ADV Minimalist Cookbook Thread

This thread is for those of use that are on a much tighter budget when traveling, or those of us that like to cook. While putting together a budget for my up coming trip I realized that factoring in food for $20 would make up 27% of my overall budget. So I'm on a quest to reduce that number. I believe you can eat good for much less than $20 per day. I'm sure that number can be cut in half and eat healthier in the process, especially in lower income areas of the world.

I know some will say eating out is half the fun, etc... but some of us are also looking to cut the cost of traveling and this is an area that can be adequately trimmed.

First we must remember that when traveling we cannot pack food into a refrigerator, so this really minimizes how much we can buy at a time, where we buy our food, and how much it will cost. However there are many ways to preserve foods beyond just keeping them cold. Some food such as oat meal, potatoes, rice, squashes, and many fruits and vegitables can be kept at 70-90 degrees for a few days with good ventilation, temps at or below 70 is preferable however. Other food such as meats can be dried prior to leaving on you trip and then added to soups, salads, mashed potatoes, eggs, etc. Canned food is another obvious food that stores easily, but can be heavy.

Now the idea here is to buy your food when you stop for gas, or at the nearest town every day or two. Buy things such as meats, eggs, cheese, milk, vegetables, etc to use for your cooking. But you can pack and carry some items such as butter, cooking oil, garlic, spices, potatoes, rice, oatmeal, tortillas, small condiments, etc.

But it would be great if people could post some good recipes or tips on cooking and eating your own food while traveling. I want to compile some good recipes that are for the minimalist people out there planning their trips.

I will post up some of mine tomorrow when I have had some extra time to type them up.

At $20 you're talking steak for supper.

save space. skip the salt & pepper shakers and various spices.

mix 50/50 Montreal Steak Spice, and seasoning salt.

I shaker, goes great on everything from burgers, to fish, to steak, to fries, chicken and ribs.

I have a few favorite CHEAP road recipes:

One pack of ramen noodles (leave out the flavor packet) + one pack instant soup cheddar cheese flavor = poor mans quickie mac n cheese.

Get a food dryer. Dried marinara sauce + dried onions and peppers + ramen noodles = quickie spaghetti. Add a chunk of parmesan, or use those little packets.

Premixed oatmeal in a ziploc bag: Instant oatmeal, dried blueberries, turbinado sugar, full fat dried milk (name brand Klim), cinnamon.

Premixed coffee: Instant coffee, white sugar, Klim.

Peanut butter and jelly with bagels or pitas.

Foil packs of tuna are versatile and delicous.

Butter buds and dried milk are your friends when making pasta mixes like NoodleRoni.

Get a six spice dispenser from a good camp store.

Free packets of condiments are handy, honey, margarine, lemon juice, bbq sauce, and mayo are my most desirable freebies.

from here:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=408345

Cheap, tasty, doesn't require rocket science.

I got two easy ones.

1:
heavy tinfoil, fish hook, line, salsa.
catch a fish. gut it, wash it but don't fillet it.
fill body cavity with salsa.
wrap it tightly (folding the tinfoil over the fish, and folding over the edges to make an airtight envelope). Place directly on grill over fire or on hot coals if no grill. cook on one side until sizzling and hot, then flip over and cook from other side till the foil inflates like a balloon. (stean pressure should ensure thourogh cooking). Carefully open the foil. the fish skin and scaly parts should be stuck to the foil, and the meat should slide easily off the bones buy using a fork with a gentle pulling motion from the spine to the gut. just slide the meat right off the fish onto your plate. Boneless, easy and tasty.

2:

save up the crumbles from your cereal boxes (toss in freezer, when you're near the bottom of the bag).
use up all those plus any cereal, nuts, dried fruit, m&m's, trail mix you got.

take a large bowl, toss in a bag of marshmallows, and a pat of butter. Heat in microwave until puffy and warm.
Add enough cereal, nuts fruit etc to make a big (ricecrispy cake style) manageable ball. Press it into a greased cakepan. let cool, cut into squares.
this packs well, doesn't need refridgeration, or cooking on the road.

Mr Noodles or Top Ramen, with a teaspoon of Pataks curry paste. add a tin foil pack of tuna and you have a really filling dinner that takes not much fuel to cook. You can add some local vegetable to the mix if you like. Breakfast is always two packs of flavoured instant oatmeal, you can add nuts or dried blueberries or local fruit, again filling and energy filled and not much fuel used. total cost for breakfast and dinner is about three and a half dollars including fuel. Then make lunch your stop and eat somewhere meal. The best part of these meals is that they cut down on weight carried. They keep forever. And because you can add different stuff to them you don't get sick of them.
I pack a small esspresso maker for coffee and use it as a kettle as well.
Sausage and cheese and chocolate are also great.

Wow we've already got some great ideas that I never even thought of

forgot one of my personal faves....
if buying a steak at the grocery store, before setting up camp:
grab a newspaper to wrap the (already packaged meat, good idea to ziplock freezer bag it before wrapping the whole thin in newspaper). Newspaper is great insulator, fun to read, and the start fire with. (often yesterdays paper if free if you ask).

use your morning coffee grounds, and a shot of whisky/vodka (obviously you have that in your survival/first aid kit) to make a paste, and rub your steak with, then seal in the ziploc baggie to marinade while you build your fire.
(why booze? if there's any germs on your meat, they'll most likely be on the surface) Over the coals, not the flames, grill your steak after scraping off the marinade (don't go ocd on it, any marinade left on will come off during cooking) at least to medium, on the road is no time to be eating rare meat, if you can avoid it.

when done, add some seasoning salt/montreal steak spice and let set for at least five minutes before eating.

My breakfast favorite is a nalgene bottle or empty kool-aid bottle filled with instant oatmeal. I mix about half plain oatmeal, half brown sugar oatmeal (from the single serving packets you can buy) It takes about 2 minutes to make on most camp stoves or over the fire. You can fit a few weeks worth in the nalgene bottle and it will keep forever. Throw in some fresh fruit or berries to jazz it up. I save lots of Kool-aid bottles for camp food storage. They are cheap, waterproof, and hold the essentials (rice, beans, oatmeal, cornmeal, and ummm Kool-Aid)

oh, and +1 on the premade seasoning shaker. I do that, and throw some sugar packets from a restaurant into a ziplock. pepper packets too. You can get almost all the camping spices and utensils you need at a taco bell stop on your way outa town. Its all about the spork!

:dg

Where's larryboy's recipe for fried game hen?

There is a reason much of the less affluent world lives on beans and rice. Beans provide all but a couple of essential protiens and rice the necessary carbs. Supplement those staples with the right fruitts and vegetables, and you are on a low cost diet.

I hated most beans as a kid. But as an adult traveling around the Caribbean a fair amount, I've learned to appreciate so many kinds of simple but tasty bean dishes and varieties of rice. Dried beans can be soaked in a water tight container dirign part of the days ride to help with prep for dinner time.

+1 on the fact that butter and many kinds of cheeses keep without refrigeration. Before I was into bikes (for the second time around), I was into boats and cruising - the offshore sailboat cruisers have lots of tricks. Eggs bought straight from the producer before they are washed can be preserved for several weeks with out refrigeration (if you can keep them safe from shock and vibration).

Canned meats - corned beef, tuna, Spam (my favorite; really), dried chipped beef, Canadian bacon, etc.

Lots of opportunities to save and eat well.

Over here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=271064&highlight=recipe

Noodles and tuna cost me about $3.00

I'll cook a double portion of black beans and rice saving half for lunch the next day. A small can of meat and I'm styling for about $4.00

Instant oatmeal is a very cheap breakfast. Add a cuppa and you can eat well for about $1.

Rather than buy expensive bottles of energy drink, buy the powder and mix your own. I generally use about half the recommended amount and haven't found any problems.

I look in the managers case for soon to be expired meats. Steak over a wood fire is pretty fine too.

I look in the soup isles for deals. I stay away from powdered soups and ramen as they have huge amounts of salt and that means lots of thirst and water.

While tuna in those packets are fine they are much more expensive than the tins. it's far cheaper to buy the tins and a can opener than the foil packets.

Almost any microwavable meal can be cooked on the stove. Those $2 Dinty Moore meals come out fine.

I carry seasoned salt, olive oil, and my favorite bbq sauce. You can get salt, pepper, sugar, and most condiment at any truck stop food bar. Grab a handful and they'll last a few days. In a pinch I've used a bunch of catsup packets to make red sauce for pasta and added a bit of meat for protein.

I rode 14000 miles in 6 weeks this summer and averaged less than $60/day for gas [$4.50-5.00/gal], $0-14/night for a camping site, food, souveniers, and other incidentals. Gas was by far the biggest expense [$25-35/tank], followed by camping/showers/laundry etc. Food was the least expensive item.

I've also eaten at Subway. For me, the $5 footlong is a double meal. I get the full meal and eat the chips and drink the soda at lunch and have th other half for dinner. That's about $8 for 2 meals. One suggestion though, make sure they go very light on the oil, mustard, catsup, etc as too much will turn the bread soggy. And stay away from the tuna sub - unrefrigerated fish isn't a good thing, nor is mayonaise.

Voice and words of 'sperience.

Any other fans of a good curry out there ?.
Here's a good method for camp curry or Beer Can Balti as I prefer to call it,but it can be used to cook many other dishes.

Whenever possible on a tour I like to cook the evening meal over a fire of some sort usually a barbecue at a campsite or open fire if rough camping.

I generally just carry charcoal with me as its light,cheap and easy to strap on the bike,disposable barbecues are a rip off, so if I have to use one at a campsite a quick rummage in the bins usually yields a used one which is easily refilled with my charcoal.

I like to drink beer too and while the barbecue is getting up to speed I will polish off a 440ml or preferably 500ml beer (sorry I don't know what the US equivalent is) the empty can will make make an excellent disposable cooking pot.

Using my trusty Leatherman I cut a slot about 1 inch wide back from the ring pull opening and fold the aluminium back to the bottom of the can to form a handle with which to lift the can using the Leatherman pliers.

Push the opening bit back into the whole to seal the hole a bit...BE VERY CAREFUL... its sharp and you have just drunk the beer,now lie the can on its side with the slot on the top and you have a one person cook pot.

At this point you will usually have some onlookers expecting some sort of crazy biker drug taking scenario.

For the curry,I like to use fresh ingredients bought on the road apart from the curry paste which I usually take with me as it can be hard to find especially in France and Germany.

Into the can,a knob of butter and a small amount of cooking oil, one small chopped onion, when onion has cooked a bit, some chopped garlic ,sliced pepper, a chopped tomato,chopped chilli pepper to taste, a sliced chicken breast and a couple of table spoons of the curry paste,this will pretty much fill the can but it will cook down,so just leave it to cook while you drink another beer and if it starts to get dry just pour in some of your beer.
Best served with boil in the bag Basmati rice (cooked in a normal pot) or nan bread cooked on the barbecue/fire.

This may all seem long winded to some but I like to eat well and I have used cans to cook all sorts of things in with great success.

Take a look at www.freezerbagcooking.com

There are many cheap easy recipes. It is geared towards hiking but applicable here as well.

Greg