Loading the rig and freezer...

[Desert_Captain]

Here is a shot of our frig and freezer the morning we departed for out last {9 day} trip:





I do most of our shopping at Trader Joe's and Sprouts and we eat the same food on the road as we do any home. We have not had one bite of food not prepared by me in 4.5 months. Sorry folks I have bad news... eating take out and delivery is just as risky as dining in a restaurant {but I digress}.

One simple trick when loading into the limited space available in a 24' Class C is simply throw out all of the packaging before loading. Here is a shot of most of the discarded packaging which as you can see leaves a lot more room for the actual food:



Life is too short not to eat well and traveling in a relatively small RV need not negatively impact your ability to do so. While we usually come home with food remaining I do enjoy opening the rig/freezer and finding half a dozen choices for our next meal. We do a limited amount of restocking along the way as necessary {milk, eggs, bread, fresh fruit etc.} as we deplete the larder but we bring most of what we need even on the much longer trips.

Our 8 year old Norcold still keeps frozen food rock solid frozen {including ice cream and sherbert} and a pair of simple ice cub trays keep us supplied with all of the ice we ever need.

Having a fully functioning gas oven with 3 burners along with a huge microwave makes cooking/baking just about anything very easy to do... and do well. I leave our BBQ, aka the Bear Magnet, home when traveling up into serious bear country but by getting creative in the galley it is not missed. We also travel with a a good ole fashioned SS 6 quart pressure cooker which offer endless possibilities for healthy efficient cooking but that would be a whole new thread...

:B

[Desert_Captain]

"Just out of curiosity, are those packaged foods as high in sodium as so many others are? "


Not the ones we buy... again reading labels will allow you to stay clear of ingredients you want to avoid. About a year and half ago we adjusted what was already fairly healthy menu and began to explore lowering our carb intake. Switched the bulk of my grocery shopping to Sprouts and Trader Joe's and found all sorts of delicious, healthy choices that we embraced.

The weight melted away and as my bride pointed out it just did not feel like a "diet". We enjoy eating well and we eat exactly the same meals on the road as at home. With the covid crisis I always leave home with more than enough food for the entire trip and then some. We end up doing a little spot shopping for whatever we are running low on {milk, eggs, fresh fruit etc.} but we do not eat any take out or delivery as that is just as dangerous as a sit down meal inside of a restaurant. :S

For 5 months we have not eaten anything that I did not prepare. Sadly many simply do not take the crisis seriously which for us is not option. My bride has underlying health issues and getting the virus would likely be a death sentence. I am very healthy but if I get it the chances that I would pass it on to her before even knowing I was exposed are huge.

:C

[hokeypokey]

I precook at home. I steam potato chunks & veggies & rice then make meals in aluminum pans. Meat is quick cook (minute steaks, tenderized pork loin) or precooked at home (chicken, browned hamburger). I use a fry pan & add steamed vegetables when meat is browned. Cover & warm up. Your plan to eliminate boxes is great & I freeze flat packages too. I removed 2 bins at the bottom & made more refrigerator space.

Since we almost always eat outdoors, I have a plastic 3 drawer unit ( utensils, silverware, plates, salt/pepper ) that I love. I sewed a strap to keep drawers closed when moving it & a waterproof cover so it stays outside all the time. Saves me many trips in & out. I put dirty dishes in a plastic dishpan & slip in an old pillowcase because I only do dishes after dinner.

Always open to more ideas.

[RetiredRealtorR]

Desert Captain wrote:
Laugh all you like... Everything in that pic is from Trader Joe's and mostly low carb, fat and calorie. It is amazing the quality products they offer "If" you bother to read the labels. The steaks, chicken, shrimp, vegetables, turkey meatballs etc. that they accompany and you are not seeing didn't come in packaging that needed discarding.

I am 5'9" and 185# and my bridee is 5'1" and 117#... not too bad for a couple of old folks.

There now, don't we all feel better???

:R

Just out of curiosity, are those packaged foods as high in sodium as so many others are?

On another take, my wife and I rarely ever take much food from home with us. Part of our 'experience' is stopping in grocery stores in various areas, many times picking up local produce, regional specialties, or deli-prepared treats. Maybe it's just us, but we kind of want something different than what we have every day at home. It just adds something special to the trip for us. Plus, I haven't found a grocery store parking lot yet that I couldn't easily get in and out of, even with a DP + toad.

[Janss]

I am salivating for all those boxed treats! I so wish we had a Trader Joe's less than 50 miles away!

We have a similar Norcold and it works great, even after all these years. We also minimize the packaging of our food. I try to pre-cook some protein. I cooked and froze hamburgers and shredded pork shoulder, froze several chicken breasts from store-bought rotisserie chickens.

We're fortunate to be able to park our MH right next to our house, and put in a 30amp receptacle. So we start off our trips with a couple bags of ice from our icemaker in the house.

I find it so amazing when I pack up the frig and freezer from home, I can fit nearly everything in it into the MH frig/freezer. Mind boggling!

[Sjm9911]

You could make your own food also, I did that. Easy enough to do. Its organization and sometimes needed, i made a lot of pre cooked stuff for disney, who wanta to cook after you spend all day walking the parks. I will say i had the cooler outside for the beer and drinks. I never used a microwave except for popcorn untill i got a TT. Its ironic, because i cook the popcorn in the TT over the campfire.

[Desert_Captain]

Laugh all you like... Everything in that pic is from Trader Joe's and mostly low carb, fat and calorie. It is amazing the quality products they offer "If" you bother to read the labels. The steaks, chicken, shrimp, vegetables, turkey meatballs etc. that they accompany and you are not seeing didn't come in packaging that needed discarding.

I am 5'9" and 185# and my bridee is 5'1" and 117#... not too bad for a couple of old folks.

There now, don't we all feel better???

:R

[Fisherman]

Desert Captain wrote:
Here is a shot of our frig and freezer the morning we departed for out last {9 day} trip:








Life is too short not to eat well

:B

I have to laugh every time I see a statement like that and then the box food containers where no input or preparation is required.

[Desert_Captain]

LMAO!!! :S

Actually I just keep a few in the door, {the Miller Lite's are mine and the Guinness is for my bride} down low and a very "cool" location as I can reach them them from the dinette. The back up 12 pack sits in the shower and ironically they get more use than the shower.

I'm more of a Brandy and or Bourbon guy. :W

[wanderingaimles]

hotjag1 wrote:
The bottom shelf in the door looks like good use of space:B

Naaah
Too much salad dressing.

[hotjag1]

The bottom shelf in the door looks like good use of space:B

[gbopp]

Did you take more than 4 bottles of Miller Lite for a 9 day trip? :E

[Desert_Captain]

The street in front of our house is not level enough for the frig to run well and I don't bother with the yellow Leggo blocks since it only there for less than 24 hours as we load. Everything going into the freezer is frozen solid from our home unit and of course everything destined for the frig comes in chilled. If I have room I'll stick a couple of large Blue Ice blocks in the frig to help chill everything down and the cold of the freezer flows downhill helping to cool it as well.

I usually just load very early on the morning of departure and then just turn on the frig when we roll out. By the time we have driven a couple of hours everything is 37 in the frig and 27 in the freezer and by the time we reach the local campgrounds, about 4 - 5 hours, those numbers get even better and I usually have to turn it down a notch or two. On the second shelf you can see the adjustable bars that help to secure things.

:C

[Sjm9911]

I think that depends on the fridge and how it is vented and such. Mine atually kicks butt. Its overflow now for the covid **** and extra food. Freezes stuff fine and its overloaded. On the pop up the 3 way one wasnt good. But the 2 way in the TT is the cats meow. Just make sure to start it up a day or so before you head out. Since i got the TT i started freezing stuff from home for the longer trips also. When we went to disney, did 18 days and didnt need to restock and we olny ate out like 3 times the whole trip.

[Dick_B]

Just slightly off topic but for new RVers it is better to load the refer and freezer with COLD/FROZEN food/drinks. The RV refers are not as efficient as the one at home.