Our outdoor adventures have exposed us to a number of situations from no-cooking to campfire kitchens, to backpacking stoves. This article will talk a little bit about my favorite camp food staples while traveling and experiencing the outdoors.  I have unique opinions in part due to the various dietary preferences I have explored over time, including veganism, vegetarian, whole foods plant-based, and the true omnivore experience. In this article, I will discuss some of the most simple foods I eat on the trail, on the go, or in the queue for the Sistine Chapel.

No Heat, No Water, No Assembly

Super non-processed, potentially not packaged

When searching for whole food, plant-based options, of course nature has several offerings. Nuts are a delicious, easily packable, energy dense option. I have found pistachios are a delightful snack when on the trail–just be sure to collect your shells. Oranges are an excellent camp food as they tend to stand up to crushing and jostling better than many other fruits. Carrots can be heavy, but are usually hardy when traveling and resist bruising and are less susceptible to temperature changes. I have typically eaten an apple a day when not traveling and sometimes I will attempt to gently transport one in my mesh bottle pocket, hoping for minimal bruising. The truth is I have attempted to search out bars for their ability to stand up to weather and packing, and over time I have just searched harder for the most plant-based bars possible.

Bars

Granola, protein and snack bars are a classic camp food. In terms of bars, I have gone through phases with three of the major bar brands including: Cliff, Luna Bar, and Larabars. I know some of you out there have your own homemade bar recipes and I would love for you to share them with us in the comments.

Luna Bars

When I first began cycling, I picked up a bar habit with Luna Bars. I enjoyed a half a bar at the top of Iroquois Park every Saturday with the local bike club’s Saturday morning ride. My favorites were Nuts Over Chocolate, but I would often share a Lemon with my husband. This brief break came near lunch time, and the 180 calories (or so), and crunchiness of the bars were just filling enough to finish the last 20 miles or so. One of the biggest drawbacks for me were that they easily melted in my pockets. The Luna Bars tasted good, and were excusable when exercising, but they just didn’t seem nutritious enough to eat when I wasn’t about to immediately burn them off.

Cliff Bars

I have typically reserved Cliff bars for meals. They are a go-to breakfast camp food when backpacking, and an on-the-go lunch when visiting national parks, Disney Paris, or even at work. I still enjoy Cliff bars, and I still consider them a small meal. I’ve just picked up a box of Crunchy Peanut Butter for my upcoming camping trip to Chattanooga, TN.

Larabars

A few years back, I tried a Larabar. I believe I tested the Apple Pie. In contrast to the sweet Luna Bars, I found the taste ruled them out of my repertoire. Which was disappointing at the time because I really appreciated the calorie count and straightforward ingredients.

Fast forward a few years to 2017 when I began to pursue a Whole Foods Plant Based diet. Larabar uses four very recognizable plant-based ingredients in several flavors. For instance the Peanut Butter Cookie bars contain dates, peanuts, and sea salt. I gave the bars a second chance and I realized many of them are quite delicious. I now eat them when I want a snack, or to help boost a breakfast or a lunch. They aren’t as sweet as the Luna bars I previously preferred, as they are missing the chocolate dip accompanying most Luna bars. As my overall diet changed, I suppose my palate did as well. I’m excited to try the Mint Chip Brownie flavor this weekend on the trail.

Chews

In situations where one hand may be holding a leash or steering my bike and quick fuel is needed, chews are a great option. When cycling, especially road cycling, I typically enjoy Skratch chews. I prefer the orange flavor. They are chewy, sweet and salty, and they don’t stick in my teeth or require me to drink half my water to wash them down. I believe they have prevented cramps on longer rides, curbed my hunger, and seemed like a treat rewarding the previous hills and miles. While I cannot truly confirm these are vegan, they are free of gelatin (a culprit which often renders otherwise vegetarian food off-limits). They likely do not count as a “whole food,” but that being said, I recognized and can pronounce each and ever single of listed ingredient.

Waffles

When I do not have the chews, I often opt for Honey Stinger Waffles. These are another “treat” food I use for a bit of a burst of energy or to tide me over until the post ride meals. One “con” of this food is they crush fairly easily. The “pros” are easy- they taste eerily close to the Stroop Waffles enjoyed in Amsterdam on our Europe trip, they are low profile, so they do not bulk out any pockets. There are flavors (including salted caramel) which are offered in gluten-free options. In addition, other Honey Stinger waffles are noted to be organic. While they appear to be vegetarian at first glance, they are not vegan, as they contain milk and eggs.

Assembly Required

Our go to camp food for lunch is a tortilla peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Occasionally we mix it up and switch out for single serve packs of Nutella. We enjoy mission fajita size tortilla. The mission tortilla are soft and seem to hold up well in a backpack. They have always tasted good on the trail, even if they’ve been traveling for five days. We enjoy individual packets of Justin’s peanut butter, or Justin’s almond butter, or Jiff single packs. We often use individual jellies, such as Smucker’s. Often, we use small packets we’ve saved from meals out. I distinctly remember eating tortilla Pb&J in Yosemite on the way to Half Dome (and it was a beautiful, delicious lunch). At times I would pack string cheese, pistachios, or dried fruit as accompaniments.

Minimal Cooking

Just Add Boiling Water

During winter months, warmth is a key factor in choosing a camp food. We use our Optimus backpacking stove when we go backpacking. When in a hurry we boil water and eat Instant Lunch (ramen contained in a styrofoam cup), Oatmeal, or dehydrated meals. Of course, Mountain House is a go-to for hikers and backpackers all over. I have grown to love both Backpacker’s Pantry and Alpine Aire. Mountain House offers a few vegetarian options, Backpacker’s Pantry offers a few more with dishes I enjoy at home. Alpine Aire also offers some vegan varieties.

A Few Food Fails

Like all things when traveling, or backpacking, we have run into a few failures. We’ve brought along cans of tuna or chicken intending to eat them right out of the can only to realize we had forgotten our trusty p-38 can opener.  I have ruin into a few Alpine Aire which required cooking in the pan. This was clearly my fault for not reading closely enough before packing my food, but just a head’s up, they have non-pour, zip and wait options. We have poured boiling water into Easy Mac containers only to be met with very crunchy inedible noodles. It turns out Easy Mac really is a microwave food, not a handy camp food.

In a future article we will talk more about some of our favorite meals requiring dishes and utensils, and perhaps a few more fails.

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