Hi! How are you all doing? I hope you are all well. We just finished our fourth week in our temporary living quarters(our travel trailer). I wanted to share how I am managing to prepare meals with a two burner propane cooktop, a microwave, and an Instant Pot. I also can use our Vita-Mix, food processor, and immersion blender.
We are hooked up to solar panels and when it’s been cloudy/smoky for a few days we use the generator. The main thing we are lacking is an oven. I need to do more planning for the meals I make so that I can use the various appliances I do have during the day.
The first week was bit of a challenge making meals and doing dishes(outside because the trailer kitchen sink is pretty small) - things we take for granted, but it’s getting better. We are very blessed to have a full size refrigerator in our garage. It runs on solar along with my husband’s computer for his business.
Another thing we sometimes take for granted is the convenience of a grocery store. We live in a small town where there is a Safeway and a Wal Mart, both of which have some organic products. The closest Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Costco is about 1 hour and 20 minutes each way. I made the trip along with coolers and ice packs so that I could get the things that I can’t get in my home town.
I do use the Instant Pot several times a week. It does come in very handy in making meals. I am looking forward to the cooler weather to make soups and chili. My son also has an Instant Pot that we use. It can make bread and yogurt in it. I will need to find some plant-based recipes to try. If any of you have a plant-based instant pot bread recipes, please share it with us. I do miss making homemade bread.
When I make a stir fry I make it in batches. The burners aren’t very big and the pan I use is small in comparison to what I used in my last house. I cook some in the pan al dente and then put it in a bowl and cover with foil. It stays warm while I am cooking the other vegetables. I can do this in the trailer and my son can make rice in the instant pot in the garage.
Don’t let your living arrangement affect your ability to not eat healthy. It can be done, with some planning and adjusting to what cooking resources you have, you can continue to make some great plant-based meals.
~Marion
Did you know?
Eat to live, not live to eat. Socrates