Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[Wolffarmer]

off to go get organized now.

If you have any extra I will trade you some coleman stoves for it.

Randy

[GPW]

Er, speaking of Food ... We're getting together some foodstuffs to stock our trailer for possible EVAC ... (happens this time of year ) The wife was talking about getting a case of MREs ... We had a few of these after our "storm" Not bad really ... kind of "fatty" (calories) ... but easy and very convenient ... Anybody tried those recently ??? Maybe they're "improved" ...

[Wolffarmer]

I have not tried any since 2002. I would say to research what you are buying. A real MRE is not legal to sell to the public and some that are for sale are not near MRE quality. Seems the USA is filled with scamers.

MRE type of food would be great for when you are traveling and do not want to stop for any extended time, gotta keep going, rain is getting hard. Junk food would not make great Evac grits. But cause of the cost i would not want them for very long so I would limit the number to about a 2-3 days worth. In real MREs the calorie count is very high, they where made for people in combat situations and packing a whole lot of weight so they are full of fats.

The ones I last used had the heaters in them. Add water and a chemical reaction makes heat. Was nice but not something to do while trying to move but the MRE can still be eaten cold.

Randy

[GPW]

Wolf , sometimes EVAC can be like a Combat situation ... Just sometimes the driving part alone ... like 14 hours to go 200 miles ... That's an average of 15 mph ... No FUN , but we gotta' do it ...

[Ratkity]

While a little expensive, some of the dehydrated things made for rich backpackers might be nice to have as a treat while in evac. When I was backpacking, I actually used dried foods you could buy at the time in the grocery store.

Are you concerned about the weight of ready to eat stuff? If not, Hormel makes some great stews that can be microwaved. Lots of canned stuff that is decent to pack. I'm hoping where you evac will have electricity.

Things to pack:
Water - make sure you date when you purchased it
Crystal lite packets (or similar) - something different to mix with water
Evaporated milk - great in coffee to sub for cream (whitener if you prefer)
Sweeteners - Splenda, equal, sugar (whatever you prefer). Store in humidity or water proof container to stop clumping
Spices (salt, pepper, garlic salt, etc)
Cans of baked beans, a couple soups (what if you have a cold and need some chicken soup?), tuna packs, chicken packs (you get the idea)
Some ready to eat unrefrigerated lunch items like the hormel items
Dried fruit in seal packets
Whatever veggies you can stand in a can
Rice - premixed flavors
Dried beans
I found some rice and beans in a can that aren't too bad at my local natural market - good protein

Warning: All processed food will have high sodium content.

[Wolffarmer]

I thought about the freeze dried foods but as most are a bit dry to eat without hydrating them I did not think most would be good while moving. I was thinking about keeping all attention on driving, about 1-2 days worth. After you get stopped then they might work out.

A lot more choices for them now than when I backpacked. Then it seemed it was Mountain House packets and that was all of the freeze dried there was.

Randy

[GPW]

For driving , I've been making bags of "trail mix" ... raisins ,nuts, berries ...that kind of stuff ... seems good ,but I end up "sticky" .... Have to bring some towelettes to clean up hands and steering wheel .. Easy road food ...
Rat , thanks for the list !!! When we evac if where we're going doesn't have electricity , we just keep moving on till we find some ... I have a solar panel now , but it wouldn't be enough for a microwave ... I do have my Solar cooker that will make a pot of beans in a couple hours ... as long as it's sunny ...

Living here , it's the same thing every summer , get ready and pray we don't have to ...

Wolf , When I was a kid , freeze dried was roadkill in the snow ...

[Ratkity]

Wolf , When I was a kid , freeze dried was roadkill in the snow ...

EWWWWwwwww. Did you have to identify it before consuming? hehehe.

Some of the freeze dried stuff you don't rehydrate, but eat as is.. like the freeze dried ice cream. Like I said, it's a treat and doesn't melt and doesn't require rehydration or refrigeration.

Any place you evac that doesn't have electricity, I'm sure you have some sort of alternate fuel stove. The easiest is the propane because of the ease of storage of the canisters and you don't have to refill tanks (no spillage). Not knocking the solar oven, but sometimes I wanna eat something in less than 2 hours.. lol! Even a one burner propane stove that runs on the 1 lbs bottles will last a while.

You want to get fancy schmancy (and not thrifty), the camp chef oven/stove combo is really really cool and runs on propane (1 lb or even larger bottles). My sister has one and made a cherry pie in it, biscuits, cooked bacon on the top, fried a few eggs and made cookies all in one weekend camping. Tis heavy and bulky, but full meals can be made when you are tired of eating things cooked in a saucepan.

BTW, never underestimate a huge plate of spaghetti during evac. Angel hair noodles cook fast and you can doctor a can of prego or ragu to suit.. especially if you have to clean out a freezer of some meats (burger or sausage) so it doesn't go bad.

Unopened ketsup, mustard and mayo keeps and would be a great addition to the evac box.

Some bisquik for quickie pancake making comes to mind with some fav syrup that's unopened in the box for something different for breakfast.

On the go while driving: the trail mix is great (with wet naps), but high in carbs. I also like Cliff muscle bars for extra protein. Granola bars keep nice too as well as containers of mixed nuts or even those blue diamond flavored almonds. Beef jerky is a fav while driving and you can get out lots of frustration by chewing aggressively!! lol. Another thing to tempt the tastebuds, but don't normally upset the stomach would be wasabi peas or peanuts. Trader Joes also carries bags of dried roasted veggies for snacking (green beans, sweet potatoes and something else).

I'm just rambling while watching the rain finally hit the ground here! Most of it was north of where I live.

I hope Eagle is staying dry!

Hugs,
Ratkity

[GPW]

Rat , You know , when we find some place , it's usually with friends we have all over the country , so I get to use their kitchen , and being the Chef , I then have to cook for everybody ... Most EVACs I spend cooking and baking every day ... They Love it and always ask us back ... Lots of work for me , but keeps the mind off the impending disaster ...

Just gotta' get there , that's always the challenge , on the road with a million other folks ....literally .... Once we get there I cook and the wife goes shopping ... that's what she does best ...

Rained here too (finally) , must have been my rain dance ...

[eaglesdare]

just got back from trip number 5! we left at 5pm and arrived at midnight. since it was so late, we just hopped into the tear and went to sleep. all 4 of us!

had rain on friday, but still managed to enjoy most of the day. we went water tubing, although our butts managed to get hung up on lots of rocks. and got some scraps from those rocks trying to avoid them. the girls enjoyed the pool and hot tubs.

saturday we did some more tubing and the girls did the pools and hot tubs and playground. took a quick 2 hours trip up into shenadoah national park. had a great potluck in the evening and played some games.

met new tearjerkers and some from other gatherings.

will add a few pics when i get them loaded. probably tomorrow.


hey wolf, what were you referring to about stoves?

gotta try to catch up on these threads. you all have been busy, looks like some new threads have popped up.

[GPW]

Pray tell us More .... details ... How did the trailer work ... ??? Sounds like you had a Great time ...

[Wolffarmer]

Oh, stoves and MREs. Latest mil spec MREs have a chemical heater in them. It is a plastic bag with chemicals in them ( quick lime, what concrete is made of ). YOu add water to that and they heat up and warm up the food. Works pretty good but you sure don't want to use in a care, moving or not. And you have a pouch of chemical waste to get rid of.

Randy

[GPW]

Wolf, and they get so HOT , they will burn you ...

[Wolffarmer]

I know, i have used two of them.

Randy

[GPW]

In the weeks after Katrina, if you went out in a big field and waved at the helicopters , they'd throw you cases of MRE's .. The whole neighborhood got em' , shared and swapped them for their favorite entrees... Food from Heaven ... Taxpayer financed , Thanks guys !!!