Hi reader,
My family and I have food for a one week vacation at an AirBNB nailed down pat.
But for 8 weeks camping in cabins, some with refrigerators, some not, some with stoves, some not, and generally being an hour away from the grocery store… NOT NAILED DOWN!
Fortunately I have some pretty savvy friends who ARE good at this sort of long-time-away-from-home thing (thank you Katie and Sabrina!) and I took their best lessons and created a plan that should (hopefully!) work for my family:
Cold Storage
We contemplated a plugin cooler, but given the fact that we're huge fans of ice (and reviewers of plugin coolers saying it doesn't get as cold as it should), we invested in a heavy duty cooler that's like a Yeti, but way cheaper.
We'll get ice outside of camp when we shop and can always get more ice at a local gas station or small convenience store. We've been testing it out and we still have ice 4 days later!
Pantry Storage
We bought what's called a "storage locker" from Walmart. Imagine what looks like a Yeti on the outside, but isn't insulated, and that's what we have for most of our dry good storage. I've been saving smaller boxes to help keep the insides organized so everything doesn't get jumbled up.
I also bought two over-the-door plastic shoe holders to be our "at camp" storage, so when we get there we simply hang them up and have easy access to the things we use most (i.e. spices, tongs, etc.).
We'll also be starting out with a plain 'ol brown box that has unopened items like granola bars, peanut butter, etc. that we'll toss when we no longer need it.
Cooking Tools / Appliances
We're bringing a blender, griddle, and Instant Pot, along with a lid that lets the Instant Pot be used as a slow cooker. Between the two (and a grill, if they're available), we can cook all of our meals.
I'm also bringing a simplified version of what I use regularly at home, i.e. spatulas, knives, can opener, etc.
Meal Plan
Given our methods for cooking and the fact that we'll be gone most of the day AND we're staying on East Coast time, most of our meals will be either slow cooker meals or Instant Pot meals. Breakfast and lunches need to be make-ahead AND packable, because mama isn't making breakfast at 4am MST!
I've kept the dishes super simple (3 ingredients or less is the goal) and we'll mix/match side dishes based on what needs to get eaten first. (For example, we'll buy lettuce and eat it first, saving potatoes and frozen/canned peas for later in the week.) I'm also intentionally cooking a lot at dinner so we can eat leftovers for a packed lunch.
Everything we need for these meals can be bought at Walmart (or ALDI) and don't require any special ingredients.
Here's a rough draft list of 10 meals we'll rotate through:
- Instant Pot Mississippi Chicken (boneless skinless chicken thigh + sliced pepperocinis + ranch seasoning)
- Instant Pot BBQ Beef (beef shoulder roast + 10 oz BBQ sauce)
- Instant Pot Carnitas (pork butt roast + taco seasoning)
- Instant Pot Chicken Tinga (boneless skinless chicken thigh + taco seasoning + diced tomatoes + cayenne pepper)
- IP / Foil Packet Chicken Fajitas (meat + onions + peppers)
- IP / Foil Packet Beef Fajitas (meat + onions + peppers)
- Grilled Shrimp / Salmon
- Grilled Burgers
- BBQ Chicken Thighs
- Main Meal Salad w/Leftover Protein
I've made sure that "extras" from each meal (i.e. BBQ sauce or taco seasoning) are used in other places too so that we don't have one ingredient for just one meal. Other extras (i.e. corn tortillas) will be used for other meals (i.e. lunch wraps) to eliminate food waste and salad night will likely be the last meal at camp as a way to use up odds and ends before we restock on the road.
Side Vegetables:
- Potatoes
- Frozen / canned peas
- Frozen / canned green beans
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Lettuce
- Cabbage
- Asparagus
- Carrots
- Onions
- Peppers
Breakfast: Granola, Oatmeal, Cereal, Smoothies
Lunch: Lunch Meat Wraps, PBJ, Leftovers
Again, this is the rough draft version and will probably change as we go further along in the trip. I'll be keeping track though so I can share the final version later.
Would it be helpful to see an exact list of what we packed for the trip? Hit "reply" and let me know!
Also, if you know any super easy meals that don't use ground meat (hubby is not a fan), are gluten-free, and can be made quickly on a griddle or Instant Pot, please send them my way!
ALL my best ♥,
PS - If you haven't been keeping up, my family and I are taking one year off from typical life. It's called a Skip Year and we'll be traveling, homeschooling, making memories, learning life skills and pretty much NOT be at home.
Our first leg is the Epic Road Trip and we're spending 8 weeks visiting National Parks. I'm sharing updates along the way via Instagram, Facebook, and email when we can!
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