How to Cook a Full Meal Without Gas, Electricity, or Fire

Nothing seems to be getting cheaper these days. That’s especially true for utilities like electric, gas and if you don’t have access to a ready supply of firewood – you’re paying more for that too.

Fortunately, there are some cooking alternatives that not only work but are absolutely free. Better yet, it costs little to next to nothing to improvise these solutions. They also have the advantage of working entirely off-grid so in an emergency it’s not only free and accessible but available when nothing else works. Let’s get started.

The Solar Reflector Oven

You can buy a solar reflector oven online or even build your own. A homemade solar reflector oven can be improvised from aluminum foil or a Mylar emergency blanket.

All you have to do is build a framework from sticks and surround the framework with the reflective foil or Mylar.

The only critical consideration is that you occasionally turn the solar reflector over to track the sun as it moves across the sky. The heat in the oven can actually boil water or at least bring it to a strong simmer.

What comes as a surprise to some is the variety of meals you can make in a solar reflector oven from breads to casseroles and stews. The meals can be contained in a pot or suspended in foil bags.

Better yet, skewered foods can be suspended in the solar reflector oven and evenly cooked.

You can even bake bread in a solar reflector oven. It’s an old pioneer technique skewering or wrapping dough on a stick and suspending it in the solar oven.

Multiple meal combinations can be wrapped in foil and cooked in the solar oven to give you three courses all cooked with the power of the sun.

The temperature in a solar reflector oven can vary. The ideal conditions occur during a summer day with clear skies and strong sunlight. Colder temperatures during winter can affect the temperatures in a solar oven as well as strong winds which can draft the heat out of the oven. Hazy days also minimize the amount of sunlight reflecting in the oven but under ideal conditions the internal temperatures can range from 125º to 300º F. (52º to 149º C).

When you consider that the boiling point of water is 212º F (100º C), you can bring water or a stock to a boil for cooking everything from pasta to vegetables and even meat and seafood. One thing to consider is an oven thermometer placed in the solar oven.

The thermometer can give you a good read on how you’re doing with temperature and manage the amount of time you need to cook a meal. At least use a meat thermometer to make sure your food is cooked. Here are some basic recipes for the kinds of things you might cook in a solar reflector oven.

White Rice

You can cook white rice in a foil bag. It could be improvised from aluminum foil, a sheet of Mylar or a Mylar bag. The standard proportion for white rice is 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water. Place the rice and water in the bag and suspend it in the solar oven. Feel the bag from time to time and when it feels relatively firm – the rice should be done.

And when I want something dead simple, I pull out a pouch of this beans and rice survival soup that can last up to 10 years! I made up a few batches with oxygen absorbers and tucked them into the pantry. Tried one last month after a full year on the shelf. It was hearty, filling, and exactly the kind of meal you’d want when everything else runs low.

Solar Bread

This is a standard bread recipe consisting of 1 cup of water, 2 ½ cups of flour, a teaspoon of yeast and a teaspoon of sugar. Combine the ingredients and knead and other wrap around a stick or skewer an elongated loaf. Suspend the stick in the center of the oven and watch as it slowly brown. To test for doneness, slightly tap the loaf and when it sounds hollow you’re done.

A Full Meal

We’re using foil bags for our 3-course meal. In one bag make your white rice recipe. In another bag wrap some chopped vegetables. In a third bag you can cook meat or fish. Drizzle the vegetables and the meat or fish with some olive oil before wrapping and cooking. Keep an eye on your thermometer and when the rice bag feels done, everything else should be ready as well.

The Haybox Method

Another surprisingly effective way to cook without fuel is the haybox method, a technique our pioneer ancestors relied on when firewood was scarce. The principle is simple: you bring a pot of food, like a stew, soup, or grains to a boil, then place it in an insulated container to continue cooking slowly with retained heat.

All you need is a box or container, some hay, straw, or even towels for insulation, and a lid to seal in the heat. The pot is nestled into the hay or cloth, covered, and left to cook over several hours. Because the pot retains the heat from the initial boil, the food finishes cooking without any additional fuel.

It’s perfect for soups, beans, rice, or stews, especially if you start the process in the morning. By dinnertime, your meal is fully cooked and ready to eat. This method isn’t just fuel-efficient; it’s also a gentle way to cook foods slowly, which can enhance flavors and tenderness.

Another Solar Option

A variation on solar reflector ovens is the parabolic solar reflector oven it can actually raise temperatures up to 400º F. (204º C). It’s about as hot as a solar oven can get and is a good option for cooking meats or bringing water to a boil fast.

Cooking in a Compost Heap

You may not be familiar with this concept, but the Amish have done it for centuries as well as our pioneer ancestors. The principle is simple. A healthy compost heap creates heat. It’s a by-product of the decomposition process. In many instances you can actually see steam emerging from a compost heap. You may also see it when you dig into it. That’s what you want to see. If you can feel the heat, you have a cooking option.

An obvious step when cooking in a pile or rotting stuff is to have a container or pot that is well sealed. What’s driving the composting process is bacteria and bacteria and food don’t mix.

A pressure cooker is a very good option. It is hermetically sealed and will keep the food separate and safe from any bacteria surrounding the pot in the heap. You could also seal the lid on a traditional stew pot with foil tape that’s often used to seal ductwork. The tape will survive the heat and keep the pot sealed.

If you have a meat thermometer it makes sense to plunge it into the heap after you remove some outer layers. You’re just trying to get an idea of what the internal temperature is. The average temperature range in an active compost heap is 100º to 160º F. (38º to 71º C). That’s not enough to boil water, but enough to simmer a soup or stew. Here’s a basic soup recipe that could make a full meal:

Soup in a Heap

Ingredients:

8 cups of room temperature water or stock
2 cups of thinly sliced carrots
4 potatoes cubed about ½ inch square
1 cup celery diced
2 cans of beans – any variety (This is your protein source)
2 packages of Ramen noodles and seasoning packets
Salt and pepper to taste (start with 1 tablespoon each)

Directions:

There are two keys to making this work. For one, start with room temperature water. Cold water will just add to the cooking time and room temperature water will give it a head start. The other tip is to dice and cube your vegetables small. That will allow them to cook faster than large chunks.

Place all of the ingredients into your pot and either seal the lid of your pressure cooker or wrap foil tape around the lid of a standard stock pot.
Dig into the side of your compost heap until you feel the heat.
Tuck the pot into the heap and cover with compost to bury the pot.
If using a pressure cooker it may have a temperature gauge on top. Check it from time to time. You could also feel the sides of the pot.
Leave the soup in the heap for 12 to 24 hours. If you added meat, leave the pot in the heap for 48 hours.
When the time is up, carefully remove the pot. It will be hot (hopefully).
Gently rinse the pot with room temperature water and remove the seal.
Stir the soup and adjust seasoning and serve.

Scrounging for Fuel

We may not have access to firewood for whatever reason, but you can always consider alternative things to burn. Here are some options to get a fire going to create some heat

Rolled up newspapers held together with wire
Bundled reeds or cattail stalks shaped into log rolls and bound by wire
Dried manure (cow chips) often used on the prairie centuries ago
Twigs, lumber scraps or bark in a Hobo Stove

It’s About Saving Money and Basic Survival

Once you get the hang of a solar reflector oven you may find that you use it on a regular basis. It can help cut costs for utilities and fuels. Then again, there are those times when a power outage or a basic lack or resources can put us into survival mode. Either way, it’s worth considering some of these cooking options. Regardless of the circumstances.

Inside A Navy SEAL’s Bug-In Guide, you will discover exactly how to build a long-lasting stockpile that needs no refrigeration. It starts with a complete stockpile that you can eat from morning, lunch, and dinner for three months. Then you’ll have another one for six months and another for a full year.

You’ll see exactly where to buy these foods so they’re as affordable as possible. You’re also going to get a day-by-day and meal-by-meal rationing plan to make sure you are not only getting around 2,200 calories a day but also the vital protein, fat, and other nutrients that will keep you healthy in the long run.

Besides what I’ve mentioned so far, here are some other things you’ll find inside:

The Under $1 Walmart Canned Goods You Absolutely Need to Add to Your Food Reserves
A Meal in a Jar That Can Feed You for a Week
How to Make the Ultimate Survival Food with a 25-Year Shelf Life
The Only Seeds You Need to Stockpile for a Crisis
What Item You Should Remove from Your Pantry Immediately
How to Hide That You Still Have Power Left in a Blackout
What Great Depression Foods We’ll Be Eating Again Soon
How to Use a Car Battery to Power Up Your Radios
What Happens if You Take Expired Medications

And so much more!

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