Our Favorite Easy Van Meals

Prepping and cooking meals in a small space presents a few unique challenges. We have a small sink (doing dishes is probably one of our least favorite chores because of it), no oven, limited fresh water supply, and just less space overall. Having some easy go-to meals that don’t require a ton of preparation, ingredients or dishes can make life a little easier. We decided to put together a list of our favorite easy van meals to share with you all (we will add more soon). We never really measure our ingredients, so you’ll have to use your own judgment there! Give them a try, hope you enjoy!

---

Smoothies

Frozen blueberries and bananas, scoop of collagen peptides, coconut water or nut milk, almond butter, ice, squeeze of lemon.

plant-based: sub vegan protein powder for collagen

Smoothies are a great way to get in some good nutrients with little cleanup. We used to have a full sized blender, but downsized to a Nutribullet which is much more convenient for our needs. We also like to add a large handful of fresh baby spinach to our smoothies as an easy way to get our greens in.

Salads

Romaine lettuce dressed in avocado oil, red wine vinegar, flakey sea salt, fresh cracked pepper. Cucumber, tomato, red onion, avocado, pepperoncini, kalamata olive, pulled rotisserie chicken. Topped with more salt & pepper.

plant-based: sub lentils (we like the pre-cooked ones from Trader Joe’s) or chickpeas for chicken

This is probably the meal we make most often in the van. It’s really easy to prepare. Just wash and chop veggies, dress and season and you’re good to go. It’s especially nice on hot days when we don’t want to fire up the stove. We like to pick up a nice rotisserie chicken and use that for a few meals and some extra treats for our son.

Arugula, avocado oil, yellow peach, grape tomato, medjool date, goat cheese, balsamic, flakey sea sat, fresh cracked pepper

plant-based: sub cashew cheese for goat cheese

We only recently started making this salad, but it’s quickly becoming a favorite! Even easier to prepare that the last, as long as we have the few ingredients needed, this one is going down.

Pastas

Chickpea pasta, grass-fed ghee, spinach, Italian chicken sausage, flakey sea salt, fresh-cracked pepper

plant-based: sub olive oil for ghee, vegan sausage

We love this pasta recipe for its simple ingredients and buttery, salty flavor. We like to use Banza’s chickpea pasta. Definitely a staple meal around here.

Toast

Organic sourdough bread, avocado, avocado oil, roasted red pepper flakes, flakey sea salt, fresh cracked pepper

plant-based: ✔️

This one is simple, but there’s really no limit to what you can put on toast. We love to find local bakeries during our travels! We always pick up a fresh loaf of organic sourdough whenever possible.

Bowls

Amy’s refried black beans, long grain white rice, romaine, tomato, red onion, avocado, cilantro, lime, flakey sea salt, fresh cracked pepper

plant-based: ✔️

bonus: Siete Habanero hot sauce, and grain free tortilla chips

We usually add rotisserie chicken to this bowl, but it’s really tasty just like this. Sometimes we’ll make a pico de gallo or guacamole which is just as easy and makes a great topper or dip for our favorite Siete chips.

Snack Plates

Yellow peaches, raspberries, Simple Mills crackers, orange slices, green grapes, prosciutto, Cypress Grove Ms Natural goat cheese, blackberries, Mary’s crackers strawberries, Genoa salami, strawberry preserve

For a quick meal when we really don’t feel like cooking anything we’ll whip up one of these snack plates! We usually include lots of fresh veggies and dip, fresh fruit, our favorite cheese and a few slices of salami or prosciutto.

Soups

Kettle & Fire Beef Bone Broth, Lotus Foods Ramen Noodles, chopped green onion

plant-based: sub vegetable broth or water for beef bone broth

We love this ramen! Quick and easy to make and soothes the soul.