Go To Grocerys for Camping -

Interested in car camping? Here’s a great van camping packing list created by Katie.

Hey, happy campers! Last week, a friend asked me what my favorite camping meals were. Like always, I came to Live Seasoned and searched ‘camping meals’ and was so surprised to see I hadn’t created a post with that information yet. What the heck? What am I doing with my time? Probably camping and eating honestly.

What makes a meal a camping meal? A few things. Meals meant for camp should have one, or better yet most of these attributes: few ingredients, easy to store, mostly nonperishable, easy to prepare, very little cleanup, and very little waste whether in the form of trash or compost.

While I don’t have the beef of this post created yet, I have the bones so today I share basically a shopping list of ingredients. I’ll start documenting the meals I make this season to add to this post later, but it’s pretty basic stuff.

If you want gourmet camp meals, this isn’t the post for you. Instead, I tried to get into the mindset of someone that is heading off on an adventure quite far from home. You’re headed to the grocery store nearest to the campground, you have a couple coolers and you’re going to buy some bags of ice, does that sound like you? Cool, here are some ideas:

Breakfast

Tea, hot cocoa, coffee
Oatmeal with toppings – raisins, craisins, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, brown sugar, apple slices, etc
Bagels + cream cheese
Breakfast sandwiches egg, cheese, ham, avocado

Lunch

Deli meat + cheese
Tuna packets
Mayo + mustard packets (you can usually snag these from the salad bar at the grocery store)
Pita bread
Bakery buns
Ramen

Dinner

Salt + pepper + olive oil/butter
Brats, kraut, mustard packets + buns
Fish foil packet – seasoned w mayo, lemon juice and herbs, veggies like zucchini and asparagus
Steak + baked potatoes, grilled onions, mushrooms
Marinate chicken with teriyaki or a southwestern rub, pair with rice and beans
Fancy grilled cheese or ham and cheese sandwiches – wrap in foil and heat them up on the grill over the fire

Snacks

Energy bars
Trail mix
Roasted soybeans or sunflower seeds
Beef jerky
Pickles, olives, okra (basically any pickled veggie)
Salsa + tortilla chips
Hummus + crackers
Carrots, peppers, celery aka some sturdy veggies to dip
Apples, oranges
Avocado
Nice chocolate bar
Smores stuff

Drinks

Huuuuge jug of water
Seltzer
Beer, wine, or some hard stuff + mixers
Gin + tonics are my campsite drink of choice

Packing for cooking at camp might seem overwhelming at first, but take a moment to write out your menu. Then think through how you would prepare everything from start to finish. As you’re doing this, jot down each ingredient and gadget you would use to prepare the food. Below is a starter list of what you’ll need, but you may need something that isn’t on the list like a can opener, pasta strainer, etc so definitely work through this exercise with your unique menu before you head out.

Campsite Starter Kitchen List

Rubbermaid container to keep all this shit (and the dry food) safe and organized
Little cooler
2 bowls
2 plates
Spoons, Forks, and Knives
Big tongs
bottle opener
Cloth napkins
Roll of paper towels
A trash bag or two
2 Cups/mugs
Sharp knives, chef and paring knife
Little cutting board
Tin foil
A couple ziplock bags
Dish soap, sponge, and one hand towel for drying

Lastly, unless you’re headed to the middle of absolutely nowhere, it’s okay to leave a few gaps on your grocery list. For instance, on our most recent trip to Tofino, we knew there would be a grocery store and we were hoping for a local fish market as well. We found both on day one and would visit the fish market each day to get a fresh filet for dinner later that night. This helped us to keep the cooler space open and to not have to worry about meat spoiling alongside our veggies and other food.