How to prepare food for a three-day camping trip. How Much Food Should I Bring?
When most people are planning a camping vacation, the last thing on their mind is food. They organize all of their equipment and leave dinner planning to the last minute. This approach can work if you know what you’re doing, but it frequently results in boring camping dinners. What type of food should you pack for a three-day camping trip?
Discover meals that really are simple to make, pack, and maintain their stability at a very moderate temperature range. Prepare a few basic campfire meals, travel dinners, and trail snacks in advance. I normally start the day with a basic breakfast of eggs, meat, and carbohydrates, followed by a light trail lunch, and then get experimental for supper.
Begin by identifying meals that are satisfying, portable, and simple to cook. Once you’ve mastered it, you may experiment with more daring recipes. Let’s discuss how I pick meals for my three-day camping excursions and then I’ll provide an example menu.
How to prepare food for a three-day camping trip. How Much Food Should I Bring?
It’s surprisingly simple to plan meals for a three-day camping vacation! It’s short enough that you can make do with a small cooler, but long enough that you may have to get creative. My camping meals are often divided into three categories: campfire and stovetop meals, on-the-go dinners, and light trail snacks. Then it’s a simple matter of breaking it down further into breakfast, lunch, and supper.
- Campfire and Stovetop Meals: These are the most critical meals since they provide the majority of your calories. While you can cook practically anything over a campfire or propane burner, I prefer to plan out dinners with 5-7 ingredients. Typically, meat is served as the main dish, vegetables are served as a side, and a high-calorie carbohydrate is served as a dessert.
- Quick On-The-Go Meals: Because I’m generally busy around midday, I plan a light and easy meal that takes no more than five minutes to prepare. Typically, it’s some sort of sandwich or wrap that I can assemble quickly and return to whatever I’m doing.
- High-Calorie Trail Snacks: Stock up on high-calorie trail snacks to keep you going throughout the day. Because you cannot always stop for supper while trekking along the route, it’s a good idea to take crackers, almonds, trail mix, and energy bars.
I’ll discuss each of these meals in detail below, but you might want to jump to the three-day camping food plan.
- Campfire and Stovetop Recipes with Ingredients
If you’re camping at a campground or near your car, your meals can become out of control. With my Coleman two Burners Propane Camping-Stove or a cast iron pot/pan over an open fire, I can cook practically anything. If I’m not concerned with trail weight, the only thing holding me back is maintaining safe storage temps for my components.
While food planning for a three-day camping trip may appear difficult, the process may be streamlined. Each day’s meals should be planned in advance and as much prep work as feasible done at home. Each meal does not have to be a five-course meal, but it is beneficial to have at least one well-prepared meal each day.
When planning your camping meals, make things as basic as possible. Start the day with a simple scramble of eggs, potatoes, meat, cheese, and onion, followed by a quick 5-minute lunch and a full high-calorie dinner.
If you’re doing all the labor at the campground, stick to a modest 5-10 item main course; but, if you prepare your meals ahead of time, you may go a little crazy. It’s far easier to chop and measure items at home, where a sink and rubbish can are readily available.
Before leaving home, complete all preparations, measure ingredients, chop veggies, and prepare your meals. This significantly simplifies things, as you are no longer concerned with meal preparation.
- Quick-And-Easy Meals On-The-Go
It ishard to have enough time in the mornings and around dinnertime to prepare a nice supper. When lunchtime arrives, this is rarely the case.So it is good to constantly engaged in intriguing activities that would need you to take a 45-minute break to prepare supper, eat, and clean up.
That is why it is convenient to have quick On-The-Go meals that can be prepared in five minutes or less and require no prep or cleaning. Sandwiches, tortilla wraps, basic salads, pasta/potato salads, and so forth are ideal for this.
The trick is to complete all preparations before to departing. I normally use wax paper to separate my meats and cheeses, and pre-cut my veggies. A simple sandwich or tortilla wrap, together with a portion of pasta or potato salad, takes less than a minute to assemble.
- Trail Snacks with a High calorie count
Snack on high-calorie trail snacks in between meals to keep you satiated. Keep things simple! Nuts, trail mix, protein bars, and beef jerky are all examples of foods that are suitable for snacking. Snacks that are heavy in calories, fats, and sweets, as well as being full and shelf stable, are ideal.
Each of those little bags of peanuts has around 400 calories, which is about half of the calories to consume during a typical supper. With the addition of a protein/energy bar, you’ve effectively had the equivalent of a complete supper. Carrying a little bag of trail snacks to snack on throughout the day allows you to consume a lot of calories.
Simply avoid snacking on high-calorie foods that will leave you feeling hungry. As much as I enjoy eating potato chips, they use a lot of room. Additionally, you may consume a whole bag of chips without feeling full.
Bring a greater quantity of food than you can actually think of!
The majority of individuals are unaware of the amount of calories burned when camping. Consume at least 2500-3500 calories each day, and maybe more if you’re embarking on a lengthy walk. It’s mind-boggling how many calories you may burn simply by strolling about camp.
When cooking simple meals, it’s difficult to consume so many calories. Consume foods that are heavy in calories, fat, sugar, and carbohydrates. That may not seem healthy, but it is the only way to consume enough calories when faced with a limited amount of food.
Fill up gaps throughout the day with small snacks and quick dinners. Try to have a variety of trail snacks with me to munch on throughout the day. To be honest, I’m quite sure I could subsist entirely on trail munchies.
How Do You Maintain a Cold Temperature When Camping?
If you’re camping near your car, keeping your food cold is simple. Simply stuff everything into a well-insulated cooler and add ice. If you’re using a cheap cooler, you may need to replenish the ice many times, but any “Yeti-Style” roto molded cooler should last three days.
You can have two of Walmart’s 28-quart Coolers. Additionally, they offer 55 and 77 quart sizes, but these are far too large for a three-day camping trip. One cooler is dedicated to beverages and beer, while the other is dedicated to food.
The ice remains stable for at least five days at temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees, so a three-day camping excursion should be sufficient. If you take these simple steps, you may be able to get away with a cheaper cooler. Simply be cautious, as consuming food that has not been properly preserved might result in food illness. While food sickness is unpleasant at home, it is tenfold worse while camping.
Pre-chill the cooler before to the travel to avoid losing ice and decreasing the temperature of the cooler.
To keep temperatures down, keep your cooler in the shade.
Utilize frozen water bottles and ice packs to protect foods that should not be exposed to moisture. Additionally, if you’re using bagged ice, you may keep the food in waterproof containers.
Freeze the food you intend to consume on the second/third day to allow it to defrost gradually over the journey.
Bring two coolers: one for beverages, and one for food. This keeps chilly air from escaping whenever you reach for a drink. Additionally, certain items should not be exposed to moisture, which nearly always occurs in an ice-cold cooler.
Examples of a three-day camping menu
Planning intriguing meals for a three-day camping trip is not difficult. Avoid relying on hotdogs/hamburgers as a sole source of protein. With a little forethought, it is feasible to prepare delectable breakfast, lunch, and supper.
All you need is a little imagination, and your dinners will be better than you imagined. Make a few easy meals of your own using this 3-day camping food list as inspiration.
First day,
Scrambled eggs, toast, coffee, and fruit for breakfast
A breakfast scramble may include nearly everything. They’re simple to prepare with only 5-7 ingredients and are quite satisfying. My favorite scramble is made with scrambled eggs, potatoes, onions, peppers, bacon or sausage, and cheese.
Because cooking the potatoes is the most time consuming step, I frequently use pre-cooked hashbrowns. They’re not quite as appetizing, but heating them up takes less than five minutes, compared to twenty or more minutes when cooking them from scratch.
Additionally, now is the time to include your meat and vegetables. Everything should be done at around the same time, which makes it really simple. Finish with the cheese and you’re good to go!
Prepare coffee to go with your buttered toast and fresh fruit for breakfast. Making a single portion is nearly hard, so you should surely have leftovers to last you the rest of the day.
Sandwiches – Lunch
Sandwiches provide an almost limitless variety of alternatives. Any style of sandwich can suffice, however cold sandwiches are typically preferred! I’ll occasionally pan cook a panini, but making a cold deli-sub is so much easier.
Purchase cheese, deli-meats, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and the condiments of your choice. Get some roast beef sandwiches with onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and provolone cheese. If you don’t have a means to keep your lunch cool on a walk, pepperoni and salami are excellent options. When you’re not in the mood to muck around, peanut butter and jelly (or banana) is another easy alternative.
Sandwiches are quite simple to put together. They’re easy to prepare in less than five minutes and are ideal for on-the-go.
Dinner: Quick and Easy Pasta
Because the first day of camping is always the most difficult. Pasta dinners are fast, simple to prepare, filling, and ideal for big gatherings. You may get crazy with elaborate preparations or opt for a prepared previous meal.
You should know how to create the past. Simply bring water to a boil and add the pasta; simmer for approximately ten minutes. Once finished, add the sauce, spices, meats, and cheese, among other ingredients. A spaghetti meal is difficult to mess up!
day # 2
Fluffy Pancakes for Breakfast
Pancakes are a great way to start the morning! This is a simple breakfast that takes less than ten minutes to prepare. I prefer using a prepared mix, but if you’re feeling adventurous, you can create them from yourself. To prepare boxed pancake mix, all you need is water and a teaspoon of vegetable oil.
I prefer cooking them on a small single or two burner camping stove, but they may also be cooked over an open flame. Simply preheat the pan to 375°F and fry 1 minute 30 seconds on each side. Additionally, blueberries, chocolate chips, or any other filling may be added. With your pancakes and a cup of coffee, you’re prepared to tackle the day.
Leftovers, Potato/pasta Salad, A Simple Salad and Fruit for Lunch
There always will be leftovers, regardless of how carefully you arrange your meals.
If your campsite is close to a river or a lake, take use of the fresh fish available to prepare a delicious lunch. Cook the fish in foil packets with veggies, spice, and butter inside. After that, position the bags over the hot embers until the fish is ready.
This is a simple and enjoyable method of cooking fish that retains the natural tastes. Alternatively, you might broil the fish and sprinkle it with lemon.
Dinner: Barbecued steaks, hamburgers, hotdogs, sausages, and fish, among other things.
You have a plethora of meat selections to choose from. When it’s just my wife and me, I normally choose for steaks, whereas large gatherings opt for hamburgers/hotdogs. Cook them over an open fire in a cast iron skillet or on a gas grill.
Additionally, this is an excellent time to experiment with recipes for foil package meat. Arrange onions, peppers, potatoes, cheese, and meat in the foil. You’ll have dinner in no time if you grill them over a fire. Because meals may be prepared in advance, this is one of the simplest methods of cooking.
Third day
French Toast with Sausage/Bacon and Eggs for Breakfast
On my final day of camping, I nearly always had french toast, sausage/bacon, and eggs. It eliminates all of my excess bread and eliminates the need to deal with leftover eggs and meat that may have been improperly preserved.
Combine whatever you have in your refrigerator and freezer into the meals for the previous day. You’re not going to want to reload everything into your car and drive home. French Toast is nearly impenetrably difficult to make incorrectly. Eggs, milk, bread, and vanilla essence are all that are required. You may add more spice to the dish if desired, but it remains rather simple.
The remainder of the meal follows suit. Prepare your eggs and meat according to your preference and savor them.
Tortilla Smeals for Lunch
Tortillas make an ideal on-the-go meal. Consider Mexican cuisine beyond the basic. While I prefer Mexican, you may also opt for Asian, Greek, Mediterranean, or Seafood dishes, as well as BBQ, pizza, or lunchmeat wraps. You have virtually limitless alternatives.
Chili dinner
Dont prepare supper on Day 3 if you arereturning home. Make a pit break or pick up some pizza on the way home. You can prefer to pack your belongings early in order to be prepared to go. You can cook a big pot of chili on holiday weekends.
Chili is one of those dinners that appears difficult to prepare, but is actually rather straightforward. There is some initial prep work, but after that is completed, all that is required is periodic stirring. Chili is a hearty dish that is ideal for large gatherings and chilly nights.