By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

It’s a November afternoon so even though it’s only 5 pm, the sun has set and it’s getting dark. We arrive at our campground for the night. Hungry from a day spent hiking, we want something more than the trail mix and fruit we had for lunch. With headlamps on, we light the camping stove and get ready for a quick dinner. In less than 15 minutes, we’re enjoying curried chickpeas and couscous with a side of carrot sticks (peanut butter optional).

My husband and I recently rediscovered the joys of camping. We’re car campers so don’t have to worry about the weight of ingredients. Since we’re often far from grocery stores, we bring all our food with us. We rely on an ice chest to keep food cool the first day or two. After that, if the weather is hot, we rely on canned vegetables. In cooler weather we bring vegetables that will keep even without refrigeration including cabbage, carrots, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and tomatoes. Ideally, if we were gone for more than a few days, we’d restock with fresh vegetables and bread.

Since we’re already heating up the stove in the morning to make tea, we have hot water for oatmeal for breakfast. We’ve found that bagels last several days and are good for breakfast or lunch with nut butter.  Homemade muffins (make before trip) also last for several days and are good for breakfast and snacks. Cold cereal and granola are other breakfast possibilities. We bring individual aseptic packages of soymilk or other plant milk since we’re not able to refrigerate them after opening. Leftovers from the night before also make a fine breakfast.

Lunch and snacks are packed up and ready to eat on the road or trail. We don’t want to spend time cooking mid-day, so we usually have a food bag that goes in the car with nuts, dried fruit, crackers, crispbread, fresh fruit, peanut butter pretzels, and cookies from home. We may tuck in a jar of nut butter to spread on fruit and crackers or reconstitute a powdered refried bean spread in the morning and bring it with us.

I do some prep before our trip to make dinners simpler. I measure and package the amount of lentils, pasta, or couscous that we’ll need for a meal, so we’ll know how much water is needed. I also make spice mixtures ahead of time and put ingredients like cooking oil or soy sauce into a smaller container.

Here are 5 simple dinners we’ve enjoyed.

Ramen Noodle Soup with TVP and Marinated Cabbage Salad: I start the cabbage salad before doing anything else. The cabbage is finely shredded using a sharp knife and tossed with a mixture of olive oil, onion powder, dill, salt, and pepper I brought from home. Squeeze the juice from a fresh lemon over the mixture, toss and let stand while making the soup. For the soup, bring water to a boil and add a couple of packages of ramen noodles, some dry TVP, a small can of mushrooms (drained), and a can of water chestnuts (drained). Cook until the noodles are tender. I try to find lower sodium ramen and even then, find that half a packet of seasoning is plenty even for a couple of packages of noodles.

Italian Stew: Combine a can of drained white beans; a couple of potatoes, diced; a couple of zucchinis, sliced; and a can of diced tomatoes. Stir in a seasoning mix brought from home that includes oregano, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Nutritional yeast can be added for a cheesy flavor. Cook until potatoes and zucchinis are tender, adding water as needed to prevent sticking. Serve with whole grain crackers.

Curried Chickpeas and Couscous: Start by cooking the couscous. Put instant whole-wheat couscous in a heat-proof bowl. Heat a pot of water to boiling. Add boiling water to the couscous, using a ratio of 1-1/2 parts of water to 1 part of couscous. Cover the bowl of couscous with a plate or a towel and let stand while you make the chickpeas. You can use the same pot you used to make the couscous. Combine a small can of tomato sauce with a can of drained chickpeas, and some water. Stir in a spice mix from home that includes cumin, coriander, turmeric, and onion powder. If you’d like, finely diced potatoes can be added to the chickpea mixture. Cook, simmering gently until hot throughout and, if potatoes were added, until the potatoes are done. Serve over couscous.  

Pasta with Baked Beans: Begin boiling water. Once water is boiling, add small pasta of choice and cook, stirring frequently until pasta is done. Drain and add a can of vegetarian baked beans. Heat gently, adding a little water as needed to keep pasta from sticking. Carrot sticks are a nice addition to this meal.

Curried Red Lentils and Couscous: Before leaving home, combine 1 part red lentils with 1 part of instant whole-wheat couscous and some curry powder. At camp, bring 4 parts of water to a boil and add lentil mixture. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until lentils are done. Add water as needed to prevent sticking. Stir in a can of green beans or mixed vegetables, drained in the last few minutes of cooking. Season with salt and pepper to taste.