If you go camping, how much time do you spend....

[poppy]

If you go camping, how much time do you spend on meal prep?

 

We keep it pretty simple.  We do have a hot breakfast (coffee, toast, sometimes oatmeal. Maybe pancakes once a week). On-the-go lunch and an easy dinner.  Maybe 30 minutes cooking for dinner.

 

We went camping with another family this summer and oh. my. goodness.  Two hours to cook breakfast.  Dinner prep starts at 5, they sit to eat at 8.    Family of 4.  They bring fresh veggies which they chop, grill, then simmer in a sauce...........  was the meal nice? Yes.  Do I want to spend all day at the campsite cooking?  Heck no.  Hike, bike, beach.  Go to the woods and look for beaver lodges.  Whatever. Anything besides cooking which is - to me - just  a chore.

 

Background, we have  a small popup but don't plug it in.  Basically car camping. We go about 4 times over the summer, trips ranging from 3-8 days.

 

So.  What kind of camping experience do you prefer?

[busymama7]

I'm like you. I precook as much as home as possible and we eat junkier food than we normally do for ease. Some people just really enjoy te actual experience of camp fire cooking. I keep it to one Dutch oven peach cobbler and the rest that has to be cooked or heated is done on a stove.

[Miss Peregrine]

If we were making that meal it would have all been prepped at home. We like something a little special but don't want to spend all day cooking.

[MomtoCandJ]

Hmmm hot dogs and beans, hamburgers and such is about as far as I go

[Baseball mom]

Simple & as much done at home. When we camp that is vacation. As little work as possible on vacation.

[littlebug42]

I do like to cook soup, stew, etc in our dutch oven over the fire but do much of the prep work at home before I go.  Over the summer, I stopped at a farm market on the way and bought green beans, potatos, corn and had taken a piece of ham and I cooked all of that up in the dutch oven.  If I don't have something decent while we are camping, I will feel terrible by week's end.  I do aim to always do as much meal prep as I can at home though so I don't spend the whole time working while we are there. 

[Wheres Toto]

We tent camp and just like at home, dh does all the cooking.  He'll pre-cook and pre-prepare anything that takes a lot of time but most of it will be pretty simple.  Eggs or pancakes (from mix) for breakfast, sandwiches or hot dogs/hamburgers for lunch, a prepared pasta dish, meat and veggies over the fire, burgers and dogs if we didn't have them for lunch. 

 

I think it would totally stink to spend the entire day at the campsite preparing meals.  Ugh. 

[lmrich]

We used to camp (bad ankle stopped me from enjoying it) and I always prepared everything at home. I brought my crockpot, my electric skillet, and a microwave. Meals were heated up and enjoyed by the campfire. We also went with a family who cooked everything over the fire etc...they seemed to love the whole experience. Personally I love eating and drinking a cold beer by the fire, not cooking over the fire. To each his own. 

 

 

A funny memory of my childhood and camping....it is the only time I remember my mom letting us eat sugary cereal for breakfast in those little cereal boxes. 

[Sherry in OH]

We eat sandwiches, fruit, baby carrots, and snack foods.   At least one meal a day is takeout. We only cook when camping with the scouts and not always then. 

 

We tent camp because the boys like it.  Dh and I endure it for their sake and because it is less expensive than hotels. 

[AK_Mom4]

DH and the other adults cook elaborate, multi-course meals for themselves when out camping with the boy scouts.  But all of the prep is done at home prior to the trip.  Only the cooking is done on-site and that rarely takes more than 30-45 minutes of actual time.

[Gentlemommy]

We have a camper, so I have access to a fridge/freezer, stove, microwave, and grill. I usually make a few meals that I just need to heat up (like chili, baked chicken, ect.). We always bring stuff for the grill, and I just season them with salt, pepper, and garlic. Breakfast is bagels with cream cheese, greek yogurt with fruit, and coffee for dh and I. For lunches, I make chicken or egg salad in advance and bring tortillas/buns/crackers. Finally, I have plenty of whole fruit, sliced cheese and crackers, nuts, and containers of carrots/celery/cucumbers for snacking on. I also usually get some fun treats we don't normally have-chips or granola bars, ect.

I agree with the OP, I have no desire to be sitting inside cooking when there is so much fun stuff to do!

[linders]

Lots of camping here, somewhere between you and the other family. We generally have a hot breakfast except for the last morning - hash brown/egg mix, pancakes, or such. (A cold breakfast only when we are hiking early.) I prep lots before we go so I just have to cook things up - 30 minutes max. If DH wants to do a Dutch oven something, he has about 15 minutes prep, then 50 minutes on the coals. Lunch is sandwiches. Dinner is like breakfast - something pretty good (jambalaya, stir fry, spaghetti, burgers) but again, prep work is done before leaving (e.g., I cut and bag vegies for jambalaya) so cooking is 30-60 minutes max.

 

This assumes tent or tent trailer camping. Backpacking is freeze-dried meals!

[Mrs Mungo]

We have nice meals while camping, but I enjoy cooking and do not consider it a chore. But, I am not sure I have ever spent two hours actively prepping one meal in my life other than for large parties.

[LucyStoner]

We do a mix of easier and more elaborate meals.

 

I usually a do a fair bit of prep ahead of time. It's not a 2-3 hours per meal thing though at all.

 

Though I've been told I am a "gourmet camper" because when we roast hotdogs, I usually have some caramelized onions and peppers for the adults and any kids who want them. Also because I bring real syrup. Uh, ok.

 

Common camp breakfasts:

 

Pancakes (we have a large griddle for this)

Eggs and meat

Oatmeal

Yogurt and fruit

Breakfast burritos

Veggie hash

 

Common lunches:

 

Hot dogs and baked beans

Sandwiches (I usually premake some curry chicken salad as a sandwich filling choice for the first 1-2 days)

Cookies

Fruit

Salad

 

Common dinners:

 

Hamburgers

Steak

Chicken skewers

Fajitas

Fish

Roasted veggies to go with

 

And s'mores since we all know s'mores are calorie free when you are under the stars, right?!

[Ravin]

I don't normal camp, I SCA camp. At events there's a lot to do and I don't want to spend all day in the kitchen. Usually I camp with a group and we share duties. Front ending as much prep as possible is a good idea and you can still eat well. I usually volunteer for breakfast because I'm an early riser and on a cold morning I'd rather be in front of a warm stove than not. If someone else has dish duty I get to be on my way for the day after a set "hot breakfast is over" time. People who sleep in can have instant oatmeal or quick breads.

[violamama]

I like to bring one or two schmancy meals when we take our camper to "fun flies". My husband flies his rc helicopters all day and the kids and I mess around all day doing school, practicing instruments, riding bikes and basically killing time.

 

If we are for real camping (somewhere beautiful/remote) then I don't bother with schmancy.

 

My schmanciest schmancy would not take 3 hours. I wouldn't even do that at home.

[Susan in TN]

So. What kind of camping experience do you prefer?

Yours. Definitely.

[Carol in Cal.]

We eat more hot meals when camping.  For some reason DH likes to cook breakfast outside.  Normally I just have cold cereal at home but we get bacon when we're camping.

 

Other than that, though, it's simple or preprepared all the way.  Example:  homemade soups or chili, brought frozen in canning jars, thawed and heated on the camp stove.  Frozen little steaks, cooked in the frying pan.  Homemade in advance spaghetti sauce, frozen in canning jars, maybe with Italian sausage, also precooked and frozen.  Canned baked beans.  About the fanciest we get with onsite cooking is barbequing chicken legs.  One great thing about packing the cooler with frozen stuff is that it keeps fruit and veggies cold for several days without needing to buy ice. 

 

I do have a fairly elaborate sequence for fresh fruit/veggie use, ordering it from most fragile to most hardy, but that's about it.  The only fresh item in those categories that we ever cook is corn on the cob.  Everything else is eaten raw.  I have great plans to do peach cobbler in a Dutch oven, but alas, no Dutch oven.  If we have dessert it's usually fig newtons.

[Seasider]

I don't normal camp, I SCA camp. At events there's a lot to do and I don't want to spend all day in the kitchen. Usually I camp with a group and we share duties. Front ending as much prep as possible is a good idea and you can still eat well. I usually volunteer for breakfast because I'm an early riser and on a cold morning I'd rather be in front of a warm stove than not. If someone else has dish duty I get to be on my way for the day after a set "hot breakfast is over" time. People who sleep in can have instant oatmeal or quick breads.

So you get 21st century food? You don't have to forage? Skin rabbits?

 

I am jk, y' know...

[jelbe5]

We have a pop up camper. I prep meals at home. Breakfast consists of cereal and oatmeal. We will do pancakes, eggs and sausage a couple of times. Lunch is usually DIY snack foods and sandwiches. Dinner may be steak, burgers and dogs, pasta, etc. I also keep a small crock pot in my camper. Last year we did foil packets with marinated chicken and veggies on the grill. Tasty and easy clean up!

[Pawz4me]

We have an RV, so a full (but small) kitchen.  If we're not in a hurry to get on the road or get out sightseeing, then we'll do a full eggs, bacon and biscuits breakfast.  I prep, DH cooks the bacon and eggs outside on the grill and I do the biscuits in  the oven.  If we eat lunch in the RV it's a sandwich.  Dinners are chicken, steak or hamburgers/hot dogs on the grill along with some type of potato fixed in the microwave or oven, a salad (bagged) and fruit.  So mostly simple, no frills food.  We usually eat out at least once a day, and often twice a day.  I don't particularly enjoy cooking, and it's my vacation too.

[J-rap]

We tend to vary it, but for us, camping usually includes good campfire meals.  It's part of the fun for us.  However, we still do as much prep at home and try and make it easy.  So if we're going to have veggies and meat patties, we'd clean and cut the veggies at home, form the patties, and wrap them in foil packets before leaving home.  Or if we're going to have pancakes, we'd use a mix.  We love camp cooking and even though it rarely turns out the way we had anticipated, it always seems to taste really good!

[SparklyUnicorn]

The only reason I'm ever willing to go camping is because of the food.  LOL

 

I don't know how long I spend though.  Usually where we go there isn't a ton to do so cooking is something to do. 

[bolt.]

I basically "move to" a campground (with a small pop-up) for 3 weeks or more each summer. I have a tiny propane fridge, stove and BBQ, plus, the option of open fire.

 

For us, the kids do a lot of running and playing, but I do a lot of reading and relaxing (in addition to some biking, hiking, activity -- just not non-stop like the kids). So I kind of like to cook up nice things.

 

We have fruit and tea first thing in the morning. If we need to get going, this also involved nuts and cold cereal or instant oatmeal for a complete breakfast. But if we are just hanging around, I usually bumble around and eventually produce a cooked breakfast/brunch. (Pancakes, French toast, skillet biscuits, crepes, eggs a bunch of ways, sausage, bacon, fried ham, etc.) A few times we even have a campfire breakfast (breakfast sausages, plus toasted pilsbury crescent dough).

 

We have a cold lunch around 1:00 (leftover cold meats or lunch meat, cheese, breads or crackers, fruits, veg, jello and cookies). I can also do hot lunch -- usually soup or pasta.

 

Supper I often make by doing the meat on the campfire (steak, pork ribs or chops, hot dogs, bratwurst) or BBQ (chicken, burgers) plus some steamed veggies or starch sides from the stove indoors. The other way I can do supper is more of a stove-based way (skillet meals, spagetti & sauce, stew, shrimp and pasta).

 

If I'm doing fire for supper, I need to get starting it by 4:30 or so. Otherwise a meal would take maybe 35 min? Lunch takes no prep, just 5 min of gathering and slicing etc. Breakfast can take a while because of bumbling, and needing to do some things (like bacon) in two stages on a small stove. Maybe 45 min?

 

I love camping food. We eat well, and kind of indulgently. And I never feel rushed as the cook. I get started when I want to, and I'm done when it's done. It's nice that way.

[poppy]

The only reason I'm ever willing to go camping is because of the food.  LOL

 

I don't know how long I spend though.  Usually where we go there isn't a ton to do so cooking is something to do. 

 

See, I don't get that, if you don't like exploring the outdoors, why go at all?  I would HATE camping if I spent most of it in the campsite.  It's like the world's lousiest hotel room.

 

I know you're not alone . I see a lot of people with very elaborate kitchen setups.    And I camp at state parks, not places where people stay weeks on end.

[poppy]

DH and the other adults cook elaborate, multi-course meals for themselves when out camping with the boy scouts.  But all of the prep is done at home prior to the trip.  Only the cooking is done on-site and that rarely takes more than 30-45 minutes of actual time.

 

That's weird, why don't the boy scouts do the cooking?

Or is it that the boy scouts do their cooking and the adults amuse themselves by spending their supervisory time that way?

[bolt.]

I think a camp site is the world's *best* hotel room!

[Starr]

Several of us met up in my younger days to camp in the Smokey Mountains. One woman marinated brisket from southern Florida to the mountains where it and two stoves were carried up to the camp site. Oh bother. I had never camped with, much less carried, that much stuff for meals! Thinking about it always makes me laugh.

[SparklyUnicorn]

See, I don't get that, if you don't like exploring the outdoors, why go at all?  I would HATE camping if I spent most of it in the campsite.  It's like the world's lousiest hotel room.

 

I know you're not alone . I see a lot of people with very elaborate kitchen setups.    And I camp at state parks, not places where people stay weeks on end.

 

I go because my kids beg me to.  I hate camping.  I agree it is the world's lousiest hotel room.  The showers are cold.  The bugs drive me nuts.  It's clammy half the time.  And I worry about Lyme's Disease among other diseases that are rampant around here.

 

 

 

 

[Sherry in OH]

The only reason I'm ever willing to go camping is because of the food.  LOL

 

I don't know how long I spend though.  Usually where we go there isn't a ton to do so cooking is something to do. 

 

Couldn't you just cook over a fire at home?  Dh sometimes grills over our fire pit.   I cook indoors.  

 

We don't have room in our car for cooking equipment and camping gear.  We spend our days touring the area not sitting in the campsite.  We don't do remote camping, though.  Mostly state parks near touristy areas.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Couldn't you just cook over a fire at home?  Dh sometimes grills over our fire pit.   I cook indoors.  

 

We don't have room in our car for cooking equipment and camping gear.  We spend our days touring the area not sitting in the campsite.  We don't do remote camping, though.  Mostly state parks near touristy areas.

 

We don't have any room for that.  We live in a city.  And we live far from anything like that. 

 

I do have a grill. 

 

Really my biggest "problem" is I can't enjoy myself worrying about crap like Lyme's disease.  I have known so many people around here who got it and it was sheer misery for them.  So who wants to be somewhere in a constant state of worry over stuff like that?  I don't.

 

I doused everyone in bug spray last time we went.  But bug spray itself is rather toxic and nasty.  One of my kids still got eaten alive by mosquitoes.  He scratched so much he got an infection.  I had to take him to a walk in clinic.

 

Give me the asphalt jungle.  That's more my speed. 

 

[linders]

That's weird, why don't the boy scouts do the cooking?

Or is it that the boy scouts do their cooking and the adults amuse themselves by spending their supervisory time that way?

 

Not weird at all. By the time they are old enough to be in Boy Scouts, the boys plan their own meals as a patrol using nutrition guidelines, shop for food (having to stick to a budget), set up their own cook area, cook, and clean up. The older boys teach the youngers. My DS was so proud to come home from his first campout and prepare a whole meal for us.

 

The adults in scouts are there to ensure that no one gets seriously injured or killed :) As a leader, I'll keep on eye out to make sure that the patrol leaders are assigning tasks fairly and that no one is pouring lighter fluid on the fire, but otherwise I try to let them do what they are supposed to do - learn leadership and responsibility skills. (Sometimes, they will have an actual cooking question, like how long to cook something, but usually they figure this out themselves.)

 

Yes, the adults make their own meals, and they may be elaborate. When you say "amuse themselves by spending their supervisory time that way", you sound like you are being snarky. In a well-run troop with some senior boys, the supervisory needs are actually pretty minimal. We occasionally take the first years out by themselves, and then the adults spend more time on instruction. I sometimes joke that if the scouts all had SUVs and licenses, they wouldn't need us at all.

[Lady Marmalade]

Definitely the all-day-cooked-over-the-fire scenario.

 

We go camping to relax, spend time with family and eat very well.  We are tent campers and have quite the camp kitchen set up.  If DH is along, he'll slow cook/smoke ribs or a roast over the fire all afternoon while the kids are at the beach.

 

Breakfast is usually granola bars and fruit, because it's quick and easy, and we're light breakfast eaters.  But we'll usually do your typical camp food for lunch (burgers, hot dogs) and then have a ton of fun with the evening meal.  My favorite thing ever to do over the fire is a boneless leg of lamb. 

 

We've done sides of salmon, fajitas, roasts, chops, steaks, pizzas, kebabs, stews, you name it, we've probably tried cooking it over the fire.  It's our favorite part about camping.  :)  When we're not cooking I'm reading a book, casting a fishing line, or sitting at the beach with a beverage and a book.   If it's berry season I'll happily spend an afternoon hunting wild berries and then plan to make a crumble over the fire with them.  

 

We camp at national and state parts (rustic), and once we went on a camp out with friends who were not like-minded about the food.  It exhausted me.  They were constantly filling the days with all kinds of activities, and then the food was a total afterthought - quick hot dogs heated up in the microwave, for example.   That's just not my kind of camping. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I'm thinking this summer coming up to rent a cabin that has a fridge so I have more food options.  LOL

 

 

[bolt.]

I don't prepare much at home except pancake mix (because mine is better than store-bought) and whipped butter (so it can stay in the fridge). Since I will be out so long, I just naturally have the mindset of working from groceries.

 

Similar to another person above, my fruit and veggies are eaten strictly from most fragile to most robust.

[KrissiK]

We don't camp much but I'm on the easy spectrum. Pancakes and bacon on the same griddle for breakfast (nothing like pancakes cooked in bacon grease), sandwiches for lunch and hot dogs for dinner. We also don't camp long. Basically overnight, because I hate camping with little kids. And we do eat a lot of junk food, too!

[poppy]

Not weird at all. By the time they are old enough to be in Boy Scouts, the boys plan their own meals as a patrol using nutrition guidelines, shop for food (having to stick to a budget), set up their own cook area, cook, and clean up. The older boys teach the youngers. My DS was so proud to come home from his first campout and prepare a whole meal for us.

 

The adults in scouts are there to ensure that no one gets seriously injured or killed :) As a leader, I'll keep on eye out to make sure that the patrol leaders are assigning tasks fairly and that no one is pouring lighter fluid on the fire, but otherwise I try to let them do what they are supposed to do - learn leadership and responsibility skills. (Sometimes, they will have an actual cooking question, like how long to cook something, but usually they figure this out themselves.)

 

Yes, the adults make their own meals, and they may be elaborate. When you say "amuse themselves by spending their supervisory time that way", you sound like you are being snarky. In a well-run troop with some senior boys, the supervisory needs are actually pretty minimal. We occasionally take the first years out by themselves, and then the adults spend more time on instruction. I sometimes joke that if the scouts all had SUVs and licenses, they wouldn't need us at all.

 

 

Not being snarky at all. I am a Girl Scout leader. 

I have heard stories of Scouts (boy and girl) whose parents do all the packing, carrying, prep, work at camp ........ I think it should be the reverse! Unless you are dealing with little kids, adult (required) work at a scout event should be minimal.

[poppy]

Definitely the all-day-cooked-over-the-fire scenario.

 

We go camping to relax, spend time with family and eat very well.  We are tent campers and have quite the camp kitchen set up.  If DH is along, he'll slow cook/smoke ribs or a roast over the fire all afternoon while the kids are at the beach.

 

Breakfast is usually granola bars and fruit, because it's quick and easy, and we're light breakfast eaters.  But we'll usually do your typical camp food for lunch (burgers, hot dogs) and then have a ton of fun with the evening meal.  My favorite thing ever to do over the fire is a boneless leg of lamb. 

 

We've done sides of salmon, fajitas, roasts, chops, steaks, pizzas, kebabs, stews, you name it, we've probably tried cooking it over the fire.  It's our favorite part about camping.   :)  When we're not cooking I'm reading a book, casting a fishing line, or sitting at the beach with a beverage and a book.   If it's berry season I'll happily spend an afternoon hunting wild berries and then plan to make a crumble over the fire with them.  

 

We camp at national and state parts (rustic), and once we went on a camp out with friends who were not like-minded about the food.  It exhausted me.  They were constantly filling the days with all kinds of activities, and then the food was a total afterthought - quick hot dogs heated up in the microwave, for example.   That's just not my kind of camping. 

 

You should go with my friends, you'd be peas in a pod!

 

Anyone who has a microwave camping is doing it wrong, IMO.

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

 

 

Anyone who has a microwave camping is doing it wrong, IMO.

 

 

Hah yeah that's a bit much.

 

I like grilled food and sitting outside to eat.  So there is that...

 

I hate paper plates though.  Hard to get around that with camping because I also don't want to have to wash a bunch of dishes. 

[bolt.]

My parents winter camped with a tiny van-motorhome. They would park at a spot with winter plug ins (usually for block heaters) but plug into power, microwave their supper for 3 minutes, eat it, and drive away. They found that regular cooking really dampened the interior air, making for chilly sleeping and lots of condensation on everything (and frozen condensation). So, I think I make a microwave exception for them... They are hardcore!