Camping Food Preparation

There are some important things you need to take into consideration while preparing your camping food list.

• How long are you going to be camping: Your camping food list should ideally include foods that would stay fresh for a while.
• Make a meal plan: You’ll bring a lot less with you if you’ve planned out ahead of time what you’ll be eating each day.
• Can you do some food preparation at home: If you chop, dice, peel, broil, cook, etc. and put the meals into Tupperware before you go camping, you eliminate a lot of guess-work on how much to bring. Plus, it’s a lot easier to do prep work at home than in the woods. Just freeze solid the containers the night before leaving and pack them away in your cooler the next day.
• Does some of the food you plan to bring need to be kept cool: When camping it is wise to carry a cooler with you to keep your food longer and safely. Remember that a cooler is a must when you plan to carry meat, poultry or dairy items. If camping in an RV with a fridge you can skip the cooler idea and even be able to take luxury camping foods such as ice cream!
• How to keep your food cooler for longer: Here are some of my personal tips:

1. Freeze all juice boxes etc. and place in coolers to help keep food longer.
2. Freeze all meat. This will keep your meat fresh and also keep your cooler…cooler. Just be sure to place all frozen meat in separate bags so when it starts to thaw you don’t have yucky meat juice all over.

• How much “cooking” are you planning on doing: You will also have to decide how you will be cooking the food, this will help you to in choosing the camping cookware you will need to carry along. Ideal camping food ideas are those wherein the food can be prepared easily.

Fresh Isn’t the Only Way to Go

Keep in mind that you have the options of freeze-dried foods (such as eggs, milk, vegetables, etc.) and vacuum-packed foods (like some meats that can last in a fridge for up to 6 weeks). Also canned foods such as soups, beans, sauces, ravioli, stews etc. are some of the easiest and tastiest meals for camping. Plus, the clean up after meals is next to nothing. Try to plan out your meals and snacks ahead of time. That way you bring what you need (plus a little extra) and you don’t end up lugging your entire fridge with you.

See our complete Camping Food Checklist and the Ultimate Camping Checklist.

Author: Kirsten
(The CampTrip Team)