Why is that when you go camping, your appetite seems to increase and everything you eat tastes so much better? It is the allure of the great outdoors!
When there are no televisions, gaming systems and computer to contend with, you are more apt to expend your energy hiking, walking the nature trails, biking and other outdoor pursuits that work up an appetite. The question is what camping meals will you plan?
Camping can be a bit of work with setting up tents, clearing your area, building fires and trekking to the nearest bathroom or watering hole. You want your cooking experience to be fairly easy so you can spend more time going fishing if you want to.
Having the right tools for cooking is important as is the camping recipes you can follow for easier meal planning.
The Tools
Camping stoves are popular with many campers as they greatly help with cooking outdoors if you are not savvy with a campfire. While you can cook an entire meal on a camp stove, it is not always convenient.
Most run off propane so you could quickly go through a couple of canisters before the end of your trip. Cook the larger items like meats and skewered vegetables over the camp fire (you just need a grilling grate) and use the camp stove for heating canned vegetables and other smaller items.
Of course, you need a few pots and pans for the job!
Cast iron is often the preferred material used for camp cooking supplies as it is hardy and with time develops a natural stick-proof coating. This material stands up well to the heat of a camp fire but also works well with camp stoves too.
Your utensils need to be metal as they will handle camp fires and abuse more readily.
The Food
The length of your trip will depend on how much fresh food you take with you. If you are going on a wilderness trek, chances are you will take little fresh food with you as it will go bad fast.
However, with family vacations at campgrounds, you are likely to take coolers and be in close proximity of a store to buy more ice to keep the perishables fresh.
You will want to choose foods that are easily prepared on the camp stove or over a fire. You can take some shortcuts with some foods however.
For example, if you want omelets or breakfast tacos but don’t want to lug around a carton of eggs, mix the omelet concoction at home with the appropriate veggies and other additions and then seal them in plastic bags for the trip.
When you are ready to cook, you just open the bag and dump it into a skillet to cook!
There are a number of ideas to try when it comes to camp food. You could cook via dutch oven like scouts do or skewer your hot dog using a whittled tree branch.
It is all a matter of how you like roughing it versus having some of the modern amenities during your camping trip.
