Camping / Backpacking / Long Car rides

HeartlessHarlot · June 2012

So, this last weekend was two, rather long, car trips and camping over night.

I wind up eating really bad when camping/backpacking and on long car trips. Camping winds up being anything cooked on a stick and really hearty type foods. Car rides are easy/convenient drive thru type food.

I'm looking for any suggestions and/or books people have, more so for the camping aspect than car ride, for good, easy, easily portable and prepared camp food.

Lets face it, car rides are easy, pack a cooler and shop smart when filling it.

EvanKeel · June 2012

I don't really enjoy camping, so this is mostly just me trying to be creative about the problem.

-if you're bringing your food along with you, look at the protein sources. If it's fresh meat that's being stored in a cooler, think about chicken or turkey breast. If it's canned the same rules apply--Tuna or canned chicken. The difference there is really a matter of sodium. Look at the difference on labels between chicken sausage and bratwursts, for example. If you really don't need a bun, leave it; they pack a fair bit of calories if you're having more than one hot dog/burger etc.

-Slice up some peppers on a stick for grilling. Try some grilled fruit. Just track it.

-I think for me the type of food would only be half the problem. I bet I would just sort of munch away at stuff without thinking about it much. To combat that, I think I would pay special attention to how I prepackaged the food to make sure that a bag (or whatever) contained only a certain amount of calories. That way I could just say "Ok, I have X number of calories which translates into X number of bags of stuff I can eat today"

tomhancock · June 2012

If you are really backpacking, like hiking 5+ miles to your campsite carrying a 20+ pound pack, you will burn so many calories it isn't bad to eat a few extra. I'll regularly eat 4000 to 6000 calories a day while backpacking and I'll lose two or three pounds over the weekend, but we hike 6-8 miles a day and I usually have a 40 pound pack on.

If you are just car camping, no exercise involved, you've gotta do something healthy. Boar's Head makes some very good "light" hot dogs, and if you ate them with whole wheat buns, or no bun, and healthy toppings (mustard and veggies) you could have an excellent campfire meal.

Smores, while not good for you, are not nearly as bad for you as you might imagine- graham crackers are whole wheat, marshmellows aren't that bad, and you can get by with a small piece of dark chocolate.

We also make healthy wraps and take them camping. Whole wheat low carb tortilla, lean lunchmeat, veggies, and home made fat free ranch.

For long car rides, don't eat at fast food places. Pack your food, or stop in a grocery store and get the ingredients to make something healthy in the car - those roast chickens are pretty healthy if you don't eat the skin.

Good luck and enjoy camping season!

tomhancock · June 2012

One other thing, I've heard the organic chicken hot dogs are very good, but you can't buy them where I live. If you have a Trader Joe's nearby you might be in luck.

thefreebiemom · June 2012

I just went camping in Hawaii last month and had this issue. We ended up eating hot dogs both camping nights because everything in Hawaii is expensive and we only had the grill and fire to cook on since can't fly with camping stoves. For breakfast we had cereal. For lunch we had lunch meat on sandwiches. (The first night we got in though after the all day airplane flight we went to the pizza hut in town when we saw they had a buffet) Even then I didn't go over on calories though because all I had eaten all day was a couple of packs of peanuts on the plane and 5 nuggets that we shared as a quick snack during our layover from the overpriced airport McDonald's. (Trust me at LAX there isn't anything better that doesn't cost an arm and a leg) We also had snacks throughout the day (chips and cookies) and we were still good. Granted we did hike A LOT each day or swim. We camped in Volcanoes Natl Park so lots of opportunity for hiking.

For healthy camping snacks on normal non flight camping trips we do pretzels, trail mix, nuts, jerky, fruit. (Watch for salt content though if you are watching your sodium intake.)

For healthy meals I like "pre-making" our meat. Our grocery store will deep marinade steak/chicken/pork for free or season it with a rub. We just take the package of pre-seasoned steak and put it towards the bottom of the cooler to stay colder. For chicken I already had some at home so we didn't have them marinade that for us. I just put it in a gallon zip lock bag with some olive oil and garlic salt and shook it around, then let the air out of the bag close it up and put it inside another bag (just a safe measure to prevent leaking) And its that easy 2 healthy meals that aren't hot dogs lol. Usually I put any bagged meat we have for the trip in an aluminum foil disposable cookware pan and set the whole thing inside the cooler to prevent leaking into the ice water (we don't use the ice in drinks or anything but when we drain it to add more ice it could attract animals). We also do a lot of boneless pork ribs. Just season them with seasoning salt and put them in a bag, very tasty with no added bbq sauce or anything required. A lot of people out here in Utah use dutch ovens and you can make pretty much anything in them, but I don't know how to use one and the idea of using the same pan over and over without "washing" it kind of disgusts me. We also don't really eat anything camping that can't be cooked on the grill.

As the main food prep person though (hubby does the grilling itself) it is a LOT easier to just pull some pre-seasoned meat out of a bag then to drag along spices and mess around with things at the campsite.

For lunches think low sodium lunch meats. Or peanut butter. Or you could even make extra chicken the night before on the grill and have grilled chicken sandwiches for lunch the next day or the day after, if you get bored with the same foods easily make that chicken with a different seasoning or marinade.

thefreebiemom · June 2012

In my excitement of giving camping cooking advice I missed the part where you mentioned backpacking. My advice probably wouldn't help out in that situation. Unless you cut the meat up into cubes pre-seasoned so that you could stick them on some sticks with some veggies. I forget about backpacking overnight because our kids are too small to do it yet, but we do camp a lot. We've been to over half of our state parks, 4 out of 5 of our natl parks, both of our accessible national monuments and 1 neighboring state natl park.

Elizabeth_C34 · June 2012

Pack a big cooler and some sandwiches, fruit, veggies that you can eat without cooking. Be sure to pack enough for everyone so you can all enjoy eating a good meal. For camping, just limit yourself to a reasonable quantity of food and enjoy yourself.

I usually pack two coolers for camping trips. One of them stays closed to keep the cold in and the other we eat out of in the car. Most coolers will stay cold overnight if you keep them in the shade and don't open them.

You can make your own granola bars for backpacking. Tons of recipes online for that if you google "homemade granola bars". You can also make your own healthier trail mix. Things like that are portable and filling.

HeartlessHarlot · June 2012

Thanks guys!

After reading everyones suggestions I find myself thinking that I should know all this as it seems like common sense. Ah well, undoing 30 years of bad eating habits doesn't just happen.

Since we are looking to do a lot of camping this summer (with our 4 yr old, so nothing too extreme), I'll be taking a lot of these ideas into consideration.

So far, backpacking isn't too much of a focus, but next year when the kiddo is a bit older, we're going to try to hit some trails. But, I wanted to get some ideas on that since I was already asking about camping.

Thanks again everyone!

Elizabeth_C34 · June 2012

After reading everyones suggestions I find myself thinking that I should know all this as it seems like common sense. Ah well, undoing 30 years of bad eating habits doesn't just happen.

It is common sense, but that does not make your question silly at all. You are so right about undoing bad eating habits. It's mentally difficult!

Good luck to you, and let us know what you do!

myfitnessnmhoy · June 2012

I camp fairly often, but it's usually for trail maintenance groups where we are expected to hike in a few miles with tools and do hard work. Calories are generally not a problem. It's wilderness camping, so refrigeration is. As a result, my diet is frequently high in preserved (and therefore sodium-high) foods.

However, if you're not planning on doing really strenuous exercise, there are some simple, pretty wholesome, light, and satisfying foods that can help a lot. A whole lot more if you can pack a good-quality cooler and keep some staples cold.

Your mileage may vary, so don't take these as gospel or anything like that, but here are MY rules for camp eating that work for ME.

Trail Breakfast Should Be Oatmeal. It's loaded with complex carbs that will get you going for the morning, but also has some protein along for the ride. Combine it with a protein (if you have refrigeration available - egg, cheese, yogurt, small serving of meat, if not a little beef jerky or summer sausage or even little protein powder). Proportion the oatmeal to how much work you'll be doing. I've been known to eat as much as a cup (uncooked measure) of oats if I know I'm going to be working hard.

Coffee is fine: A lot of hikers claim it's a diuretic. I can always keep up.

Lunch Does Not Exist: I have a small insert bag for my backpack (I don't like putting food IN my backpack directly as critters tend to like it too much). In it, I stash a few Clif Bars, some trail mix (peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, dark chocolate chips), a little cheese and preserved meat like summer sausage or jerky, and dried fruit (apricots have a lot of potassium). I always take more calories than I think I'll need, just in case.

Water!!!!! I pack at least a liter for every 2 hours I expect to be away from a fresh water source. Longer = as much fresh water as I can get + purification tabs or a filter. I NEVER carry water back to camp - before starting the hike back I drink deeply and swap out my full nalgenes to the grab pouches on my pack.

I drink BEFORE I'm thirsty and eat AFTER I'm hungry. I need far more hydration than I do calories when out on the trail.

Supper: In general, this is as simple as a can of low-sodium soup and a whack of good quality bread, a little cheese or meat, followed by a half-bar or so of good super-dark chocolate. If refrigeration is available, take lean meats like chicken and eggs and make something tasty. A peanut-butter sandwich made with good bread is also a nice supper. Eat slowly and enjoy the environment you're in.

If you are "car" camping, eat what you normally eat! You have a cooler available, use it!

Also, make sure you engage in lots of fun activities ("There is no such thing as bad weather, only inadequate raingear!") to burn some calories off.

EvanKeel · June 2012

After reading everyones suggestions I find myself thinking that I should know all this as it seems like common sense. Ah well, undoing 30 years of bad eating habits doesn't just happen.

It is common sense, but that does not make your question silly at all. You are so right about undoing bad eating habits. It's mentally difficult!

Good luck to you, and let us know what you do!

Ditto what Elizabeth said. Just because something is common sense doesn't mean we couldn't use some support in reinforcing it

myfitnessnmhoy · June 2012

Now as to driving in the car - I always, Always, ALWAYS take my own food with me along with a copious supply of water. Veggies and fruit cut into bite-sized pieces, a peanut butter sandwich, some trail mix, and maybe some sunflower seeds (in the shell, so they take forever to eat) will keep me satisfied for a long drive.

If I have no time to prepare anything, I'll fill up a Nalgene with water and grab an apple and a few Clif bars on my way out the door. It's not excellent nutrition, but it's better than anything I'm ever going to eat from a choke-n-puke, and a lot cheaper.

jcstanton · June 2012

Thanks guys!

After reading everyones suggestions I find myself thinking that I should know all this as it seems like common sense. Ah well, undoing 30 years of bad eating habits doesn't just happen.

Since we are looking to do a lot of camping this summer (with our 4 yr old, so nothing too extreme), I'll be taking a lot of these ideas into consideration.

So far, backpacking isn't too much of a focus, but next year when the kiddo is a bit older, we're going to try to hit some trails. But, I wanted to get some ideas on that since I was already asking about camping.

Thanks again everyone!

Good backpacking foods are:

1. Dried fruits
2. Raw Almonds
3. Kashi GoLean Crunch! Honey, Almond, Flax
4. Authentic chicken or turkey jerky (NOT SlimJim's)
5. Whole grain crackers
6. Power Bars or Clif Bars

These items are lightwieght, compact, are packed with energy boosting nutrients, and don't require cooking gear or a campfire, so they are ideal for backpacking. Also, make sure to premeasure everything (in proper portions) into Ziploc baggies.

sherrirb · June 2012

SMORES!!!!

Smores are only 120 calories each if you can make them like I do:

1 full sheet of graham cracker, broken in half to make 2 squares
2 section pieces of a Hershey Bar
1 regular marshmallow - roasted to your liking

If you are hiking, pitching your tent, gathering firewood, cooking from scratch, and anythign else you might do while on a camping/hiking trip, you can EASILY burn more calories than a standard 60 min workout at the gym!!

Here is a link to show you how much you can burn while hiking on various terrains:

http://www.fitnessforweightloss.com/how-many-calories-do-i-burn-hiking/

19steph88 · June 2012

We are a camping family and my advice is like a previous posters, everything in moderation. We don't hold back, as cooking is one of my husbands favorite things to do when we camp. Steaks/potatoes, pancakes/bacon, brats, fajitas, eggs, etc. etc. Do I load up on everything? Absolutely not! Love eating all that nummy stuff when it is cooked over a campfire though!! (Breakfast & Dinner are usually large enough where lunch gets ignored. We might just snack at lunch--i.e. a handful of nuts, or cheese & crackers...) Have fun and stay active! :-)

faylenechung · June 2012

When I am camping I like to make hobos! You put veggies lean meat and a little bit of EVOO in wrapped in foil and put it in a rack on the fire and cook until done. TA DA you have healthy food. You can season it any way you want and put any veggies and any meat you like. That’s the beauty of hobos! Just make sure you measure everything so you don’t eat too much.

When I go on long car rides I always pre wash raw veggies and fruit for the drive. I like carrots, celery, grapes, and tomatoes. Then I always pack a lunch so I don’t stop at a fast food place. If you absolutely must have fast food ask for no bun, water and nix the fries.

gwduker · June 2012

We camp alot and we make pudgy pies. Low cal bread and fixings. We make pizza ones, ham, turkey, reubens, whatever you can come up with. The pizza ones I use turkey pepperoni, a little sauce, and 1/4 cup mozzerella cheese. With the turkey, or ham, I add mushrooms, onions, and one slice of cheese. Per Weight Watchers each one is only 6 points, carbs I'm not sure on.

UpEarly · June 2012

First of all... are you camping, or are you backpacking?

My recommendations would be totally different based on what you're actually doing. Camping - you have a cooler, reasonable access to your car, you're not carrying anything terribly heavy for terribly far. In that case, make 'hobo dinners' - seal veggies, meat and sauce (i.e. BBQ or teriyaki) in foil. Make sure the seams are tight, but that there is room for air to circulate. Breakfast - oatmeal, granola, fruit.

If you're backpacking - hiking long distances with 30+ pounds on your back, my recommendation is to EAT ALL THE FOOD! Nuts, dehydrated dinners, candy bars, Clif bars, bagels, peanut butter, etc.

I'm female (5'9", 40 years old, and 140 lbs). When I go backpacking, I burn anywhere from 3500-6000 calories a day (per my BodyMedia Fit). I basically eat whatever I can get my hands on. :-)

UpEarly · June 2012

("There is no such thing as bad weather, only inadequate raingear!")

One of my favorite quotes when people say it's too rainy/cold/hot is very similar! There is no such thing as bad weather, just poor clothing choices! LOL

When it's cool, I like oatmeal for my backpacking breakfast. When it's hot, I bring granola and Horizon's shelf stable milk. Yum!

jcstanton · June 2012

First of all... are you camping, or are you backpacking?

My recommendations would be totally different based on what you're actually doing. Camping - you have a cooler, reasonable access to your car, you're not carrying anything terribly heavy for terribly far. In that case, make 'hobo dinners' - seal veggies, meat and sauce (i.e. BBQ or teriyaki) in foil. Make sure the seams are tight, but that there is room for air to circulate. Breakfast - oatmeal, granola, fruit.

If you're backpacking - hiking long distances with 30+ pounds on your back, my recommendation is to EAT ALL THE FOOD! Nuts, dehydrated dinners, candy bars, Clif bars, bagels, peanut butter, etc.

I'm female (5'9", 40 years old, and 140 lbs). When I go backpacking, I burn anywhere from 3500-6000 calories a day (per by BodyMedia Fit). I basically eat whatever I can get my hands on. :-)

I was hoping you'd comment on this one, since I know you do alot of this sort of thing. I haven't done as much hiking as I'd like, but my recommendations were similar for backpacking. You have to take weight, limited space, convenience, and your body's energy needs into consideration when you're hoofin' it for 5-10 miles each day...often over some pretty rough terrain.

CottonCandyKisses · June 2012

Pie Irons make great sandwiches and everyone has had great ideas so far! I love camping/hiking/exploring. We recently we into Montana(love it there!!!) for a short family trip and here’s a few things I did. This trip was more traveling truck trip, so no campfires or camp stoves.

1. Packed a cooler and ate out of the cooler for breakfast and lunch, ate out for dinner (wanted to try some local restaurants and hubby wanted to try some micro brews). I made a batch of banana muffins for breakfasts (with flax, wheat germ, low sugar, etc. before we left) to have with fruit, yogurt or jerky (homemade). For snacks we had fruit, nuts, fiber/granola bars, string cheese or jerky. For lunch we had sandwiches (pb and jelly, ham, or turkey on whole grain bread and 40 calorie cheese slices), cookies, fruit or chips.

2. I'm a horrible over-planner so I started prepping a week before. I made and froze the muffins. Made and froze a batch of cookies. Got a tote and put applesauce cups, almonds, trail mix, granola bars, cereal in baggies, pop tarts, sunflower seeds, chips, plates, utensils, wet wipes, paper towels, drink packets (crystal light/Hawaiian punch), pretty much anything non-perishable in it.

3. Froze water in 2 clean empty half gallon milk containers for keeping the cooler cold and you can drink the water as the ice melts. We also brought the large orange water cooler we have (not sure what it’s called exactly). Also packed everyone’s camelbacks for water drinking and they are easy to refill.

4. In the cooler I packed apples, yogurts, string cheese, stuff for sandwiches, a few drink pouches for the kids, diet cokes for me, beer for hubs, and the water jugs.

Basically you can pack healthy, and it’s all in the planning--and planning saves money too! I would pre-,make alot of items and freeze to reheat later if you can. Then you can control the calories.

Camping / Backpacking / Long Car rides

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