Camping Food

Camping Food

Camping can work up a tremendous appetite because of the physical activities involved. Having the right kind of food during camping to meet the energy needs is extremely essential. With a little planning about the food to be packed or prepared, one can have a much-improved camping experience. A camper would not have access to kitchen equipments or refrigeration to prepare elaborate meals, but healthy and tasty food can be still be made available with proper planning. (1)

Proper camp food is integral because indigestion and other food-related sickness can absolutely ruin a camping trip.

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A Foil Meal

Some of the factors to consider for camping food selection are as listed below:

Cooking Time: Campers should choose meals that can be prepared in less time, ideally in 5 to 20 minutes. This is because of the trouble involved in carrying large quantity of cooking fuel during camping.

Perishability: Since there would not be any refrigeration source, campers should opt for shelf-stable food rather than perishable ones. Beyond the initial one to two days, one should not risk having perishable food during camping, unless hiking in cold conditions with access to cold water to act as a refrigeration source.

Weight: Backpackers need to carry many items apart from food, so their food has to be as lightweight as possible. Often, freeze-dried and dehydrated meals are the preferred food to address this problem as they can cut weight by sixty to ninety percent. (2)

Nutrition: Campers may walk for miles or be exposed to strenuous activities, which require lots of calories. To maintain high energy levels, campers should include in their camping food checklist, foods that provide sufficient calories and higher sodium levels. (3)

Types of Camping Food:

Freeze-Dried food: Freeze-drying is a technique for preserving food by rapid freezing and subsequent removal of up to 98% of water content. Freeze-dried ingredients are lightweight, tasty and nutritious, which makes them an attractive option for campers. Freeze-dried ingredients can be readily reconstituted with a little water and can be often consumed without cooking them. The food can be safely stored at room temperature for long periods of with the need of refrigeration. Freeze-dried ingredients are available in small quantities in stores specific to camping or from emergency supply outlets. (4, 5)

Dehydrated Food: Dehydrated or dried food is prepared by slow removal of moisture from the food using heat. Dehydrated food can be stored at the room temperature for prolonged periods without getting spoiled or losing flavor, making it another sought after food for camping. Dehydrated food items are considerably smaller than fresh ones and can easily fit in backpacks, which make it an ideal camping food. They can be rehydrated in no time by pouring hot water. (4, 5)

MRE: Generally used by the military, Meal, Ready to Eat or MRE can be another camping food option. MRE food is precooked and vacuum-sealed in airtight retort pouches. MREs can be consumed cold or warmed. The only disadvantage is that they are much heavier than freeze-dried or dehydrated meals because of their moisture content. (3, 4)

Snacks: For snacking between major meals, a camper can choose from a variety of healthy snacks. Right camping snacks should be the ones that provide enough energy, but not greasy heavy food or junk food loaded with refined grains and sugars. One can choose vegetables for guilt-free munching. Bite-size sticks of raw carrot and celery, chips made out of sliced potatoes and carrot, and skewered vegetables cubes are some of nutritious snacking options. Tortillas can be enjoyed in many forms: tortilla wrap with leftover meat, lettuce and tomatoes as filling, tortilla roll with fruit jam or peanut butter spread, or quesadilla with melted cheese between two tortillas. Plain, unsalted crackers, plain or without spreads or toppings make a great simple camping snack. Trail mix, purchased or homemade, is an ideal camping snack that is lightweight, easy to store, tasty, and nutritious. (6)

Camping Cooking:

Selection of food items for camping meals depends on the type of camping one will be doing. For those who will be camping in a tent or an improved campground with access to meal storage and preparation options, whipping up a gourmet camping meal can be possible. Campers have always come up with numerous methods to prepare meals with a campfire. Using direct heat on food by wrapping food individually in aluminum foil or indirect heating like grilling food over a grate on an open fire are some of the effective cooking food techniques. Soups and stews can be prepared on pot or pan placed over hot coals (7)

Camping Breakfast Recipes:

Pancake

Ingredients

For Pancake Mix:

Flour: 2 Cups

Sugar: 2 tsp.

Salt: 1 tsp.

Baking powder: 1 tsp.

Baking soda: ½ tsp.

Others:

Butter: 4 tbsp.

Eggs: 2

Buttermilk or regular milk: 2 Cups

Fruit, Nuts, or Chocolate Chips (optional)

Method: Mix all the ingredients and store in an airtight container or zipper lock bag. This pancake mixture can be stored for 3 months.

Mix the eggs, buttermilk/milk, and melted butter well by whisking. Add the pancake mix. Whisk again till the mixture is smooth and uniform. Pre-heat the pan or griddle and grease lightly with butter. Pour the batter mix onto the pan or griddle. Wait till the formation of bubbles around the edges and then flip them gently and cook for about 2 more minutes. Serve with maple syrup. (8)

Camping Recipes for Lunch and Dinner:

Foil Dinner

Ingredients:

Ground beef: ¼ lbs.

Carrot, sliced: 1

Potato, sliced: 1

Small onion, diced: 2

Butter

Seasoning of your choice

Heavy-duty aluminium foil

Place ground beef, carrot, potato and onion in layers in the middle of the aluminium foil. Season to taste. Apply butter on top. Foil the foil and secure tightly, leaving little room for expansion. Roast on hot coals for about 20 to 30 minutes. Keep turning and rotating often. Other meats, vegetables, seasonings and sauces can be used. (9)

Camper’s Pizza

Ingredients:

Bread: 2 slices

Butter

Mozzarella cheese

Sauce: 1 and ½ tbsp.

Pepperoni, sliced

Apply butter on one side of two slices of bread, Place one slice of bread on pie iron with buttered side facing down. Layer pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni on the bread. Place the other bread slice on top with buttered side out. Place pie iron on hot coals. Keep turning until bread is browned. (9)

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S’more Set-up for Camping

Camping Food for Kids:

A camping trip with family is not complete without including kid-friendly camping food items. Parents should select foods that kids can cook themselves. Participating in cooking will keep the kids occupied and they will take pride in cooking their meal themselves. Hiking and exploring builds appetites and improves the taste of everything, so even kids who are fussy eaters may enjoy eating camping food. S’mores is a regular fare in camping food for children. It is prepared by slow toasting of skewered marshmallow, and sandwiching the mushy marshmallow along with a piece of chocolate between two halves of a graham cracker. Hot dogs are another sure-fire hit with kids. It is simple recipe in which speared wiener is cooked slowly over campfire until it browns and the skin breaks open. The cooked wiener is placed in a hot dog bun and decorated with condiments. Kids also love packet meals prepared by heating assortment of meats and vegetable wrapped in tin foil. (10, 11)

Special Camping Food:

Gluten-intolerant individuals, especially those with celiac disease, have to be cautious about the foods they eat during camping. While choosing dehydrated foods for camping, they need to make sure that the foods do not have traces of gluten. There are many gluten-free food choices that can be enjoyed during camping. All fruits are suitable for consumption by gluten-allergic individuals because they do not contain wheat. Naturally gluten-free food like dried figs serve as an excellent snack in camping trips if one ensure that no brown sugar is added to it. Other recommended gluten-free food items are raisins, homemade jerky, homemade banana chips. One should keep in mind that the same food items might not be completely free of gluten due to additives if they choose the commercially available ones.

Videos: The URL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I73PckP-5nk leads to a video showing how to pack cooler, cooking essentials, and lunch for camping. Another video http://youtu.be/lhWoCxBgCjA shows some great options of commercial foods that can be ideal for backpacking or camping.

Sources:

1. http://www.ehow.com/about_7227700_portable-food-camping.html

2. http://www.hiking-gear-and-equipment-used-for-camping.com/camping-food.html

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camping_food

4. http://www.wildernessdining.com/campingfood.html

5. http://www.packitgourmet.com/FreezeDriedampDehydratedExplained-sp67.html

6. http://www.campingroadtrip.com/outdoor-living-newsletter-march-2011/best-camping-snacks

7. http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/camp_cooking_tips.htm

8. http://www.free-camping-recipes.com/camping-breakfast-recipes.html

9. http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/recipes.htm

10. http://www.livestrong.com/article/209629-camping-meals-for-kids/

11. http://www.livestrong.com/article/542497-campfire-foods-for-kids/