i am wrapping up this week’s camping trip tips with some food ideas. like i mentioned on wednesday’s post, we made all of our food from one cast iron pan & large, sturdy cooking pot. during lunch time when we were still in mid-route on the water, i pre-made meals at home so clean up was very easy.
we consider our camping & floating trips as vacation trips so we like to eat well. every morning & night we cooked on a small pop-up burner rented from the university recreational department or an open fire. these meal ingredients are suited for carrying in a medium-size cooler with ice & preparing in somewhat primitive conditions. here are some ideas for your next camping or floating trip:
1. most everyone enjoys a good hot dog while camping. we prefer to purchase all-natural, organic hot dogs for various reasons, & hot dogs are an excellent choice of protein when hiking or paddling. adults & kiddos alike love placing their hot dog on a stick above an open fire for cooking. this allows the whole family to get involved in the preparation of the evening’s meal! paired with a couple of healthy sides & you have a delicious meal.
2. i found this idea on pinterest & it was a huge success. i chose to make a vegan pancake mix (replacing soy milk with almond & oil with applesauce) because we were eating the pancakes on the last day & i was worried that our ice would be melted at that point. i put the mix in an old ketchup bottle. it was so easy to squeeze out the pancakes that morning & add bananas. we ate our delicious, warm pancakes with a spoonful of peanut butter & a bit of maple syrup.
3. cheesy potatoes are a must on our outdoor trips. i always slice our potatoes in the food processor at home to avoid using a cutting board & knife on our trips. it makes for a lighter load. i simply place all of my potatoes in a ziplock bag & they are ready to go for that evening’s meal.
4. bacon & eggs are a must for breakfast while camping. we cooked the bacon in a cast iron skillet on our pop up burner & allowed to cool while we were scrambling the eggs. you can use a tortilla to make a wrap for a great on-the-go breakfast meal.
5. we love fresh vegetables for daily meals so why not bring them camping? we sliced up several summer squashes ahead of time at home & placed them in a ziplock bag. we cooked them with a bit of olive oil in our pot on the campfire griddle. it was delicious paired with the hot dogs.
6. we love making simple syrups at home & storing them in the fridge for whenever the desire to enjoy a light & refreshing drink may hit. a great alternative to water or coffee while camping is a bit of club soda & mint syrup (bonus- mint is growing in abundance right now!) you can find my recipe at helloluvvy, a wonderful new e-magazine that i just love & where i will be sharing a bit of my foodie passion. pack up your simple syrup in a mason jar & off you go on your camping adventures!
i would love to hear some of your favorite camping recipes so please share by commenting below!
i hope you enjoyed this week of camping tidbits!
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thank you to all of you who shared your favorite camping tips with us! i loved reading each one & made a little list for things we should bring on our next trip! the winner of wednesday’s deodorant cream from happy homestead botanicals is megan rowell! i will email you soon!
love,
natalie
this week i am writing about our buffalo river canoeing trip along with some of our tips on gear & food prep. i am excited to share some of our favorite camping essentials with you today! below are a handful of items we take on weekend camping & floating trips that perhaps you haven’t added to your packing list just yet:
1. large cooking pot & sturdy cast iron pan. regardless if we are cooking on the fire or a gas stove, we always bring along a cooking pot & cast iron pan. we fry eggs in our cast iron & boil noodles & steam vegetables in our pot. these two will get your cooking job done with little clean up afterward. we find most of our cast iron pieces secondhand for less than $10 each.
2. dryer lint. we have since replaced newspaper & homemade fire starters for lint from the dryer. we simply keep a basket next to the dryer at home & each time we clean out the lint, we place it in our basket for our next camping adventure. we love reusing something that would otherwise be thrown away.
3. reusable plates, utensils & cloth napkins. we love our handy set of blue plates we purchased for only a few bucks from a yard sale when we first married. our set is much better than the plastic & styrofoam throw away plates & utensils we too often see when camping. we keep the plates, along with our utensils & cloth napkins, in a storage container in the garage with the rest of our camping gear. when we are preparing to leave for a weekend trip, we simply bring along the camping container with all of our gear packed & ready to go.
4. a quilt. we love bringing along a well-worn quilt for naps by the river, sitting with a good book & relaxing by the fire. it only takes up a bit of space & makes for a more comfortable trip.
5. simple, natural body care products. we always bring along a small container of dr. bronner’s castile soap, toothpaste, bug spray & sunscreen. a new favorite body care product i will continue to use even when we are not camping is the deodorant cream by happy homestead botanicals.
mandi is such a knowledgeable & gifted friend of mine. when i heard that she was opening up her online shop & selling her deodorant, i had to try it. luke & i have used every kind of natural deodorant with little luck. some needed reapplying after thirty minutes, others left us smelling unfortunately stinky & some creams gave luke a serious rash. the happy homestead deodorant was a very happy success, leaving us smelling like lavender even after several hours of paddling on the river.
mandi is offering a jar of her happy hippy deodorant cream to one natalie creates reader! this cream is perfect for every day living at the office, out with friends, snuggled at home or on a camping trip!
simply leave a comment sharing your favorite camping essential & email address.
i will randomly choose a winner & share the news on friday morning! comments close friday morning at 6:00 am central time. happy winning!
love,
natalie
oh, what a wonderful, relaxing, peaceful trip we had on the buffalo river this past weekend! we packed on wednesday evening & headed out mid afternoon on thursday. we arrived to our primitive camp site just in time for a swim, a beer near the river & to set-up our little home for the night. the trip was roughly around four days with two days of canoeing. we traveled eighteen miles by canoe & kayak with all of our gear, stopping in the evening & setting up camp along the bank. it was pure river bliss!
i thought i would share some of the highlights of our trip- many jumps from the rocks with dear friends, hours of happy thoughts as we paddled, some negative words shared among the married couple (ahem) until we found our rhythm on the water (we still love each other, i promise!), hot dogs roasting near the fire, games, books, naps, warm meals & many more memories made.
we are definitely not camping or canoeing experts, but i thought it might be fun to share some of our camping tips this week on the blog. i am excited to share our favorite meals & gear. i will also host a little giveaway on wednesday so stay tuned! happy summer, friends!
love,
natalie