in buns (microwaved) or frito boats. When I'm with a group we usually have some group meals to mix things up.

You really don't need expensive freeze dried foods. The grocery shelves are filled with good meals without the expense and the sometime trots that come with freeze dried.
Uncle Ben's rice and a can of tuna or beef or etc.
Pasta's and a can of beef or port, or shrimp.
There's tons of that kind of stuff.

Lunches are usually crackers and cheese, or other finger food.

Breakfasts can be instant oatmeal, granola, a cooked egg, a pancake or two.

A little bit of trail mix will round things out or could add a some fruit cups, yogurt, jello cups with fruit. A can of bean salad. Mini carrots keep well.

Do a on-line search for one pot meals recipes.

[ericw]

We use Moutain House freeze dried foods as well and like them. It is amazing how much progress they have made since 10-20 years ago. We use them particularly while backpacking. While camping in our Scamp we enjoy spending more time preparing and eating our food so we use them less often for that type of camping.

[Bobbie Mayer]

I know there are lots of grocery store foods that work but sometimes it is nice to have something special. I like fettucini with sauce and salmon and I know I can find dry versions of the fettucini and sauce, for example, and add salmon or tuna.

[accrete]

...reading the above posts after my original mentioning of the freeze dried meals...

Recall from my OP that it is typically on days 4/5 that we resort to the freeze dried meals (that we thoroughly enjoy!). Before that it is fresh meals or "shelf" meals as others called them.

And we've never had any "trots" caused by eating any of these meals in a bag. Maybe that was in the 70's ...but not likely with these high quality products.

One other thing, when comparing some of the sodium levels of the bag meals verses the total sodium from various canned foods that would be needed to make a whole meal... there is often times less sodium in the bag than in the can(s) combined. And in the case of the Chicken breast + Mashed Potatoes there is 800mg of sodium per serving, actually quite normal for a home cooked meal.

Thom

[Bobbie Mayer]

How is the MH beef stroganoff? I'd like to stock at least a couple of those kinds of things in the trailer anyway.

I always end up with more food than I use so stuff that keeps until the next trip is always a plus.

[KevinPete]

If you want dried meals that you can just add water to, check out Freezer Bag Cooking. I use this method for backpacking, all my friends insist that I make up the food on all of our trips. I only carry a 32-ounce pot and alcohol stove, and I don't want to be doing dishes in the dark and leaving food smell all over. Once you do it a few times, you will come up with your own recipes and get lots of ideas. A food dehydrator is necessary, but I've seen freeze-dried veggies and fruit at Target. You could use an oven on warm if you absolutely don't want a dehydrator. I put the meals into foodsaver bags, little more compact. And if you were in a camper, you wouldn't need to eat out of the bag.

On the bike or in the camper, I can go about 5 days with what I carry before I need to hit a store. That's also usually about when I need to do laundry, unless I want people avoiding me.

Frozen stuff for the first 2-3 days, depends on weather. Then either dried stores or local food.

On a longer trip we'll bring things like our rice cooker and grill. Most of our diet is raw fruit and vegetables, so it's pretty easy to restock.

[accrete]

Originally Posted by Bobbie Mayer

How is the MH beef stroganoff?...I always end up with more food than I use so stuff that keeps until the next trip is always a plus.

Every _flavor_ we've tried we would purchase again.

And most dates on these go out 5 years for storage life.

On making your own...Yup we used to have a nice stainless steel 5 shelf dehydrator in our stick built house and the food saver unit. When we moved full time into our Mobile Suite there were some things that had to go! Just not enough room in the kitchen for our old lifestyle. But we wanted to leave parts behind anyway : )

[ShawnKK]

It is nice to find out some of you guys are preppers even if you don't think you are. I love the FD foods and buy ours online at Sams. I think they have the best prices even over Costco. Some things I wouldnt buy again but what I don't eat the kids will! I buy in the #10 cans and when I open them I put the rest in a mason jar and use the Food Saver to vacuum out the air. I have rice that is over 3 years old now and you wouldn't know it. I can't take the mason jars with me in a camper so I use the bags for that. Mountain House is known for the best taste in FD foods. I don't eat much of those because of price but still have them just in case. Another cheap but good meal are the Hormel Compleats. They are 2 bucks each but when I get a dollar off coupon I stack up. They last for a couple of years. I call all this stuff emergency food.
But I think half the fun is cooking in the outdoors so I won't eat out of a bag unless the SHTF. The FS has saved us a lot of money. We ONLY shop at Sams so we get stuff in the big bags then use the FS to make smaller meals either in bags or mason jars.
If would be nice to have a section for tips and tricks for Preppers. I think it goes with camping. My goal is making our egg into a bug out camper! Maybe by next year. As far as water goes, Berkey water.
Like to hear from others...

[Casita Greg]

With all the interest here about freeze dried and vacuum sealed food products, has anyone here ever given in to using military MRE's as a supplemental food stash? They are reasonably priced, and you can even get them in case lots.

[ShawnKK]

MRE'S Military ones are good too. All depends on which ones you get. But the Mil ones have more stuff in them you might not need. Mountain House has the best tasting ones by far overall. I also made my own. I also make beef jerky JD style. I put JD in most my meats.
Also be careful with your military mre's, check date before you buy. I think most of them come with heaters but some dont so why pay for it if your not going to use them. Most people already have a spork and salt ect.

[accrete]

Originally Posted by ShawnKK

It is nice to find out some of you guys are preppers even if you don't think you are.

...But I think half the fun is cooking in the outdoors so I won't eat out of a bag unless the SHTF...

...As far as water goes, Berkey water.

Greetings Shawn.
Yea i suppose my wife and i do have some of that prepper in our blood. Some of it comes from the fact that in the back of our West-Coaster minds there is that California falling into the Pacific thingy...and being just north...if we can get off the coast we will...once the first big rumble subsides

SHTF comment...
My wife and i also enjoy cooking outdoors and will do so as much as we can on our 2 door deluxe RocketStove and the Kelly Kettle if the season allows for wood-gathering (or charcoal that we carry in the tongue box if gathering not allowed.) Otherwise it is the portable camp stove(s) one in van, one in trailer used on folding/rolling table outside.

With us here in the Pacific Northwest it would be something like SSOU; Sun Shines On Us, nearly as rare as the SHTF scenario.
I'd say about ~50% of our daylight hours even in the summer has the sun trying to hide behind clouds. So we've got to plan our daily activities on how the cloud cover is/looks. Rain is common in our camps even in July & August.

Berkey comment...
I'm looking across to the kitchen in the Mobile Suite... on the counter top is our Berkey water filter. We take it with us if we are planning a longer trip and place on Parkliner's counter.

[KevinPete]

You can keep the MRE's! I've had my lifetime dose of them already.

Have to post some pictures of the 55-gallon rocket stove we made last summer, 2 6-inch burners, really boils some water fast! Not very portable, though.

IMHO, Mountain House is one of the worst for taste and texture, there are better options out there, like Enertia (some of their meals sold under the Coleman label, although WM has switched back to carrying MH) and Packit Gourmet. Wise is probably the worst-tasting FD food I've had, outside of MRE pork patty.

[Steve L.]

Originally Posted by MsRubyLu-Kathy

Okay I have to know what is the "hamster ball" popup gazebo????

I think of the Playhut type screenhouses as hamster balls for people.

Actually, they have their use. One of them is to drive people crazy trying to fold them up again after use.

Mine has a floor which is helpful against bugs that fly up from the grass.

[MsRubyLu-Kathy]

Thanks

[rgrugg]

If you want to reduce weight take along dehydrated water. But the drawback with that is you have to carry regular water to rehydrate the dehydrated water.

[Bobbie Mayer]

Now if I could only take dehydrated ice! (The only kind of water I carry.)

It is taking me much longer to get ready for a longer trip- I suppose that will change as I get more used to it. Next long trip is August and that one I shouldn't need cool-weather clothes for. Plus a few extra things go along with this trip that take more time.

[Cyndi B.]

Don't throw away the instructions on how to fold the Play Hut. Ok, ok, ok, yeah. Stick in the bag before it deploys again!

[Bobbie Mayer]

I have had windowshades that worked like the Playhut and had no problem folding them but had friends who could not for the life of them do it. I think you just have to figure out the knack and then it's easy.

[ShawnKK]

Bobbie, I thought you were going camping this weekend? Were on the beach and next to the river in North Beach in ST Augustine. I am giving this place 5 stars.

[Bobbie Mayer]

I'm going Sunday-Sunday, leaving tomorrow AM.