I sometimes get asked how I cook in a minivan camper. The answer is, “with hot water”…

I’m not much of a foodie, so I “cook” with an immersion heater and carry food that doesn’t require refrigeration. I supplement what’s in the video with fresh carrots and fruit. If you want to travel fast and light, you can’t get much lighter than this.

The soups in the video can be found at Whole Foods. For breakfast, I mix up oatmeal with some cranberries and nuts and pack it as individual servings in ZipLocs. I eat that in paper bowls, which can serve as tinder. On relaxed days, I treat myself to a meal out once in a while. Obviously, at 250 lbs, I’m not starving. Each meal takes about 15 min to prepare and eat, with minimal waste packaging.

I also make my own jerky before every trip, in case I get hungry during the day or while hiking.

2019 Update: I’ve now added a refrigerator to my minivan. It’s great to store the occasional leftover and would be good for people that need to keep medicines cool, or cold. The power draw is minimal and if you keep some water bottles in there to hold the cold, it’s very efficient. You can check out a video review of my minivan camper refrigerator, here:

–Odyssey Camper