As simple as it may sound, I was inspired by Heike to add beans from a tin to my meal. I decided to go a step further and not heat them, and instead prepared a quick, easy and quite okay meal. After I asked Heike how she prepares meals while hiking she said: ‘I often go without proper meals but when I can I buy a lot of stuff and prepare it soon after I purchased it.’ This makes so much sense, because you need a lot less than you think and carrying food just for the sake of ‘in case’ is only extra weight.
While hiking it becomes quickly clear one has not much capacity to carry food. As for me, I get blocked quickly when I swerve from my way of eating and regularity at home (something I can in no way continue while touring). But I have to let the worry of not having enough food go. I get better over time and dare to be without a stock of food in my backpack.
what you’d Need in food
Protein: beans, peas, lentils, tuna, quinoa, seeds/nuts, nut butters, eggs, beef/mutton, cheese, (Greek) yoghurt, chicken, beef/mutton…
Carbs: couscous, rice, bulgur, pasta, quinoa…
Fat: preferably cold pressed olive oil/olives, nuts and seeds, beef/mutton, feta/cheese, avocado, salmon, full fat cheese, butter, dark chocolate…
Acid: lemon, vinegar (might come in a small jar with preserved capers for example)…
Flavor: spices, dried herbs, olives, fresh parsley and oregano one of the most beneficial…
This meal is not extraordinary fantastic but it does the job when you have an appetite. Depending on what ingredients you can get, it might become much better when adding herbs. In Hungarian village shops I could not find more than this:
- canned beans
- carrots
- red onions
- pasta
- canned tuna fish in olive oil
The only cooking that needs to be done is the pasta. The carrot needs to be cut in very thin batons, the onion sliced thinly. The tin of tuna can be emptied with it’s oil contents and the beans too, after the liquid is discarded. I add salt and coarse black pepper (that I took from home).
- When you have a bento box or other watertight container, you can cold soak grains and boiling is not needed for oats, bulgur or couscous.
- Cherry tomatoes are less prone to bruise than normal size tomatoes.
- Try finding herbs along the route you walk. Roast a batch of seeds you bought and sprinkle over your meal (for example sesame, coriander, cumin).
- Carry enough zip-loc bags.
- If I don’t forget, I wash all the vegetables and herbs in the bathroom of the supermarket, or else at a watertap. Don’t assume that bio products are not sprayed or treated.
Some combinations to come back to:
Chickpeas + Cucumber + Parsley + Lemon
- Add-ons: feta, red onion, cherry tomatoes, mint, olives
- Dressing: olive oil, lemon, garlic, oregano
White Beans + Roasted Red Pepper + Basil
- Add-ons: capers, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes
- Dressing: olive oil, red wine vinegar (if possible)
Black Beans + Corn + Red Onion + Lime
- Add-ons: avocado, cilantro, jalapeño, tomatoes
- Dressing: lime juice, cumin, smoked paprika (if possible)
Pinto Beans + Tomato + Cilantro
- Add-ons: pickled onions, queso fresco
- Dressing: lime + chili powder
Lentils + Smoked Salmon + Dill
- Add-ons: cucumber, radish
- Dressing: yogurt + lemon
Chickpeas + Sardines + Lemon Zest
- Add-ons: celery, parsley, capers
- Dressing: olive oil + Dijon (if possible)
Fried Beef + Couscous + Raisins + Curry Powder
- Add-ons: olive oil
Fried Beef + Rice + Soy Sauce + Sesame Seeds
- Add-ons: dried/fresh scallions/spring onions
Green Beans + Cherry Tomatoes + Shallots
- Add-ons: toasted almonds
- Dressing: mustard or vinegar (if possible)
Edamame + Carrot + Sesame
- Add-ons: scallions, red cabbage
- Dressing: soy sauce, vinegar (if possible), ginger
- carrots, red onion, apple, seeds (sunflower/pumpkin), raisins
- grilled chicken (or fry it yourself)
- canned chickpeas, kidney beans, or white beans
- firm goat cheese, hard boiled eggs, tuna or mackerel, boiled potatoes
- avocado or soaked/boiled grains like rice, quinoa or bulgur
Red cabbage goes with
Potatoes + Pickles + Dill
- Add-ons: peas, hard-boiled egg
- Dressing: mayonaise or mustard (if possible)
Couscous + Chickpeas + Raisins
- Add-ons: carrots, mint, almonds
- Dressing: cumin + lemon (I’d like roasted cumin, taken from home)
Fried Beef + Bulgur + Dried Tomatoes + Oregano
- Add-ons: lemon juice
Fried Beef + Chickpeas + Paprika + Garlic Powder
- Add-ons: olive oil
Rice + Edamame + Mango
- Add-ons: red pepper, cilantro
- Dressing: lime + sesame oil (if possible)
Pasta + Peas + Ham (something I never eat)
- Add-ons: spring onions/scallions, parmesan
- Dressing: lemon or yogurt
Smoked salmon goes with
- Shredded red cabbage, carrot, apple or pear. A handful of sunflower or pumpkin seeds and walnuts or almonds.
- Olive oil, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, mustard
- Salt + black pepper, dill, parsley or chives
- Extra add-ons: cream cheese, capers
The comments do not match this post. My blog is full and therefor I have to overwrite posts.
11 replies on “Filling meal with minimal cooking”
Wij deden dat ook toen we in het leger zaten
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Hoi ome Piet, wat deden jullie in het leger ook dan?
For summer maybe it would be good to have an opening high up like a sunroof. Hot air rises and in rushes cool air from below. If it is made of glass it can also be a discreet window letting in natural light like a window but no on can see in. A good thing when stopped on a city or a town street. It’s good to look like a plain truck in populated areas….
Hi again,
We talked all sorts of openings, windows and roofs through but decided to keep it almost as lowkey as possible.
Glass roof? I don’t know about these technical details but to me it seems glass is breakable in a truck. When I stay in and Geo moves the truck, there’s a lot of shaking going on!!
We actually went for full insulation (if I say this correctly?) So that in winter no wind would come in, no cold seeping through.
Hard plastic window panes were in our talks, but we decided not to. It’s also expensive and I argued that when we want to SEE the outside, we GO outside. Besides, we have that huge front window 😊👌
Also glass though 🤔 that is very stable in fact.
Have a good day and thanks for your input and thoughts.
Greetings Cindy and Geo
You can get large sunroofs from wrecked SUV’s. The glass is very tough. Meant to take vibration, water and life in a vehicle. The cheaper ones are manual and just pop up at one end a few cm’s and make a good discreet vent to let out hot air in summer. I didn’t realise your back compartment is open to the cab in which case you do have daylight in the back even when locked up.
Do you know that we actually did not know about such roofs. We learned it only now, now we are in serious money spending society 😂. Its new to us, such roofs. We learned much more about cars in general and how they can steer automatically!! Crazy!! Hahaha….
Yes, our whole back is made from glass. A huge light source and view.
And, thank you so much for the pee separator idea. Awesome! I’m slowly working out how I want to do things when I finally get a shack and that is one of them! Ps love all those beautiful shots, especially ones of you both in your truck home.
Hi there again, nice to read you again 😊 I thought the pee separator was a great idea. And that it could help someone else too! Good to hear it does so 😊👌 it takes practice for a lady though, but it does not take much effort to get used to it.
Thanks for your kind words 😊
In general, we loved it in there, that makes good shots of us together easy.
Have a good day.
Cindy and Geo
[…] Post 6: Minuses of living in a truck in winter […]
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