Camping enriches you in so many ways, however, it doesn’t offer up too much nourishment in the chow department. Keeping yourself well-fed during a stint of outdoors living is absolutely essential, otherwise, you’ll find yourself pretty low on energy and high on dreaded hanger – not a combination that anyone wants to suffer through, let alone your co-campers! So, whether you’re a first-time camping newbie or you’re a seasoned pro, you always need to have a few ideas, tips, tricks and recipes up your sleeve in order to stay healthy and well-fed. Well, you’ve come to the right place…
Tips
These tips and tricks will make your camp culinary experience as easy and delicious as possible…
Make a plan
Save yourself so much hassle and put together a full meal plan before you leave – that’s at home, at your kitchen table, not in the car on the way there, people! This is a great opportunity to get your fellow campers together and have fun putting your very own menu together.
Take only what you need
Overpacking is such a problem and never is that statement truer when you’re talking about food. This is where your meal plan comes in super handy, so make sure you follow the first step listed here. Packing realistically and properly will avoid any disasters regarding weight, wasted food and tragic spillages. The best way to only take what you really need is to dedicate one shopping trip to buying all of your camping food and to commit to not getting distracted by other temptations. Buy what you need and of course store it in protective, airtight Tupperware – if you’re tight on space you can also find stackable styles which are an awesome solution.
Pre-chop and portion
This is a big one and you’ll just worship yourself for doing it when you’re nestled in your tent or camper trailer with a growling stomach. Pre-chopping all your fruit, veggies and anything else that needs a knife taken to it will save you so much hassle you just have no idea! You should also portion up any dry ingredients like bread or pasta. This will again save you with food waste and packing space.
Make a few back-ups
Another complete lifesaver for those days and nights when you’re just too exhausted to produce a meal for yourself and your group! By pre-cooking and freezing or storing a couple of hearty meals, you’re going to always have something to chow down on no matter what you’re up to out in the wild.
Decant your essentials
Now that you know how best to go about preparing yourself for camp cooking, it’s time to make sure your food tastes as good as it can. The key here is taking the time to decant your flavour essentials. Pop your salt, pepper, spices, olive oil and anything else you just can’t cook without in small bottles or even sandwich bags so that you never have to compromise on flavour.
Keep it dry where you can
Keeping as many meals dry and cold as you can, will really help you out. This means muesli, fruit, cereal, toast, sandwiches, biscuits, trail mix – all dry and all delicious when done right! Try to be strict and make all your breakfasts heat-free and easy, you’ll get the energy you need whilst avoiding unneeded stress and mess.
There you have it! Top tips and tricks that are going to make sure you and your camping clan are happy and satisfied throughout the whole of your outdoor adventure! Hey, camp cooking definitely won’t win you any Michelin stars but it should still be tasty, right?