Homesteading for nomads

Love the idea of saving money on groceries, but find yourself without a farm or even a permanent home base? Still want to enjoy yourself on vacation without spending all your time on food prep?

Believe it or not, it's possible to do both.

Incorporating a few simple strategies into your regular routine will not only save you time and money on the road, but when you are stationary as well.

Peels

There are fewer areas of savings greater than using items you would have otherwise thrown in the trash. Since I'm not often in a place long enough to compost, getting creative with produce peels and other bits is one of my go-to strategies.

If standing over a stove to simmer a simple syrup isn't your cup of tea, other options are available. One of the easiest, multipurpose ones is homemade shrubs. The history of these drinking vinegars goes back hundreds of years, and they're commonly created using only fruit peels, vinegar and sugar.

Place fruit peelings into an empty jar with enough sugar to cover them, and store the mixture in the fridge for a few days until a syrup forms. You might need to give it a stir once in a while, but that's essentially the first step. Once that phase is complete, remove the solids and add your vinegar of choice in an amount equal to the sugar syrup that is already there. Put the cover back on the jar, give it a shake, and put it back in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Many people use this only as a flavor addition to sparkling water, or to make a custom cocktail. I enjoy taking things a step further, using the same concentrated flavor base for marinades and salad dressings. This enables me to incorporate a seasonal flavor into an entire menu, even if I've used up the actual produce.

The flavor combinations you can create with shrubs are diverse indeed. Strawberry ends with white balsamic, and peach peels with champagne vinegar are both interesting, elevated choices. For shorter trips however, I often opt for a basic apple cider vinegar. It gives me flexibility for creating other dishes, and makes a decent shrub when paired with ginger, which I regularly stock.

Feel like something more savory? Try experimenting with beet or sweet potato shrubs for more unusual beverage flavorings and sauces.

Regrowing

While I'm rarely in place long enough to do any formal transplanting, I do like to regrow vegetable ends from water when time permits.

One of the easiest and fastest is spring onions, or scallions. The green tops make frequent appearances in our meal plan, so avoiding an extra trip to the store for them is always helpful. As long as the location is somewhat sunny, setting aside the root ends in a clear container with a bit of water allows me to grow nearly a full secondary batch. While they'll technically produce a third round, it's a much smaller yield. Still, it's typically enough to chop up on a dinner of loaded baked potatoes for two, or as a soup topper.

Romaine lettuce ends will reproduce in a similar way. This enables me to harvest fresh greens for sandwiches as needed. While the money saved from this method may be modest, the time saved during a tight travel itinerary is significant. At the end of the day, a buck's a buck, and swapping a trip to the store for more tourism fun is always a win.

Foraging

If scouring the forest for ingredients doesn't appeal, there are ways to forage that take less time than going to the market.

One of the easiest is to access the garden and terrace areas commonly included with seasonal accommodations. Because I tend to book stays that come with at least a small outdoor space, I regularly enjoy things like fresh lemons, rosemary, bay leaves and more. One place even had a full produce garden that was scheduled to come into heavy production while the owners were traveling. They told me to help myself to whatever I needed for meal prep while I was there.

Fun ways to enjoy your temporary garden bounty include using citrus juice and zest in marinades, salad dressings or even pancakes. You can also squeeze fresh breakfast drinks if you're lucky enough to have an orange or grapefruit tree outside. Other opportunities I've used on the road include making a modest batch of stuffed grape leaves from a patio vine, and exploring foods that can be prepared from prickly pear cactus.

Liquids

During stays of a few days when stocking pantry staples is less feasible, try making the most of flavorings left over from other purchases. For example, I purchase jarred olives on a regular basis for charcuterie platters, tapenade and low-carb snacks. Saving the juice in the jars allows me to double the impact of the purchase by using it for dirty martinis. It also makes a great savory mocktail when drizzled into a bit of sparkling water.

Another liquid I regularly save whether I'm traveling or not is pickle juice. It works well for extending the life of those last slices of cucumber or onion that didn't get consumed. Dumping them into the jar overnight adds flavor, recrisps them and results in some fun sandwich additions. You can also try tossing in some extra hard boiled eggs for a flavorful, low-prep snack before heading out on a busy sightseeing afternoon later in the week.

Bottom line? Choosing habits and routines that can be implemented from anywhere not only saves money while traveling, it saves money for traveling as well. Even the most humble expense reduction multiplied over the course of a month can contribute significantly to your trip budget. Similarly, time you don't spend running to the market unnecessarily is time you can spend sightseeing, or enjoying a leisurely lunch splurge with a world class view.

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This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 1:04 AM.