Easy Food Ideas for Camping, Hiking or Backpacking

What you cook while on your trip depends of course on what cooking utensils you have decided to pack, such as a stove.  Many commercial campsites provide cooking facilities but most State and National parks do not.

There is nothing better than sitting beside the campfire at night but lighting fires in certain areas can be dangerous and may also be illegal. Unless you want to subsist solely on pre-packaged, ready-to-eat food, you will want to bring something to cook with. Plan your trip to ensure that you have a stove if you need one.

There are several sizes to choose from and you may want to consider having more than one. A smaller one is lighter and easier to pack for those short trips, larger ones are handy for cooking for multiple people in the shortest time.

Two-burner stoves are common and convenient. They allow you to cook for two people or, more often, two different foods - such as meat and vegetables, or pasta and sauce. There are special cooking pots that can be stacked on top of one another to allow even more choices. You can boil potatoes in water on the top pot, for example.

Larger grills are great for making eggs, hamburgers, pancake and other foods that require a little space to prepare. Remember, though, that the larger pot - especially if filled with water, will require more gas to heat it.

There are smaller stoves, just for backpacking. They fit well in a backpack, but are designed to prepare only very small meals, which might be just fine for one person.

Keep items to a minimum - a multi-purpose pan, a lightweight camping stove, a few utensils.

Here is a great link I found regarding the variety of stoves to choose from, it provides photos also a list of benefits and disadvantages of each stove.

http://zenstoves.net/StoveChoices.htm

Easy Food Ideas for Camping, Hiking or Backpacking.

Traditional Egg Breakfasts

Eggs on a Raft

Ingredients - bread, butter, salt & pepper, eggs and a frying pan.

Method - Take a slice of bread and cut out a circle about 2 inches in diameter. Toast slowly and lightly on both sides. Melt a hunk of butter in fry pan,  put the toast in the pan and wait until it sizzles. Break the egg and place it into the hole so the yoke stays put. Heat slowly and evenly. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the egg and cover until cooked.

French Toast

Ingredients - Bread, Eggs, Milk, Salt, Pepper, Sugar, Butter, Syrup or Jam

Method - Break eggs into a bowl. Add one cup of milk, dash of salt, pepper and sugar. Beat mixture with a fork.  Saturate slices of bread with the mixture and place in a hot frying pan  with a daub of melted butter. Fry to a golden brown on both sides. Turn with a spatula. You can also add a little jam or maple syrup once the toast is cooked. YUM

Scrambled  Eggs

Ingredients - Butter, Milk Salt, eggs, pepper mixing bowl and frypan.

Method - Break eggs into bowl add 1 tblsp Milk for every 2 eggs, pinch of pepper & salt and mix well with a fork. Melt a daub of butter in fry pan. Pour mixture into the fry pan and stir gently until it starts to lump up. Scrambled eggs should be light and fluffy. 

Serve with toast and bacon.

Whether you are camping, hiking or backpacking you will most likely be out and about during the day.

When you are not able to get back to the camp for lunch you should make sure you have a substantial breakfast before you leave in the morning.   During the day you need to frequently munch on complex carbohydrates snacks, these will keep your energy levels up until you get back to camp for dinner. 

A great source for energizing carbohydrate snacks are what is known as 'Trail Mix'  This usually consists of dried fruit, nuts, seeds etc. You can also add shelled sunflower seeds, carob, mixed nuts, pretzel sticks and crackers.

Here are a couple of quick Trail Mixtures for you to try.

(1) Ingredients - 4cups Cereal, 1/2 cup Dried Fruit Bits, 1/2 cup Raisins, 1/2 cup Yogurt covered Peanuts and 1/2 cup Reeces Pieces.

Put into a large plastic ziplock bag and shake to mix. 

(2) Ingredients - 1/2 cup margarine, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup Oats, 1/2 cup unsifted whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup unsifted white flour, 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ, 2tsps orange rind, 2 eggs, 1 cup blanched almonds, 1/4 cup of coconut and 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Method - Mix margarine, 1/2 cup brown sugar, oats, flour wheat germ and orange rind. Put in an ungreased pan. Beat eggs with 1/4 cup brown sugar, nuts, raisins, coconut and chocolate chips pour into pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350degrees. Let cool then cut into bars. Wrap and store in refrigerator.

DINNER back at camp

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients - Water, Powder Milk, Sour Cream, Stroganoff Mix, Eggs, Dried Beef, Salt, Margarine and 2 pots.

Method - Mix 1½ cups water and  ½ cup powder milk.  Add milk to sour cream mix and Stroganoff mix.  Heat until thickens.  Place noodles, beef, salt, and 3 cups of water into another pot.  Bring to boil and simmer 15 minutes.  Stir in sauce, add margarine and serve.

Camp Stew

Ingredients - Shredded dried hash brown potatoes, Onion Soup Mix, Ground Meat or Sausages, Seasoning and Water.

Method - Brown and seal the meat first ensuring that all the pink meat is cooked. Add water and soup mix, stirring to mix well. Heat to boiling and simmer for a few minutes. Add the dry potatoes and stir to mix. Cover the pot and move to edge to of the fire, leave for about 10 minutes, to allow the potatoes to swell up. Move the pot back on the heat and stir while cooking the potatoes. Cook for around 5-10 minutes. Serve Hot.

Lots more Camping, Hiking and Backpacking Recipes + How to prepare your meat at home for the trip + lots more interesting topics on your favorite pastime.

Hiking for Beginners         

Camping for Beginners