Fulltiming Doesn’t Mean Major Eating Change
Despite the fact that a lot of “high end” motorhome builders have eliminated the ‘old
fashioned’ oven, it seems many fulltimers still eat much as they did before they went on the road.
In a recent question posted on a fulltimer’s forum, a huge majority of respondents said they pretty well stuck with the way they cooked “back home.” How’s that? Here’s a sampling of some of the “menu items” fulltimers take to eating:
“I cook pretty much everything from scratch, so nobody can convince me that can’t be done in RV living. Lots of homemade soups, stews, chicken casseroles. Breakfast possibly cereal, or just toast & yogurt, and often eggs in many different ways. I bake jalapeno corn bread which is always a winner..hmm, biscuits, bread. Don’t do desserts much either…..so, even rving equals good cookin.”
“Breakfast is fruit OR muffins OR cold cereal w/bannana. Lunch is sandwich or leftovers. Supper is normally done in the microwave or convection. We do grill out often, with the favorite being pork steak. Veggies are either canned or frozen “steam fresh” type. In cooler weather we do lots of soups or crock pot meals. We eat out maybe 2 to 3 times a month unless visiting friends or family in their stick houses, then eating out happens more.”
“We seldom eat out. [Hubby] would be willing to go out a lot more often, but most times we enjoy having dinner on trays in front of the TV. RV living has never seemed to impact our way of cooking. In fact I enjoy it more now than I did when I was raising a family, maybe because back then I had to do it; now I choose to.”
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Fulltimers also commented that in some ways, traveling has made their eating habits better than when living in a “stickbuilt” home. ” was going to say “we eat the same as we did before we went on the road” but that’s not true. When our house was anchored we didn’t have access to fresh vegetables in the winter or good seafood on a regular basis. I’m gonna say we eat considerably better and for less money than we used to. Sometimes we have to change the menu a bit based on what is available but so far that has all been for the better.”
Our own fulltime lifestyle has revealed that in the small confines of a trailer without slideouts creative cooking tends to suffer. We generally eat simple meals, nothing elaborate, except when time and inclination hit and we do something really special. But then cleaning up afterwards without a dishwasher generally puts an end to special meals for a few weeks.
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February 5th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
We put one of those single drawer dishwashers in our rig, so we find cleaning up in not too much of an issue. Paradoxically, we found that we eat in a lot more on the road. In our stationary lives, we just didn’t have the time to cook. It was only once we started living in our rig that we discovered how wonderful cooking a meal together can be. We put on some music, pour some wine and make an evening of it.
February 7th, 2008 at 6:59 am
We love to eat in. I cook a lot with an electric frying pan or crock pot. I bake small cakes in the oven and steam veggies in micro. Being a fulltimer we now have more fresh fruit and veggies. We buy in bulk and freeze for individual meals. By bulk I mean maybe a dozen or less. One of my favorite meals in a crock pot is just putting leftovers in a gallon-size baggie in the freezer and once a week add chicken or beef broth and making a soup. Mmmm. We love our pancakes and pick up specialty mixes on the road. We have real maple syrup and honey from the region we are in at the time. I eat my oatmeal every morning, sandwiches for lunch and a cooked meal. We go in spurts when it comes to grilling. Right now we are in the Rio Grande Valley and getting a lot of seafood. Dad used to make “hobo meals” for us kids. It was a seasoned hamburger, slice of onion, potatoes and wrapped in foil and put on grill. It takes about 20 minutes. Mix a salad and bake a cake and you have a good meal. Being Irish I make a lot of boiled dinners and stews. Cooking is good in an RV. Clean up is a cinch: just clean it up as you go and then all you have is your dishes you’re using. I also make cookie dough (double batches), then separate into dozen cookie dough balls. When Karl wants fresh chocolate chip cookies, I take out a bag from freezer and bake in couple of hours. I hope this helps someone eat good “in.”
February 7th, 2008 at 11:06 am
The only thing I find a problem for most RV cooking recipes I’ve found is that they use canned vegetables (ugh)that I would never stoop to eating at home, frozen (soggy, tasteless and gross), canned soup for sauces (salty, fat laden and tastes absolutely disgusting) and salad dressings (also, full of fat, salt and chemicals and artificial tasting). I dislike using these things as, to my taste buds, they are all not worth eating. I like fresh vegetables, lean meats and no canned soups…absolutely none. I grew up with real food and never cultured a taste for those gloppy canned soups. If that’s RV cooking, then I pass. What we need is a cookbook that shows us how to cook without opening up canned vegetables, frozen vegetables or canned soup or salad dressings. Is there one out there that caters to us Baby Boomers who don’t cook like they did in the fifties? The last time I tasted canned mushroom soup in a recipe, I gagged.
February 7th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
We cook with all fresh veggies, we make our own homemade bread (in a bread machine); we eat lots of salads with ‘made from scratch’ dressings. We don’t use the microwave for food preparation (only to reheat foods). What we have found difficult is the lack of counter space in the kitchen. The three burner stove is so small that it limits the number of items that can cook at the same time. We have pored over floor plans of many different RV manufacturers and have found this to be a consistent failing in design. The consequences are that we eat 1 or 2 course meals, rather than more, and the grill becomes more important for grilling or steaming foods wrapped in foil.
February 19th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Boomers are definately not eating what their parents did. Canned stuff is out, fresh is in. No matter what size or type of RV you have, you can eat well without eating in a restaurant. However, even as good as RVers can eat it’s always fun to be waited on from time to time in a restaurant. Between your grill, crock pot and RV cooktop, microwave and oven you can cook just about anything. But it takes work, both prep and frequent trips to the grocery.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:03 am
[…] Fulltiming Doesn t Mean Major Eating Change Do fulltimers spend all their food budget in restaurants? Or are “TV dinners” more the fare? Check out results from a survey and some candid comments. […]