Life in my Element: How I cook while living in my honda element
I received lots questions on my last blog post “How I live and save over $1000 a month by living in my Honda Element.” Click here to read about that. One of the most asked questions was about cooking while living inside the Element. With my setup cooking inside the Element is not really an option. Luckily I stay mostly in Southern California where it does not rain too often. When I cook I take my cooking outdoors or on the trunk bed of the Element & it works great. So lets see how I cook while living out of my Honda Element. I added a link below to my YouTube channel to show you how I cook a typical breakfast.
How do you cook?
My stove is a Coleman two burner stove which is amazing! It runs off a small propane tank which you can buy pretty much everywhere and they last a long time. The design of this stove is great because it folds to be flat and saves a lot of space in the Element. You can find a cheap used one on craigslist. They are also not very expensive so if you want to buy a new one you can find it on amazon here. I have a basket with all my cookware underneath my sleeping platform so its easily accessible. If I want to cook something quick or just need to boil water for tea or coffee, I use my single burner stove which sets up quicker and boils water super fast. For cookware I like to use backpacking versions of cookware. The reason being is that they fold up very compact so it helps me save space in the Element.
What about a refrigerator?
To keep things fresh or cold I trust my Orca cooler which keeps my food cold for DAYS! I love this thing I cant recommend it enough. After I cook some fresh food I stash it away in the cooler and it stays fresh for 3-4 days without any problem. It is also super for storing other things like yogurts, fresh veggies, etc. I have also seen people use a Dometic Fridge these fridges are compact and plug into your vehicles 12v port. They are on the pricey side so be prepared to pay more up front but save on Ice on the long run.
Where do you cook?
The park! Remember those? It seems people tend to use parks less and less because they are almost always empty. Where I live there is a park every few miles. So I just pull up in the Element pop the back trunk bed and set up right behind the Element. If I have more time I carry my stove and find a park table and set up there. Something about cooking outside is nice peaceful and makes the food taste better.
What do you eat.
I would say I eat VERY well while living in the Element. I try my best to eat a pretty healthy diet but I am also human and enjoy eating delicious foods. So while I am not super disciplined when it comes to my diet I do try.
Breakfast - Depending on the day I may skip my breakfast. The reason for this is because I try to do intermittent fasting 4 times a week. This has a lot of cognitive and digestive benefits, plus it makes my mornings much simpler. So Ill have about 16oz - 32oz of water and get ready for the day. If I do have the luxury of time in the morning Ill usually boil some water and make some oats with a fruit bananas or blue berries. Then Ill boil some eggs about 3-4 of those and then ill boil couple that with some broccoli and Ill call that my breakfast.
Lunch - Normally this is my salad for the day. Salads require very little effort into cooking or prepping & they are super healthy. Just grab some spinach, cherry tomatoes, blueberries, top it off with some nuts an avocado and if I want a little extra protein I will add in some Tuna or Salmon. Top all of that with some lime juice and you have your self one delicious salad.
Dinner - I will normally eat the meal I prepped for the week whatever that is a stir-fry, a curry, chicken breast & whatever veggies I have on hand bell peppers, broccoli etc. This is where I have to be honest. If nothing is prepped I will eat out. This happens more often than I would like. Its just so simple to walk in have the food prepped and ready to go especially after a long long day & if its dark out. I do try to eat cheap when I go out. So sometimes dinner is a burrito, poke, a curry or whatever else sounds good.
Snacks - Nuts, Yogurt, Power Bars, Protein Shakes, Huel. Huel is a life saver its a complete meal in a shake so if I am in a rush I know I can get everything my body needs in a clean safe package. Its perfect for busy busy days.
What about eating out?
Yes. Sometimes the convince of not having to cook is just to great. When I do eat out I try to be smart about it and still eat healthy choices no fast food & I try to avoid the processed stuff. One tip I like to share is you can stop into almost any grocery store and buy a whole rotisserie chicken. These are easy enough to break down into chicken wraps or burritos and require little effort. I’ll be real though some of my guilty pleasures are burrito bowls at Chipotle or a carne asada burrito/pizza at Whole Foods. It’s obviously not the best way to save money but hey no ones perfect.
Final thoughts
Eating food while living in the van does not have to be expensive or challenging as long as you have the right gear and recipes it can be quite fun. Plus there is something so special about cooking outside that I love. Thank you for making it this far please subscribe to my youtube channel & follow me on Instagram thank you for your support! The links are right below this text!
