Community Forums

mrebele · 10-30-2015, 10:13 AM

I am about 2 years away from fulltiming but I've been thinking about it a lot. This winter my plans are to start gradually getting rid of things we no longer need. Today I'm cleaning the kitchen. I have accumulated so many things over 31 years and know I'll have to get rid of lots. The first purge is the easiest because we all have things we don't really need. Next time it will start to get a little harder. My question is about eating/cooking habits while fulltiming. Did you find that your eating/cooking changed when you made the transition to fulltime? I'm hoping to hear that for many, it became simpler. I'm a big fan of SIMPLE! Are there any real challenges that I should expect? I'd love to learn a little about what it's like to cook while fulltime.

twogypsies · 10-30-2015, 12:17 PM

We found ourselves cooking about the same but perhaps grilling more often. We were never gourmet cooks so cooking has always been simple. If you have a convection oven it will do everything satisfactorily - roasts, turkey breast, casseroles, breads, desserts. We also used the crockpot. We had a hand mixer and electric knife along with the toaster but those are the only appliances. You will also find that you'll eat out more - enjoying the new area foods.

Nana25K · 10-30-2015, 06:56 PM

We eat exactly the same way we did in our house.. We eat basic meals, aiming for no preprepared stuff.I use our microwave/convection oven and our cooktop. The motorhome has no gas oven. That being said there isn't anything I can't prepare well. Well except for a full size southern pound cake. It just will not bake properly for my standards so I split it into 2 loaf pans.
I carry
12" skillet, 8 inch cast iron skillet, one shallow 6 qt pot, 12" 4 qt saucier, 2 small saucepans, teapot. I like Corelle lite baking dishes as they can work as casserole, baking pans, go in the freezer etc. 2 pie plates (they also serve as our spaghetti plates)
1 9" baking pan, mini muffin pans, 2 loaf pans, 3 pizza pans which are my baking sheets etc, I carry a good hand mixer, a hand immersion blender, a ninja, 4 qt crockpot, small fryer. Oh and one regular old toaster and small coffee pot.. That's been my stash for 9 years.. If I think I need a larger pan for a cake etc' I just pick up a disposable one.
I enjoy cooking and can go all out. we don't eat out much when we are on our own. Maybe for lunch. Now when we are hanging with a few friends we do eat out.

Davdeb1 · 10-30-2015, 07:40 PM

We have a nice sized wok. Its the simplest and tastiest method for cooking. Have at least one good non-stick fry pan, 3 sauce pans, a Dutch oven(we have a cast iron one, and a crock pot. Cookie sheets, bread pans for baking anything etc.
Our average meal is about 45 minutes start to finish, unless we do a crock pot.
We eat in at least 6 days a week, its a lot healthier.

mrebele · 10-31-2015, 12:57 PM

Thanks for the suggestions. I really think I should make sure we get a convection oven. Truthfully, if I never had to cook another meal I'd be perfectly happy. But, since we want to eat, that'll never happen. Simple meals sound great. I decided after reading the responses that I'll start slowly getting rid of the things we don't use very often. I already gave away the lettuce crisper and George Forman grill. This week I'm going to go through closets and start eliminating things. We're planning on fulltiming in 2 years but I want to start early in case we can move the time up a little. Thanks again for your responses.

Gordon Dewald · 10-31-2015, 01:10 PM

We do a lot of grilling. Also purchased a portable induction burner to cook as much outside. Have a rice cooker.

Best of the deal is you can always purchase cookware and appliances when on the road. What does not work now does not mean it won't work in the future but you do not need to prepare for every contingency.

You are going to meet all kinds of folks who have great ideas and methods. Pick the ones that suit you. It may mean tossing something you thought was applicable and buying something different.

Works for us.

hal1phx · 10-31-2015, 02:19 PM

My wife loves to cook ... and bake. She's still doing cakes & cup cakes for special occasions for friends and family. Our eating habits haven't changed all that much since going full time. She did an amazing job of trimming down the number of pots & pans, as well as utensils needed for what she does. It did take a couple of times through the inventory she had in the house .... and she's eliminated additional items since moving into the Bus.
Take your time ... enjoy the process ... you'll find what you really need and don't need. Jackie says it quite an adventure .......

wa8yxm · 10-31-2015, 04:25 PM

My wife was found of bags or boxes of factory made meals you put in the microwave (Very bad food for the most part) When she died I finished them off and buy fresh meat and veggies.. I tend to do either very simple or very "High Class" (but if possible still simple) cooking. (I can do lots of different things but like simple receipies even if they are considered ":Luxary" Cheesecake for example.. or French Onion Soup.. Both considered "Exoitic" and both very easy to make)

I mostly use Slow Cooker, Large "Toaster" (Rotisserie) oven, and Steamer. But I also have electric single burner.. Electric single induction burner and when I need to.. I can fire up ye old Wedgwood Gas Oven/Cook top. (I use electric because it's included, Propane I pay for). I do not use the microwave as much as wife did. I mean re-heating Gravy (Cause the roast I made a couple days ago made way more Gravy than I need in one meal.. And yes, I know how to make Gravy WITHOUT the lumps as it turns out). (Told you I can cook

). I do not often bring food HOME from a Pot Luck

.

paz · 11-01-2015, 06:03 AM

DW was always an avid cook, but when we went full-time, we simplified our cooking. She did a lot of one-dish meals that combined meat and vegetable in one pot or casserole dish. We also did a good many crock pot meals - put it in when we left for sightseeing in the morning and it was done when we got back. We also ate out a good bit - especially if we were sightseeing all day. Simplified cooking was necessitated both by our travel/sightseeing schedule and the minuscule kitchen counter space we had in the motorhome we used to have.

After about 8 years of full-timing, our travels slowed, and we traded the motorhome for a 5th wheel last year. The 5th wheel has MUCH more kitchen storage and counter space, and it also has both a gas and convection/microwave oven. DW has once again expanded her cooking to create more elaborate meals. We bought the 5th wheel because our travels have slowed, so not only do we have more room, we have more time because we aren't sightseeing as much as we used to.

PS: We still eat out a good bit.

Betr2Trvl · 11-01-2015, 06:32 AM

While we are not full timers, we do travel al lot. My wife is an incredible cook, and we also eat a very healthy diet. One of things that appealed to us about RV travel was "being in our own home" and with that the ability to eat exactly as we eat at home, and stay out of restaurants.

While she does not have the plethora of untensiles, pot, pans etc. that she has a home, I am sure our coach is as well stocked as any with the tools of cooking, including all the spices, etc. Yes, she has simplified preparation (no fresh pasta for instance, and being more judicious in her use of pots and pans in prep), but that's about it.

For grilling, which we do a lot at home and on the road, we got a Mini Max Big Green Egg.......

ahicks · 11-01-2015, 06:43 AM

We haven't changed much either. While home we don't grill out a lot, but we do enjoy it. To accommodate, we have a small gas grill with 12' hose that attaches to a quick connect on the MH allowing it's use under the main awning. Instead of service for 12, we have service for 4. If we need more there's paper and plastic...

Dasmoeturhead · 11-01-2015, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twogypsies

We found ourselves cooking about the same but perhaps grilling more often. We were never gourmet cooks so cooking has always been simple. If you have a convection oven it will do everything satisfactorily - roasts, turkey breast, casseroles, breads, desserts. We also used the crockpot. We had a hand mixer and electric knife along with the toaster but those are the only appliances. You will also find that you'll eat out more - enjoying the new area foods.

Exactly right twogypsies

JFNM · 11-01-2015, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrebele

My question is about eating/cooking habits while fulltiming. Did you find that your eating/cooking changed when you made the transition to fulltime?

I'm a solo guy so my cooking may be wildly different than the norm. That said...

If you plan to always be connected to shore power, the convection oven is ok (and probably an electric cooktop). I really do not like my convection oven as I spend most of my time boondocking (using only solar power, no generator) so it is generally useless (except for quick warm ups as a microwave). This means things like warm biscuits, banana bread, and other baked things are pretty rare for me now (only when connected to shore power). I would love to replace my convection oven with a gas oven.

I spend a lot more time grilling and dutch oven cooking (both outside) than I did in the S&B. I even cook the messy stuff in a pan on the grill now (bacon, sausage, etc.). Stove top cooking is about the same but I was never a gourmet cook.

Clay L · 11-01-2015, 02:17 PM

We didn't really change much. But believe it or not we hosted about 12 people for a complete Thanksgiving dinner and cooked it all in the motor home (cook top, oven, and convection microwave) and on the outside grill. This was at a campground in NH in the summer. Our kids were whining about how much they missed holiday meals cooked by Mom so she did one in the summer.
We found that we shared meals often with friends as we traveled around so ended up with service for eight.
It was a lot of fun but I have to say that after 12 years of that it was pretty easy to get used to having all of our stuff back out of storage and a lot easier to host holiday meals here in the house.