Cold Campsite Food

[lauren1704]

Hey guys, trying to figure out what to bring to save a couple bucks and eat at my campsite instead of paying $7/meal to eat inside. We decided to forego the grill this time around and I was wondering what to pack the cooler with for quick/easy options @ camp. Was thinking along the lines of PB&J, chix salad, etc etc. Anyone have recs? Thanks much and see you this weekend

[terpklein]

hey my friends and I are doing the exact same thing. we were thinking tons of fresh fruit (grapes, blueberries, raspberries, apples, nanners, dates) and milk, yogurt, and cereal for breakfast (you can find pasteurized milk that doesn't need to be refrigerated) and then pb/j for lunch and snack bars and cookies. we'll probably end up buying dinners from vendors tho.

[jimbo02816]

That's fine lauren but consider that many people that have grills will share the grill with you, me included. I'm bringing more food than my son and I could possibly eat. You want a burger, follow the scent to my site!!

[moondancer]

Deli meats and cheese are great for sandwiches. We're bringing roast beef, bologna, cheese, fruits, chips, crackers, breakfast bars, something for the sweet tooth, and who knows what else.

[pimpmcgeorge]

Beef jerky is usually nice to have around, although it never last beyond the first day among my group

[tameone]

high calorie snack type foods are good. Jerky, trail mix/nuts, granola/powerbar/breakfast bars, etc.

[tommacco]

found great success with home-made pasta salad (favorite recipe is pasta, italian dressing, pepperoni, bacon, cheese, tomatoes, carrots) since it keeps well in the coolers

deli meats and cheese are great as well but try to double or triple bag them or keep 'em in a water-tight container cause once the melted ice gets 'em they're worthless. i've had great success bringing pre-cooked bacon in, it stays tasty for days

pb+j/fluff/nutella are great options. poptarts for breakfast [highly recommend the chocolate chip cookie dough] bagels work well too, might pass up sliced bread for bagels altogether at this one, and cream cheese will stay good if you get ice every day. if you like wraps there are some good options there too.

veggies/chips and dip are a nice light meal or snack.

cold pizza is incredible.

Jun 28, 2010 9:06:01 GMT -5 lauren1704 said:

Hey guys, trying to figure out what to bring to save a couple bucks and eat at my campsite instead of paying $7/meal to eat inside. We decided to forego the grill this time around and I was wondering what to pack the cooler with for quick/easy options @ camp. Was thinking along the lines of PB&J, chix salad, etc etc. Anyone have recs? Thanks much and see you this weekend

[tommacco]

Jun 28, 2010 9:26:07 GMT -5 terpklein said:

hey my friends and I are doing the exact same thing. we were thinking tons of fresh fruit (grapes, blueberries, raspberries, apples, nanners, dates) and milk, yogurt, and cereal for breakfast (you can find pasteurized milk that doesn't need to be refrigerated) and then pb/j for lunch and snack bars and cookies. we'll probably end up buying dinners from vendors tho.

fruits are an awesome treat but some of them go bad in a cooler within a day or two, gotta be careful, they also tend to be pretty expensive.

also, i've never done this personally but i know you can get evaporated milk in a can and dilute it with water 1:1 or however you want if you're worried about having milk spoiling/spilling in your cooler.

there's always military rations too

[liveyoursong]

One of my favorite festival foods to take is chicken breast strips (pre-cooked at home), throw 'em in a large tortiller with baged salad mix, shredded cheese & dressing. Items store easily and go together quickly.

[djinnandjuice]

Jun 28, 2010 9:26:07 GMT -5 terpklein said:

hey my friends and I are doing the exact same thing. we were thinking tons of fresh fruit (grapes, blueberries, raspberries, apples, nanners, dates) and milk, yogurt, and cereal for breakfast (you can find pasteurized milk that doesn't need to be refrigerated) and then pb/j for lunch and snack bars and cookies. we'll probably end up buying dinners from vendors tho.

you can get parmalat, it's basically refrigeration free milk...I know for sure Walm artsells it...fruits are a good way to go, basically any kind of cold cut can be kept safe as long as you keep your cooler cold...cooked meats, I think someone mentioned chicken strips, are awesome...jerky meat...all sorts of goodies...like someone else said, too, you can bring other stuff and almost guaranteed someone will let you use a grill

[maineskier69]

Get some wraps. Precook your meats (if you do meats) and have the toppings prebagged and ready to go. Roll them fat, I like it like that.

[sarahsunshine]

Instead of bringing sandwich meat, lettuce, etc. and worrying about it getting wet, premake some wraps and wrap them in tin foil.

[tommacco]

Jun 29, 2010 8:17:31 GMT -5 sarahsunshine said:

Instead of bringing sandwich meat, lettuce, etc. and worrying about it getting wet, premake some wraps and wrap them in tin foil.

and then make sure they don't get wet. only thing worse than sandwich meat that's been chilling in stagnant water for 3 days is wraps you spent time making that have been chilling in stagnant water for 3 days

[moondancer]

I usually put my lunch meat and such in a sealed container to prevent the whole sitting in stagnant water for three days thing. It works!! And drain the water out every so often too.

[tommacco]

yeh its not hard to keep things from getting wet. anything that water might seep into just keep on top, keep your beers and anything water tight on the bottom.

[shadygrove]

I make pasta salad, potato salad, and mix up tuna. I put them all in the slider seal type ziplock bags, and double bag just to be safe. Never had a problem. I also bring sharp cheese and crackers, granola bars, and fun size candy bars in the cooler for dessert. Saves a lot of money and is super easy to make up food late late late at night when we finnally get around to it.