PART 2: Gluten Free Meal Planning and Cooking while Camping

Gluten Free Meal Planning and Cooking while Camping

 

 

I will spare you the stories about all the meals we made but this one was a winner.  Stay tuned for menu after the cool story.

I have to say I was pretty proud of myself on the first day of camping.  It was my mother-in-law's birthday and had planned to keep the dinner meal simple, yet fun. 

What I have failed to mention thus far is that we borrowed my mom's Lazy Daze RV for this trip and, yes, I was going cook some frozen pizzas in the RV oven.  I know, I know, not exactly roughing it.  But hey, I served my time sleeping on the forest floor under the stars and can easily go back there, but for now, with a toddler and a preschooler, I gladly accept the offer of an enclosed environment with a fridge, and stove, and oven... and the possibility of a heater.  We didn't use it!

Okay, back to proudest camping moment.  Dave Bee and his mom took the kids for a walk after the long 5+ hour drive while I stayed back to get dinner going. I anticipated cranking on the oven and popping in the pizzas for warm goodness when they returned.  Let's just say I was glad they took a long walk. 

After finding and perusing the oven manual and many failed attempts to light the pilot... the pizzas were still slowly defrosting on the counter. Boo!

I decided to open a bottle of wine to help me think the situation through...

After a few thoughtful moments I had a grand idea:  make a fire, work it down to coals, and cook the pizza on top of the attached grill.  Easy, right?  Even after being an avid camper and backpacker I was nervous about the building of the fire.  After paper bags, twigs, and small logs all perched precariously like a teepee we had a FIRE!!

 

The very cool "twisty" grill (that's the technical term for it, I'm sure) allowed me to prep the pizza on the foil and then move it around to the hotter part of the coal bed.

 

 

 By the time the crew arrived back we had crispy-bottom, melty-topped pizza.  We ate and washed it down with some more wine and birthday cake!  Cheers!

 

Menu

 

Dinners

Day 1: Wood-fired Pizza!

 

1 - Gluten-Free frozen pizza (I took a Trader Joe's cheese and rice crust pizza)

1 - Regular crust frozen pizza

 

1 - Bottle of Pinot Noir

 

Note: The bonus to doing frozen pizza the first night is that you don't have to keep it frozen for the entire trip and it is SUPER easy!!

 

Day 2: Loaded Baked Potato

 

1 - large russet potato for each person (2 if you hiked that day!): Cover in foil and cook on campfire grill

1 - butter

1 - onion, chopped (we brought one giant white onion and used some of it here)

1 - oz. cheddar cheese per person

1 - head of broccoli (the more the merrier as it is the only greenery for this meal)

Crumbled bacon (We actually didn't do this but wished we had. Cook some extra at breakfast and save for dinner!)

 

1 - Bottle of Chardonnay

 

Day 3: Chili dogs

The recipe here is pretty universal.  I just eliminate the bun to make it gluten-free. Also, beware of chili with gluten ingredients. Lastly, I look for hotdogs that aren't full of crap but still taste like they are. My brother and The Bear will attest, there is just something about hotdogs while you are camping (in their case, or any time!).

 

1 - Angry Orchard Cider (mmmm)

 

Day 4: Mac n' cheese and peas

(See my previous post for recipe)

 

1 - bottle of Pinot Grigio

 

Day 5: Nachos (fish tacos)

So, the story here is that we always plan for fish tacos because we always fish while camping.   The funny part is that it was The Bear's first time fishing AND he was the only one who caught a fish!  It just happened to be pretty small.  Instead of fish tacos we made nachos and pretty much threw all of our leftovers on tortilla chips and called it a day. 

 

I am sure we drank away our no-fish-taco sorrows but I just can't remember what it was we drank... most likely leftovers.

 

 

 

 Lunch

 

Our lunches were not the most extravagant but after a long swim even the most basic meals are delicious. Here is what we had most days:

 

• Sliced turkey/salami/cheese/hummus sandwiches* and added any extra veggies you have.
• Peanut butter and apple sandwiches*.  See recipe here:  http://californiafoodliteracy.org/2012/09/03/food-literacy-sandwich-sunflower-seed-butter-apple-sandwich/
• Apples, grapes, cheddar cheese crackers**

*Instead of whole grain bread I used rice tortillas!

**Instead of cheddar cheese crackers I ate kettle chips.. bummer. ;)

 

Nothing better than a PB & J after a high Sierra swim.

 

 

 Breakfast

 

Dave Bee and I decided to keep breakfast simple during this camping trip because, well, it was a vacation, which meant easy prep and easy clean-up.  This also meant no bacon. We came to terms with that and moved forward like vacation breakfast champs.

 

See some of our basic breakfasts below:

• Eggs various ways
• Oatmeal
• Leftover potatoes, cubed and cooked in frying pan with butter and spices
• Cereal (last day!) 

Some mornings Dave Bee and The Bear would go fishing in which case they packed a breakfast bar in with their powerbait!

 

 

When I met Dave Bee and we went on our first camping trip to some hippie hot spring outside of Redding, CA I learned what a list maker he was. We still laugh at the detail his lists contain {"sleeping bag: Em - 1 (she brings), Dave - 1}.  I will admit, his lists are part of the reason why our trips are so successful!  I should share them sometime!

 

Picture of Dave Bee and I when we first started dating and the lists began!

 

What are some of the crucial items on your family camping food lists? Any great campfire recipes?

 

Stay tuned for Part 3: Family Camping Must Haves of the Family Camping Blog Post Trilogy!!!