What to pack for 10 day camping food if no firepit, no refrigeration and no electricity?
Posted: August 5th, 2010 | Author: Mitch | Filed under: Camping Recipes | Tags: electricity, food pyramid | 8 Comments »Please note, lakes are not cold enough to refrigerate anything. I have icepack but will only last 1 or 2 days. No electricity available anywhere in those 10 days. Please help find what kind of food to bring to satisfy the food pyramid. thanks
I will give you a History Lesson first!
When the U.S. Marines were fighting the Japanese in WWII they would eat Spam for their meals because MRE’s were not invented then.
Spam is pretty cheap and you can eat it raw or cook it and you don’t have to refrigerate it! And it tastes (in my book!) pretty good! Makes a good sandwich and I will add that Spam is sold at most grocery stores.
Or you could try to find a website like Cheaper than Dirt and try to buy a MRE but you probably won’t be able to because of the war in Iraq.
You could also bring a Coleman portable grill so you can cook fish you catch or the meat that you bring. They run on Coleman fuel too.
Coleman Grill Website:
http://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanCom/category_main.asp?CategoryID=2000
Spam Summary:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_%28food%29
If you have a water source you can use freeze-dried meals. Our favorite is from Mountain House and yep, they have a website. They can also be found at Sport Chalet, Big 5, REI, and other type stores.
Love their Beef Stroganoff! Try them ahead of time if you can afford it to see which ones suit your tastebuds best.
WE also use JetBoil stoves to heat the water quickly and more efficiently than most other methods.
I guess you’re going to have a plan your meals just like the thousands (millions?) of backpackers who go out and live and roam in the wilderness for weekends, weeks, and even months every year. Most do not carry expensive freeze dried prepared meals, but rather subsist on dehydrated foods, either dried at home, or taking what’s available at the grocery store. In addition, there are many foods that last a long time without refrigeration and have an excellent weight to caloric value such as nuts, seeds, and chocolate. My meals include powdered eggs, powdered milk, oatmeal, refried beans, crackers, salami, cheese, curry couscous, gumbo, chicken in foil packets, shrimp in foil packets, spaghetti, red beans & rice, and more.
Vacuum packed lunch meats will last a few days IF UNOPENED, once opened you have to finish it or it will go bad VERY quickly. I’ve managed a large block of cream cheese and a large block of cheddar over a 5 day trip mid-August. Just keep them packed in Zip locks and be sure to squeeze all the air out.
Take fresh fruit initially (apples & oranges bode well with abuse, think along those lines). Dried fruit & various trail mixes are awesome.
Try to avoid canned goods because they take up so much space (and are HEAVY!) and they take up just as much space as garbage (presuming you follow the cardinal camping rule of ‘leave it better than you found it’).
MRE. you will need 1-3 per day, depending on how active you are. if youre just relaxing, you’ll need 1 per day. if youre moving youll need 2 or 3. before you leave to go camping, open them and leave all the stuff you won’t eat at home.
alternately, there are civiilan versions of MREs available at stores that sell outdoors stuff.
i guess youre gonna have to go with the astronaut food…aka freeze dried. it is sold at most outdoor shops (like REI or midwest mountaineering) most of them just need some water. also, to overcome the lack of electricity and firepits…its simple. buy a camping stove. it comes with a burner and a gas tank (dont worry its small) and makes cooking a breeze. you can boil water for pasta or oatmeal or coffee, which are also an easily storable foods,
Check out AlpineAire Foods they have a good selection of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). They even have some that heat themselves. These and others like it can be found at most major camping stores.
Jerky, canned meat (spam, vienna sausages, etc), canned veggies, dries fruit. As for the ice chest, they make ice chests that will last for 5-7 days (it does work!), they carry them at WalMart. Ya’ll could make a trip to town for ice when it does finally melt. Hope this helps. Sounds like fun!!!