RV FOOD

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Coleman dishes set is outstanding!!!! It has 4 heavy duty stoneware plates and comes with 4 coffee cups and 4 bowls, which are also the beautiful bright red stoneware color. The set also comes with all your silverware, 4 knives, 4 forks and 4 spoons all in a nice little pouch that rolls up and stows away in your canteen box very nicely! These are a great quality, are easy for me to clean with no running water, and are perfect for what we need. I am not worried about them breaking and they are pretty which is a great bonus!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Coleman dishes set is outstanding!!!! It has 4 heavy duty stoneware plates and comes with 4 coffee cups and 4 bowls, which are also the beautiful bright red stoneware color. The set also comes with all your silverware, 4 knives, 4 forks and 4 spoons all in a nice little pouch that rolls up and stows away in your canteen box very nicely! These are a great quality, are easy for me to clean with no running water, and are perfect for what we need. I am not worried about them breaking and they are pretty which is a great bonus!
That looks like a pretty nice set... But is it stoneware or enamel steel?... Is this the one you are referring to?
https://www.coleman.com/grills-stov...ece-enamel-dinnerware-set/SAP_2000016407.html
Thanks,
Butch
 
We travel in our trailer and rarely have shore power. We tend to only stay in a location for one or two nights and prefer provincial parks with dry camping.

First of all we have learned how to avoid microwave foods. We cook on the stove or in the oven. My wife cleverly buys a bunch of dry goods like soup mixes, rice packs that just need water in a pot and canned goods. Then she buys meats that have a long shelf life like pre-cooked smokies, tins of tuna, a chub of ham and hamburger. She then uses the same ingredients in different ways each night so we don't feel like we're eating the same thing over and over. She does keep burgers and frozen lasagne/canelloni/shepards pie in the freezer.

We also eat a lot of fresh fruit in the trailer, more than at home for some reason. We eat better while traveling in the trailer than at home, less fast food - which may be surprising. I lost ten pounds on our last three week trip.
 
I used to do a lot more meal prep. I'd cook 2-3 dishes on a Sunday and tupperware them. Was cooking for 3 men. In the RV I am solo and space is more limited.

I am doing a little more pre-processed stuff these days and TBH costs are up a bit. I also try to keep it simple and "one pot" cook. Breakfast (when I eat it) tends to be banana on toast/english muffin and a fruit smoothie. I rarely eat lunch and if I do it's a sandwich type deal.

Dinner is usually my main meal. For meats I keep pre-cooked beef and chicken fajita meat and use it in all types of stuff. Recently I have also weaved in pre-cooked Brisket, beef tips and sirloin from the deli section. I use predominantly frozen veg and always mix in a good portion of veg. I am trying to cut back on carbs and have recently discovered the usefulness of the 90 second instant rices. Usually Jasmine or spanish rice.

I buy fresh cut fruit every week and try to eat as much as I can. I've never had a lot of luck with lettuce because I can't get through it all before it wilts so I am buying a couple of the "assemble yourself" salads from the deli each week as well as some specialty deli salads like pasta salad, coleslaw, greek salad etc. I'll add some extra proteins to them and usually use my own salad dressings. I also like to go to the "good" grocery story where they have a nice deli and pick up a couple of different deli salads a week. I like long lasting snacks so I get the pre-cut carrots and or celery sticks.

My shopping is largely influenced by living solo so YMMV. When my wife joins we will probably migrate things a bit. I don't eat out. Ever... Primarily due to covid but also because eating out is the single most expensive variable cost everyone has in their budgets.

Final thought on storage - I repackage just about everything that comes in square plastic tubs (with a lot of air inside) to ziploc bags. There is a cost to them and they aren't the most enviro friendly but they store anything efficiently, even left over soups and chilis which can even be frozen.
 
We eat fairly well when out. I like to travel for the really good foods stuff. Like fresh Willamite Valley Strawberries or Hood River peaches and Flathead Lake cherries. West coast crab and Columbia River Salmon. Apples from Eastern WA and such as that.....
I like to cook, and I made sure my kitchen could work for me. That said there are still those nights when it's TV dinners at a rest area. And more lunches at McD's then I would ever like Hubby loves that stuff 'cause it is cheap...
Sometimes I like to travel to places so I can bring home the goods and make jams and such once home.
By the way Hood River peaches make incredible smoothies and milkshakes. We will be thinking about a WA to Florida trip next year so always want to know what we are driving into to pick up like chili's from NM so if ya know what I could think about ......
 
I have been full-timing for almost 10 years, and cook and eat just as I always did, except that my oven will not hold a full-sized turkey!! I even bake bread and cookies, and whatever else I want. And because I am alone, i almost never cook outdoors because it is just easier to cook inside. I also cook slightly larger amounts and freeze things like spaghetti sauce and soups.
 
Tried and true RV staple:

View attachment 152125

My twins went to a little country school in Arkansas. One of their friends hit a deer on the way to school. They threw it in the back of the pickup, took it to the Ag Science class and dressed it out. Took the meat to the Home Ecc class and cooked up a venison stew for the lunch that day. Don't think they used this, though.
 
Now that's a school that's teaching kids stuff they need in life! Not that the three Rs aren't also necessary but knowing how to dress an animal and cook a stew are vital skills if you plan to live outside the city.
 
Now that's a school that's teaching kids stuff they need in life! Not that the three Rs aren't also necessary but knowing how to dress an animal and cook a stew are vital skills if you plan to live outside the city.
It's been many years since I've actually dressed out an animal, but my dad taught me when I was young, and I could probably fake it today. Same as he taught me to drive when I was big enough to sit in the driver's seat and reach the pedals (including a clutch). He also taught me to cook and clean. Somehow a lot of these skills are being lost today, same as a lot of so-called blue-collar skills.
 
I have been full-timing for almost 10 years, and cook and eat just as I always did, except that my oven will not hold a full-sized turkey!! I even bake bread and cookies, and whatever else I want. And because I am alone, i almost never cook outdoors because it is just easier to cook inside. I also cook slightly larger amounts and freeze things like spaghetti sauce and soups.
We once cooked a 16 lb turkey in our RV oven by splitting it and doing one half at a time. We reheated the first half and skewered the bird back together before putting it on the table outside for carving and serving our guests. :)
 
I did not read all the posts in this thread and the original post was over a year ago. But if the topic morphed into a different direction, well, like I said, I didn't read all the posts.

Our RV menu is absolutely identical to what we eat at home. No changes. The only exception is, the first night of the camping season when we arrive at the campsite, if that be on January 1, or July 1, we always have wine, cheese, and gourmet crackers as a celebration for our first camp of the season year. We set out a candle on the table, turn off all the lights, no electronics, and share a romantic moment. No kids any more makes this a wonderful and delightful tradition for us.

The first morning, after sleeping the first night, of the camping season has always been T-bone steak and eggs for breakfast. We even did this when the kids were little and we tent camped. So, we've been doing this for 37 years. Sometimes the T-bone is cooked over the fire pit, sometimes on a griddle, sometimes on a BBQ. But it's always T-bone and fried eggs. My wife likes them over easy, I like them fried hard. On occasion, for that first breakfast of the season, I've fixed home made hash-browns. But that's an extra, and really not part of the tradition.

Apart form that, every other meal is exactly the same things we eat at home. The only exception is, sometimes is prepared over an open fire and sometimes on an electric skillet or electric flat griddle, in the oven, on the Coleman camp stove, camper stove top or oven, or the microwave. We sometimes bring along an air-fryer too.

Right now we are on a zero Carb, high protein diet, so we are eating a LOT of meats at home. As we are currently (at this very moment) camping in the camper, we are also stocked up on meats. And yes, everything is fresh cooked. No fast food garbage any more.
 
We usually take more canned food that does not need to be cooked for a long time. We also take shredded pork, dry vegetables, dry shredded cheese, and lots of potatoes. These products can be stored for a long time and don’t need a freezer.
We mostly cook on a small stove inside the van or the campfire. Major cooking and baking are done on the campfire, and that’s why we have a lot of campfire cooking equipment. The most common dishes are sandwiches, hobo and traveler pies, beans in a tomato sauce, fried eggs, and potatoes. That is basically it. Sometimes we can drive to a small café alongside the road and have something from there.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My daughter-in-law and granddaughter came for a visit the last couple of days so I made them a nice dinner of grilled trout, grilled asparagus, and cheesy broccoli with rice. The trout came out of the stream that flows through the campground, so you don't get more "rv food" than that.
 
What do most of you bring on the road with you as far as food is concerned?
Whatever looks good from either Safeway or Super Wal*Marts on the way. With a supply of emergency meals, such as MREs and a few back-packing freeze dried meals.

I also eat out often when it's convenient, especially for breakfast--even when home.

I am kinda a junk-food junky, especially for breakfast. I often start the day with a large Breakfast Baconator Combo Meal from Wendy's as I did this morning. With my laptop computer for slowly sipping their large hot coffee. I post many of my messages here from Wendy's in the morning--in either Reno or here in Auburn.

Once in a while I will go to a Jack-In-The Box or even a Denny's or other restaurant just for the change. There are some really good breakfast places here in Auburn, such as Sweetpea's as well as Awful Annies.

I normally only have breakfast at home when I am in a hurry, such as for a morning group motorcycle ride which I do in both Reno and here in Auburn. Don't then have time to eat out, as I usually get up late as I always hit the sack well after midnight.

-Don- Auburn, CA
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
131,915
Posts
1,387,340
Members
137,667
Latest member
awiltzius
Back
Top Bottom