And the Survey Says…

In case you missed it, we did a reader survey a little while back to get a better sense of what you, our readers, would like to see from Fresh Off the Grid in 2016. To everyone who participated: thank you, thank you, thank you! We can’t tell you how much your input means to us. And to anyone who missed out, don’t worry, we’ll definitely be doing another survey in the future.

The good news is this survey got a ton of responses – way more than we initially expected. So we’ve been staying up late, burning the midnight batteries, and diving deep into each and every one. And we’ve got to say, there were just so many useful insights, constructive notes, and words of support that we couldn’t help but feel tremendously inspired.

(We know we’re supposed to be the inspirational ones, driving around the country taking pretty pictures and stuff, but you guys really paid it back to us on this one!) So, thank you.

And to show our appreciation for all the time and energy you put into responding, we thought it might be fun to share some of the results with you. Again, there was a lot of information, so we’ll keep it to a few of the most memorable highlights. Keep an eye out, because we’ll definitely be drawing from these responses to continue to improve Fresh Off the Grid.

Q4: Diet

You’ve probably noticed all of our recipes so far are vegetarian, but the results from the survey show a majority of you are omnivores. While we briefly dabbled in veganism and have been on-and-off again vegetarians, the reason we don’t eat much meat on the road has more to do with our lack of refrigerator/cooler than it does with ideology. However, we would like to promote sustainable farming practices and the humane treatment of animals, and therefore plan to be selective about the type of meat products and recipes we develop.

Before this survey, we were considering adding more meat dishes, and seeing your responses, we definitely plan to follow through on that (though the majority of recipes will likely remain vegetarian). Perhaps we need to start looking into getting a cooler/refrigerator solution. (Let us know if you have any suggestions!)

Q5: Who Do You Cook For?

No huge surprise here, but the results confirmed that many of you are using the Buddy System. Cooking is always more fun when it’s shared, and it looks like the majority of you are taking your spouse, significant other, or friend with you out into the wild.

Q6: Where Do You Shop?

Up until recently, we shopped almost exclusively within the Trader Joe’s universe. In fact, when looking for apartments in Los Angeles, one of Michael’s requirements was it had to be walking-distance from a TJ. However, since departing on our road trip, we’ve discovered most people don’t shop at grocery stores where they ring ship bells and all the cashiers wear Hawaiian shirts.

And according to our survey, it looks like the majority of you shop at “normal people” grocery stores. Which is great, because a lot of the time, that’s all we can find. So moving forward,  we’re (going to try) to limit the number of recipes that rely exclusively on Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie Butter (though if you do have a Trader Joe’s available, you should totally try slapping some of that cookie butter into a s’more sometime!).

Q11: What do you like least about Fresh Off the Grid?

“Camping in a two-door car. Gives me claustrophobia.”

It’s definitely not for everyone!! And believe us, it is by no means a long-term solution. Using the car allowed us the financial freedom to start traveling, but if this venture becomes sustainable, we’ll definitely be looking to upgrade.

“I miss my daughter when she is on the road.”

I miss you, too, mom :’(

“Not enough posts” & “Long absences”

We hear you! As we mentioned in our 6 Things We Learned article, we’re moving a lot slower these days. No more 6-hour highway blitzes. The slower we go, the more content we can produce.

Q12: What do you like most about Fresh Off the Grid?

“You two seem like someone we would run into at a campground and share the evening together hanging out!”

Yes! If you ever see us around please come say hi! We’d love to mix you up a cocktail and swap stories over the campfire. Some of the most interesting people we have met on our trip so far are folks we’ve struck up conversations with at campgrounds.

“It’s made me reconsider what my future will look like, that not everything works out how you think it will and sometimes that is for the better!”

Nothing is written, unless you write it.

“The recipes! I made the lentil kale dish at home one night, so tasty!”

It’s exciting to hear that people are enjoying the recipes we share at home too! Sometime practicing a recipe a few times at home is best way to nail it when you’re out camping.  

Thank you, again, for being so supportive of this project! We are really excited to continue making FOTG a useful resource for people wanting to get outdoors, camp under the stars, or hit the road – and eat well while doing it.