When travelling I like to make a list of all the essentials for survival, the necessary items and the luxury items.  I like to bring all of the essentials for survival, none of the “necessities” and three of the luxury items.  I often employ this strategy with my packed emergency food.  Please see the related “Eating on the Go Smart Style” article here.  For now let’s plan five luxury food stashes that can really help to get through when the basics of proper prudent planning just don’t cut it.

Strategy #1, freezer dips:  I like to keep my freezer stocked with dips so that those unprepared veggies in the fridge magically become the easiest meal in my house.  This really is hilarious because it takes under five minutes to make a good dip out of whatever you have on hand.  Just knowing I have this already made makes the times of overwhelm easier to navigate and keeps me nourished instead of grabbing unhealthy foods.  I like to have herbed nut cheeses and dill based dips in the freezer… This brings me to strategy #2…

Strategy #2, pre-frozen sprouted lentils, chick peas, pseudograins:  I have a hommous habit. I have tried making hommous out of just about anything but I am able to get the texture the closest to my old favourites by using sprouted lentils and chickpeas, cooking if I choose and then freezing them.  The cooking makes them less bitter and improves the texture of the dip.  Humous can also be fermented or the legumes can be fermented before freezing them to reduce lectins and phytates to negligible amounts.  Bacteria on our side!

I find it easier to digest the lentils than the chickpeas and strangely enough the freezing seems to make them even better.  It is very hard not to default to grocery-store hommous when I know that I will have to wait for three days for my pulses to sprout…  Enter pre-frozen sprouted lentils and chickpeas.  I like to freeze these in two-cup portions so that they are ready for my next homous fix.  Or another protein rich dip.  I find that freezing the chickpeas and lentils makes them softer for blending too, it is quite a magic trick.  I totally consent that freezing them will result in a few nutrients lost but I am so pleased to be eating homemade real food and totally avoiding canola oil and other processed food add-ons.  This also helps me to reduce my packaging footprint.

Strategy #3, pre-made dip mixes:  to make veggies from any corner store into a fulfilling meal. If the store has almond butter or tahini I am good to go.  I like to use different spices for different occasions.  I will bring onion and garlic powder mixed with dried thyme, parsley and chives to mix with tahini and I will bring spices to make instant peanut sauce for almond butter.  I often ferment yogurt on road trips (yes, it’s easy) and then all I have to do is add this dip mix and I have the HEALTHIEST on-the-road snack and a car-full of jealous friends.  This is also a great trick for through-hiking or backpacking.  The trick is to have the mixes already made up so you just need to pour and stir.  The Cowboy Spice Rub recipe on this app/site is an example of one of these.

Strategy #4, crackers:  These are a real staple to have on hand in order to get through snacky times.  Use your imagination in the creation of your crackers because they can be camping food or fancy food.  Try some pomegranate rosemary crackers from this site or pumpkin crackers, whatever you come up with.  We make a version in Friendly Flora but the general theory is to use soaked flax or chia to hold them together and add a variety of vegetables and herbs.

Strategy #5, something naughty:  This can be chocolate or another kind of “candy” that you really like.  I like to have something like this ready because if this is the “worst” food I eat it is still pretty safe and I have done myself a favour by being prepared.  Over the past twenty or so years I have constantly raised the bar on my bottom-line foods.  I do not tend to feel my best after eating so called junk foods but all things are relative. I am happy to feel prepared and to know that I have taken the time to ensure that I stay on track even if that means having some matcha bars or chocolate apricot squares in the freezer.