Last week, I was preparing for our camping trip, and one of the major expenses was finding food suitable for camping. Eventually I would like to get a food dehydrator, but that’s just not in the budget right now.
Camping food has to meet the following criteria:
- light weight
- non-perishable (doesn’t need refrigeration)
- quick cooking
- balance of protein, carbs, and fats
Ramen Noodles are a recommended staple for backpackers, but there’s really no “stick to your ribs” value to Ramen. Ramen noodles are all carbs, and I will be hungry again in…oh…about 3.2 minutes.
My shopping guideline for meals is $1 per meal per person, or $3 per day per person. This is my standard when I am at home, and my goal for while I am out camping too.
Breakfasts
Breakfast sets you up for the rest of the day. In my experience, this is the cheapest meal of the day. When I’m camping, I like a warm breakfast to get me started.
Basic ingredient list:
- instant oatmeal– Buy the plain variety and pack individual servings in ziplock bags, mix with dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, GORP (good old Rasins and Peanuts), etc.
- Hot Granola
- bagels–with peanut butter, butter, or jelly (you can get all of these in individual servings or put them in a squeeze tube)
- dehydrated potatoes–find a kind that you can make with just water (Idahoans), add bacon bits, beef jerky, cheese powder (as in mac-and-cheese sauce)
- rice with honey and dried fruit
Lunch/Dinner
I prefer the idea of grazing throughout the day, instead of a sit down lunch meal, but for winter camping a warm lunch sounds really nice.
Grazing foods would include GORP, trail mix, granola, jerky, etc.
For a hot meal, I would base it around a carb and add protein and fats.
Carbs:
- Ramen
- Pasta
- instant potatoes
- instant rice
- tortillas
- pitas
Protein
- meat in a pouch (you can buy tuna, salmon, chicken, etc in a plastic vacuum sealed pouch. These are kind of expensive. I wouldn’t use them every day, but maybe good for a treat
- Jerky
- dehydrated beans
- TVP (this is usually available at a natural foods store such as Trader Joes or Whole Foods. It is often used as a hamburger substitute)
- lentils (cook in about 30 minutes)
- hard cheeses (parmesan, romano, etc)
- summer sausage, pepperoni
Fat
In the summer you will probably get plenty of fat from nuts and trail mix. In the winter, you will need more fat in your diet, so plan on bringing butter or oil to add to your recipes. You burn a lot of calories with winter hiking and camping, so feel free to enjoy chocolate and brownies too.
Seasoning
If you want to add some seasonings, most spices are backpacker friendly. Dried soup packets are a good option for flavoring too.
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