Hi, just new at Kayak camping and would like my food to be as tasty but easy as possible. Anyone know any sites that list stuff to pack? I’m having trouble thinking up enough to fill three meals a day for many days. Thanks.
Tha only thing I’ve been able to find was for canoeing and it was like 50 years old, so they recommended like 5 pounds of sugar, 10 pounds of bacon, and disgusting crap that I don’t think people eat anymore.
I was thinking more healthy stuff, not sure what I would even do with 5 pounds of sugar on a camping trip.
Food
I think REI sells packaged food for camping.It’s de-hydrated but i hear it’s pretty good. Down side is the cost. Check the web,seen it for sale at some web sites that carry camping gear. Good luck. VF
49 days and never had
3 meals in one day. One usually and rarely 2 but never 3. Lots of canned food in the grocery store and Beanee Weenees.Snacking is better than a meal. Weight isn’t the problem…volume is.
You’ll se what Imean if you paddle any significant distance in a day.
Paddlin’ on
Richard
prepackaged or gourmet
The good thing about food is that there are many options! Maybe too many.
Canned stuff is always cheap, easy, and good if you aren’t picky.
Dehydrated bagged meals (Mountain House, Backpacker’s Pantry, etc.) are usually good, super easy to make, but expensive for more than a day or two.
The other alternative is to learn how to cook over a stove or fire. Then you can make what ever you want! If you can make it at home you can make it camping (even baking!). Try the NOLS Cookery for recipes and instructions for cooking- though they use mostly dry rations, it gives you a good place to start. The Outback Oven is what I use to bake.
My normal set-up is:
MSR dragonfly stove with Outback Oven
MSR Blacklight pots (because I like the teflon)
French press mug for coffee (add sweetened condensed milk, yum)
I just went on a backpacking trip this weekend and here’s what I made for two dinners, lunch, and two breakfasts:
Dinner 1 Pizza
mixed up dry dough mix at home (flour, baking powder, salt, garlic)
add warm water and a little butter- mix in plastic bag
1 small can of pizza sauce
Mozerralla cheese- block, sliced off pieces
Pepperoni
Sprinkle basil and black pepper over pizza
bake for 15 minutes
Breakfast 1 & 2
Scrambled eggs (as long as they don’t break, they keep for close to a week unrefrigerated)
bisquick biscuits- mix from home,add water, bake 10 minutes
Lunch
Peanut butter and honey on tortillas
Dinner 2 Tuna noddles
boil pasta
1 packet of Knorr garlic & herb pasta sauce
1 foil packet of tuna
cheese
powdered milk
butter
Sure, cooking like that takes longer, but it also tastes better and is fun. It’s probably also cheaper (especially since you can use stuff you already have at home).
Try these…
We have made and had some absolutely delicious meals out kayaking. It takes a bit of preplanning, but I can vouch for the ease of cooking, and the great food in camp.
I figure if I wouldn’t eat it at home, I’m not going to eat it out kayaking. We are out to have fun, kick back, and ENJOY ourselves, that includes our food.
Yes, (as usual) someone will have something smart-aleck to say, but this works for ME, (disclaimer) and may not be what anyone else wants to do.
http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/
http://www.onepanwonders.com/
http://www.wildernesscooking.com/
Good luck to you, I hope you find what works well for you.
Donna
Prepackaged vs Home cooked
I would much rather pack my own food rather than the prepackaged you buy from REI or other sporting goods stores. The prepackaged stuff just doesn’t task good to me.
The NOLS cookery is a good resource for starting. When I planned our trip last summer, we tried to stick to one hot meal a day and the other two not involve the stoves. My source of inspiration was a local co-op/local/bulk foods store that had lots of dried items that only required water (i.e. dried veggies, dried refried beens and dried black beans with tortillas taste really good at the end of the evening).
Another way to get away from having canned goods with is to look for items that come in pouches. On my last trip, we had one member who has a high protein diet so we found pouches of tuna, some cheese sticks, etc to fill out the menu.
Happy paddling,
Amy
Co-op & health type food
stores do have tons of bulk easy stuff- dehydrated refried beans are great! Fantastic Foods makes a great line of easy to make/great tasting stuff. Vegetarian chili and taco filling are excellent. My local co-op also sells bulk TVP (textured vegetable protein) which is great added to tons of stuff. Ragu also now puts spagetti sauce in a pouch instead of a jar.
Many things can be brought along fresh- veggies, potatoes, eggs, cheese, fruit. They key is to not cut stuff ahead of time and keep your bare hands off of it. I will say rancid peppers in a pack or dry bag is pretty miserable.
I know I’m repeating myself here but…
– Last Updated: Jul-28-08 11:11 PM EST –
I think the best thing going is for folks to learn how to forage...in moderation of course. Fruits, veggies, starches and carbs, spices and herbs, even sweeteners, are growing wild all around you. Learn to forage, learn it well and you'll be amazed at the meals you can create with little or no money. Make your own breakfasts, salads, seafood and meat dishes, flavorings, teas and drinks to your own liking... all you have to do is learn.
Save even more by building yourself a dehydrater and learn how to use it.
You can fish and trap seafood as well as hunt and trap small game.
Read up on the nutritional values of all you eat, learn what soils and terrains are capable of producing the most nutrition for specific fauna and flora and not only can you survive but thrive and do it in style.
There are tricks of the trade, so to speak, to make your gathering so easy that you'll wonder what to do with your spare time. These will come to you with practice.
dehydrate
Chili is on the dehydrator as well as homemade spaghetti sauce on another tray.
Finished shrimp and beef and ground pork.
Veggies tomorrow. Squash and peas and beans.
If its not high in fat dehydrate any stews you might have left over or extra veggies…
just did no fat yogurt…comes out like taffy and applesauce
man you can overeat camping…
My new favorite…
…camp dinner is one or two cans of cooked, cubed, chicken breast pieces and a box of stove top style stuffing. The chicken comes in a can about twice the size of a tuna can and I got mine at Walmart. Add the liquid from the chicken to the stuffing and cook all in one pot according to package directions. Really cooks up quick and hits the spot.
Tom
tasty eating
or just plain ho-hum food??? Ho-hum you can buy, they’re the stuff that’s all prepackaged from REI (or other camping stores). The more tasty stuff you will need to package yourself at home. I like the freezer bag method. (someone else posted a link to site). You also need to think about what type of stove you’ll be using and fuel to pack. This can make a difference in what you will eat (can your stove handle a frying pan for those fresh eggs??) When a meal calls for things like chicken, I use the pouch vs the can. I don’t like all that garbage that needs to be packed out. Freezer bag cooking has a cookbook, get it!! I also usually only cook the main meal of the day, the rest is just breakfast bars, gorp, or handy snacks that I made at home. Makes meals much easier and less clean-up to do. Check out the grocery store for Lipton meals. They have rice or noodle ones w/vegs. You can add a pouch of chicken or how about crab or shrimp. These will feed 1 hungry or 2 normal people. Remember to pack 1 extra meal incase of unforseen trouble. And have fun, of course.
How bout Flatbread Pizza… Yummmmm 
One of my favorite and easy backcountry meals is flat bread pizza… get some sort of flatbread or wrap, any sauce, any cheese, any toppings. Coat your frying pan with olive oil. Cook on low heat, cover… cook until desired. So easy, so good, easy to pass around and share.
All yer need ta know…
– Last Updated: Jul-29-08 11:23 AM EST –
http://www.spam.com/eatspam/
http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Products/ProductInfoDisplay.htm?SiteId=1&Product=4300001589
FE
Cooking on What?
It depends on what you are using to cook your food or heat your water with & will you have any type of refrigeration.
-Capri
kayaking food
My favorite foods for kayaking and canoe camping are those nifty packaged Indian and Thai meals that don’t need refrigeration. They taste great, and they’re pretty cheap (amazon carries them in lots of varieties by the case, less than $2.50 each), and they’re a lot lighter than canned food. “Kitchens of India” and “Tasty Bite” are two good brands. Many grocery stores now carry these. In the tuna aisle of a large grocery, you can also get salmon steaks in the foil packets that don’t need to be kept in the fridge.
Cache Lake camping foods are great too, for more traditional backpacking meals. Much healthier, tastier, and cheaper than the awful stuff REI carries. http://www.cachelake.com/