What You Need to Know About Cooking on the Road

Cooking on the road sits at that delicate precipice where you find food that is cheap, durable, flavorful, and yes somewhat nutritious.  When you first start out you might be tempted to eat out all the time. You’ll notice two things start to happen when you do this: you run out of money and you get fat. Being on the road full-time can be somewhat sedentary, especially if your line of work is more like a put-your-butt-in-the-chair kind like mine.

I’m going to break down why each of these things is important and share a recipe of what I’m cooking on the road for dinner tonight on a one burner propane/butane stove in one pot. Skip to the end for that if you are just here for the recipe.

The Intersection of Durability, Affordability, Flavor, and Healthy

Shelf life is a big factor when it comes to food supplies on the road. Either your fridge is going to have limited space or use a lot of energy to keep things preserved. This is probably a big reason you see your favorite van lifers on YouTube eating either vegetarian or vegan. Vegetables last much longer than meat.

Keeping what you have around is harder on the road too. Either because of unreliable refridgeration, vibrations on the road, or available space, it is important to have food stocks around that travel well. The food you eat ought to at least taste like something too. It wouldn’t hurt to have food around that isn’t going to break the bank or eventually kill you with all the bad things they have added to make it last longer.

Here’s What Works and (What Doesn’t) When Cooking on the Road

Canned food lasts a very long time, and is fairly self-contained. I usually keep a stock of canned soups, beans, pasta, and even some meat, like corned beef hash to use in a pinch. I use less canned tomatoes than I did in my bricks and sticks life, mostly because it goes more with long simmer soups and stews. Canned veggies are probably going to last longer than anything you keep in the fridge.

Dry goods: Dry beans, legumes, and dehydrated foods like oatmeal stick around for a while too. Pasta is on the fence, since all that movement can beat up a packet of spaghetti and turn it into crumbs. If I have pasta around, it tends to be chunkier, like farfalle or rigatoni. Boxed mac and cheese is good in a pinch.

Eggs last quite a long time and have multiple uses, from just frying them up and eating them to hardboiling them or adding them to ramen noodles for variety (and protein). In a carton or egg container they hold up well to rough roads too.

Rice is a great carbohydrate to have around. It goes with everything from white gravy to stir fry or mixing it up with a raw egg to make tomago-gohan. It lasts a long time and is always ready for you when you are cooking on the road.

Potatoes aren’t as versatile on the road, but they are fairly cheap and last a while, if stored properly. Bruised potatoes can spoil quickly and draw insects like gnats. You are probably more likely to boil them or use them in a stew than you would roasting or baking them, unless you have an oven on board.

Herbs and spices: I always have a supply of aromatics around. Garlic cloves, onions, and their cheaper cousin, shallots. Celery has almost no shelf life on the road, so I substitute with celery salt. A good spice rack can brighten up the most dreary of canned or box dinners too. 

Flour: You probably won’t be doing any baking on the road, but a small amount of flour can be used as a dredge for frying food or in a roux or bechamel sauce. It would take me about a year to use five pounds of flour, so get the good stuff in the small bags.

Veggies: Cabbage is the king. More on that later. It lasts a very long time, provides lots of vitamin C and antioxidants too. Cabbage is versatile in that you can use it in place of just about any other cruciferous vegetable. Broccoli doesn’t ride very well and cauliflower can be expensive.

Green beans: Unless you have good refrigeration or plan on using them right away, skip these and use canned instead when cooking on the road.

Milk: Only keep around 1/2 gallon at a time. I mostly use my for coffee, tea, and cold cereal. Also white gravy and bechamel sauce. If you can afford it and don’t drink it that often, use canned.

Meat: Beef is likely going to spoil or leak and make a mess. Unless I plan to eat hamburger that day, I avoid it. A stew meat or roast can be cheaper, but is likely to be an expensive disappointment. I usually lean into bacon (even though it can be expensive) because it works well with providing fat and flavor to recipes. Since it is cured, it can withstand temperature fluxuations fairly well and lasts a while. Pork sausage or ground turkey in the tube can be a great source of protein too and usually at half the cost of beef.

Oils: Olive oil, butter, and yes bacon grease last a long time and allow you to cook better. They also travel well and have plenty of health benefits.

Cooking wine: I usually keep a small box of white wine in my fridge just to cook with. Sherry will also work, or white vinegar if you don’t want to add alcohol.

Cooking on the Road Done Cheap

As prices continue to go up for everyone cheap almost goes without saying. Everyone is trying to save a little bit more money when they have to feed themselves. Road food is often salty, sugary, or loaded with preservatives. People are often reluctant to cook meals for themselves because of the cleanup but also the problem of storage when it comes to ingredients and spices.

Sure, you can live on boxed rice dinners, Spaghetti-Os, and $2 cans of soup, but the salt and preservatives that extend the shelf life of this stuff will kill you at home just as fast as it will in a bus. Here’s a list of things that are cheap and fit other criteria to make them suited to cooking on the road.

• Beans: Whether it’s canned or dry, beans are still fairly inexpensive and deliver plenty of punch when it comes to protein and fiber. Dried beans are a little bit more of a challenge, but you can soak them overnight just like you would at home. They travel fairly well soaking in a sealed container. I use a glass milk bottle.  Canned beans are still good too, though you can’t buy as cheap and keep them around quite as long.
• Cabbage: I used to eat cabbage only around St. Patrick’s Day, but I’ve started to cook with it a lot more. It can round out a stew, sautéed with bacon or sausage, or just eat the leaves raw.
• Bouillon cubes: A necessity for cooking on the road. From making stews and soups to broths when you are feeling sick or just snacky on a cold winter night, they last forever and are fairly cheap. Careful with the high salt content. If you are sensitive, use a liquid stock instead.

Another thing to consider is what you will need to make this food. Instant food typically relies on water, especially boiling water, which can be problematic for two reasons. You have to keep filling your freshwater tanks and you will constantly be burning fuel to boil water. Both can be expensive, whether it is driving long distances for potable water, or forking out the money for propane and butane to cook with.

Skoolie Cannelloni Bean Soup and Cabbage

Based on a variation of a northern Italian recipe, this is what I’m making tonight for dinner. I use a single burner propane/butane stove when I am cooking on the road.

Ingredients

• 1 16oz tube of pork sausage (or links, cut into 1” sections)
• 1 can canneloni beans (or dry navy beans soaked overnight)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 head of cabbage (chopped)
• 1 Bell pepper (diced)
• 1/2 cup of baby carrots (chopped, or canned)
• 1 Roma tomato (diced)
• 1 bell pepper (diced)
• 1/2 a yellow onion (diced), OR 1 shallot, finely diced
• 2 (or 10) garlic cloves (diced—not from a jar)
• 1 Chicken boullion cube
• 2-3 cans of water
• Dried Italian seasoning—basil, oregano, etc.—(to taste)
• Pinch of celery salt
• Bay leaf (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Prepare

1. Over medium heat, brown the pork sausage in the oil and butter, using a dutch oven with the lid off.
2. When sausage is nearly cooked all the way through, add the chopped cabbage, onion, garlic, carrots and seasonings. Sweat the veggies until cabbage becomes translucent.  Add the tomato last.
3. Add canned beans (drained) with two cans of water and boulllion cube; add enough water to just cover everything.  Crank your heat to high and bring to a boil. 
4. Cover and simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes or until carrots are desired consistency.
5. Feel free to add chopped parsley or spring onions as garnish. (Or fennel if you are feeling fancy).
6. Serve with buttered saltine crackers or crusty Italian bread. You can also cover with grated parmesean cheese like they do at Olive Garden.
7. Turn leftovers into an Italian wedding soup with a can of stewed tomatoes and a cup of dry pasta, cooked until al dente. 

Leftovers last two or three days in the fridge. Or it serves 3-4 people in one sitting. Due to onions and garlic, don’t feed this soup to your dogs.

Taking Your Cooking on the Road to the Next Level

Once you start eating better and figure out what you like and what works with your setup, you will save money at disappointing and unhealthy restaurants. What you eat can go a long way towards turning your house on wheels into a home. For me, cooking is a great way to avoid burnout, when trying to balance a nomadic lifestyle with work. Likely the worst thing about cooking on the road more will be doing more dishes, but that’s all part of the routine. After a while you get used to it and make it a part of your daily ritual, instead of the chore it used to be.

Thanks for Reading!

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