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.