Our family packs such variety of foods to take on camping trips that I sometimes feel like we are more of camping chuck wagon than a typical family going on a camping trip. Creating tasty meals is not only fun on a camping trip, it's easy when you prepare in advance. There is something special about eating on camping trips and for some reason, our food always tastes better. A lot of people seem to think that they have to eat things like hot dogs and canned chili on camping trips. This does not have to be the case. Whatever you can cook at home, you should be able to cook on the road if you improvise as long as you have the proper food storage and cooking equipment. We have all of our camp cooking supplies stored in plastic Rubbermaid see through storage bins.
The best fresh foods for camping are easy to make as long as you have the right equipment such as large portable Xtreme Coleman cooler, adjustable camping stove, and an organized camping pantry.
Get Organized And You Can Prepare The Follow Foods On A Camping Trip
Dark chocolate Cake. We are able to make cakes with a steamer that rests inside our wok. The coffee cake is fantastic!
Gourmet Omelets. We make diner quality omelets in a caste iron griddle. We get fresh organic eggs obtained from local farmers, yellow onions, peppers, and often cut tiny pieces of sausage or bacon together with some grated cheeses.
Organic Peach-Mango Granola. For breakfast, I make granola in our wok. Tastes just as good as the oven variety. My ingredients include organic shredded coconut, chopped almonds, sliced pecans, and any dried organic fruit that I have in our camping pantry.
Whole Bone Chicken SoupA pressure cooker can cook an entire chicken and make a very nutritious soup. If you have never made chicken soup with an entire chicken, you have to try this on a camping trip. We use our pressure cooker to store silver ware, plates, cups, and loose items when traveling between camp sites.
Buttered pop corn. For an evening snack, we make gourmet popcorn in our wok. Do you have to be Asian to use a wok? Even though my wife is Filipino, she uses the wok for so many different food preparations.
Chicken Fried Rice. There is no need for a rice cooker when a pressure cooker will do the same function. Left over chicken works great for stir fried rice.
T-bone Steak & Grilled Onions. Beef steaks are easily prepared and ready in minutes with a Lodge cast iron griddle. We eat T-bone steaks more on our camping trips than we at home.
Pan Grilled Onions & Lamb Steaks I never realized that grilling lamb on the road is as easy as making steaks. We serve the lamb with boiled potatoes.
I like to prepare camping meals that I am familiar with such as our favorite meals that we make at home. It's not a good idea to reinvent the "wheel" when on a camping trip. I really enjoy grilling salmon both at home and on camping trips because it's good for your, it tastes great, and the preparation is easy. Because camping is so relaxing for myself and my family, I don't like to have to spend a huge part of our day thinking about what we are going to prepare for our meals. I like to start my morning breakfast with a cup of hot coffee and bowl of granola topped with fresh fruit and yogurt.
7 Dry Foods That Should Be In Every Campers Pantry
Mixed raw dried fruits, nuts, and seeds. Make sure that you pack plenty of raw seeds, nuts, and dried fruits for your next camping trip. You can eat them for breakfast, pack them for snacks, and have them stashed away as an emergency food source.
Organic tea and coffee. Even though coffee and tea are not food, it sure is nice to relax with a cup of your favorite hot beverage. This is why I don't deprive myself of these comfort drinks while on camping trips. I tend to drink more coffee and tea while camping because I am so relaxed. I turn my campsite into a mini espresso bar by taking a small moka pot, French press coffee maker, and a single serving cone filter coffee maker. Let the yuppies escape the outdoors to grab a cup of joe at Starbucks while you enjoy your own home brew in the comfort of your campsite. This only works if you are coffee or tea drinker. Comfort foods and drinks are meant to be enjoyed in moderation. I take that advice with a grain of salt on my camping trips.
Chia seeds-a super food that everyone should be eating. Organic chia seeds have been popularized by endurance runners and celebrities as a super food. Chia is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids, even more so than flax seeds. Chia seeds tastes slightly nutty. You can mix seeds in water and add lime or lemon juice and sugar to make a drink known in Mexico and Central America as chia fresca. Chia seeds can also be eaten plain or mixed with raw nuts and dried fruit as a healthy camping snack. Chia is a sought after snack in our family and my kids always request chia pudding for their desert on camping trips.I like to add fresh cream, milk, coconut milk, or nut milk to a 1/2 cup of raw chia seeds and let it sit for several hours. After the mixture gets firm like pudding, I will add a light sweetener like maple syrup or rapadura sugar. The taste is somewhat like tapioca pudding. Top the pudding with fresh blue berries or strawberries for a super healthy desert.
Mixed dried beans. I have never been on a camping where I did not pack dried beans. For our family, it would not be a camping trip if we did not make our honest to God cowboy chili. Cooking beans is an easy task for us since we travel with a pressure cooker.
A block of Parmesan & Romano cheese. Hard cheese like Parmesan or Romano will stay fresh for weeks even when not refrigerated. I like to finely grate Parmesan cheese and sprinkle it on my salads or over a hot plate of pasta where it melts just like a soft cheese.
Whole wheat pasta. Pasta is probably the tastiest and easiest meal to make on camping trips. Simply boil the water and add your favorite pasta. Serve with cut up fresh zucchini, Parmesan cheese, and pasta sauce. Fresh pasta tastes great and is easy to prepare at your campsite. I am not fond of the typical grocery store variety pasta sauces. I will buy a decent marinara sauce from Trader Joes or Costco when we are near any of these stores.
Canned chicken. It's hard to beat canned chicken or fish for a delicious protein packed meal or snack.
Make a camping checklist several weeks in advance. This will keep you from over-packing. We do a majority of shopping on the road since we tend to enjoy fresh food as opposed to pre-packaged camping foods sold by REI. I must admit that the freeze dried dinners produced today taste as close to gourmet food as you can get while camping. It's a good idea to throw a few freeze dried camping food packages in your storage bin as an emergency food source or when you are feeling lazy.
What my family and I have found is that we like camping foods that are easy to prepare in our camp kitchen and can be taken on hikes or even leisurely inside the car order campsite. We enjoyed fresh fruits and vegetables. So guess what we do? We enjoy foraging for fresh berries and edible plants. Last summer while camping in Northern Oregon, we discovered a scenic route called "The Fruit Loop". We were able to pick our own organic blueberries and fresh cherries with a view of Mt. Hood and the beautiful Cascade Mountain range in the background. It was one of the most amazing camping experiences in her life.
On the same trip, we finished for trout and were able to enjoy some excellent fresh fish dinners.
Not too far away from the Fruit Loop was a beautiful remote campground located at Lost Lake. When we arrived at the lake, we noticed people filling small pails with beautiful berries. When we inquired what type of berries they were picking the young ladies explained to us that they were wild huckleberries. We spent the next 3 days eating as much huckleberries as we could.
Take The Following 6 choices And You Are Almost Guaranteed To Have The Tastiest Camping Meals
Camping food needs to be as tasty as it is at home or you will be heading for the nearest fast food restaurant or diner.
Salt & Pepper
Hot red pepper
Dried Onions
Garlic flakes
Italian Seasoning
Cinnamon
Pack cookware that has multiple uses like a wok and pressure cooker. Keep your meals simple and tasty so you can have more leisure time to enjoy other activities. On the other hand, if you love camp cooking, then bring it on with compact camping pantry and create unbelievable gourmet meals on the road.
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