Staying in one location in an RV has some challenges. Mobile RV’ers follow the weather. Static RV’ers deal with the weather as it comes. It can be cold in the winter and hot in the summer. If you’re static and working a job, then you are not there to warm or cool the RV during the time you are at work. This can be especially challenging in the summer.
During the summer fresh fruits and veggies are in abundance. The problem faced in a static RV is that just like your car, the inside of you RV will be hotter than it is outside. How do you store fruits and veggies in 106 degrees? The only solution I found is the refrigerator. Now you have to deal with fruits and veggies that shouldn’t be refrigerated. Also some that need to sit in the counter for a day to ripen up. One thing that can help a little bit is to grow a few vegetables in a container garden.
In addition to the fresh produce, even prepackaged foods such as pasta or rice, will go stale faster in that kind of heat. This means you can’t store extra food without it developing a taste and you need to use it and rotate it regularly. This is not an area of strength for me.
Hot plus Hot = Way too HOT
Another summer time challenge is using the oven or the stove. Both of these put out heat so when you’re trying to cool off the RV after work and make something to eat, using the stove and oven are not options. I’ve done a lot of barbecuing in the summer.
Last summer I had a new wrinkle to deal with. I broke two teeth, not major, but you still have to chew carefully having a broken tooth on each side of your mouth. I had just gotten the fixings for a salad I make with barbecue jerk chicken and cabbage. Unfortunately it was too hard for me to chew. I had to wait two months to get in to get my teeth fixed, and I needed to eat softer food in the meantime.
This happened in July. I made some refrigerator oatmeal, but soft foods tend to be soups, chilies, and pastas, things you need to use heat to prepare. I pulled out my instant pot and got by making wintertime foods in the summer using the instant pot. But this brings up another challenge I face, and that is cooking for one.
When I make a meal in the instant pot, if it serves four then I am eating that meal for the next four days. If it serves more, like six to eight, I’m either eating larger portions for longer days or I’m having the same meal for lunch and dinner. I don’t need to tell you how that can become a problem.
Something New to Try
I did discover a new option that is quite interesting, and very possibly an answer, and that is an electric lunchbox. I got the Itaki lunch box, but I think there are other good ones out there. I’m looking at recipes a little differently when I think about using the Itaki. I look at dividing the ingredients before cooking, rather than after, so I can cook only one portion at a time. The trouble is there are very few electric lunchbox specific recipes so I’m winging it. I’ve made a couple tasty and healthy meals, but I don’t know if I can duplicate them because I didn’t really have a recipe for them. I’ll try to do better so I can share them here.
I’m also looking for a new rice cooker. I need one that is ceramic and not Teflon coated. Both for my health and for when I can bring Elmo home. They cook similarly to an electric lunchbox, yet still slightly different. I also think it may be a good way to cook one pot single meals when it’s hot outside.
I’ve recently been experimenting with a one pot version of a stuffed bell pepper casserole in the rice cooker. I’ve made both an Italian variation and a Mexican variation. Both have been good, but my rice was just a little crunchy. I think that is because I didn’t’ account for the altitude in my water to rice ratio. Nothing is ever straightforward is it?
The point of sharing all this with you is share some of the hurdles I’ve faced with food in a static RV. And also to take this information and apply it to any recipes I may share. Healthy “shelf stable” one pot meals for one?
Best,
Sherrie
P.S. If you’re interested in my personal top ten tips that helped me lose weight while intermittent fasting, don’t forget to go to the form in the sidebar and request your copy.
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