My friend, Danielle, and I recently returned from a 3 day / 2 night camping trip where we ate like kings! I’m sharing my meal plan with you. Maybe it’ll give you some ideas for your next trip.
Below you’ll find a PDF of my grocery shopping and packing list.
Meal Plan Tips
First, here’s a few tips for making a meal plan:
Pick some staples and build around them: Pick a few versatile foods and build your meals around them. On this trip, my staples were cheese, salami, and chocolate. The salami and cheese were used for pizza, grilled cheese, and breakfast. The chocolate was a comforting snack and used for s’mores. You could also use chocolate in pancakes and to make hot cocoa.
Pack some spices and fat: A few spices and fats will go a long way. Salt brings out the flavour of food and helps reduce bitterness. Fats (butter, oil, lard) let you cook at a higher temperature and add flavour. Fats are also a good way to load up on calories.
Bring warm beverages: Stay warm by bringing your favourite hot beverage. For me, that’s herbal tea. But, you could bring hot chocolate, coffee, or cider. Any of these will help elevate your core body temperature. Plus, holding the mug will keep your hands toasty.
Be realistic about how much you’ll eat: I almost always pack more food than I eat. To keep weight down, think realistically about your nutritional needs and plan accordingly. I’ve noticed that I usually eat more at breakfast and dinner. A snack is usually enough for lunch.
Measuring your campfire temperature: You can get a rough estimate of your campfire’s temperature by hovering your hand over the cooking area. How many seconds you can hold your hand over the heat gives you an estimate of the temperature. I have the breakdown here.
Day 1 – Steak, Asparagus, and S’mores
Breakfast: I had breakfast at home before heading out
Lunch: Charcuterie (salami + cheese + grapes + crackers)
Dinner: Steak + potatoes + asparagus + corn on the cob
Snacks: Dark chocolate s’mores + mint tea
Notes: Charcuterie is an easy lunch item. There are other foods you might want to include like: olives, dried fruit, nuts, hummus, apple, cherry tomatoes, and pesto.
Day 2 – Pizza, Grilled Cheese, and Eggs
Breakfast: 2 eggs + salami + toast
Lunch: Pizza (salami + onion + cheese + tomato paste)
Dinner: Grilled cheese + salami + green apple
Snacks: Dark chocolate s’mores + mint tea
Notes: We premade the pizza crust at home and cut it into slices. This pizza is gluten free and made with Bob’s Red Mill pizza mix.
We ate A LOT of pizza and had a late lunch, so I skipped dinner and snacked into the night. Danielle made an excellent apple crisp that we ate together. I’ll share that recipe in a future post.
Day 3 – Pancakes, Eggs, and Charcuterie
Breakfast: Eggs + pancakes + tea
Lunch: Charcuterie (salami + cheese + grapes + crackers)
Notes: Instead of pancakes, I ate the grilled cheese lunch that I skipped the day before. If you are following the meal plan as is, I’d recommend chopping up any leftover dark chocolate to add to the pancake batter.
Grocery / Packing List
If you end up using this meal plan, I’d love to hear what you loved and what you would change. Also, tell me your favourite backcountry camping food in the comments section!
Bon appetit! 🙂
Other Posts You May Enjoy
Reviewing 10 S’more Combinations
How to Measure Your Campfire’s Cooking Temperature
How to Wash Dishes in the Backcountry
Hello! Looking up knot information and came across your website and found food ideas too! I have RA and Crohns so loved your healthy fats and foods!
Thanks Donna! I’m glad it was useful and appreciate you letting me know 🙂