Campers, what do you eat?

[growingvegetables]

In some of ethnic stores you can get prepared packeted Indian meals - originally produced for the Indian army rations. Forget boil-in-the-bag Uncle Ben's. These are GOOD.

Usually carry a couple. Otherwise - rice or pasta (with a few added flavours - I always carry garlic, chilli pepper, and black pepper)

 

[yello]

steve & snorri have got me to thinking. There's a certain degree of pfaff and discomfort/inconvenience (not to mention weight) to carting your own food, cookware etc around. When you can eat for sod all from supermarkets and the like, you have to ask yourself if it's worth it. Depends on many factors, of course, where you're going and for how long not least, but there are certainly arguments for not bothering.

I'm riding there and back to the UK early next month (basically a week on the road) and I'm not bothering with cooking stuff.

 

[djb1971]

The cookset and crap camp cooking skills are part of the enjoyment for me.

It's an adventure

 

[yello]

I'm beginning to wonder if the cooking doesn't also function as something to do of an evening.

Tent up, shower.... then what???

 

[Brandane]

I used to take all the cooking gear and food but in the end I thought sod this for a game of soldiers. 12 years of eating in the Woods while I was in the army put me off it.
Unless you are in third World country there is food almost everywhere. In Europe supermarkets can provide you with enough cold food to keep you well fed. Fast food places, cafes, restaurants. There is food everywhere.

I stopped on the Way home for 10 minutes to eat cherries growing wild. I do take a flask of hot water and coffee with me though.

Steve

Wot steveindenmark said^^^.
The only place I've had to cook over the camp stove was Iceland where there were few facilities for eating out and menus seemed to be restricted to pizza or fried chicken.
It's not just the food, it is the use of a proper chair for the hour or so it takes to eat and drink that makes eating out one of the pleasures of a tour for me.

It was my most recent trip to France which convinced me that self catering is the way to go. Restaurant prices there seem to have shot up, and sometimes for not great meals. I reckon I can do better myself at a fraction of the cost, and on top of that I don't particularly enjoy going off to a restaurant when traveling alone.
As for having the use of a proper chair for an hour; that is not needed in my case - I have a Brooks saddle .

 

[yello]

Restaurant prices there seem to have shot up, and sometimes for not great meals.

An observation I'd agree with. You're hard pressed to find a set lunch for less than €11 these days, and that'll be nothing more than functional. But one doesn't have to eat at restaurants.

I dunno, I'll report back in mid August after my real world experiences!

 

[djb1971]

I always carry a couple of the 'look what we found' bitb meals or ration pack type meals and use rice or pasta to bulk them up. They've saved me from going hungry on a few occasions in Scotland when I've not found 'proper' food. They take little space up in a pannier and weigh very little. There's no washing up either if you eat straight from the bag. They are a big upgrade from tinned food but not like cooking fresh stuff.

Fresh food is not worth carrying, just get your ingredients when you pass a local shop. I don't know what I'll fancy eating tomorrow when touring, it's nice to have a choice.

 

[stephenjubb]

I have done cycle camping, but previously relied on eating out. I now want to tackle some self catering. I plan to buy a basic one ring camping stove and to keep weight down will probably just carry a single pot, or one of those where the lid doubles as a frying pan.
Obviously this restricts menu options somewhat! Also having no fridge will mean tins or buying just enough food for one meal at a time. I am thinking stir fries or pasta dishes, eaten straight from the pot. Tins of sausages and beans would get very boring, very quickly.
What do the rest of you do for non boring food?!

If you want to eat pizza (or anything you can cook in an oven at home) have a look at this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Outback-O...399?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item3cd195f4a7

 

[Brandane]

If you want to eat pizza (or anything you can cook in an oven at home) have a look at this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Outback-O...399?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item3cd195f4a7

Don't know that I would use that enough to justify the cost TBH.. If only someone would invent a solar powered, portable, lightweight microwave!

 

[HelenD123]

I could manage without a stove for a few days but after that the novelty of eating out would wear off and it would get too expensive. I actually quite like cooking as well. It's rarely a chore at the end of a day in the saddle. In the same way a hotel/B&B is a treat after camping for a while, a meal out if I see somewhere I really fancy is a treat instead of cooking. I guess I like variety.

 

[rich p]

I do a mixture - it really isn't a one or the other question.
Cycling, camping and cooking for yourself, is a low cost therapy for me. I get a kick out of having such a good time on a 2-person budget of 20 to 30 Euros or so.
It's not always practical, or the novelty would wear off, but it I get a kick out of doing something that is so different from my normal, middle-class life.
I do only tour in southern European climes though and I may not be so sanguine if I was doing it in a cold, rainy environment.

 

[raleighnut]

I'd be lost without a stove, no coffee or green tea in a morning, purgatory. As for star*ucks, co*ta et al I wouldn't drink that if they paid me. When I go on a touring Holiday (or backpacking) the emphasis is on Holiday, not what can I get away without taking.

 

[coffeejo]

What does everybody do about milk?

 

[vernon]

What does everybody do about milk?

I use coffee whitener.

 

[yello]

After a night's contemplation, I've decided the cooking stove is part of the experience. It wouldn't be cycle touring without boiling up a pan of pasta nor, and more importantly, a cup of coffee (grounds, not instant, as my 'luxury' is a coffee pot!)

Re milk, I carry powdered milk for when there's none fresh.