Camping gives you a lot of things. It gives you freedom, adventure, action, tranquillity, fun, but what it definitely does not provide you with is food. Without a well-thought-out plan for food to take camping, your amazing trip risks slipping into a ‘hangry’ nightmare for everyone involved, very quickly. If you’re a beginner wondering what food to bring camping, you’ve come to the right place. Follow these easy camping food ideas to make your next adventure as amazing as possible:
Meal Planning
The key to packing the best camping food is planning. Plan everything for every occasion and you can feel confident on what food to pack for camping trips of any nature. This is pretty simple, you need to make a list. Even if you’re only off for one or two nights, plan and know exactly what you’ll be eating, including in-between-meal snacks and drinks. This is one of the best camping food hacks out there and every good camper follows it.
If you’re health-conscious, a healthy camping meal plan will keep you on track with your lifestyle while you’re enjoying the outdoors! Healthy, fresh food is usually the best food to bring camping so if this is your preference then you’re heading the right way already.
Ask yourself some core questions like, how do I cook this? Can this ingredient be used in other meals? Or, what can I prep at home to make the cooking process faster?
Be wary with your breakfast camping food ideas, avoid the temptation to go overboard and keep your morning meal as stripped back and simple as possible. Camping food ideas and recipes can get over-complicated fast, so keep this philosophy with you for most of your meals – of course, you can have the occasional indulgence! What food to eat when camping? The answer is anything that is quick, easy and healthy.
Get Organised
Once you’ve made your list and you’ve bought the necessary ingredients, you can begin to physically organise your food. Easy camping food for family, friends and you, is achieved through good organisation, fact. Whether you’ve purchased ingredients for family camping food recipes or just for one, keeping it clean and clear is essential.
Your first task is to separate what needs to stay cold. Stock all your food items that need refrigeration in your esky or cooler. If you need more than just a small cold box and some Tupperware, consider purchasing a camper trailer. They are an investment for a beginner, but they save you so much hassle and fuss, and it will last you for countless adventures to come. The Weekender camper is a great first trailer to consider, you’ll be stocked with your camping essentials will the option to add on a few extra elements, like a fridge!
Next, you should sort the dry ingredients into boxes.
How to store food for camping? Try to pick up three or four sturdy, roomy plastic or glass boxes to keep your food fresh. These are a great investment for a beginner camper. Once you have your storage you can organise your food into categories.
Category One: Staples. These should include olive oil, salt & pepper, coffee, tea, cling wrap and sugar.
Category Two: Ingredients. Try to separate all your dry ingredients by food group, a bag for veggies, a bag for fruits, one for dry nuts or cereals, and another for grains.
Category Three: Cooking equipment and snacks.
Allocate each box with its own category and label it. Labels make sure that everybody knows what goes where. If you don’t want to bring much equipment with you, or you don’t have the space, why not consider only packing no-cook foods? The best no-cook camping foods include cereals, trail mix, crackers and sandwiches.
Pre-Cook a Few Meals
Save yourself time on the days when you’ll be enjoying yourself too much to stop. Pre-cooking your meals will minimise the time that you and your group spend cooking and cleaning. This is particularly wise when you’re preparing healthy camping meals for large groups and families. You are absolutely going to have days and nights when you just don’t feel like cooking and a few prepared meals will be an absolute godsend, promise!
By following these camping food ideas, tips and tricks, you can feel totally sure about what kind of food to take camping for every camping trip that lies ahead of you!
