When choosing food to take on a camping trip it is a good idea to plan your meals in advance and prepare a camping food list for shopping. Particularly if your space or budget is limited, you don’t want to be packing too much or having to shop for every meal so a little planning can go a long way.
Before you start shopping you first need to consider your particular needs, and perhaps put together a list of camping menu ideas, depending on what sort of camping stove you have and what kind of meals you can prepare on it. The food you take will also depend very much on the type of camping trip you’re planning – food for hiking, for example, will need to be light and non-perishable as it has to be carried from the start, while a family group traveling by car and staying within easy reach of basic stores will have the choice of very different supplies.
Either way, it’s a good idea to start with a camping food checklist so that you don’t forget any essentials. Preparing a menu for your camping trip beforehand could help you get organized and plan in advance if/when you will need to shop for top-up fresh food during your trip.
No-cook Camping Food and Snacks for Camping
The easiest food is going to be food which doesn’t need cooking, especially if you are planning day trips or hikes away from your tent and cooking equipment. Dried fruit and nuts are simple and nutritious choices as snacks for kids and have the added advantage of being cheap to buy and easy to store. There are also pre-packed trail mixes available to buy. Or make your own – trail mix recipes should be easy to find or create. Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, nuts, raisins, dried coconut chips – all of which are packed with energy for a long day. Pick your favourites and throw them all in a bag together. Cereal bars are an alternative which can be chocolate of yoghurt topped to tempt a fussy eater. Picnic type food can also come in useful here – crackers (they’ll last longer than bread), cheese, hard-boiled eggs, fruit etc.
Family Camping Food and Budget Camping Menu Ideas
Speaking from personal experience; when car camping with a family, large tent and all the extras, camping dinners need not be too different from meals at home. Okay, there are the bugs, rain and washing up facilities to consider but most family camping stoves these days allow for a lot of flexibility with food and can be used to make some very luxurious camping meals. A griddle plate is usually attached so frying bacon and eggs for breakfast is easy and a saucepan or two can be used to boil veg/pasta/rice, etc. With this sort of set up you can cook pretty much anything you fancy, though you have to consider storage when choosing which foods to pack. A cool box and some ice packs can help but fresh foods will be best consumed as soon as possible. Choosing non-perishable camping food for most of your meals is easier.
Kids Camping Food Ideas
Every parent knows what fussy eaters kids can be, though the excitement of cooking outside over a camping stove might help alleviate this problem! Get them involved in the outdoor preparation and cooking and you might find them happy to eat what they’ve helped to make. Freeze dried camping meals also have a great deal of novelty value (especially if you liken them to astronaut food!) these should be easy to find in camping stores.
Otherwise, you might want to try familiar but healthy camping food options. Ideas include cereals or porridge oats for breakfast (storing milk won’t be easy but if you are at a campsite you might find it available to buy each morning – alternatively porridge oats can be cooked with water and sweetened with honey or preserved fruit). BBQ type food can make a good evening meal – hot dogs and burgers are always a winner.
One Pot Meals
Whatever sort of camping you are doing the easiest hot meals to prepare over a camping stove will be made in one pan – reducing cooking time, washing up and the difficulty of juggling several different pots and pans over a small camping cooker. Casserole type dishes can work well here as you can just throw all the ingredients in one pot and sit back and wait. Be aware of your cooking times though – some camping stoves don’t seem to have a ‘low’ setting on the flame so it is easy to burn or undercook something accidentally. Choose meals that don’t need a long cooking time to avoid this and to make your fuel go further.
Prepare some ideas before leaving of food that is quick and easy to throw together and can be cooked in one pan and make sure you have the correct ingredients (including seasonings) packed and ready. And don’t forget a knife and a can opener if you need one! Boil in the bag meals or foil packed pre-prepared camping food can be a quick and lazy solution for the days when you don’t have the time or inclination to mess around with several dishes and pans.
Storage for Camping Food
If you are planning to carry several days’ worth of food with you will need to consider how it will be stored. When choosing your camping foods ‘no refrigeration needed’ will be top of your list of concerns. Dried foods like rice and noodles and high energy snacks like dried fruit and nuts are perfect as they will not suffer from being stored all day in a backpack or car. Make sure the food is wrapped well or stored in airtight containers and never leave it out overnight, even in a bag, as you might attract rodents and other unwanted guests.
If you do plan to use fresh food then the best way is to buy only what you need when you need it – daily if possible. Store it in a cool box with ice packs to keep it fresh.
Light, Packable Food for Hiking
If your camping trip is more extended, or you plan to travel by foot or bicycle then your higher energy needs as well as the size and weight of the food you choose will also come into consideration. If you are planning to carry all of your equipment you will want to save as much space and weight as possible when it comes to food. Specialist freeze-dried packs of camping food are the perfect solution, though may prove a little more expensive that the alternatives. Packs of pre-prepared, high calorie meals can be bought in bulk from many camping and outdoor gear stores especially for this purpose.
Wild Food
Last time I went camping we spotted some wild mint growing close to the tent – it made a delicious addition to our potatoes that evening. Finding wild camping food can add a little more to your trip, and can be fantastic fun for kids for whom picking or catching food rather than buying it can feel awfully adventurous. Just be very, very sure that you know what you are about to eat before digging in.
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