CAMPING FOOD/MEAL IDEAS
A few people often ask us what we eat when we're away in the van for a long time - often followed by 'you cant live on BBQ burgers and sausages the whole time surely?' – and the answer – specifically being vegetarian – is no. We don't.
Below I've written our top 5 tips for camping meal success as well as a 13 day meal plan, and shopping/packing list that we've used in the past.
Please note: We have an oven/grill in our van, a gas stove and a Cadec gas BBQ so some of these meals may not be doable for your particular set up. If you're in a tent, you can pick up a portable camping stove pretty easily, and if you're staying at a site with facilities - there may be an option of a kitchen - however, this is pretty rare in the UK.
We hope it inspires you to get cooking!
Disclaimer: We're vegetarian, so when we mention items such as 'bacon' or 'sausage' we mean vegetarian alternatives. I also have to limit my amount of Dairy and Gluten so a lot of these meals are made with GF or Dairy alternatives too!
OUR TOP 5 CAMPING MEAL TIPS
TOP TIP 1
Plan, decide and prep your meals in advance to make it easier. For example;
- Create something similar to the food plan table below
- Make a batch chilli/Spag bol in advance and freeze
- Pre chop onions/veg and put in a re useable container
TOP TIP 2
If you're away for a long time, or you don't have a lot of space, then a 'top up shop' may be required and we find planning this in with either our travel plans or daily itinerary works out best.
This is because as mentioned, we eat a lot of vegetarian/vegan and Gluten Free items which aren't always accessible in the local corner store on the outskirts of a village and so require a larger more 'mainstream' store like a Sainsbury's, Tesco or Asda which often results in us having to take a slight detour/longer route.
TOP TIP 3
Plan something easy for arrival day - aka warm it through on the van stove and 'voila' and same for the day you return home (although - we often treat ourselves to takeaway)
TOP TIP 4
Utilise local cuisines - fish and chip shop, pub grub on-site/short walk away
TOP TIP 5
Pack 'back up meals' something, quick and easy that can replace a meal disaster at short notice (ensure it has a good date on it, and ideally it's best if it's not needed to be re refrigerated).
OUR 13 DAY CAMPING MEAL PLAN
| DAY | Breakfast | Lunch | Tea/Dinner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrival day | N/A | Pack lunch in the car/ on a walk | Bean Chilli Nachos (quick and easy can do in van, don't need BBQ) |
| Day 1 | Crumpets | Sausage roll/pasties and baked beans | Stir fry (we have a wok option on our BBQ) |
| Day 2 | Toast - Jam, Marmalade, Chocolate spread, Marmite | Sandwiches, 'pork' pie, salad | Sausage', mash, Broccoli, carrots (SMASH potato for ease/speed occasionally) |
| Day 3 | Bacon'/'sausage' & egg cobs (aka rolls, barn cakes, whatever) | Pot noodle/Cup of soup/soup | Quorn Curry, Naan, Trimmings |
| Day 4 | BIG' breakfast - tomatoes, mushrooms, eggs, Bacon, Sausage, hash browns, fried bread | N/A | Chilli Rice |
| Day 5 | Cereal | Burgers and cheesy topped cobs | Sausage' casserole, veg and Yorkshire pudding |
| Day 6 | Fruit | Potato waffles & Baked Beans | Steak', potatoes & veg or salad |
| Day 7 | Breakfast biscuits | Burgers and cheesy topped cobs | Quorn Curry Wraps (fried tortilla wraps with curry, salad and sauce - recipe here) |
| Day 8 | Cereal | Beans on toast | Burgers' & Salad |
| Day 9 | Toast - Jam, Marmalade, Chocolate spread, Marmite | Chilli Dogs | Veg Fajitas & Grilled waffles |
| Day 10 | Crumpets | Grilled Toasties; Cheese, bean, tomatoes, olives, tika | Spag bol/Pasta |
| Day 11 | Kebab skewers/mixed grill & salad | ||
| Day 12 | Pizza (we have a pizza base add on for the BBQ) | ||
| Day 13 | Pack lunch in the car/ on a walk | Bubble and Squeak (any leftover veg from the trip - fried, with ketchup) |
BACK UP MEALS
| Back up meal 1 | Stuffed Tortellini pasta and grilled and garlic bread |
|---|---|
| Back up meal 2 | Pasty/'Sausage' roll & Baked Beans |
| Back up meal 3 | Sausage', Pasta Pesto - (great with mushrooms, but I can't eat them) |
| Shopping/Packing List |
|---|
Ready-made Chili
Ready-made Spag bol
Tea/Coffee
Hot Chocolate
Cordial
Fresh Juice
Rice/Oat milk
'Butter'
Ketchup
Salad cream
Salt & vinegar
Cereal
Cereal bars/GF biscuits
Crumpets
Bread
GF bread
Cobs/GF roll
GF wraps
GF pasta
GF stuffed Tortellini
GF Garlic Bread
Pasty/Sausage roll
Naan bread
Curry trimmings
Sandwich filler (Quron slices)
'Cheese'
'Pork' Pie
Apples, bananas, oranges
Olives
Baked beans
Smash
pot noodle/cupa soup
Micro rice
Curry Jar
Chickpea curry packet
Jar of Pesto
Jam/Marmalade
Crisps/mini cheddars
Chocolate
'Sausages'
'Steak' /'chicken breast' /'pork chop'
'Burgers'
'Bacon'
'eggs'
Stirfry kit
Broccoli
Carrots
Onions
Peppers
Mushrooms
lettuce
cucumber
tomatoes
tin/bag of new potatoes
If have a freezer
Quorn pieces
Yorkshire puddings
Potatoe waffles
We also pack a lot of snack items too, like crisps, mini cheddars/crackers, chocolate, malt loaf/cakes - anything thats great at soaking up the alcohol consumption ;) !
Written by Trish
Written by Trish
Written by Trish
Written by Trish
