Need a cheap good camping food menu for 150 Boys.?
Posted: August 22nd, 2010 | Author: Mitch | Filed under: Camping Recipes | Tags: refrigiration | 6 Comments »I need a menu for 150 boys. It needs to cheap, economical and appetising. We will have a permanat base so there is no need for the boys to carry their own food.
We will have cooking and refrigiration facilities and the boys are all 17.
And we are camping for 3 days so we will be serving them 3 lunches, 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts.
You need a commercial menu. You don’t say for how many days. For a group that size you will need a health and safety permit as well.
here is a planning work sheet to help you.
http://troop1.bsa.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/menu.pdf
Camp Cooking
There’s something special about camping food. Cooking turns into an adventure, and being in the outdoors seems to make everything taste better. The excitement and novelty of semi-primitive cooking conditions makes it fun to eat whatever you manage to flip out of the campfire frying pan. Of course, camping food has its own special set of circumstances and limitations, and it can get the better of even the most skilled and creative cooks when trying to dream up good, varied and fun meals day after day in the great outdoors when you’re without the modern conveniences of a home kitchen.
Losing Your Cool
It’s better not to depend upon foods that require refrigeration, unless your campsite is very close to a store that sells ice and you will be able to replenish the ice in your cooler at least once a day. This means relying on canned, packaged and dried foods, and supplementing with fresh foods that can manage without refrigeration. It may seem at first like your meal choices will be limited and bland if you have to get by without a refrigerator or an oven, but you’ll be surprised when you begin to realize how many diverse and tasty meals you can concoct using non-perishable foods, a propane stove and a campfire. Many of your favorite recipes can be adapted for outdoor cooking, too. Use canned meat or vacuum-packed tofu in your entrees; get out that old Dutch oven substitute powdered eggs and water in your favorite baking recipes; soy or rice milk need no refrigeration and make great substitutes for cow’s milk. In other words, don’t be afraid to get creative — everything really does taste better when you’re camping!
The Camping Pantry
Here are some lists of ingredients that are great for camping: they’re easy to cook with nothing but a propane stove and a campfire, and none of them need refrigeration. Choose the ones that appeal to you and mix and match them for fantastic breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks.
GrainsProteins
Baking Mix (Bisquick)Canned or vacuum-packed tuna
Oats Canned chicken
Instant hot cerealCanned ham
Cold cerealDehydrated refried beans
TortillasCanned beans
Pita breadShelf-stable tofu
Whole grain crackersSummer Sausage
Ramen noodlesBeef jerky
Angle hair pastaPeanut butter
Packaged pasta with flavor packetsSoy or rice milk
Quick-cooking couscousNuts
Quick cooking gritsPowdered eggs
Cornbread mixHard cheeses (e.g., Parmesan)
Soup in a cup
Dried and Canned Fruits and VegetablesFresh Fruits and Vegetables
An assortment of dried fruitCarrotsSquashPeaches
Canned tomatoesBell peppersMushroomsGrapes
Sun dried tomatoesGreen beansCorn on the cobLemons
Canned olivesPotatoesOnionsLimes
Canned green chiliesEggplantTomatoesOranges
Dried mushroomsCucumbersApplesPlums
Canned pineappleBananas
Staples
SaltGround black pepper
Garlic powderOnion powder
Crushed red pepperChili powder
Assorted dried herbsGround Cinnamon
Cinnamon sticksSugar
Vegetable oilOlive oil
Soy sauceWhite vinegar
Tabasco Mustard
KetchupBeef and chicken bouillon cubes
Dehydrated soup base or canned soup
Equipment:
Camp stove or backpacking stove, Extra stove fuel, Matches, Oven mitt, Large metal spoon, Large plastic spoon, Metal spatula, Plastic spatula, Tongs, Large plastic or stainless steel bowl for mixing and serving, Rubber spatula, Dutch oven, Skillet, Saucepan, Large enamel or Lexan mugs, uses as cup or bowl, Plates, Plenty of aluminum foil, Resealable plastic bags, Garbage bags, Paper towels, Plastic tablecloth, Biodegradable dish soap, Dish sponge, Dishtowels
Lightweight flexible cutting board, Knife, Can opener, Toothpicks
A Few More Tips Before You Hit the Road
Plan all your meals before you leave, making a list of every ingredient you’ll need. This way you won’t forget anything, and you’ll be sure to bring the right amount of food.
Don’t bring the more food than you need. Instead of bringing the whole bag of sugar, flour, rice, etcetera, just pour as much as you’ll need into a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag.
Camping trips usually involve lots of physical activity, so everyone will be extra-hungry: bring plenty of snacks!
Put your food in the car or in a lidded box at night or whenever you leave the campsite in order to keep the forest animals out of your food supply.
Bring plenty of garbage bags so you can pack out every last piece of trash you brought in with you
Bring some firewood: you can’t always count on being able to find enough around your campsite, especially if it’s a heavily visited one.
What ages are the boys? Will you have cooking facilities? How many days will you need to feed them?
If you have access to stoves, or even just griddle and a BBQ and a fire fit, you can cook pancakes (home-made- very simple to make and much more nutritious than the mixes) with butter and syrup; maybe some bacon or sausage if the wallet allows, hot dogs and coleslaw for lunch and hamburgers with corn on the cob for dinner. Buy in bulk at a big-box store, where you can also get some fruit, apples, bananas, juice, drink mixes (much cheaper to mix your own Gatorade, punch, etc.) meat, hot dog and hamburger rolls and flour, and so forth. But, this would be just a short term menu…. it would get really boring after the first week!
But, if you had to feed them for longer periods of time, you could always teach them how to do "Hobo" cooking over the fires by wrapping potatoes, onions, peppers, pieces of any kind of meat, quartered corn on the cob in tin foil and let them make their own dinners, or supplement with any fish caught on the camping trip. You also show them how to cook potatoes and yams wrapped in foil over the fire coals. We soak corn on the cob in water for about 30 minutes (un-husked) and then put them on the grill (over fire or BBQ) and let them steam in their own husks; when the husks are uniformly charred, they are ready to eat- just peal back the husks and slather on the butter and salt & pepper.
Anyway- I hope this gives you some ideas that you can run with. I give you a LOT of credit for taking 150 boys camping- holy moly! They will erect a statue of you somewhere for being such a good-hearted soul!
Hope you all have fun!
hot dogs are always a good choice, can get large economy packs at most stores, with like 20 dogs in each, 10-15 packs should suffice, buns might get expensive though. going with the assumption that this is a boy scout or cub scout trip or some kind of youth group, is it possible to get the parents to chip in a few bucks each to help offset the trip.
Main:
Hamburger/cheeseburger
Hotdog
Soup
Sides:
Mashed Potatoes
Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Vegetables
Snacks:
Chips
Trail Mix
Granola Bars
Dessert:
Smores
Fruit
Cake
I used to be a camp counselor for a sleep-away camp during my freshman through sophomore years of college. Every 3 week "session" we would bring the kids out camping in the woods for 3 days. This was the menu from what I can remember. Around lunch time the kids were a lot more interested in playing in the woods than sitting around eating lunch so we’d just put the bag lunches out on a big table and they’d come and pick up a bag whenever they felt hungry. Bringing big cans of chili, beans and chef boyardee was a real hit for dinner with the kids. In addition it was REALLY easy for us to prep (just pour into a huge pot and heat up) and clean up.
Lunch 1,2,3: Sandwich, fruit, bag of chips, drink (bag lunch)
Dinner 1: Hot Dogs, chili (canned), chips, fruit, drink, smores later on
Dinner 2: Burgers, baked beans (canned), chips, fruit, drink, smores later on
Breakfast 1: Pop Tarts, fruit, milk, juice
Breakfast 2: Small cereal boxes, milk, fruit, juice
Snacks: Fruit, chips, bags of peanuts
Well I have never made lasagna before but I think it would make more sense to put the noodle down first so you can save the sauce inside the noodle. Good luck!