FOOD Ideas for the Road Trips? NO Junk FOODS Please!

[Dogman635UT]

Wherever we travel we have to eat and we each have our own favorites. During a road trip, there are always lots of JUNK food selections and most are unhealthy as they are loaded with sugars and sodium. (So for the JUNK, food suggestions in this thread will pass on them). Each of us may have our own health issues and some of us have none.

Knowing the above we make our family road trip selections of FOODS to begin the trip for three days, five-day trips to two weeks or longer. During our military days in the field, we were each given MRE's (Mills Ready to Eat). They were loaded with what was needed to maintain the body's energy and health.

Let me inform you as I want to be clear while being helpful to Road Trip food selections. I have NO education in this area I do have health issues because one mill a day was not good or healthy for the long hall. So what I'm looking for are your ideas for some good healthily Food selections for your next road trip..

A few days ago this was shown to me and I wanted to share. For years as a single male TV Dinners was my complete mill selection for that day or a fast food stop. Do you see a problem here long term? Today I'm eating more can foods, and a new PUBLIX kind of microwave dish called Fresco https://www.publix.com/pd/eat-fresco...RIO-PCI-554050

You can also call or shop by computer and have everything ready for pickup when you arrive by Motorhome to a PUBLIX food Store. So what if any ideas for a good well-rounded mill selection would you suggest? SOMETHING HEALTHY PLEASE

[Dogman635UT]

Them MREs were fun as I can recall our team seating around trading this for that and even the MRE selection given. Over the years they have changed greatly. I still can recall during Vietnam we would take the can foods and heat them on the manifolds of the vehicle we were in to have a hot mill. ha ha. Today and MRE have their own heating source and trust me it gets very hot.

So YES, for any possible breakdown or emergency issues I carry along a box of MREs to last us a few days if needed. Which you can order or pick up at a local REI Store. Some will stand alone for up to 10-YEARS before expiring. https://www.rei.com/search?q=MRE Which do you enjoy?

[LETMGROW]

We prepare a lot of meals ahead of time right at home. Some are portioned and put into sealed bags and frozen and some are in Zip lock bags and stored in the refrigerator, others are stored in plastic containers with tight fitting lids. Most of these items can be warmed in a Microwave, on the outdoor grill or on the stove top.
We do use some canned goods but not as often as the meals we have prepared ahead of time.
I prefer my wife's cooking to gas station slop and fast food from a chain restaurant.
Items like meatloaf, goolash, mac and cheese, scalloped potatoes, beef and gravy for hot beef sandwiches, pizza, soups and stews are easy to store and warm when stopped for a rest when traveling. We also have vegetables cooked ahead of time, bagged and frozen.
Lynn

[RI Expat]

I'm solo (for the moment, but looking). I have a college student still at home, so what I do benefits both me and him. It even gives me some peace of mind knowing he is not going to just eat fast food when I'm gone.

We prep meals in large portions and then freeze single (but ample) portions. We do this for almost every meal. This gives us a full freezer of quick meals that are all real food, not sodium saturated commercial dinners. We end up with a true variety. His class schedule has him out two or more nights a week and these meals are better than going out for fast food. I stock up the RV with sufficient current selections so I don't always have to cook a full meal.

For quick lunch on the road, Starkist has some single serve pouches in a variety of flavors for tuna and chicken. The pouches do not require refrigeration and only cost a dollar each. Instant tuna or chicken sandwich with no prep or dirty dishes. And these things have a shelf life like canned goods.

Yup, I have a couple of MREs for desperate moments. Keep two in the car and even have one in the bottom of my pack on my motorcycle.

But I cannot tell a lie. I eat out way too frequently when I am on RV trips that do not include meeting family or friends either along the way or as the destination of my trip. But that also means I look forward to hosting them for meals at the RV from simple sacrifices on the grill to full-blown productions from the galley.

Good luck with your arrangements. You don't have to eat junk food as the only way to keep it fast and convenient.

[Unicorn Driver]

We pre make oven dishes like lasagne, enchiladas, shepard's pie and pot dishes like bolognese, chili curries, just need to do some pasta or rice.

We also prepare a lot of salad and veg and have a streak, pork chop or bratwurst. Mashed potatoes freeze well and reheat in a microwave.

We eat much the same we do at home.

We have a crock pot on board also.

[EJW]

I do much of the cooking at home for our family since my wife works a lot. But when we're on the road, she does much of the cooking ("assembling" as she calls it). She loves it!

We'll stock up on a bunch of food before we leave (pasta, meat, vegetables, etc.). Some of it's frozen, some fresh. Sometimes we'll stop at a local grocery store wherever we are.

Magically, she whips up the most amazing meals from whatever is in the fridge, pantry, and/or freezer. I (and my kids) wish I had her culinary vision.

We do also eat out if there's a local food/place that looks really interesting (seafood, BBQ, etc).

[momdoc]

We prepare meals pretty much the same as we do at home.

[HJLowell]

When we are in Ohio.
We fill our freezer with Carls meat market, Bucyrus Frozen meatloaf, and Bratwurst.
The steaks and porkchop s come from the 4-H auction at county fairs.
Butchered by Lynks meats Crestline Ohio.
Wayne county
Crawford and Morrow mostly

Makes a great home cooked Healthy meal.
Maybe some Bob Evans mashed potatoes or
Mac n cheese in the microwave.
Plus vegetables

[hamm2018]

My wife fixes us crockpot lasagna. it is simple and it can last 2-3 meals.
Recipe is:
1 or 1 1/2 lb of ground beef
1 bag of frozen cheese ravioli
1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 jar of favorite spaghetti sauce

cook and drain the ground beef, add sauce
layer ground beef/sauce mixture, cheese ravioli, mozzarella cheese (top final layer with plenty of shredded cheese) (especially if I am going to dinner)
repeat as many layers as you like

turn crockpot on high for 4 hours (3 hours if small pot)

PS spray pot with PAM or such to make ease of cleanup

[Nudge]

Boy I see allot of foods suggestions. In my world they would not be Called healthy (sorry folks). Do you cook at all? I love to BBQ or grill. If I’m cooking meats I always make extra to freeze. You can put anything into a tortilla or wrap~easy! Healthy to me means having the 4 basic food groups everyday. Lean meats, fruits, vegetables and grains. You can always sneak veggies into a burro. Whole Foods are best (think baked potato instead of fries). Nuts are better than chips. Grapes are better than candy.
There are dehydrated foods too that are easy which I would choose over canned.
Doing your own cooking is definitely better than fast foods. It’d be a really cool thing if you learned to cook (some at least). If not, choose wisely remember Whole Foods are better for you! Ever tried thinly slicing a nice crisp “pink lady” Apple and then top it with a smear of peanut butter?? ONGosh! Wonderful. Or take that same slice and top it with some sharp cheddar instead?? It’ll rock your world. Try it! lol~
Best wishes

[Unicorn Driver]

Originally Posted by Nudge

Boy I see allot of foods suggestions. In my world they would not be Called healthy (sorry folks). Do you cook at all? I love to BBQ or grill. If I’m cooking meats I always make extra to freeze. You can put anything into a tortilla or wrap~easy! Healthy to me means having the 4 basic food groups everyday. Lean meats, fruits, vegetables and grains. You can always sneak veggies into a burro. Whole Foods are best (think baked potato instead of fries). Nuts are better than chips. Grapes are better than candy.
There are dehydrated foods too that are easy which I would choose over canned.
Doing your own cooking is definitely better than fast foods. It’d be a really cool thing if you learned to cook (some at least). If not, choose wisely remember Whole Foods are better for you! Ever tried thinly slicing a nice crisp “pink lady” Apple and then top it with a smear of peanut butter?? ONGosh! Wonderful. Or take that same slice and top it with some sharp cheddar instead?? It’ll rock your world. Try it! lol~
Best wishes

My wife would take offence that our food is not healthy :-)

We do use a lot of Turkey in lieu of beef.

[twogypsies]

Nothing different done. We eat everything that we would eat at home. Why would you have to have special foods/recipes?

[richard5933]

Zip Lock bags are your friend here - it's much easier to store lots of healthy food in a small RV fridge/freezer if you do it in Zip Locks.

We usually take a bag of washed salad greens, or maybe two bags. They take up almost no space if you remove the air as you seal the bag. A small bottle of healthy dressing makes this a good side dish.

Anything you can make at home and then freeze will be great if you have a freezer. I like to bring a meatloaf, sliced and then frozen in individual servings in Zip Lock bags. We carry a glass container to use to reheat things like this.

Fresh berries can be poured into a Zip Lock and then frozen before leaving home. They'll last during your whole trip if you have a freezer. Bring a tub of plain yogurt or cottage cheese to mix them into. Add a piece of toast and you have breakfast.

Eggs are a great food which is pretty easy to pack. If you need, hard boil them at home and they will stay for a long time in the fridge. Again, Zip Lock bag makes this easy.

Our local grocery sells single service guacamole. Great replacement for things like mayonnaise on cold cuts. If you're cutting carbs, bring some sliced cheese & healthy cold cuts along with some leaf lettuce to make carb-free wraps. We use the guac on these along with some sliced onions.

Lots of good options for packaged soups which are healthy and easy to heat.

[RKins]

If I'm going out on a week+ long trip I try to help myself by par cooking several meals and then vacuum bagging them - i.e. chicken leg qtrs, meatballs, even pre-seasoning steaks and bagging them. I will buy supplies at supermarkets like turkey steaks and other multiple packed meats like pork chops and then season, vacuum bag them individually or in pairs and freeze. Vacuum bagging it a great tool.
I like to BBQ but I hate to clean my gas grill on the day before travel - I use oven cleaner and have to wipe it all out so it doesn't attract vermin to my coach. If I am in a place for 2 weeks or so I will break it out, otherwise I like using an covered electric skillet.