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Ryan Robinson takes you for a ride in the passenger seat of his RV, off the grid, deep among the dramatic rock formations of the Utah Desert. Robinson and friends chill by the fire, tell stories, and of course, rig a one of a kind highline over the Looking Glass Arch in Moab, UT.
For me, meal time can be a little stressful. I enjoy cooking when I’m plugged into power in a campground, but on the go I can slip into the habit of eating out if I don’t do a little planning and incorporate a few meal timesavers.
You’re on the road, there’s lots to see and do, you get hungry, it’s easy to pull into a restaurant or gas station for something quick to eat. Or, you’ve been exploring, hiking and biking all day and you get back to camp and don’t feel like cooking a big meal.
By taking a little time to plan and organize your meals, you actually come out ahead with less stress during the week and more money in your bank account. It’s one less thing to think about.
Make Ahead Meals are popular and doable even in a small space like my Winnebago Travato kitchen. Set aside an afternoon to do meal planning and prep for the week. Ingredients can often be shared across multiple meals with different flavor profiles.
Sunday – finalize grocery list, shop and batch cook
Breakfast – omelette – pre-chopped onion, mushroom, peppers, and feta
Lunch – out while shopping,
Dinner – corned beef, rice and cabbage
Batch Cooking
Rice
Skillet cabbage
Corned beef
Mongolian beef
Egg Roll in a bowl
Pre-cut/prep any veggies & fruit
Week Meal Plan
Monday – no cooking, just reheating
B – oatmeal w/blueberries
L – bean salad & roasted chicken
D – left over corned beef, rice
Tuesday – no cooking, just reheating
B – oatmeal w/mangos
L – left over bean salad & roasted chicken
D – Mongolian beef, rice
Wednesday – no cooking, just reheating
B – oatmeal w/peaches
L – spinach salad
D – left over Mongolian beef, rice
Thursday – cooking lunch & dinner – both one pot meals
B – oatmeal w/blueberries
L – egg roll bowl,
D – Dan Dan noodles
Friday – no cooking, just reheating
B – oatmeal w/mangos, chicken
L – left over egg roll bowl
D – left over Dan Dan noodles
Saturday – only cooking dinner – one pot meal
B – oatmeal w/peaches
L – antipasto salad and deli meats
D – artichoke risotto
Timesaver Tools
Instant Pot or IP
The latest craze is the InstantPot. It’s a 7-in-1 cooker – a great multi-use gadget that does the job of a slow cooker, electric pressure cooker, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, sauté/browning pan, and warming pot. You can set it and forget it, cook foods that are frozen, keep your food warm and cook dry beans quickly.
The last night I plan to be on power I will make a stockpile to take with me for the following week off the grid. I love the IP so much I prioritized it as one of the main appliances in my tiny kitchen.
IP Recipes
My favorite is to make a corned beef roast and save the leftovers to have over rice the next few days. When I’m ready to make a meal, I will do a quick cabbage – using angel hair cut coleslaw in the bag and add a little onion, oil, salt and pepper and sauté. Then add in the corned beef to heat it up and eat.
IP Rice – 1 cup of rice to 1 cup of water (I like to use chicken broth) I added a little butter or oil and Borsari seasoning salt I make 3 to 4 cups at a time and baggie the leftovers.
For when you’re off-grid, make and freeze your favorite pasta sauce and chili in bags (store flat in small freezer spaces) or other containers and then pull them out throw them in a pot on the stove and add cooked noodles. I’ve done this many times at Walmart for dinner while I’m parked overnight.
In an RV, large or small, space is a premium. These ingredients double as space savers with small packaging and they do not require refrigeration.
Individual size peanut butter spreads
Packaged foods – garbanzo beans
Pre-cut veggies
Olives – pouches
Bacon bits
Ready to roast veggies packaged in the produce department
Roasted whole chicken or pulled chicken
Noodles – pasta and for stir fry
Packaged sauces – Mexican, Italian, Asian
Dried beans – lentils, garbanzo, black bean – hummus, soups, or just cooked beans
Squeeze tubes of fresh garlic, ginger, red pepper flake – last awhile and you can freeze them if you have the room
Packaged olives
Capers
Artichoke hearts
Roasted red peppers
Quick Salad Combinations
Cans last longer and do not take up refrigerator space
Julienned Canned Beets or pre-roasted beets
Wax Beans
Artichoke Hearts
Hearts of Palm
Chickpeas (canned or dry)
Black beans (canned or dry)
Corn
Olives (canned, deli, or pouches)
Capers
Artichoke hearts
Roasted red pepper
Bacon bits – real bacon, uncured
Nuts – walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, almond slivers
I try to shop at farm stands or farmers markets to pick up my fresh ingredients:
Boiled eggs (stove top, IP, or store bought)
Spinach or lettuce greens
Mushrooms
Onions
Peppers
Tomatoes
Warm spinach salad – a couple tablespoons of white rice vinegar, couple tablespoons of olive oil, salt/pepper, bacon bits – heat in pan add spinach last minute to coat leaves. Place in bowl, top with feta cheese and hard boiled egg.
Kate is a modern day solo explorer on an epic RV trip across the United States to visit 443 areas within the National Park system. She is in her 3rd year of full time RVing traveling with her 2 Chiweenies. Join her on The Road To Adventure where you’ll find videos and guides to make the most of your visit to our National Parks.
