Camp Food ideas
Camp Food Why?
The foods differ substantially from the ingredients found in a typical home kitchen. The primary differences relate to campers’ and backpackers’ special needs for foods that have appropriate cooking time, perishability, weight, and nutritional content.
In camping area you will not get much time to cook as usual. You can not carry large cooking materials so you have to cook your meal in a limited time. Usually you may take 5-20 minutes to finish cooking. Campers often take fresh foods and consume generally first day. Also keep in mind that when you go for backpacking you must carry light weight foods because you need to carry all the equipment with you. As a canoeist, backpacker and hikers you may need to cover many miles each day. Which consume thousands of calories. So backpacker need average 480 calories per hour. For cooking time if have the opportunities to use campfire you may ignored the time factor.
Never forget to take Camping stoves when you go for camping. Because campfire may take long time to start but if you carry Camping stoves then you can start fast. It can be ready in a minutes.
Basic Camp Food List:
Meat/Protein:
Tuna – vacuum-packed
Chicken – vacuum-packed
Beans – dried ‘cooked’
beans, or instant
Salami/Sausage
Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)
Ground Beef
Ground Turkey
Preparing Ground Beef or Turkey
Purchase leanest meat available
Brown in small chunks
Put in Colander, rinse with very hot water (removes fat) and drain
Put in Food Dehydrator w/paper towels. 150- 160̊ for 4-8 hours
Done when hardy and crumbly
Double bag – suck out air with straw – good for 1 week
Fruits/Vegetables:
Fresh Fruit and Vegetables bought unrefrigerated last longer.
Carrots – dried – leathery, deep orange
Celery Bell Peppers –dried – shriveled, leathering
Onions– dried – brittle, hard
Cucumbers
Tomato
Apples– dried – leathery to hard
Blueberries – dried – hard and dark
Dried Fruits – cranberries, bananas, apricots
Prep for Fresh Vegetables – Tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumbers
Immerse washed, whole vegetables in a sinkful of cold
water w/ 1/8 cup regular chlorine bleach
Soak vegetable for a couple minutes, dry completely
Wrap in paper towling and pack in uncrushable container
Rinse before eating – good for 1 week
Dried Fruits and Vegetables – 145̊ for 2 ½ – 5 hours.
Next to fruits and vegetables above I’ve noted how to tell if done.
Bread/Carbohydrates:
Pita or Tortilla
Bagels
Rice – converted, jasmine, basmat, medium-grain
Instant Rice– less nutritious, cooks quickly
Pasta– the thinner the quicker it cooks
Potato Buds
Stuffing
Ramon Noodles
Bisquick– biscuits or pancakes
Hot Cereal– Oatmeal, cream of wheat, multi-grain
Cous-Cous
Dairy:
Block of Hard cheese – Cheddar, Colby, Swiss,
Gouda, Parmesan
-lasts for 1 week unrefrigerated, wrap well in plastic
Other:
Eggs
Mushrooms– dried – sliced, crispy and light
Herbs – basil, oregano, parsley
Stroganoff Sauce– powdered
Red Sauce– powdered or plastic jar
Soup
Spices
Condiments:
Peanut Butter
Jelly/Jam
Nutella
Almond Butter
Desserts:
Instant Pudding
Oreo Dessert
Basic Camping Food List is taken from http://www.mnrovers.org/files/downloads/Camp_Food_List.pdf
Basic Camping Food pictures.