Tips for Safe Food Storage for the Van Dweller

McDonald's drive through is going to get old real quick. Very soon your going to figure out doing as much of your own cooking as possible will make life better all around. There are a number of ways you can manage a healthy diet when your living a minimalist lifestyle within your very small mobile apartment.

The most logical food preparation would be quick and simple dehydrated meals. Soups, stews and other dishes are readily available that only require adding some water and heating up on a burner. The nice feature of these meals is their good shelf life. They require no refrigeration and will last almost indefinitely until your ready to use them. If nothing else they can provide a safety valve for hard times, or when nothing else is quickly available. It would be wise indeed to maintain a supply of instant soups and various other dry products that can remain eatable as long as they stay dry.

Canned goods can be another good food source as again they don't require refrigeration. Do be careful as to what time of year and where your located as to how much of this kind of product you keep on hand. Extreme heat and freezing temperatures can both spoil and render this type of food dangerous to consume. Don't risk eating anything that has come from a can if there is any indication that the can has become damaged. Likewise any bottle products must retain their vacuum seal to be safe to consume. Once you open it refrigeration will be required. Consider small cans or jars of food as you can probably finish it in one or two servings.

Fresh produce will tolerate no refrigeration to some extent. Again don't stock up beyond what you plan on using within a day or two or spoilage will get the best of it. Storing your produce in a cooler, even with no ice will help to avoid extreme temperatures throughout the day.

Refrigeration is nice to have, unfortunately it isn't always practical all the time or for everyone. The modern portable electric cooler maintains an internal temperature 40 degrees lower then ambient temperature. Very nice while your driving down the highway with the air conditioning maintaining a cabin temperature of 70 degrees or less. At anything up to +40 degrees you can even keep milk at a healthy temperature.

Sadly as soon as you shut the engine off the temps in your van will quickly raise and in very short order your milk has gone bad on you. If that isn't enough of a problem the electric cooler will draw enough power to drain your battery down in a matter of an hour or so.

Propane refrigerators are a great way to go. If you can manage within your physical space allotment or your financial ability to have a propane operated refrigerator you have attained the best possible device for storing food that requires refrigeration. Suddenly leftovers become something to save for the next meal. We all have eyes larger then our stomachs every now and then. Instead of throwing away perfectly good food you can save it for tomorrow. Having refrigeration will also help you to keep a variety of good healthy food on hand removing the need to eat the same Raman Noodle soup every day.

An alternative to a refrigerator would be a 5 day cooler. The negative feature of these super insulated storage chests is they require adding ice on a regular basis. Depending on where you are this can be a headache. You won't find many ice machines out in the middle of the desert.

With a little planning and keeping some supplies for emergencies you can tailor a diet that will keep you fit and trim. Living in a van isn't about doing without or eating unhealthy food day in and day out. All it takes is a little effort on your part.