Good food can make your camping trip better than having to survive on cold snacks in the wilderness. With the right items in your backpack and knowledge of how to prepare them, you can eat like a king even in the middle of nowhere.

Here are some tips that you can consider while planning a camping expedition:

Right Equipment is the Key:

You need some basic gear to prepare a meal at the campsite. If you are on a car camping trip, you get the flexibility of carrying a large camping stove and a set of utensils for cooking conveniently. While the backpackers can only carry a compact camping stove, one with the simmer control is preferable, and a few utensils like fork and spoons.

If you prefer cooking over the campfire, you should pack a grill grate and aluminium foil to wrap around your food.

Meal Tips for Car Campers:

Car campers have the advantage of not having to carry the luggage on their shoulders. If you are planning a car camping trip you can carry perishable items like meat, eggs, and vegetables in a cooler. Store the food at a temperature below 40-degree Fahrenheit to keep the items preserved. Keep raw meat in watertight containers to prevent any contamination.

Some of the meals you can easily prepare are: sausage and pepper sandwiches, hamburgers and hot dogs, foil packet meals, burritos, and Mason jar salads.

Dehydrated Meals:

If you are worried about having to prepare an elaborate meal on the campsite or the extra weight you would need to carry, you can go for dehydrated meals.

Pre-made dehydrated food packets are easily available in the market. But if you want to avoid the excess sodium and unwanted ingredients, you can dehydrate the food on your own. A dehydrator with a fan will allow you to easily prepare your campsite meals.

You can cook full meals and then dehydrate them or pre-cook, dehydrate and store the ingredients separately. You would need to soak the food items in water for three to four hours to reconstitute them.

Supplements:

If you are planning a trekking expedition of more than a week, it is recommended that you carry the supplements to replenish the vitamins and minerals in your body. Probiotics, fish oil, protein powder and electrolytes are the four supplements every long-distance backpacker must carry.

Snacks:

You cannot always prepare your favourite meal on a campsite and sometimes the weather condition can prevent you from cooking even a basic meal. You can stack up on granola bars, apples, nuts, dry fruits, chocolate bars, tuna cans, instant oatmeal, tuna packets and hummus. These food items can be consumed separately or can be combined for a sumptuous meal.

Food Safety:

Hygiene is a must whether you are at home or at a campsite. Follow the prevalent drill – wash your hands before handling food and after handling raw meat, use separate utensils for vegetables and raw meat, and wash everything before storing them after use.

Plan for having healthy meals while camping so you do not deplete your body of important nutrients. Make sure you don’t forget the spices that are important to add a taste to your meals. Think simple, nutritious and out of the box and enjoy sumptuous meals even while camping.