A camping trip will not be complete without a hearty food feast. There is something about the outdoor atmosphere that makes eating more pleasurable and the food more delicious. Planning the menu is important to ensure that you do not forget any necessary ingredient and that you do not spend the whole day preparing the food. Here are some things to consider when planning a camping menu to make the whole process easier and faster.
Preparation and Cooking Time
When planning for meals to cook for the trip, consider the preparation and cooking time of each recipe. Choose dishes that are easy to cook and prepare. Pick a recipe that requires few cooking equipment as well as simple ingredients that won't easily spoil.
As you know, if you're going to cook in the campsite, you won't have the usual cooking equipment that you have in your kitchen. It is best to stay away from elaborate meals that would entail baking or any other complex cooking procedure. Simple boiling, broiling, and grilling are practical cooking methods to do during the trip.
To make things a whole lot easier, prepare the ingredients back at home. Cut, chop, and slice vegetables and other ingredients and put them with labeled Ziploc bags. As for the meat, poultry, and fish, you can pre-cook them at home and then freeze them and store in the chest coolers so that it would take a shorter time to cook them at the campground.
Safety
It was mentioned earlier that it's important to select ingredients that don't easily get spoiled. In the campground, you won't have a refrigerator and freezer where you can store foods without worry of spoilage. Here, the best thing you have are camping coolers that can keep your food fresh as long as they are packed with sufficient ice. This means, it is smart for you to choose dishes that don't easily get spoiled.
Apart from this, you have to keep the camping coolers in a shaded area so that ice won't melt easily. Don't put them at the trunk of car where it can be exposed to heat. It would also help to wrap a blanket around the cooler to help preserve the ice.
Organize the food in one cooler in such a way that the food you're going to cook first will be on top. The perishable items should also go at the bottom. A separate cooler should be used for the snacks and drinks, as this will be opened more frequently.
Food Preferences
Aside from safety and cooking time, you also need to consider the food preferences of the people you're going camping with. It would be nice if you get their opinion on what they would want to eat during the trip to assure that everyone will enjoy the food feast you're going to prepare. Aside from preferences, you should also find out if anybody has food allergies so you can stay away from those dishes that can make your fellow camper's skin burst with red spots.
Preparing the menu for your trip will make things easier for you. Not only that, it will also help ensure that everybody will enjoy the scrumptious dishes you're planning to prepare for them.
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