It’s Memorial Day so that means hundreds of thousands of Americans went camping this weekend, including us. And today just marks the start of the busy camping season over the next few months.
We pack all our camping gear, food, and chairs up each year and head to Yogi Bear’s Jellystone campground while we soak up the gorgeous nature views by day and relax by the fire each night.
One of the hassles of camping is planning the food… I’m not gonna lie, in the past, we have gave in and just bought the more processed foods, even the marshmallows, and conventional hot dogs, but as we have journeyed to a real foods diet over the years and understand the effects of the food we consume has on our health, we have made better food decisions.
And no, I am not Mrs.-Make-Everything-Myself, when packing I want to make it easier on myself… so I get a lot of our food from Trader Joe’s. They have organic grass-fed beef hot dogs for a reasonable price along with baked beans, fresh fruit and other options like pancake mixes and hot dog buns, that have far less ingredients than the regular store bought varieties.
I know the packing and planning can be a lot of work so here are 3 things you can do when it comes to healthy food planning:
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| Fun with Yogi Bear and hiking in the Smoky Mountains |
Buy it
Like I mentioned earlier, it is sometimes easier to just buy the food. Go to stores that offer natural varieties to pick out your pancakes mixes, marshmallows, hot dog buns and other foods. This takes a little time and planning.
Here are some stores that offer some natural & organic selections, there could be others in your area:
Kroger
Walmart
Costco
Aldi
Trader Joe’s
Earthfare
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| My husband roasting our hot dogs at our campfire |
If you have the time to make at least a couple of homemade foods to bring or make while you are there, this will help create a camping tradition and your kids can get involved too! Plus you can avoid a lot of the “junk” ingredients.
If you are Mrs.-Make-Everything-Myself, you will love this round up of recipes:
Homemade Marshmallows
Going Camping Granola Bars
Campfire Hash
Graham Crackers
Cast Iron Baked Beans
Potato Salad
Pancake Batter ready to go
Camp Burritos
Breakfast in a Bag
Dutch Oven Cornbread
Campfire Chicken Stew
Ditch it
I’d say when most people think about camping food they often think of hot dogs, s’mores, sandwiches, eggs & bacon and the list goes on. You do not have to stick to these classic foods. You can ditch them and choose others!
Check out this post about HealthIER Camping Foods. Also, give your family grace if camping is something you only do once or twice a year, you have got to have s’mores no matter what kind of marshmallows you get!
Here was our menu:
We stuck with the same foods at every meal for our 3 night camping trip to keep it simple. For us, it was better on our budget and planning.
Breakfasts
-fresh eggs
-nitrate.nitrite free bacon
-pancakes & pure maple syrup
Snacks
-nuts
-trail mix
-strawberries
-cucumbers & carrots
Lunches
-sprouted wheat, turkey & cheese sandwiches
-pb&j’s
-homemade potato salad
-chips & salsa
Dinners
-hot dogs
-baked beans
Desserts
-s’mores
How do you plan your camping menu?
About Rachel
My husband is not at all into camping and outdoorsy things. Sometimes I wish our family was a little bit, because it looks like it could be so much fun! I can use these ideas to do some backyard “camping” though! 🙂
Aww, maybe your husband with come around, try a camping trip in the backyard or do a day trip to national park!
We love to camp, in fact most of our vacations come in the form of camping trips. I whole-heartedly agree that you can make decent food while camping.
Next on my list is homemade marshmallows. Even though we won’t be camping much soon we still have plenty of campfires at the homestead and roasted marshmallows are a must!!
Yum, let me know how you like the marshmallows you make!