Healthy Camping Food?

Bump,
We also camp alot

My go to is foil dinners. I usually mix some stew meat, carrots, potatoes and onions together, and a little seasoning and a little bit of Italian dressing together. Wrap in foil and cook. You can use chicken, and any vegetables you want.

Another foil dinner option is salmon topped with chopped jalapeno and lemon slices.

If you have a dutch oven and know how to use it you can pretty much cook anything that you would normally bake in an oven.

I agree on the foil meals, you can do almost anything in them and make it healthy/low calorie.

We do lots of eggs for breakfast. You can crack them into a plastic water bottle (saves space, and you don't have to worry about the shells cracking), and shake them up. Then just pour them into a pan to scramble them.

Kabobs are never wrong :bigsmile:. We also do foil meals. Just wrap a meat up with some onions and other veggies in some foil. You may also consider getting a spider pan or a dutch oven. With the spider, you can use it to cook anything you'd cook in a frying pan, and the dutch oven you can use for anything you'd make in the oven.

It's all about the food for us so we eat well, though we don't backpack so don't have to carry everything we eat very far. Just short portages once in a while. I'm assuming you take some sort of cooler and that you have a freezer at home.

Freeze drinking water in square-ish bottles to use as ice packs and for drinking as it thaws.

Breakfast

Oatmeal pre-packed in zip bag with a bit of salt and a few tbsp of raisins - dump into pot, add water and cook. Top with yoghurt (easier to pack and lasts longer than milk ) and pre-cut diced fresh fruit. You could add sugar to the dry mix if you want it.

Zip-lock omelets - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/omelet-in-a-bag/ Controversial as to health effects but I assume I get lots of chemicals in my food other ways so eating these once or twice a year doesn't bother me. Wouldn't feed them to kids, though.

Bagels are easier to pack without crushing than loaf bread.

Lunch

For sandwiches - wraps/tortillas/pita breads are easier to pack without crushing than loaf bread.

Make veggie sticks, wrap in damp paper towel and pack in zip bags. We take the usual carrots, celery, peppers, but green beans are good raw too. These can be put in wraps.

We take hummus for sandwich spread instead of mayo - tasty and adds protein - also good for dipping veggie sticks and pita bread.

Dinner

Freeze stuff like chili and stew in square containers then put into freezer bags so you can stack like blocks in the cooler. They work like ice packs until you use them. Use these meals on the last few days or as they thaw.

For the first couple days we take pre-washed salad greens in large zip bags (one bag per meal) and a small bottle of salad dressing. Pour salad dressing into bag and gently massage to mix before serving.

That's all I can think of off hand.

All the best in your quest!

My go to is foil dinners. I usually mix some stew meat, carrots, potatoes and onions together, and a little seasoning and a little bit of Italian dressing together. Wrap in foil and cook. You can use chicken, and any vegetables you want.

Another foil dinner option is salmon topped with chopped jalapeno and lemon slices.

If you have a dutch oven and know how to use it you can pretty much cook anything that you would normally bake in an oven.

^^ yes... foil dinners!

Breakfast burritos are a great way to use up leftovers. I call them trash burritos but they are SO good! Eggs, leftover meat from previous breakfasts/dinners (bacon, sausage, whatever you have leftover), canned diced potatoes with onion and peppers (or fresh, depending on your preference), salsa and a bit of shredded cheese. I cook up the potatoes in a bit of butter using a cast iron skillet over an open flame then add the meat and eggs. By the time the eggs are done, the meat is warmed up. Throw a bit into a warmed tortilla or into a bowl if you prefer no tortilla, add some cheese and salsa. Hearty breakfast that kids and adults love!

Pancakes are another breakfast option. I make protein pancake mix and pour into a shaker bottle. Then when I'm ready to use it, I add the amount of water necessary and shake. Again, I use a cast iron skillet to cook these.

Walking tacos are a big hit with the kids but not necessarily a "healthy" option. Cook up seasoned ground beef, crush up then open a lunch size bag of doritos, add the meat and all the other taco fixings you desire. Eat with a fork! I still make these but opt out of the doritos part and just throw mine in a bowl.

We tend to grill a lot as well - chicken (ziploc bag with chicken and marinade, packed frozen so it stays fresh longer), turkey brats, 90/10 hamburgers, veggies, etc. I have a dutch oven but haven't mastered it yet.

Have a great time camping!

How long do you all cook your foil packets for? I've done them, but the potatoes always come out crunchy, or I put them on for too long and they stick to the foil...

make sure you are using heavy duty foil or it will melt to your food.
spray inside of foil with Pam GRILL spray.

ive also recently picked up weber grill mini aluminum tins that you can put on a grill haven't test yet but those should come in handy. we also use a cast iron pan put it right on the fire and thats how we cook things like chicken flatbreads (think pita breads with toppings)