Desert Expedition Feeding

Food is an essential part of any expedition and overlanding is no different. Travelling in a 4×4 does have some advantages, you have a vehicle to carry the food and provide power!

There are several problems that need addressing for long range desert overland feeding:

• Carrying enough food with limited space.
• Fresh food perishing.
• Eating a balanced nutritious diet.
• Limited water.

Refrigeration

A fridge is useful but not essential. While it does allow you to carry fresh food, it is reliant upon power, and some fridges can struggle in high temperatures. There are two options:

• A fridge that is permanently on. Powered by the vehicle when the engine is running, and a storage battery when the vehicle turned off. This requires a storage battery (commonly a 1000w commercial leisure type) and can maintain a continuous temperature of 5C or similar
• A standard camping fridge that only works when the vehicle is running. The fridge remains cool enough permanently for most groceries, but will warm to ambient temperature within 10 hours or so.

Food Storage

As at home food should be stored in a clean, cool, location in the vehicle, away from any contaminates (eg fuel, oil, or lubricants). Avoid keeping food on the roof as the chances of it perishing are higher.

A lunch cool box or similar is recommended for driving snacks in the cab to keep the food clean and easy to find.

Hygiene

Hand and food hygiene is essential to avoid illness. All utensils should be washed appropriately, hands washed before food preparation and the use of anti-bacterial sprays and hand gels encouraged.

Cooking

A gas, two-hob, cooker or similar can be used for cooking the main meal, and a small camping cooker (eg. a Jet Boil) may be easier for making a quick brew. Gas can often be purchased in country, but it is work checking what attachments come with it. Calorgaz is common across many continents.

Water Carriage

The amount of water that vehicle can carry is finite due to volume and weight, and so care should be taken with water use in the desert. Drinking and cooking can be prioritised over personal hygiene if needed.  Storing ready access water is easier in smaller jerrycans (5 or 10 litre) as they are easier to lift, store and fill water bottles and saucepans. Water can be stored in the vehicle (helps keep weight low down) or on the roof. It is recommended to keep an untouched emergency water reserve in case should you become stranded for a long period.

Water Resupply

Bottled drinking water can often be purchased at petrol stations or village stores. If water is taken from local sources (wells, rivers etc) it should always be purified before use, even if being used as ‘grey water’, to avoid the risk of disease.

Shopping list

Below is a list of food for desert travel. It is non-exhaustive and is only limited by your imagination.

Meat	Vegetables (canned)	Carbohydrates	Fruit	Snacks
Canned Pate	Sweetcorn	Rice	Dried fruit packets	Biscuits
Canned chicken in sauce	Mixed vegetables	Pasta	Raisins	Nutty bars
Canned mince	Peas	Noodles	Puréed fruit sachets	Peanuts
Biltong	Mushrooms	Rice Noodles		Rasins
Canned steak	Tomato	Baked beans		Mixed nuts
Canned frankfurters	Tinned Soup	Cannellini beans
Chorizo		Butter beans
Salami		Bean salad
		Porridge
		Muesli
		Crackers
		Rice cakes
		Canned rice pudding

                

Sauces	Dairy	Bread	Fish	Spreads
Pesto green and red	Hard cheese (eg parmesan)	Sliced (gluten free sometimes has a longer shelf life)	Anchovies	Peanut Butter
Pasta sauce packets	Primula cheese spread	Wraps	Sardines	Jam
Pataks Curry paste	UHT milk	Tortillas	Tuna	Marmite
Fajita powder		Pitta Bread		Honey
Chili con carne powder		Rolls
Chinese sauces (e.g. sweet and sour)

                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                 

                                                                      

Condiments	Brew Kit	Herbs	Fresh Food	Emergency Rations
Ketchup	Coffee	Ras al Hanout	Onions	Vacuum packed rations
Soy Sauce	Tea bags	Herbs de Provence	Salami – keep at or below 18C	Army rations
Pickles	Powdered milk	Rosemary	Garlic	Avoid ‘Arctic’ rations as they need extra water to rehydrate
Salt	3-in-1 coffee sachets	Oregano	Eggs
Pepper	Hot Chocolate	Basil	Butter
Tomato Puree	Sugar Sachets	Cumin seeds
Olive Oil	Sweeteners
	Berocca
	Multi-vitamins

                                                                                           

Dish ideas

Below are some ideas for simple dishes;

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Muesli and UHT milk	Crackers with primula cheese spread, pate, sardines (mashed into a paste with ras al hanout)	Curry with chorizo/salami, veg and rice
Porridge	Fruit sachet	Omelettes (cheese, chorizo, …)
Oats and UHT milk (with raisins/honey/nuts)	Wrap/pitta and jam/peanut butter/marmite	Pasta pesto/sauce with chorizo and veg
Wrap/Pitta with peanut butter/jam/marmite	Nutty bar	Pasta bolognaises
	Raisins	Noodles (sweet and sour etc) with chorizo/salami/biltong and veg
		Chilli con carne and rice
		Biltong fajitas
		Canned chicken with pasta and vegetables