As I sit and simultaneously scroll thru comments you lovely people have posted on my Instagram pics (where I am whining about fresh veggie shortages in the Bahamas) AND shove a giant pile of Spinach Artichoke Quinoa Fritters into my face, it dawns on me that I have yet to write a post about my favorite provisioning items. Or maybe I have, and this quinoa-coma has clouded my brain. Regardless, here are some of my favorite items that get us thru when the shelves in the stores here are bare. Because, trust me, we are ALWAYS eating well on Luna Sea!

1) Quinoa – We eat the heck out of some quinoa around here. Fritters have been our go-to for a while – mostly because they are kind of quick, can be made in a variety of random flavors and feel a bit indulgent. Basic recipe coming soon. But stock up before you set sail – IF you can find it, it is EXPENSIVE here. Bonus: quinoa has loads of protein.

2) Barilla Plus Pasta: Speaking of protein, this stuff has protein levels similar to that dry, expensive chicken breast you found at the bottom of the freezer on some out island. And before you freak out about it tasting like cardboard as most non-traditional pastas do, trust me. It is delicious! So rather than waste my precious storage space on plain pasta, I stock up on 10 to 15 boxes of this stuff. Toss in some veggies and a sauce, and you are nutritionally balanced AND have a happy belly! With no need to dig out that last chicken breast from the deep freeze on whichever island you have landed….

3) Freeze-dried Veggies: That brings us to veggies. Last season I tried a few types of freeze dried veggies I found on Amazon. Turns out the dehydrated spinach, broccoli and corn were all winners! This season I purchased 2 of each flavor and am currently SO  happy I did! We haven’t found fresh produce in the past 2 weeks…

4) True Lemon/True Lime, etc: If we have shared a cocktail on our boat, your boat, or the beach, chances are I have already introduced you to this magical little product. There are four flavors: lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit. They are simply dried juice. No sweeteners – artificial or natural. Just. Dried. Juice. And guess what?! They are great in your water, a recipe OR your favorite cocktail! What a huge space saver these have been vs traditional mixers. You can get a box of 500 on Amazon for $25. I have all 4 flavors… Bonus Recipe: pour a cheap beer in a glass and add a grapefruit packet. Instant and delicious shandy!

5) Flavored Fizzy Waters: Annnd speaking of cocktails, toss some rum, a coconut LaCroix and a True Lime in your cup, and you have a low calorie/low sugar version of a Pina Colada! I 110% blame Brittany from Windtraveler for introducing me to her own version using tequila and lime. Anf I love her for it! Oh, and I also drink these without alcohol in them. Sometimes…

6) Sundried and Canned Tomatoes: We eat CRAZY amounts of tomatoes. Crazy. But even in the States, the fresh version doesn’t taste so great in the winter. So instead, I stock up on both sundried (buy multiple small bags instead of one giant one in order to maintain freshness) AND canned. And while you can get canned in the Bahamas, they are 7 times the price I pay in the States.

7) Bacon Bits: While we both love bacon, we do not stock up on it. Quite honestly, we don’t waste fridge space on meats – the bottom of our giant vat (uh, that is a VERY relative term) of a fridge is used solely to store beer. And rum. But I find that using a wee bit of bacon (this brand is Uncured, so no added nitrates/nitrites) in recipes adds loads of flavor. Toss some in an omelette, on top of a baked potato or in your favorite pasta dish. It doesn’t really matter. Bacon makes almost everything taste better. And because we are eating such small quantities of it, I don’t really worry too much about using it frequently.

I realize I did not list canned goods. While we do carry some, it is not my favorite type of food to eat. Some that are staples include: artichoke hearts, mushrooms, green beans, Manwich (I make sloppy Joes with TVP instead of ground beef), coconut milk and pizza sauce.

Doh! BONUS ITEM: TVP  I frequently use Textured Vegetable Protein as a sub for ground beef. It is dry and made from soy. Super-easy to store, is often found in health food stores in the bulk section, and can take on many flavors. Plus It is super-cheap!  It works for us.

So what are some of your favorite items? And do you have questions about any othe boat life stuff? Just leave a comment below!

About Author

Jennifer

Artist, food nerd, SUP/yoga enthusiast and travel obsessed blogger – chronicling the process of going from land to sea. Selling all of her worldly possessions so that she can set sail into the sunset with her husband and two dachshunds – searching for that next sunrise paddle. Follow along. It’ll be fun 🙂

See author's posts