A question we get all the time from new burners: what do you eat?!
If you’re not equipped with a van or a fully-fledged camp cooking set-up, it can be a little intimidating to start planning meals. But fear not! I, as an extremely lazy camper, have a list of ideas for you on the lowest maintenance meals that I use as my go to.
BREAKFAST
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Fruit
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Croissants or muffins etc will last you the first couple of days
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Oats stacked with toppings - try Nutella and buckwheat chips, cinnamon and brown sugar, or peanut butter with nuts and seeds to make it *delicious*
NON-COOK LUNCH & DINNER
My go-to is reeeally stacked sandwiches - nice cheese, thick layer of hummus, some chutney, baby spinach, slices of cucumber/tomato/bell pepper, avocado, maybe some tinned tuna or similar if you eat meat.
NON-COOK SNACKS
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Baby food pouches
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Granola bars
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Chocolate
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Gummy lollies of some description
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Fruit, esp bananas cos you can get em green and they last well
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Crackers & cheese, chutney, grapes etc
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Crisps & dips
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Trail mix - good bumbag snack too
EASY COOK MEALS
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Noodles, but fry up some egg for on top
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Veggie stir fry and boil in a bag rice
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Cous cous with veg, chickpeas & tinned tomato
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Wraps
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Pasta
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Falafel mix (pre-made, just fry)
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Nachos - make with tinned tomato and beans + whatever veg is left + nacho chips + cheese/guac/salsa
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Risotto mixes in a packet can be good too, with optional veg
If you're organised, I recommend having a few frozen meals in their individual takeaway-style tupperware. They defrost over the first couple days while keeping the rest of your cooler cold; then reheated curries are great.
Bonus: Did you know you can make instant mashed potato and packet gravy and it's baaaasically KFC in a field?
A note on veg:
A quick google is easiest to figure out what keeps well unrefrigerated. I eat my bag of baby spinach at the start of the week, carrots go bad after a few days, but bell pepper keeps surprisingly well, for example. Then just eat according to what's going bad.
And a note on planning:
I personally tend to eat a snacky breakfast and then one main meal on a burn day - there's so much happening that I don't want to spend time in camp cooking and I’m often less hungry than usual when my sleep schedule is out of whack. Having some treats in your bag for when you get hungry in the evenings (jelly snakes or lollipops, whaddup) is always good for a quick top up if you’re gonna be dancing til the wee hours! Or you may find you’re hungrier than normal being out in the fresh air all day - it’s pretty individual. But as with all things radical self-reliance, it pays to be prepared rather than risk going hungry.
And hey, if all else fails - you can always sign up for volunteer shifts and be fed through the Volunteer Kitchen instead 😉
Written by Emma, our marvelous Volunteer Kitchen Lead.