Food MUST's for Camping

My first time backpacking I brought beef jerky, granola bars, trail mix, a box of beans, and a bunch of those dehydrated meals. I thought I did good. The first day we hiked to base camp, I snacked on the jerky, trail mix, and a friends bag of gummy bears. That night I opened a dehydrated bag of spaghetti added the boiling water and ate it. Wasn't too bad. Although now, I wish I had brought a bag of noodles with seasoning instead. The next morning I opened another dehydrated meal, scrambled eggs. After breakfast I spent the day exploring and snacked on granola bars by night I was excited to try the dehydrated chili. I took one bite and couldn't stomach it. Everyone else who ate dehydrated meals was fine. But I couldn't do it, within moments my stomach had done a full 180 from being happy to infuriated. I decided not to eat. I would stick to the granola, which was all I had left besides a box of beans and the dehydrated meals. I couldn't sleep, and the next morning the group woke up at 430am to start our hike up two 14ers. I needed fuel for this hike so I grabbed granola and took a bite. My body wasn't having it so I put it in my pocket for later. The first 14er was intense, most people turned around, but a good amount of us ready to push ourselves farther kept going to head up to the second peak. Here is a picture of me at the first peak. I look pretty happy, with plenty of color in my face.

With not being able to stomach anything, by the second peak, you can tell I am beat. Here I am at the second peak.

The hike that day was 14 hours ± long. The only food I had left was the box of beans, which I opened at base camp. Best box of beans I have ever had. This backpacking trip was probably the most intense trip I have ever been on. I only had 2 bottles of water (should have brought a camel pack), and the day that I needed the most fuel I refused everything but water.  But from this trip it got me to thinking about bringing better selection of healthier and wholesome foods that I could eat and wouldn’t tie my tummy into a knot.

Here are my TOP camping foods that are a huge must for me.

1)     Can of LENTIL SOUP.  You can either carry the can in your backpack, or for weight purposes, put it in a zip lock and freeze it. I usually carry the can so I can just put it next to the fire to cook it in the can. Just be careful when you remove it. Also it can be used as a bowl later.

2)     Bag of TUNA or SALMON. These pouches don't need to be kept cold and don't go bad for a really long time. They also provide a great source of protein.

3)     MAYO, MUSTARD, KETCHUP packets. Next time you have a chance at the grocery store in the prepared meal section grab some. They are free and can be mixed with the tuna or other foods you might bring to add flavor. OR you can always run into a chick-fil-A or McD’s.

4)     Mini SALT and PEPPER packets or mini shakers. Or fill a zip lock of your favorite seasoning. If you’re like me and like to catch your own fish in the wild, adding a little seasoning to your fish will go a long way.

5)     GRANOLA BARS. Just watch out for the ones with high sugars. Its recommended nor more than 24g of sugar for the entire day (or 25% of your diet ideally should be less)! Or you can make your own a day before your trip. For a recipe for home made granola bars click on my Recipes tab.

6)     FRESH PRODUCE. Basically anything that isn’t being refrigerated in the produce section you can bring. For weight purposes I only bring 1-2 apples or oranges. Or even a tomato.

7)     CRACKERS I’ve been hooked on seeded crackers lately. They are good alone or with Tuna.

8)     Vitamin B Gummies They taste good and provide energy. Most of them aren’t too high in sugar.

9)     Trail Mix My favorite, is to go into the grocery store and fill little bags of different nuts, dried fruit, sesame stix, and dark chocolate. Then when I get home I mix all of them together to make the ultimate trail mix with all my favorite goodies.

10) Protein Powder These is probably the easiest to bring camping. It takes up no space, doesn't weight anything, and all you really have to do is mix with water. If you get a protein powder that tastes good with water, and has carbohydrates as well as vitamins, you basically have a quick meal with everything you need. Easy for quick on the go day hikes. You can even mix with oatmeal as well.

11)   Oatmeal or Quinoa Flakes Eating dehydrated eggs is not satisfying. So as I ate these dehydrated eggs I thought to myself, what else could I possibly eat for breakfast that also supplies energy an protein? Well duh, oatmeal or quinoa flakes. I personally like quinoa flakes better. They cook in the same amount of time, they provide the body with energy and quinoa actually has essential amino acids that make up a chain of protein. More than any other grain. Booyah!