Veggies with a Shelf Life

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Veggies with a Shelf Life

Postby vgpedlr » Wed Sep 10, 2014 5:59 pm

For this year's Vegan MOFO, I am road tripping through the southwest in my VW camper van. While not attending to VW mechanical issues, I am trying to blog about recipes that follow as closely as I can to the principles taught here. The problem is the veggies. To keep calorie density and nutrient density optimal, lotsa veggies needed. To do that with fresh veggies may be too difficult. Frozen veggies work for awhile as double duty in the cooler. But what about canned and dehydrated veggies? They are much easier to store and transport.

Aside from sodium, (always read the label!) are there any reasons not to use dehydrated and/or canned veggies as the main or only source of non-starchy veg in a meal? Are the claims to nutrient loss a concern? Would it be an issue over the long term?

Thanks.

I think it's time to add oil and coolant to the VW...
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Re: Veggies with a Shelf Life

Postby JeffN » Thu Sep 11, 2014 8:07 am

vgpedlr wrote: what about canned and dehydrated veggies? They are much easier to store and transport.


Agreed and I have no problem with them.

In regard to canned, while not common, you can find many that are no salt added.

I use dehydrated veggies also and am able to get a full variety of vegetables, beans, etc from online retailers with no salt added. In fact, I have become a big fan of them lately and have been experimenting with all my recipes using dehydrated fruits, vegetables and beans.

vgpedlr wrote:Aside from sodium, (always read the label!) are there any reasons not to use dehydrated and/or canned veggies as the main or only source of non-starchy veg in a meal? Are the claims to nutrient loss a concern? Would it be an issue over the long term?


As you know, in my list of the 10 Healthiest Packaged Foods, I recommend the use of frozen, canned, & dehydrated/dried foods not only for convenience but for health. I also recommended including fresh fruits and vegetables too.

In my thread, A Day In The Life, I showed how nutrient adequate a day was and that included using canned and frozen foods.

In my thread, the 12 Deadliest Lifestyle Factors, I showed how the main problems with our diet/health are smoking and excesses (weight, calories, fat, sat fat, added sugars, salt, oils, refined foods, etc) and not getting enough fruits and vegetables, whole grains and beans but not whether they were fresh, frozen, wild, organic, non-GMO, etc.

So, I have no problem with what you are doing and if you have concerns, include some fresh fruits and vegetables whenever you can.

In Health
Jeff
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Re: Veggies with a Shelf Life

Postby vgpedlr » Thu Sep 11, 2014 4:53 pm

Thanks Jeff!

I anticipated most of your answer, but I wanted to hear it from the horse's mouth, so to speak. I thought others might benefit as well, as there have a few threads about camping meals, emergency prep, etc. where using canned and dehydrated veggies is necessary. I wanted to be sure before I advocate to any who will listen the usefulness of my recipes. As you know, there is quite a bit of apprehension about the "quality" of veggies that are not fresh, organic, and local.

I have been experimenting with some recipes from the Robertsons' book Vegan Unplugged, and bought a sampler pack of dehydrated veggies from Harmony House. My style of camping for this experiment is not wilderness backpacking. I have a small fridge, a small ice chest, a 13 gal fresh water tank, and ample propane. I just wanted to see how easy I could make on-plan meals in the confines of a VW Westfalia. So far it has been interesting, fun, and tasty. Veggies perform differently whether they fresh, frozen, or dehydrated, and there is a bit of learning curve, especially when you combine them in one recipe.

Amazing how simple it can be, isn't it?

Time to check the oil and coolant...
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Re: Veggies with a Shelf Life

Postby JeffN » Thu Sep 11, 2014 5:53 pm

vgpedlr wrote: I have been experimenting with some recipes ..... and bought a sampler pack of dehydrated veggies from Harmony House. My style of camping for this experiment is not wilderness backpacking. I have a small fridge, a small ice chest, a 13 gal fresh water tank, and ample propane. I just wanted to see how easy I could make on-plan meals in the confines of a VW Westfalia. So far it has been interesting, fun, and tasty. Veggies perform differently whether they fresh, frozen, or dehydrated, and there is a bit of learning curve, especially when you combine them in one recipe.


Me too. :)

A few months ago, I ordered in a few samples from Harmony House and started experimenting with them and it went well. So then went and order a larger amount and variety or more items and experimenting with many of my recipes. So far, while they do act a little differently, most everything has worked great. The best part, is the convenience as unlike canned and frozen, they take up almost no space and unlike frozen, need no freezer.

Here is my new basic "Longevity Soup" recipe using mostly all dehydrated foods.

1 cup dehydrated vegetables
1 cup dehydrated shitake mushrooms
1 cup dehydrated beans
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (i have not tried any of the dehydrated tomatoes yet)
1/2 lb bag frozen greens. (i have not tried any of the dehydrated greens yet)
14-16 cups water (to desired consistency)

I put everything together and let sit in the fridge till I am ready to use it. Takes about 5 minutes to make.

Then, I scoop out what I want, bring to a boil, let simmer 10 minutes and it is perfect.

I have also mada my hummus, my creamy garlic dill dressing, mexican fiesta, all with dehydrated beans and/or veggies.

vgpedlr wrote:Amazing how simple it can be, isn't it?.


yes.

In health
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Re: Veggies with a Shelf Life

Postby vgpedlr » Thu Sep 11, 2014 7:02 pm

JeffN wrote:Here is my new basic "Longevity Soup" recipe using mostly all dehydrated foods.

1 cup dehydrated vegetables
1 cup dehydrated shitake mushrooms
1 cup dehydrated beans
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (i have not tried any of the dehydrated tomatoes yet)
1/2 lb bag frozen greens. (i have not tried any of the dehydrated greens yet)
14-16 cups water (to desired consistency)

I put everything together and let sit in the fridge till I am ready to use it. Takes about 5 minutes to make.

Then, I scoop out what I want, bring to a boil, let simmer 10 minutes and it is perfect.

So we're on a similar wavelength. Doing a canned/dehydrated version of one of your SNAP meals is planned, I just haven't decided which one to try yet. I will experiment with your Longevity Soup recipe. My experiencenwith the dehydrated veggies is that they are diced much finer than I would do with fresh, and don't bulk up as much as I expect. It takes some experimenting with proportions. For example, in an Asian dish and Italian pasta dish, I added dehydrated spinach and broccoli just as I would with fresh. I think much of it passed through the colander, down the drain, and into my kitty litter gray water tank. :?

I didn't get Harmony House's soup mix which I think might help. I have not tried their dehydrated beans, their cost compared to canned is not favorable. I will try them just to see how they work.

As for starches, in addition to the easy w/w pasta and my favorite, soba noodles, the Success brown rice is fabulous, but the revelation was Bob's Red Mill instant mashed potatoes. Really good! Clean up was a bit of a bore though, just like at home.

Good luck with your experiments...

What?! the VW needs more coolant? OF course it does... :cool:
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