Living in a motorhome comes with a lot of perks, but it also has a fair few challenges that you need to navigate. One of these is staying healthy and eating right. So, if you want to know how to maintain a balanced diet while living in a motorhome, we’ve got some tips and tricks for you that you’re going to love.
At Inlander Low Voltage, we want to help you live life to the fullest with quality appliances for your motorhomes. To learn more about motorhomes, feel free to have a look at our articles on what food you can take to France in a motorhome, if motorhomes are worth it, and the new 2024 rules and regulations you should be aware of.
The Importance of a Balanced Diet
A balanced diet will protect you against all kinds of chronic non-communicable diseases like cancer, diabetes, and more. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a balanced diet includes eating a variety of foods and consuming foods that have less saturated fats, sugars, and salt.
You should be eating protein, carbs, fibre, lipids, minerals, and vitamins every day to keep yourself healthy. However, as we all know, too much of any one thing can be bad for you! And, when you consider that most of the easiest meals around are high in carbohydrates and fats, trying to stay healthy while living in a motorhome does become more difficult.
How to Maintain a Balanced Diet While Living in a Motorhome
Maintaining this deity is no easy feat, especially when you don’t have the same appliances in your motorhome that you would in a house. Even so, knowing how to maintain a balanced diet while living in a motorhome is crucial.
Don’t Skip on the Fruits and Vegetables
The number one thing to remember when living in your motorhome, and you want to keep a balanced diet, is this: don’t skip your fruit and veg! It can be difficult to store these kinds of products due to limited space and appliances, but there are ways to work around it – to an extent.
Instead of opting for fresh produce, it may be beneficial to buy cans or dried food where applicable, or even frozen. Depending on how much space you have in your motorhome, these can be useful alternatives. There are also pickled varieties to enjoy if you like them, but remember that these tend to come in glass, making it more hazardous to keep around.
You can also make some foods in bulk to store. For example, if you enjoy kimchi, you can make it yourself and store it for a long time. Similarly, if you can pickle other foods yourself, these can be a great option and save you trips to the shop.
Popular dried fruit that can help you keep a balanced diet include:
- Figs
- Dates
- Prunes
- Apricots
- Raisins
- Banana (unsweetened)
There are all brilliant options to try out if you enjoy sweet things. In the same vein, adding a variety of nuts – particularly almonds, cashews, and pistachios – will help you on the journey of how to maintain a balanced diet while living in a motorhome.
Incorporate Healthy Carbs
We all love a good pasta dish, and you should enjoy them in moderation. However, all the easiest foods to make are heavy on carbs, which can make trying to eat healthy difficult enough, let alone when you live in a motorhome.
One of the best things you can do is buy a large bag of rice that you can incorporate into a variety of dishes. This shouldn’t be the main focus of the dish, but just something extra to give you the limited carbs you need while limiting your other carbs.
One-Pot Dinners Are Your Friend
If cooking is the problem, then you will be happy to know that one-pot dinners are definitely your friend when you live in a motorhome. There’s less cleaning involved, but these dishes are also notoriously easy, and there are a wide variety of options to choose from.
For inspiration, you can check out sites like Good Food or RecipeTin Eats for dozens of options. Remember that many ingredients can be subbed in or out to suit you and your specific needs!
Barbecue Where You Can
If you love BBQs, and you are in a place that allows them, then this is another fantastic way to keep a balanced diet when travelling. You can incorporate all kinds of ingredients with these, from mushrooms, zucchini, and peppers, to chicken, tofu, prawns, and so much more.
You can grill corn on the cob, make delicious toasted sandwiches, flame grill chicken, indulge in kabobs – the world is your oyster. And, while you do it, you will be avoiding all kinds of unhealthy saturated fats and processed foods.
Plan Ahead
Your ability to plan ahead will be paramount in your journey to maintaining a balanced diet on the road. Not only do you have to plan ahead with shopping, but you need to know exactly what meals you are going to make when.
In this vein, if you are able to do food prep for several days at a time – for example, making a bulk meal that you portion out and freeze for the next week – staying healthy will be much easier. Rather than fretting over every meal and wondering if it’s balanced, you can plan in advance and ensure that your diet is right. Then, when the time comes to eat, you don’t need to put any extra thought into it.
Don’t Fall in the Takeaway Trap
Depending on where you are, ordering a takeaway every night can be very tempting. While there is nothing wrong with enjoying a nice takeaway every now and then, they are generally not the healthiest meals going – and they can be expensive.
You will be doing yourself a favour by limiting the number of takeaways you indulge in while on the road around towns and cities. Again, you should always enjoy good food, but be mindful of the health benefits or consequences of it at the same time.
Make Sure You Have the Right Appliances
The key to knowing how to maintain a balanced diet while living in a motorhome and actually eating that healthy food comes down to the appliances that you have. Because space is so limited on a motorhome, you need to make sure that you have the right thing, and not go for unnecessary luxury if you can’t afford it or don’t have the space for it.
Below are the appliances we would recommend you have on your motorhome to ensure that you can cook the right kind of food:
- A reliable stove top, perfect for a wide variety of recipes
- Slow cooker or pressure cooker, perfect for one-pot dishes
- Electric kettle (you can’t do without caffeine, can you?)
- A blender or food processor, perfect for healthy smoothies, dips, and sauces
Final Thoughts
At Inlander Low Voltage, we have guides on motorhomes, look at the average life of a motorhome, and even break down the best UK motorhome campsites and Europe road trips to take, so you will know what you are getting into ahead of time.
Now that you know how to maintain a balanced diet while living in a motorhome, it probably seems a lot easier than you initially thought. With some planning and a bit of thought, you might be surprised by how easily you can stay healthy while living your motorhome dreams.
If you want to find out what else we have to offer at Inlander Low Voltage, why not read everything you’ll want to know about going to France in your motorhome, the type of licence needed to drive a motorhome, or what fridges can go in a motorhome? We also cover the best UK campsites to visit, claiming benefits, what licence you need, and insurance costs associated with living in a motorhome.
