Ideas for Camping Food

dariqueen

dariqueen

New member
I went out to the campground with a friend last night. 3 hot dogs and 4 s'mores later...I'm scared to see the scale tomorrow.

I don't have a camper with a fridge, just a little cooler. What are some good, healthy ideas for meals when using a campfire and a little cooler? I want to be able to go out for the odd weekend, but don't want to have to drive back to town to eat.
 
Ooh that's a good question. I have a camping trip planned for August, and I'm wondering about how I'm going to still eat healthily while enjoying camping food. I think it will be fun to jog around the lake and trails though, so I'm not worried about exercising. But come on, you gotta have a s'more! Otherwise it's simply not camping :)
 
my idea of roughing it is no room service after midnight - but I'm all for the adventure of cooking over an open campfire :)

the one and only time I've been camping

some things i had on the menu

baked potatoes (wrap in tinfoil, and bury under the campfire coals takes about 30 minutes ish andthey're done

Roasted garlic -cut off top of garlic and pour on a little bit of olive oil, wrap in tin foil and bury in the camp fire for about 25 minutes ish.. and spread on bread or whatever.

Spear a red pepper and hold over a campfire til the outside gets nicely charred - stick in a paper bag for about 20 mnutes and then peel off the charred layer - enjoy fresh roasted peppers also works with italian peppers, yellow peppers and green peppers but red are the sweetest.

Shish kebobs - spear chicken chunks (that you've marinated in italian dressing in a ziplock baggie) with some veggie chunks over the open fire...
 
Thanks those are great options! Something everyone can enjoy too, and my friends won't feel like I'm pushing my health agenda on them!
 
Howdy Dari,
I just went for the day lastweek and I packed lite
wheat bread and had a jar of peanutbutter & some cold chicken breast
I cooked the night before to make sandwhiches.I also took some 100 calorie pk snacks an a couple apples.I more less had a picnic type camping lol
Enjoy your camping,TAMMY
 
When i go camping i try to pack things like dried fruit to snack on during the day, and for meals i try to stick to grilling chicken or fish because it seems to be a much healther choice then cooking hotdogs or hamburgers everynight
 
my family and I go camping at least 3 to 4 times a summer, if not more, and at least one of the trips is usually a week or longer. most of the other ones are weekenders. I am looking forward to the challenge of eating right while camping, since it has always been notorius for bad eating. hey its vacation after all, but that was the way i USED to think. no longer! here are some of my ideas:

-everybody loves grilled chicken!
-grilled/roasted veggies with a lite marinade
-fat free hot dogs for that meal when you gotta have something traditional
-lean cut of beef while the rest of the family gorges on ribeye or strip steak
-lean cuts of pork, or a pork tenderloin
-plenty of options in raw fruits and veggies
-beef jerky comes in handy when they are going nuts on chips and dips
-and nuts are handy themselves too, lol
-cottage cheese can be packed into a cooler easy enough
-seperating egg whites isnt hard at a camp site, but egg beaters are even easier!

as you can see, i have already done some thinking on this subject, we go on our first weekender starting june 15th, and i will be prepared and ready.

also, when it comes to things like s'mores, there isnt all that much calories as long as you stay in moderation. luckily, i dont care for them much myself (dont like sweets in general really). also, and though I dont like to admit that i am aware of this as it creates excuses to submit to temptation, we are usually quite active while camping. lots of hiking, swimming, walking around in general, means i am burning a heck of a lot more calories than usual, and as long as im not going overboard all day, and little splurge at night or at one meal each day probably wouldnt cause an ounce of weight gain. though i stil want to avoid taking that route and giving in, id rather stay strict right through and prove to myself that i am in control of my life.

i have to admit, one thing that is difficult to do when camping (at least for me) is have enough water on hand to stay well hydrated. when i am out in the summer heat 24 hours a day, i will go through 2 gallons of water a day easy. between my consumption needs and what we need to run the site, that means a lot of trips to the water faucet, which is usually a decent hike itself, lol. after a long day out, it gets tempting to say screw carrying 20 pounds or more of water half a mile, lol. and buying enough bottled water to keep me hydrated is just not cost effective...

edit: and for hamburgers, just grab the 95% lean and make slightly smaller patties. smaller patties cook better anyways, and the reduced fat can even make room for a slice of cheese if you like cheeseburgers.
 
CoachCrimson said:
-lean cut of beef while the rest of the family gorges on ribeye or strip steak
Click to expand...

What's wrong with strip steak? That's one of the best grillable cuts you can get. You can get less fat with a roast or ultra-lean ground beef, but it's not a whole lot. You can get these steaks with very little marbling in the beef, which is the problem with ribeyes. They are not in the same category. New York strips are tasty and are tender because that muscle on the cows doesn't get used much. A good cut of strip steak is about the only beef I'll eat anymore. You can in fact get crappy strip steaks, but when you buy them, pay attention to the marbling... it shouldn't look anything like a ribeye, just solid muscle.


CoachCrimson said:
-lean cuts of pork, or a pork tenderloin
Click to expand...

You'd choose a pork loin over a New York strip? :rolleyes:
 
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As for camping food, you really need a small camping stove. You just can't cook 3+ meals a day over a campfire and stay sane. The small Coleman's at Wal-Mart work ok, but, you cannot turn them down far enough, the lowest setting will still burn alot of food. The propane is very easy to find though, and the canisters are very cheap.

Also a small set of camping pots and pans works great, the kind that fold up together. This makes it very easy to cook oatmeal, grits, heat up canned veggies, etc.

If you are going to actually try to make a decent meal, I would highly recommend getting a dutch oven, or at least a big cast iron skillet. A Lodge oven would be great and you can use it at home too.

As for actual recipes I make while camping...


- Jambalaya (pre-cut all the veggies and meat at home and keep in zip-loc bags)
- potatoes, onions, carrots, peppers, and ground beef in heavy foil thrown on the campfire.
- dessert apples (core apples, fill with brown sugar, cinnamon, top with a slice of butter, wrap in heavy foil and put on the fire for 10 minutes or so until it gets soft but not mushy)
- grilled samon fillets with pumpkin butter basted on top
- grilled deer steaks
- potatoes and onions fried in olive oil
- noodle packets that don't require milk
- fresh fruit... no cooking necessary. watermelon rocks.
- simple heated up items brought from home in the cooler or in a can
- baked sweet potatoes in heavy foil


Just make sure you get something like the Reynold's Wrap "heavy duty" foil. Normal thin foil and hot coals don't mix well if you can appreciate your food tasting decent at all.
 
I usually camp for 3-4 days at a time. I try to cook 3 dinners in advance which I will then pack in a giant ziplock, freeze, and then either pack in (if pack camping) or bring in my cooler. I make a huge curry. It freezes well and offers a nice bite especially after hiking. I will also make and freeze chili (and there are TONS of good recipes for all different kinds of healthy chili online), and I'll make a banana bread. I also chop up zucchini, freeze it, and then cook that up. We have a nice cast iron pan we bring on all trips (including pack trips.) You can make what is called a "keyhole firepit" which makes cooking over a fire much easier. You basically pull rocks from the front of your fire ring forward and build a little annex firepit off of the main one. Then as your fire starts making coals, you can pull these forward into your "annex" and it's like cooking over a burner. Here's a picture:



You can also make and freeze in advance:

Rice or other whole grains
pasta with sauce
corn bread
broiled potatoes with rosemary, dill, and olive oil
tofu stir-fry
Freezer omelette
Biscotti

And get yourself one of these. It cooks everything and only requires oil for maintenance during your trip - don't wash it til you get home (just wipe out with a cloth or paper towel and then oil)



I love camp cooking. Everything tastes better.

Make room on fitday for smores. ;)
 
We just atke sandwiches to camping. That way we don't carry around all the utensils. Who needs all that weight?
 
Thanks for the great ideas everyone! The onlyl thing is, right now, camping for us is a random, very temporary thing. We have no tent or camper, no campsite of our own, or anything. This time we just slept in my friend's van at another friend's campsite.

I like the idea of getting a small camping stove or something, but for me, that's a big investment. I'll look into it...:)
 
dariqueen said:
I like the idea of getting a small camping stove or something, but for me, that's a big investment.
Click to expand...

Some of the ones that just screw directly onto the propane bottles are very cheap. The propane canisters are only a few bucks each and I think the burner is only $15 or so. But like I said before, if you get this one from Wal-Mart, even the lowest setting is still too hot for just heating things up in a lightweight pot. I just hold it up off the burner a couple of inches if I need somethnig to just simmer for a couple minutes. It's actually very powerful.

 
Thanks Corndoggy; I'm going to check out what our nearest Wal-mart has in stock when I go there next week! :)
 
roasted corn on the cob is awesome (carefully pull back the husk, remove the silk and cover the cob back up with the husk and grill on the fire), pineapple, cooked chicken, and pepper kabobs, and grilled apples are some more ideas.
 
Coleman camp stoves really are very powerful! My husband and I just bought one and had no idea how high the settings were. Good idea to get one because they are fairly cheap.

Great camp food ideas!
 
When we go we take alot of pre chopped veggies in ziploc bags and then make foil packets and toss them all in with some seasonings. Most of the fam likes meat (chunks of chicken, steak, or pork) in theirs but I am content with the veggies. If you pre chop it all and use the tin foil it makes for easy clean up! I am also partial to fush wrapped in foil and cooked over the campfire!!Yummy!!:) It is those dang smores that get me in the end! Or polish sausage that you skewer and then hold over the campfire flames until the skin is all crispy and splits. Dang it I need to go camping now!!:rolleyes: We also take alot of fruit with us. All of the stuff we take can be in the cooler so it doesn't need a fridge to keep it super cold. Camping food doesn't need to be elaborate just filling!!:)
 
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