10 Tips To Healthy Eating While Camping

Going on a family camping trip is a great family activity.  But just because you are away from home does not mean you should eat unhealthy foods.  Follow these ten tips to eat healthy and delicious food while camping.

Title: 10 Tips to Healthy Eating While Camping

Author: Nancy Walker

Camping is one of my family's favorite activities. It is so wonderful to get out in the woods, to enjoy nature and all ofit's beauty and wildness and to be able to spend time together as a family getting lost in the woods, catching fish and drowning worms, canoeing down rivers and creeks, fending off over-fed raccoons and squirrels, roasting marshmallows while trying to avoid roasting ourselves and making memories which will last a lifetime. The two things we don't like to do while camping is to eat so much junk food we ruin our trip by feeling bad and to spend much time preparing our healthier food. Below are ten tips we've gatheedr through years of camping which help us spend our time outdoors doing what we love while properly fueling our bodies.

 1. Plan ahead - Prepare a simple menu with fruits and veggies
at every meal. Without planning, I am tempted to fall back on
junk food and fast food. A little planning in advance allows me
to take only what we will need.

 2. Take lots of fruit - Apples, oranges, pineapples, bananas
and cantaloupe travel well. A sharp knife provides all the tools
you need to prepare them.

 3.Freeze meals ahead of time - In the weeks prior to our
camping trip, we make a little extra of some main courses and
freeze the leftovers. Placed in our cooler, the frozen entrees
can take the place of ice for the first few days. Once
defrosted, heat and serve.

 4. Take frozen vegetables - Bags of frozen vegetables also take
the place of ice in our cooler. Once defrosted, they will keep
their shape and texture for a few days in the cooler. A small
pan of boiling water is an easy way to prepare them once
defrosted.

 5. Take homemade muffins and/or sweet breads for breakfast and snacks - The day before we leave to go camping, I take a few extra minutes in my kitchen and prepare some whole wheat muffins and/or breads. We love them for breakfast and for snacks. No refrigeration or toasting is required.

 6. Take along some shelf stable meat replacements - We love to
take Soy Curls with us camping. (Soy Curls are a delicious,
dehydrated, delicately textured soy bean which we use a
substitute for meat.) I just premeasure the soy curls into a
baggie along with the dry seasonings that we like best. Once
again, a small pot of boiling water to rehydrate the Soy Curls
and we have a filling main course. With the addition of some
barbecue sauce, we have another entree. Any leftovers are greatstored in the cooler and when reheated, we serve them overbread.

 7. Keep a lookout for produce markets along the way or once
you've arrived - There is nothing like fresh, locally grown
produce to fill out our meals while camping. We love to find
neighborhood markets to explore the local treasures we may not
find at home.

 8. Freeze gallons of water ahead of time - Often while camping
we are tempted to indulge in sugary soft drinks when what we
really desire is a nice cold glass of liquid. By freezing
gallons of water ahead of time, we have cold water to drink for
days and ice for our cooler. As the water starts to defrost, we
use it and refill it with fresh room temperature water. By our
next meal, we once again have a cold beverage.

 9. Take along sweet potatoes, squashes and baking potatoes -
All of these vegetables do not need refrigeration and are quite
easy to prepare. With the addition of some onions and a cast
iron skillet, these core vegetables can take on a wide variety
of flavors.

 10. Relax and enjoy the margin you have built in to your
family's health - By providing healthy and tasty meals the vast
majority of the time, we go ahead and indulge our cravings when
the mood strikes. When my kids were very little, I remember the
advice to examine their eating habits over a week or month, not
just one meal at a time. (This was especially handy advice when
my son would go through his phases of only eating brown rice, or
bananas, or avocadoes for a day or two.) So, I look at our week
as a whole. If the vast majority of food our family has eaten
has been healthy and life-giving, then I go ahead and indulge in
an occasional treat. A local ice cream store or boiled peanut
stand might just be what everyone needs.

 For lots of recipes for Soy Curls, visit Veg4Health.com |"Soy Curls 

 About the author:Nancy Walker holds a Masters of Science degree and is afree-lance writer, speaker, published author, life-style coachand home-schooling mother of two small children. She has been atotal vegetarian for over seven years and is committed tohelping people reverse disease and lose weight through propernutrition and fitness. To read more, visit Veg4Health - Healthy Eating |Vibrant Living! "

Let us know what  your favorite camping foods are.  If you have great camping recipes, please feel free to share them with us.