| Follow Us to An Early Retirement |
| We Rv 4 Fun |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
The ideal food for camping or RV’ing would be delicious, nutritious, take
very little room to store, and wouldn’t need refrigeration. Preparation
would be minutes, and wouldn’t take anything more than boiling water
I am not talking about Ramen Noodles, folks, but something much more
Something really marvelous about travelling in our RV is we don’t have to
eat out. Being somewhat of a health nut, I am one of the few Americans
who don’t like eating out! The thought of spending five or ten dollars per
person on an artery-clogging, grease-laden meal that looks nothing like
the food in it’s original, natural state makes me gag.
Remember that Dateline undercover camera episode in restaurants
where the cooks spent a lot of time with their hands in their pants, or
when a burger was dropped on the floor, just to be thrown on a
sandwich? Yuk!
Our family has found one more item to throw in our repertoire of easy-to-
fix meals that do not require any advance preparation. During our move,
I found a case of Mountain House freeze dried meals that I had stashed
for the next Apocalypse (that is a whole ‘nother blog entry!). Since we
have been using up everything in preparation for the next big move, I
threw it on the RV.
Opening the packages, the girls first reaction was “no way!”, but after I
told them this was made by the same company who makes the
Astronauts freeze-dried ice cream they like so much, they were a little
more receptive. Since the dinners were designed for two, I let each girl
pick one so we could sample both for a buffet.
With family favorite flavors like Beef Stroganoff and Spaghetti with Meat
Sauce, and fare for the more sophisticated palette such as Turkey
Tetrazzini, Chicken a la King, and Polynesian Chicken, we were able to
satisfy everyone’s tastes.
Freeze drying is different from dehydration. Dehydration removes the
water from food, but doesn’t preserve the original color or texture, and
loses some of the nutritional value, especially in fruits and veggies; beef
jerky barely resembles a steak, while some dried fruits are as tough as
leather.
The freeze drying process preserves flavor and nutritional quality while
making it shelf stable. Freeze drying removes the air and oxygen under
very low temperatures. The process preserves the fibers and water
channels in the food, so the food looks and tastes like it was frozen. The
best thing about this type of food for RV’ing is that it is very light and can
last for years if stored properly. Freeze drying removes up to 95% of the
weight of the food.
Preparation is too simple: open the plastic bag inside the foil package,
add boiling water, stir, and wait 10 minutes. The reconstituted meal may
not looks exactly like the homemade version, but it is quite close.
The girls liked them so much, they have started asking for me to fix these
on every trip; they even want them when we are at home. We reserve
them for trips, since the cost is comparable to eating out at a fast food
restaurant for a family of four; family-sized entrees (four servings) run
about $10 per item for Beef Stroganoff, Lasagna, and Spaghetti.
Smaller, two-person sized entrees are $5 to $7, and perfect with a side
salad.
You can buy different freeze-dried products from Nitro-Pak
very little room to store, and wouldn’t need refrigeration. Preparation
would be minutes, and wouldn’t take anything more than boiling water
I am not talking about Ramen Noodles, folks, but something much more
Something really marvelous about travelling in our RV is we don’t have to
eat out. Being somewhat of a health nut, I am one of the few Americans
who don’t like eating out! The thought of spending five or ten dollars per
person on an artery-clogging, grease-laden meal that looks nothing like
the food in it’s original, natural state makes me gag.
Remember that Dateline undercover camera episode in restaurants
where the cooks spent a lot of time with their hands in their pants, or
when a burger was dropped on the floor, just to be thrown on a
sandwich? Yuk!
Our family has found one more item to throw in our repertoire of easy-to-
fix meals that do not require any advance preparation. During our move,
I found a case of Mountain House freeze dried meals that I had stashed
for the next Apocalypse (that is a whole ‘nother blog entry!). Since we
have been using up everything in preparation for the next big move, I
threw it on the RV.
Opening the packages, the girls first reaction was “no way!”, but after I
told them this was made by the same company who makes the
Astronauts freeze-dried ice cream they like so much, they were a little
more receptive. Since the dinners were designed for two, I let each girl
pick one so we could sample both for a buffet.
With family favorite flavors like Beef Stroganoff and Spaghetti with Meat
Sauce, and fare for the more sophisticated palette such as Turkey
Tetrazzini, Chicken a la King, and Polynesian Chicken, we were able to
satisfy everyone’s tastes.
Freeze drying is different from dehydration. Dehydration removes the
water from food, but doesn’t preserve the original color or texture, and
loses some of the nutritional value, especially in fruits and veggies; beef
jerky barely resembles a steak, while some dried fruits are as tough as
leather.
The freeze drying process preserves flavor and nutritional quality while
making it shelf stable. Freeze drying removes the air and oxygen under
very low temperatures. The process preserves the fibers and water
channels in the food, so the food looks and tastes like it was frozen. The
best thing about this type of food for RV’ing is that it is very light and can
last for years if stored properly. Freeze drying removes up to 95% of the
weight of the food.
Preparation is too simple: open the plastic bag inside the foil package,
add boiling water, stir, and wait 10 minutes. The reconstituted meal may
not looks exactly like the homemade version, but it is quite close.
The girls liked them so much, they have started asking for me to fix these
on every trip; they even want them when we are at home. We reserve
them for trips, since the cost is comparable to eating out at a fast food
restaurant for a family of four; family-sized entrees (four servings) run
about $10 per item for Beef Stroganoff, Lasagna, and Spaghetti.
Smaller, two-person sized entrees are $5 to $7, and perfect with a side
salad.
You can buy different freeze-dried products from Nitro-Pak
| Freeze Dried Camping Food Easy and Delicious |
