What Food to Buy Without Refrigeration?

[NatKat]

Originally Posted by K_V_B

There is no reason to assume a priori that "natural" foods are more nutritious. Firstly natural is relative. Almost nothing in the human diet is natural. Secondly nature does not exist to nourish us. If you could assign an intention to nature it would be to kill us, and in the end it always does.

Hi KVB,
Not sure I understand your post.
An heirloom tomato is an example of a natural food which human beings have selectively bred for centuries for its benefits to humans. A fish you catch in the Ocean is an example of a natural food which Nature in Her great bounty provides for humans and marine life further up the food chain than that fish. These traditional food items have assured the survival of the human race for thousands of years.

Meanwhile, I have walked through an airport and seen people eating items I could not even identify at fast food joints. Food loaded with additives created in a laboratory and packaged in plastic is suspect. The BPA scare is probably not the last "packaging" scandal we might see. Genetically modified seeds which are bred to withstand being doused with Agent Organge (otherwise known as Roundup Ready Crops). Leaving politics aside ... I just don't think these items have been around long enough to know whether or not they are safe and nutritious.

Back to the fish and the heirloom tomato ... my grandmother cooked these foods and her grandmother before her. They are natural and we KNOW they are safe and nutritious.

And no ... I don't think Nature is out to kill us ... more like the opposite. But that is another thread.

cheers,
NatKat

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by K_V_B

It's not because a chemical was synthesized in a factory that it is junk...
There has always been stuff in our food that was bad for us. But things have improved.

A Mc'D, KFC and Taco Bell fan...?

[NatKat]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

And that was how far I got. Shame to ruin a post with sneering judgements when it started so good... Canned ham and corned beef are prime examples of what to provision a boat with, and have nothing to do with chemicals and plastic trash.

Please don't take it as a "sneering judgement". It is a simple observation ... some people aim for zero waste and others throw garbage into the ocean ... and a whole lot more in between. I don't necessarily think I am buying a ticket to heaven by aiming for zero waste at sea ... but we have a small boat and I prefer not to haul around trash and I won't throw it overboard.

Canned ham and corned beef are fine for YOU. But not so great for vegetarians or people with religious prohibitions about eating pork or beef.

Anyway ... I hope you can enjoy the rest of the post without taking it wrong. Sailing is ancient technology ... and one of the interesting things I have learned from these threads about NO refer ... is that I don't need to let not having thousands of dollars worth of solar and refer equipment stop me from taking longer trips ... that I can rely on traditional foods which have nourished human beings for centuries.

Please try to take the post in that light as that is the spirit in which it was written.

Best Regards,
NatKat

[Starbuck]

NatKat, you're preachy and condescending, and worse, you're blind to it. Please give it a rest, and let the thread continue.

[boatman61]

Speaking about 'Corned Dog'.... a couple of days before I left Oriental for the UK a GF turned up and asked how I was provisioned so I showed her my stock of Oats, tinned, dried and semi dried fruit, nuts, flour for Nan breads and pancakes, pepperoni type sausage and assorted veg, condensed milk, sugar, coffee etc...
Next thing I knew 20 large tins of 'Dog' and assorted other canned 4 legged protein was brought to my boat... seems Americans think one cannot live without meat... I arrived in the UK with 19 tins of 'Dog' which I promptly gave away.... Disgusting stuff.
Oh... tin 20 went over the side after the first mouthful

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Starbuck

NatKat, you're preachy and condescending, and worse, you're blind to it. Please give it a rest, and let the thread continue.

There's been some preaching in this thread, but not, in my opinion, from NatKat. Not at all. She did not interfere with the thread. She contributed to it.

However, you just tried to silence someone.

[Seagull111]

I enjoyed all the tips from experienced sailors. I' m not vegan but I don't have a lot of room in my fridge which I have mostly for cold beer. So don't anyone be put off by the curmudgeons who lurk waiting to pounce on any and all who are not as pure as they.

[Piglet]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Speaking about 'Corned Dog'.... a couple of days before I left Oriental for the UK a GF turned up and asked how I was provisioned so I showed her my stock of Oats, tinned, dried and semi dried fruit, nuts, flour for Nan breads and pancakes, pepperoni type sausage and assorted veg, condensed milk, sugar, coffee etc...
Next thing I knew 20 large tins of 'Dog' and assorted other canned 4 legged protein was brought to my boat... seems Americans think one cannot live without meat... I arrived in the UK with 19 tins of 'Dog' which I promptly gave away.... Disgusting stuff.
Oh... tin 20 went over the side after the first mouthful

BLASPHEMY !!!!!

[detav007]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i tried growing tomatoes and some other items on board--serrano chiles and poblanos--lol didnt work--air is too salty...but the basil took off runnng--i gave that away to a chef on a force 50...lol wasnt doing me any good.
mebbe if i didnt get salt water into the soil they woulda grown better....

I'd never thought of growing on board. I've heard that asparagus loves salty environments. My parents always grew theirs by the road and the salt from the roads would make it grow like crazy every year. Just a thought for boat gardeners.

[Krogensailor]

Natcat, I got my ass handed to me here by sharing my experience regarding what is called 'food', in our culture these days. This is one of the areas where I own that I am militant. Our s.a.d.diet damn near killed me. The 'Standard American Diet' fact is that we know little or nothing about nutrition, all of grandmothers truths have been watered down or eliminated. The instructions are on the side of the box. The facts and ingredients are on the label. Science has told us all the truth we need to know. And many/most on the forum here are unwilling or unable to graciously allow you or me or anyone of our ilk to simply sing our say. I suspect that because of the addictive qualities of the modern diet we may not be able to stand the thought of withdraw. I've been accused of being "intellectually dishonest", "illiterate', a "troll" and so on when it came to this topic. Truth is, there are beer and canned ham guy's, (and God bless you, enjoy) and there are beans and rice guys too, allow us to enjoy, and perhaps impart our experience and point of view. I can hear the wheel barrow coming my way now with my ass in it again, so be it. As to the original question, here's my take on food for the voyage, whether it's around the bay or around the world. Minimal refridgeration. Maybe just a freezer for fish, meats and a spill over for the beer. Dry good's, as in beans, rice, grains,(whole), dehydrated what have you. Oat meal, dryed fruit, raisins etc. canned meats, if thats the way you go. one of the things that I like is sea weed. (Ouch, I think someone just threw a can of ham at me). Then, when you get where your going find local veggies and specialty's. That's all in a general way, my personal decisions are that I do my best to not eat food that comes with a label, food that comes in a bag, a box, a can or a bottle. I definitely don't eat food that is WHITE. All of the above is directly related to what food is good on the boat. I look to folks on this forum for support and guidence. And what ever I can offer. Many here know much more than I do. I, we, may know more than others about this subject,,,perhaps. I will listen to your knowledge and take what I need and leave the rest. Please do the same. The above is one mans/women s point of view. That's all. Just a point of view.

[NatKat]

Thanks for a very interesting thread ... I have learned a lot from it.
To those who say I am too "preachy" ... I am truly sorry to come-off that way ... but maybe it hits a nerve for you? Normally I give people the benefit of the doubt in on-line forums ... since we can't see facial expression or hear tone.

There are all sorts of people in the world and on boats. I don't think it is wrong to talk about traditional foodstuffs which travel well and provide good nutrition ... and all the modern package foods and everything in between.
Not sure why people turn this into a "war" ... it has been fun & informative to learn about what foods are best on a boat w/ zero refer: Traditional AND Modern.

Now off sailing to our own little piece of foggy paradise: Santa Cruz Island

On the menu: Oat meal with cinammon and apples for breakfasts, Sambar cooked in a pressure cooker with a side of rice, Nachos (our one convenience food with canned beans and packaged chips), grilled yams, potato subji, Red lentil Dal Tarka & rice, vegan chocolate tapioca pudding, and AkMak crackers with gruyere cheese and cucumbers for while we are under way, also some home-made bananna bread made with eggs from our own chickens and a home made peach pie which I baked last night to bring along. Both the bread and pie keep very well for the 1-2 days before we finish eating them.
YUMMY
and only the cheeses and almond milk need a refer (gruyere hardly does ... one of those very traditional travel foods)

We are all incredibly blessed to have such bounty to eat in a world where others go hungry.

Cheers & Bon Apetit,
NatKat

[RedHerring]

Originally Posted by NatKat

Back to the fish and the heirloom tomato ... my grandmother cooked these foods and her grandmother before her. They are natural and we KNOW they are safe and nutritious.

With all due respect, your grand-grand-grandmother, unless she was rich nobility, probably didn't have much choice about what to eat, certainly ate large quantities of food that was salted, smoked, brined, boiled in sugar syrup, and so on; lots of animal fat, caffeine, simple carbs and so on. Probably lived 15 years less than you shall, too. I would not rely on her dietary choices too much.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Krogensailor

Natcat, I got my ass handed to me here ...

That often happens to people who hand their opinions out with a ramrod.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by RedHerring

With all due respect, your grand-grand-grandmother, unless she was rich nobility, probably didn't have much choice about what to eat, certainly ate large quantities of food that was salted, smoked, brined, boiled in sugar syrup, and so on; lots of animal fat, caffeine, simple carbs and so on. Probably lived 15 years less than you shall, too. I would not rely on her dietary choices too much.

+1. Food nostalgia is like all forms of nostalgia , a rose tinted view of the past , uncoloured by reality

Dave

[atoll]

can't go wrong with a bit of chorizo