Cooking and eating during camping trips: some rules of thumb

Cooking whilst camping can be a challenge. Unless you’re a builder or a miner, you’ll consume more energy during a camping trip than in daily life. But how do you get those extra calories when, at the same time, you’re trying to limit the weight of your backpack or bicycle panniers?

We had barely put down our backpacks or a deer darted by. At the campsite, the best moment of the day arrived: we poked up a fire and grilled vegetarian hotdogs over the flames. It was the last night of a multi-day hike and we had passed a shop that day. The weight of the food, in other words, was not a big issue. If you’re trekking or cycling for a long time, you aim to minimise the weight of your load. But everyone needs to eat, especially during an expedition that requires a lot of energy. How do you balance the two?

A lot, of course, depends on the type of camping trip you’re undertaking. Going out for just a weekend, you’ll have more leeway than during trips that a week or longer. In that case, feel free to carry heavier or more ‘luxurious’ items. Or even gear that weighs a lot. If a morning cup of coffee makes you very happy, definitely put that moka pot in your backpack. For car campers, there are almost no limitations. We, however, don’t have driver’s licences. The tips below therefore apply first and foremost for those campers who are hiking or cycling.

Keep it simple

After a long day on the trail or in the saddle, you probably don’t want to spend hours preparing a meal. There is no need to tap into your inner Gordon Ramsey. That does not mean you shouldn’t aim to make a tasty meal. A delicious dinner not only gives you energy to tackle the next day, it’s also a motivator, a carrot dangling in front of your nose. Even in a difficult moment, you automatically walk or pedal faster when you think of the delicious pasta that awaits you in the evening.

The simplicity of camping food lies in the ingredients and cooking methods. Opt for quick one-pot meals as much as possible. For shorter trips, you can prepare – if not everything – in advance. Even for longer excursions, you can make the necessary preparations at home. Frequent and avid campers can learn about drying food in a food dehydrator or an oven. This takes a lot of time, but reduces the weight of food up to a tenth.

Cooking on a camping stove versus camp fire

Some long-distance hikers are so obsessed with the weight of their backpack that they leave their camping stove at home. Every normal camper, however, can’t leave the house without it. Gas is by far the most convenient fuel – quick, efficient and clean. A screw-on camping stove is small and light, but needs a stable surface. Especially when it’s windy, it sometimes wobbles. A camping stove with a hose is more stable, making it easier to use in windy conditions. Extra handy if your gas bottle fits into a cooking pot.

Some campsites and campings allow you to make fire. In countries with the everyman’s right, you are also allowed to make a fire under certain circumstances. In that case, you should worry less about gas-guzzling cooking times. And you can get more creative, provided you have fireproof cookware with you. Even a slice of bread tastes better when you put it on the grill first.

This is the cooking gear you shouldn’t forget on a camping trip

As novice campers, we ransacked the kitchen looking for a pot. Admittedly, it wasn’t the handiest solution. Regular cooking pots are heavy and clumsy. Specific camping cooking pots are among the best investments you can make. They are light, have collapsible handles and don’t have to cost an arm and a leg. One pot suffices when you mainly prepare instant dishes. Want to cook fresh? Take two pots that you can slide over one another.

Most camping pots are made of aluminium. If you like to cook on a campfire, you will need one made of titanium. Cooking with these, however, will take longer. A lid saves time and energy, but also takes up space – you could consider making one out of aluminium foil.

in an insulated food jar, you can prepare instant meals, soak ingredient, keep soup warm or ice cream cold. If you want to save weight, choose gear that unites multiple functions. For example: a spoon is the most multifunctional of all the pieces of cutlery (but don’t forget a pocket knife!) A plate can serve as a cutting board.

Carrying food and resupplying

The longer you want to hike or cycle, the more you need to eat. In western Europe, it’s not very difficult to find a shop once in a while – especially not by bike. Pack plenty of freezer bas and remove as many packages as possible, especially those in metal or glass. The fewer kilos you have to lug around, the better. You can put transfer food to these bags – peanut butter, for example. If you’re afraid that something will spill in your backpack, use two bags over one another. Even light packaging, like that of cookies, are best thrown away at the shop. They might not weigh much, but often take up a lot of space.

If there are fewer resupplying options, make sure there is enough food in your backpack or pannier. Choose dehydrated instant meals – you only need to add hot water. Looking for more variation or want to add your own touch? Dehydrate ingredients or meals yourself. Avoid dairy products when it’s hot. And make sure your portions are larger than in daily life. Think about a cyclist burning a lot of calories during the Tour de France. During a multi-day trip, it’s best to start with the ‘heaviest’ meals and keep the lighter ones for later days.

Need more inspiration? These ingredients always come in handy during camping trips

• Wraps. You can put all kinds of ingredients in them, from vegetables to cheese, and they taste great as quesadillas on the grill.

• Couscous. Plenty of calories and ready in a heartbeat.

• Individual sachets of chili sauce, ketchup or mayonaise, to brighten up plain meals. Go to McDonald’s, Hesburger or any other fastfood restaurant and make your move.

• Instant porridge. Energy-rich breakfast, certainly complimented with nuts, seeds, peanut butter and/or gingerbread spread. In a thermos or cooking pot, you can also make overnight oats, especially attractive when you don’t want to get the gas fire out in rainy weather.

• Instant coffee. Indispensible for every serious camping trip. Coffee snobs can also opt for coffee powder – and pour hot water through a filter into a cup or thermos.

• Snacks, snacks, snacks. There is no such thing as too many snacks during a camping trip. Muesli bars, candy bars, trail mix, nuts and dried fruit: ideal to pick up during a dip.

For this blog post, we found inspiration in Food in the Woods, a book by the Finnish author Saara Atula which combines tips with recipes for (vegetarian) wilderness meals. This blog post first appeared in Dutch on Kampeertijd.