Camping menu ideas

LyndaLackey

I'm going camping for 5 days. Normally, this spells, unhealthy eating. I'm going to be starting week 3 and I refuse to blow it on camping but seeing that I don't have access to a full fridge, bringing veggies fruit is difficult. Any suggestions???

BTW, we will be doing groceries once we get there so I will be able to buy some items fresh...just can't have a "stock" of refridgerated stuff.

wrensong27

My friend and I went camping back in May and we ate realy healthy. We had kabobks one night. We got turkey smoked sausage and fresh veggies, like yellow squash Zuchini (which was amazing), fresh mushrooms, bell peppers and onions. We grilled them and they were wonderful.

The next morning we made omletts in a bag. Take as many eggs (or egg whites) as you want in your omlet, then take the left over veggies and smoked turkey sausage, salsa if you like and cheese, if you like (tho it is good w/o the salsa and cheese) mix it all up and put it in a ziplock bag and drop the bag in a pot of water boilingover your fire.They cook in the bag and are wonderful. (and no clean up, just toss the bag in the trash)

Also you can take a chicken breast (or fish) and wrap it in foil with fresh veggies, season to taste and put it on the grill....

Also you can cube up potatoes, regular or sweet (and onions if you like) wrap them in foil and throw on the grill

We used no butter or oil, and everything was wonderful!!

Greenrun99

ground turkey taco's.. when we go camping usually 1 of the nights is taco's, next night is a steak of some sort (trim fat off if you want).. fresh veggies in foil on the rocks of the campfire is always a good choice. chicken breasts sliced up with potatoes.. camping can be healthy (if you watch your alcohol intake) and take walks/hikes

samblanken

Protein bars.

shelleycolton

Nice chicken or steak fajitas, or chilli con carne packed with veggies. Also around the campfire how about pop some popcorn in the pot, my son loves it as a treat! Also a healthy breakfast with trimmed bacon, tomato, beans, mushrooms fill us up for the day. A healthy bbq to with chicken kebabs, all this food is making me hungry!

cindaroses

The last few times my husband and I went camping, we took vegetables from our garden and had grilled vegetables and grilled chicken. We ate fruit for breakfast and just in general made healthy food. You can have good versions for "bad" camping food.

lmarshel

Woo hoo! I am going camping this weekend and cannot wait! I don't have any good ideas for a healthy menu. My hubby and I try to take mostly the things we already eat. We are usually only there for a weekend, so everything will fit in a cooler. And we're camping in the mountains so the cooler does the trick. I actually had to take my chicken breasts out of the cooler so they would thaw. I really like the idea of omelettes in a bag, tho. That's a neat trick!

My advice is find a great trail and hike, hike, hike! A day of hiking for me will burn upwards of 1200 calories. Then I have plenty of room for S'mores around the campfire :bigsmile:

QuirkyPanda

My friend and I went camping back in May and we ate realy healthy. We had kabobks one night. We got turkey smoked sausage and fresh veggies, like yellow squash Zuchini (which was amazing), fresh mushrooms, bell peppers and onions. We grilled them and they were wonderful.

The next morning we made omletts in a bag. Take as many eggs (or egg whites) as you want in your omlet, then take the left over veggies and smoked turkey sausage, salsa if you like and cheese, if you like (tho it is good w/o the salsa and cheese) mix it all up and put it in a ziplock bag and drop the bag in a pot of water boilingover your fire.They cook in the bag and are wonderful. (and no clean up, just toss the bag in the trash)

Also you can take a chicken breast (or fish) and wrap it in foil with fresh veggies, season to taste and put it on the grill....

Also you can cube up potatoes, regular or sweet (and onions if you like) wrap them in foil and throw on the grill

We used no butter or oil, and everything was wonderful!!

Wow! I want to go camping with YOU!

dragonc321

I just went camping... Our menu was:
1lb lean ground meat mixed with a packet of Lipton onion soup mix to make 4 delicious burgers on the grill
fresh veggies
baked chips
diet soda

eggs
turkey bacon
whole wheat toast
oj

turkey wraps (lean turkey, cheese, veggies, mustard, light mayo rolled into tortilla)

tuna casserole (tuna, noodles, mayo, green peppers, celery)
grilled veggies in foil packets

It's all about being prepared. I prepped everything that I couldn't grill before we left so nothing was left up to chance. Make a plan and stick to it. Do lots of hiking to burn any extra calories you may take it. I only was gone for a weekend but everything that I needed fit into a large Coleman cooler. We only had to do 1 ice run to keep everything fresh.

DeadMarsha

Woo, five days! That's going to take some good planning...

As far as the fresh stuff goes: get your fresh fruits & veggies under-ripe when you buy them (and a few ready to eat that day). Fruits & veggies are meant to be stored at room temperature (I only keep mine in the fridge because that's where my storage space is, haha), and they will ripen as the days pass and be ready to eat! ALSO: bring vinegar along, then make a bath of 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water in a bowl. Swish your fruits & veggies in it. That will kill bacteria and it will ripen without rotting.

Some dinner ideas: burgers (can be healthy! use avocado, tomato, swiss, lettuce & lean beef), tacos & taco salad, soups (make ahead and pack to reheat on the stove), chicken salads, breakfast for dinner (always a favorite). Try to make ahead what you can for easy assembly and less dishes.

Also, I second the motion for walks/hikes! Camping should not be a sedentary activity... and by swimming, going on long hikes, going on bike rides, playing games, etc, you can end up burning tons of calories to offset less-than-ideal eating! I rewarded myself with ribs after a 3 hour hike on my vacation.

mrsevanrust

Hobo surprise!
Ground Chicken, or beef -pattied
canned geen beans
sliced onions
carrots
Any veggies will work really, cabbage- peppers- whatever
Pepper and pinch of salt
wrap in foil- throw it on the coals about 30 min later... supper!

Also- I'd suggest you borrow a dutch oven, then you can make stew,
breakfast caseroles, and other easy- 1 pot meals (clean up in the woods sucks)

Good luck and have a blast

MHippler

I Love Camping and will be going in September again. This past trip, I did well. Here is the best advise. If you can purchase any items before hand, such as Peppers/Celery/Carrots any type of veggies that you can cut up and be ready to eat or use - you will be better off. Lots of folks bring a whole watermelon and the reality is they never cut it because it is too messy. Cut up before you leave and put in tupperware or Zip Lock Large Bags - keep cold in cooler. Far as meats, I weighed it all out and put in individual zip locks. Froze them and then while on the trip I didn't worry about them not being frozen or not cold enough. I was able to season my own meat my own way and let the others do their own way. Far as ideas, "Foil Packs" are a true Girl Scout and Boy Scout things - it is basically taking your meat and putting it in a double foiled pouch that you make with adding your own seasonings, potatoes cubed, veggies and then wrap tight and place near the hot coals turning on a regular basis to keep the things from burning. Everything is tasty and moist. If you don't want to do potatoes for yourself - add many different types of veggies. Speaking of veggies, when we camp - we always look for a farmers market or stand near the towns we are campting by and find great deals and fresh veggies. Even can buy some great meats from local butcher shops etc.. I suggest you stick with both meat and fish to make your week some variety. Don't forget to bring the olive oil instead of the regular oil if you do any cooking on the camp stove. Make hard boiled eggs so if you get hungry and want to munch, you eat protein, easy and quick. Eat at least the white if you are trying to watch calories as that is only 17 calories for 1 large Egg White. It is the yolk that will kick it up in calories. Fruits - blueberries are around and easy to eat right out of the container instead of preparing. Bring some almonds too. You can put 12 of them in a zip lock and carry in your pocket or have handy during the week if you are hiking or doing something that you get hungry. At least eating some nuts you feel like you are cheating on something bad. Remember 12 almonds adds up too. I use them for my late afternoon snack to keep me going while in the car on my way to and from clients. Prepare ahead of time will be your best thing to make this trip easy, fun and not that you feel like your cooking for everyone and you don't get to enjoy the food either.

bkvamp

My friend and I went camping back in May and we ate realy healthy. We had kabobks one night. We got turkey smoked sausage and fresh veggies, like yellow squash Zuchini (which was amazing), fresh mushrooms, bell peppers and onions. We grilled them and they were wonderful.

The next morning we made omletts in a bag. Take as many eggs (or egg whites) as you want in your omlet, then take the left over veggies and smoked turkey sausage, salsa if you like and cheese, if you like (tho it is good w/o the salsa and cheese) mix it all up and put it in a ziplock bag and drop the bag in a pot of water boilingover your fire.They cook in the bag and are wonderful. (and no clean up, just toss the bag in the trash)

Also you can take a chicken breast (or fish) and wrap it in foil with fresh veggies, season to taste and put it on the grill....

Also you can cube up potatoes, regular or sweet (and onions if you like) wrap them in foil and throw on the grill

We used no butter or oil, and everything was wonderful!!

Sounds like a really easy way to make omelette's but boiling the bag would leak an enormous amount of BPA into your food. And if the bags say BPA free, honestly I still wouldn't trust it because what other toxic chemicals might it have, leeching into your food with high temperatures in boiling water.

themommie

love the omelet in a bag idea
we usually do taco salad, pancakes with berries and light whipped cream on top, oatmeal, turkey wraps use tortillas with laughing cow cheese, tomatoes, turkey, basil, avocado, red bell pepper, etc, fresh fruit, a potatoe bar do baked potatoes in the fire and put on them what you want turkey chili, broccoli, light sour cream, salsa, etc, also make inside out turkey burgers make like turkey loaf put in whatever you want mushrooms, olives, tomatoes a little cheese, onion, etc and put one patty over the top seal edges wrap in foil and cook in the fire

hope these ideas help , drink plenty of water and do lots of hiking and swimming maybe even bike riding

sondrawolfe

Get a 5 Day Cooler (or a 7 Day) and plenty of ice. Keep your cooler in the shade. You should be good. Eat more "delicate" produce first. Freeze water bottles, they thaw slower than bagged ice and you can drink them when they thaw.

daterminedfatburnerX

bump