Campimg Food Ideas??

[BeingMe]

I haven't been camping since I changed to a healthier way of eating and kinda lost for what to bring. Anyone have any ideas/recipes to take for a short trip, preferably easy items?
Thanks!!

[Alyantavid]

What do you have to cook with?

Sandwiches, salads, etc made ahead of time are easy. Hot dogs (not terribly healthy I know) cooked over a fire are fun for kids too. You could make up packets of meat and veggies in foil ahead of time and just cook on a cook stove if you have one.

[kjbrown92]

shishkebabs with lots of fresh veggies
salad (bring in a ziploc)
GORP (good old raisins and peanuts) for a snack
fresh fruit for snack
date bread or banana bread with butter (keep butter in the cooler)
If you bring a griddle, you can do omelettes in the morning (cook some bacon and then use the bacon grease to cook all the veggies for the inside, and then cook the omelettes individually however people want them

[mumkimum]

Dunno how much cooking you want to do or not.

Foil dinners (cubed potato, onion, carrot, meat if you like it) are good cooked around the fire and eaten with bbq sauce. Marinated shrimp can get done this way too, or corn on the cob cut into rounds.

Couscous or instant box tabouleh are good - you just need a way to boil water. Other instant-type soups can get done this way too. Cans of veggie chili, baked beans, spaghettio-type stuff are easy to just heat (in the open can next to the fire if you're lazy, or in a cooking pot). You an also find instant humus, cans of bean dip that you can make a meal of with chips or pita and raw veggies.

[neptunemama]

When we're camping we go for minimal work and minimal mess. Part of the joy for us when camping is to get away from our regular lives, and neither dh nor I want to make fancy or involved food. If we're car camping we have more options for meals since we have a cooler with us. For breakfast we have cereal and milk w/berries and nuts, oatmeal, eggs. If it's a really cold morning hot soup is delicious. For lunch or dinner, we have hummus and bread/crackers, we make pasta w/beans and pesto, tomato sauce or olive oil. Canned soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Veggie nuggets cook up well. Pre-cut some veggies, broccoli, carrots, onion etc... and bring them w/you to saute and put over pasta or rice w/tofu or meat if you eat it. Burritos are easy to make, as are quesadillas.

[lovelysunlight]

We go backwoods camping quite a bit (as in, no bathroom facilities, no shower, no electricity whatsoever) because it's cheap. Can't beat $10/night! We have a one-burner cooktop, a cast iron dutch oven with a tripod, and a travel-sized grill to use.

-- grilled corn (and whatever other veggie you prefer) wrapped in aluminum foil, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and seasoned with salt and pepper.
-- hot dogs. not the greatest, but they are easy to cook over an open fire and great for kids.
-- beans in the dutch oven over an open fire. You can do any sort of bean -- we typically do baked beans -- although we have done kidney beans (canned), grilled sausage on the grill and cooked rice in the boiler on the cookstove to make jambalaya.
-- fish on the grill
-- baked potato on the grill or thrown in the open fire (wrapped in aluminum)

For breakfast we tend to keep it simple...pretty much grits, oatmeal, or bagels. You can even keep cream cheese in the cooler. My dad somehow makes awesome biscuits in the dutch oven, but I have no clue how.

For lunch, we eat pre-made sandwiches or leftovers.

[EKSmith]

Something that we do is Bannock on a stick....not the most "healthy" but a neat idea for camping.....I mix up all the dry ingredients in advance (pack it in a mason jar...I've also heard of people using ziploc bags), then just add the water/butter when I'm ready to cook it.


Mix together: 4 cups flour, 8 tsp baking powder 1 tbsp white sugar (if you want...not neccesary though), and 1 tsp salt.

Add to this 1/4 cup butter, and mix until crumbly. Add three cups cold water and mix till no longer sticky.

Wrap dough around a clean green stick, and cook over hot coals....or....cook in a cast iron pan, flipping when golden brown.

Serve with butter, jam...whatever!

Other ideas for camping are premade chilli or stew - pack in ziploc bags (frozen is great - can be used to keep other stuff cold in your cooler...when I make chilli, I make extra to freeze for camping!!) then just dump it in a pot and heat over the fire.

[BeingMe]

Wow, thanks for the great ideas. So many things to try. :

[mamatoablessing]

What about preparing some soups and stews ahead of time, freezing them in large ziplocks and then thawing and heating them over the fire?

Bring a few loaves of fresh baked bread for sandwiches, toast, bread and butter, etc.

The pp had a good idea with the ziplocks or foils of pre-chopped veggies and potatos. Add some meat to it and you can throw them on skewers to cook over the fire. As long as your cooler stays nice and cold with ice, the meat will be good for several days.

Eggs are a great meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Egg sandwiches with cheese on toast, a scramble with meat, veggies, potatos and cheese and scrambled egg burritos would all be yummy!

Lots of fresh fruit and veggies for snacking...along with cheese and crackers, peanut butter and maybe some deli meat?

You could also make a nice quiche or strada ahead of time and then just heat it up when you're ready to eat.

Corn on the cob can be cooked in the husks over an open flame, so they would be really easy to bring.

We always pre-marinated some chicken and steak (at home) in large ziplocks-they'd be ready to throw right on the grill for a nice dinner.

Good luck and have a great time!

[KathinJapan]

we are also going camping for the first time in a few years.
I like to make a marinated salad to bring. Cukes and tomatoes are plentiful right now so will make something with those. OR a pasta salad or anything that will keep.
I also take boiled eggs, these make a great snack or can be added to a sandwich or salad.

I have a large cast iron dutch oven and love to bake quick breads in it. OR bring some already baked. cream cheese on pumpkin bread is a great breakfast.

I also bring a bunch of flat breads or tortillas. These can be snacks, as wraps for any sort of random filling etc..

I like to roast bananas on the fire and then add some chocolate and chopped nuts when you take them off the coals. Very yummy.

Need to do some menu planning myself. We car camp but with 2 car seats there is a limit as to how much we can take. Bedding, at this time of year on the 40N takes up a lot of space.

Still, I love camping and a happy to have a chance to go.
Kathryn