Preparing Food for Gluten Free Camping
We usually think of camping in the summertime, but camping in the fall can be even better! With fewer crowds, cooler weather, and the changing fall leaves, you can't go wrong with getting to sleep outdoors in the fall when you're camping.
Like other travel plans, you'll need to strategize your food. What kind of food will you eat? How much will you have to make ahead of time before you go camping? It rarely fails that I bring way too much food with me camping. So make sure to know the amounts of food you'll need before you set out on your outdoor adventure.
Erika Lenkert from GFF Magazine shared with me on Episode #86 how she preps for gluten-free camping. We chatted about marinades, pre-made meals, and how to cook while camping without much fuss!
It’s a great time of year to go camping, so whip out these tips and tricks and enjoy your feast while you take a break from the usual hustle!
Using Premade Gluten Free Camping Meals
"When I go camping, I'm a really lazy food person and I like premade camping meals that have 18 gazillion grams of salt,” Erika says. “However, when I usually camp it's usually in Utah and I'm sweating all day, so the salt is replacing the salt I lost when hiking. But I know there's definitely better ways to make camping food than to buy the premade camping stuff, which is not horrible.” Erika shares her camping food favorites with us that aren't the freeze-dried variety.
"My daughter and I go camping every summer and Yosemite, it's our jam and it's something we look forward to. I have camping food down to a bit of a science, where we've looked forward to doing kind of the same things every year. During the day it's great to have cold cuts, fruit and chips, sandwich makings and tuna fish in sealable individual packages. Simple eats like that."
Erika has a process for her camping prep for food: "What I do before I leave is I make a bolognese sauce, the recipe is on our website, and then I freeze it and then I put it in the cooler with some ice. Then, I take my favorite pasta which is Jovial and I'll boil up some pasta and then add bolognese and then we have pasta that is awesome for camping. It's hearty and feels like the right thing to eat at night."
We both agree that you just want to eat when you've been hiking all day. "I always used to say that everything tastes good when you're camping, even if your pasta is super gummy, you're like, I don't care."
She says that making a sauce in advance is really helpful. You have to boil and make some pasta, strain it, heat up the sauce, and you're done. "I usually add a side salad with that and I'll make salad dressing beforehand and just have it in a little jar. You won't don't want to bring lettuce." Make sure to prepare the salad and use it on the first night of camping. Plan to eat the foods that will spoil quicker first when camping.
Marinating Gluten Free Camping Food
Marinating is a big part of Erika's camping plan as well. "The other thing I do is marinate chicken in a double sealed Ziploc. I have a peanut butter chicken recipe that's phenomenal and ribs recipes that are phenomenal! You marinate them, put them in your cooler, and you pull them out. Throw them on a grill and that's that. Add some corn, as this is an easy addition as corn doesn't need to be refrigerated. You just bring them up and you can grill them or throw them in some water and boil them."
Apparently, we are both burger lovers and appreciate a good burger bun. My personal favorites are Kinnikinnick, Canyon Bakehouse, and Franz burger buns. They are incredibly fluffy and provide a fantastic texture to put your delicious campfire burger on top.
Purchase Gluten Free Food From Produce Stands
If you're taking a road trip to your camping ground, consider buying food from produce stands. There are so many great organic produce stands in many states. Pick up produce along the way - your fruits and veggies will keep in your car just fine during the cooler fall weather. If you're in bear country, place your food in a bear-proof locker. They're clever and extremely strong. I've seen pictures of bears peeled down the windows of cars to get to a granola wrapper.
Gluten-Free Granola for Camp Breakfast
No camping excursion would be complete without granola. "I have this granola recipe that's on GFF mag.com that is truly one of my greatest obsessions. Granola is really expensive when you buy it and it's really delicious. The recipe that I have is from a James Beard nominated chef out of San Francisco. She has a bakery in Hayes Valley that is out of this world and she's a pastry chef and half of her stuff is secretly gluten-free because she's gluten intolerant. She's made this granola recipe that contains maple syrup, toasted coconut, almond slivers, maple glazed cocoa nibs. There's no way to describe how spectacular it is, but if you make it one time, it'll be the gift you give everyone at Christmas!"
We also agree on a quick and easy breakfast so you can get on with your adventure for the day. "For breakfast, I like having a quick, easy breakfast of cold cereal and milk. Hot chocolate is always good too! I don't do big huge camping breakfasts like eggs and bacon because we want to go and do a big hike for the day."
I agree because I usually grab a protein drink, drink it in two and a half seconds, and I'm ready to go! I love premade protein drinks for camping because you don't have to keep them cold, so they aren't using up precious freezer space in your car. Besides my protein drink, I also love a good cup of hot tea to warm me up if it's cold in the morning.
When you're done with your big hike and you've eaten dinner, the following food priority is to have a good gluten-free graham cracker. Kinnikinnick makes an excellent gluten-free graham cracker. Erika says, "I have those in my drawer right now, they're on tap for me."
When it comes down to smores, Erika emphasizes, "I can fully appreciate as a kid that there's probably nothing more miserable than being the one that does not get to make smores. It's just not fair. So I'm always at the ready with gluten-free graham crackers."
Remember, when you’re camping, you can also choose foods that are add-water. These can actually be good to eat and flavorful! Check out my blog on the different types of pre-made camping food where you just have to add water to find out more about these brands.
Find out more about how to safely travel gluten-free travel with my complimentary ebook, the Ten Tips for Traveling Gluten Free! You can also find out more details about how to travel via cruise, road trip, or camping and learn the freedom you can have when you know how to travel with Celiac disease when you grab my Guide to Traveling Gluten Free.