Camping can be a lot of fun. So Take Me Camping 😉 But, meal planning can pose some issues, especially when you don’t want to take the time. If you have a large group of kids to keep feeding you’re going to need things that are simple and quick. But, you want to eat healthily and packed with protein to keep you full longer. Planning some things ahead will help you stay organized and enjoy the trip as much as the rest of them.
Eggs in a Bottle
Trying to take eggs on the trails can be a mess. Instead, beat them up and put them into a clean water bottle. This will keep that gooey mess contained. You can use just about any sealable container. Another little trick is to do this in sections and mark on the container how many eggs it has in it. For example, a 2-liter bottle could hold enough eggs to make more than one meal. So, put them in one meal at a time and mark. Eggs are a great camping food and can be made up in a bunch of different dishes.
Chop up the Veggies
Meal planning will help you to know what veggies you’ll need. And, then have them all prepared and seasoned right at home. If they are going to be grilled in foil packs, then put the oil and seasons on them and into a sealable travel container. Often campers and campsites don’t have a lot of room for prepping. This will make mealtime go faster as well and it will be so good. If you are thinking of omelets one morning, cut up the veggies and sausage and put it into another sealed container.
Make and Take
Cooking at home can be simpler and help you to enjoy your time away more. So, make meals at home and freeze them to take with you. Hearty soups, lasagna and, these meals can be easily warmed up at camp and be so good after a long day. And, if they are frozen in a zipper bag, it’s simply putting the soup in the boiling water, right in the bag, and cook. This will make fewer dishes as well! Cheesy potatoes are chili are a great one for this method as well.
You can also do this with eggs, putting everything in a ziplock bag, not freeze it but keep it cold. When ready dip it into boiling water to have it come out nice and cooked without messing up another pan. Because, after all, nobody wants to waste their time washing dishes and cooking when on an adventure.
As you can see, most of the food hacks are simply planning. Plan each meal out and stick to the plan. Try to find things that complement each other, maybe things like a smoked sausage in omelets and the same sausage with Kraut for an evening meal. This will help eliminate the need of hauling a bunch of food and not using it up. And, of course, don’t forget your cast iron pie maker and all the fun foods you can make up in that. Get creative and remember to have fun.
3 Extra tips for preparing your food
When camping, cooking is not as easy as it is at home. Usually, your RV is not fully stocked with all the gadgets, it is cramped and hard to move around it. If you are tent camping you are cooking over an open flame for the most part unless you brought a grill and some pans. However you plan to prepare your food, we have some simple camping food hacks for you.
Cook things ahead of time for an easy warm-up
If you are at home with a full kitchen it is far easier to cook in than an RV camper or over an open flame. There are more countertops to work with, so naturally, it is easier to cook at home. This is why if you can cook some things before you go. This allows for easy reheat over the fire or on a pan without a lot of fuss.
Things such as scrambled eggs, for example, can be done at home and put into foil packets for easy warming without the mess of a runny egg. Add a little butter to the packet as well. You can make full omelets this way, however, simple scrambled eggs are good too. Even add a little cheese to melt as they reheat. These are easy and delicious and you won’t have a liquid egg to deal with!
Pasta salads and potato salads are also things that are yummy while camping. However, make them over a campfire or grill is a little daunting compared to making them at home. Make and take them for a great side dish for just about any meal.
Cooking potatoes on a grill or in a fire can take a bit. And, if you have little ones, you may not have the time to wait. However, you can precook the potatoes to use in things later. Baking potatoes is easy at home and doesn’t take a ton of time. When done, let them cool and pack them up with skins on and everything.
Prep at home
Prepare the meals at home. Just like the example of putting the egg and cheese in foil packets. You can do foil packets at home with other things too. This way you will have all your seasonings and spices right there at your fingertips ready to go. Foil packs are easy to make on the grill and so good too. There are countless foil pack recipes online. However, we do recommend that if it is sort of complex that you try at home before you go doing some Pinterest masterpieces at camp.
Preparing things such as toppings for hamburgers is easier at home as well. Slice up the tomato, onion, and all the toppings and take them in bags or containers to make it easier to just grab and eat! Cutting up things for shish kabobs and other things you plan to eat saves a lot of time and hassle at the campsite.
Meal Plan
This might be the most important tip. Meal planning is so important when camping. This allows you to bring enough food but not have to haul the entire kitchen. Be sure there are plenty of snacks as well. Popcorn is a good staple to keep on hand as it can be popped right over the campfire and doesn’t take up a lot of room or go bad while in storage. Plan each meal and be sure to pack a little extra for those in-between meal snacks as well.
We hope these camping food tips help your next camping trip go smoother than normal!
