One of the secrets of good eating on an RV adventure is simplicity. The other - advance preparation.

Before You Go

Plan your menus.  It may seem like too much effort but it will be time and cost saving in the end!  It's something you can do during commercial breaks while watching TV.  Get out a calendar and figure out a meal plan for each day you'll be away from home. Photocopy your calendar or daily planner and mark up the photocopy with the meals you have in mind, taking into consideration a kickoff dinner, a special breakfast or brunch, a cookout if you plan to have one (ditto on a fish fry), a final dinner celebration, a potluck with new friends in the camp, and so forth. As you mentally prepare your food plan, note special diets in the group and picky eaters.  Also, develop a menu of dishes that can be made in advance and refrigerated for a day or so and dishes that can be frozen in small containers or zip lock bags and cooked later.  Consider taking a crock-pot with you so that you can be having fun while dinner cooks!  Most Crock-pot meals have a few simple ingredients and don't take much time to put together.   

Heading for the Store

 Make your shopping lists. Once you have your menus planned, pull out any recipes you'll be taking along and make copies, from cookbooks, Web sites or recipe cards you have on-hand. Make several lists:

    · Items you already have and need to bring from home.

    · Items you prefer to pick up when you get to your destination (assuming there is adequate shopping at your destination -- freshness and storage are the considerations here).

    · Items you'll want to get at the store before you go.

Buy only what you can reasonably fit in the space you've got; travel size is more practical than good deals on economy sizes. It won't do you any good to have absolutely everything you need and nowhere to put it.

Just Before Departure

 Set aside all the food you intend to bring from home, along with the recipes you need, your menus, and your lists (especially the list of what you need to purchase when you get there).

Premix and measure what you can. If any of your meals lend themselves to mixing ahead of time, measure out dry goods into Baggies and ID them with a permanent marker. As with spices, there is no need to bring a whole bag of flour or sugar if you'll only be needing several cups.

Local Food

 To fully experience your destination, consider having a meal of a special local dish. Some Internet or bookstore research ahead of time will turn up a specialty of the region you're visiting. If the dish requires buying special ingredients only available in the region, so much the better -- just plan for it by calling ahead to make sure where you can get what you need. Then build the shopping stop into your road trip. It will be worth the effort. You haven't really experienced a locale until you've eaten what the locals eat. Cooking it as a family in your RV can be great culinary fun that gives you togetherness and an opportunity to learn more about the culture of an exciting new place. Don't be surprised if these special meals become family favorites that evoke marvelous open-road memories in years to come.