Campsite food

Brian Bumpas

Premier Member
#1
Ok occasionally I like to pull off the road at a random camping areas, generally I'll look for a nearby convenience store for food and I end up with a bag of cheese doodles for breakfast. I would like to try some meals ready to eat, I do have a camp stove and water but I need a little guidance maybe from you military guys. Is one manufacturer better than the rest ? Any food prep tips would be greatly appreciated.
 

Gerry Arel

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#3
Backpackers Pantry are pretty tasty as far as pouch meals go. We used to use those if we brought anything pre-prepared while backpacking. I have used them in my moto travels and camping trips but find that maybe one or 2 as a 'just in case' is fine and I still try to look for something else if I can.

Pro: they're easy, self contained and pretty filling (one bag is usually 2 portions)
Cons: generally lots of sodium, can be bland
 

Tep_52

Premier Member
#4
As a prior infantryman in the US army I can tell you that the government mre get the job done. Some taste better than others but the all are filling. Be careful of the calories as they are meant to sustain a man burn through calories like the fires of he'll. Normally you can get them surplus at a reasonable price and they have outstanding shelf life. Also watch for constipation if you don't take in enough fluids.
 

Marc11

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#5
Can of beans, canned beef stew, etc and a beer put me to bed camping after a hard day's riding. Breakfast, some hot coffee made on my burner and any number of breakfast bars pack small, lite and are easy to enjoy whole breaking down camp.
 

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#6
Alternative meals - Hormel entrees are irradiated and last on the shelf w/o refrigeration a long time, taste decent, but are also high in sodium.

I also like Uncle Ben's instant rice, which boils in it's own pouch quickly, (or micro in 60-90 seconds), and mixes with a can of tuna or chicken for a nice meal. Even better if I score some veggies at the last grocery story before the campground. Velveta cheese pouch can be a bonus winner too.
 
#8
I see that the thread is from two years ago, but your interest in improving your campsite meals is timeless! When it comes to meals ready to eat (MREs), some popular manufacturers include Mountain House and Wise Company. They offer a variety of options, so you can pick the ones that suit your taste.
While the thread may be a bit older, the quest for better camping food is always relevant. As for food prep tips, you can also consider incorporating some nutritious supplements like barley grass juice powder into your meals. Even though it's not an MRE, it can add a healthy twist to your camping diet.
 
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MidTNJasonF

Premier Member
#9
Backpacker style dehydrated meals are fairly good, packable, easy to prepare on site but can be very expensive for what they are. Some of them are also pretty high in empty calories and sodium.
I decided to start making my own both for cost and to create lower sodium options. Now I just prep up one of the many one pot style meals and dehydrate them myself. You can find all sorts of dehydrator ready meal recipes on YouTube or other such social media but just looking at the meal selection options in the camping isle at your local sporting goods store will give you plenty of ideas. I do use a dehydrator since I already had one but you can do it in your oven as long as it will maintain a low temp. Most ovens will have a a warm setting which holds at like 150~160 which is just about perfect for many meals. I have seen a few ovens that will only hold a low temp of 200 or so and that would likely not work as well. Add in a cheap vacuum sealer to package your meals and you are in business.

So far I have made chili, chili mac, beef stroganoff, chicken fried rice, minestrone soup, homemade versions of ramen and pho, a couple of cuscus or rice based mixes, and several versions of taco/burrito fillings that I then just combined with a tortilla or sandwich wrap once prepped. You can also dehydrate egg scrambles for breakfast meal options.

Other easy and affordable options for breakfast include some pre packaged just add boiling water oatmeal pouches and combine them with some dehydrated fruits. If you like bananas try lightly dusting sliced bananas in cinnamon and sugar before dehydrating. Good flavor and keeps them from gumming up or clumping so bad when rehydrated in your oatmeal.

Other tips for easy prep include buying frozen bags of veggies since it cuts down on your cleaning and chopping time. Just lightly blanch them in boiling water before you add to your meal or dehydrator. If you are cutting your own veggies and fruits up be sure to chop small and keep things evenly sized. Doing that will allow for more efficient and consistent dehydration.
Adding some lemon juice, citric acid, or another acid like apple cider vinegar not only helps with depth of flavor but provides a bit of preservation to your meal.

I make up (3~4 servings) a meal, dehydrate it, and vacuum seal it one evening or afternoon based on my dehydrator capacity then repeat that for a different meal on my next free day. I can do this weeks ahead of a planned trip and have a nice variety packed in my bag when I hit the trail or the road.

I have almost always traveled with at least a couple packs (pouches not cans) of tuna, tuna salad, chicken, or chicken salad along with some crackers or tortilla/wraps for a quick lunch or dinner without cooking or significant prep. I also have oatmeal packs, coffee and tea as staples in my food kit.
 

Russ Black

Premier Member
#10
I'd get a backpacker solid fuel (Hexemine) stove like the British military uses. It's very inexpensive, takes up very little space, it comes with fuel tablets that fit inside it for storage and you don't need to mess around with liquid fuel. If you're going on an extended trip, you can get two of them or just more fuel tables.

I'd stay away from MRE's because they are kind of heavy and do take up a lot of space. I was in the infantry and we would dump the contents and pack only what we were actually going to eat. They do come with small bundles of John Wayne toilette paper. The John Wayne reference is because just like John Wayne, it doesn't take any s**t off anyone. Not to worry because as stated somewhere above, they tend to constipate you. Another missing fact about MRE's is unless your humping through the woods all day with 100 pounds on your back, you only need to eat one a day.

Unless your in a campground with trash receptacles, cans take up the same amount of space when empty as they do when full making packing them out more difficult. I remove the bottom so I can crush them flat to help with that.

I also suggest carrying several small extra heavy duty trash bags to stow garbage/trash. Nothing worse than getting it all over your stuff. They also can be used to keep stuff dry.

As with any IBA ride, do a few practice runs before departing on the actual ride.
 

Firstpeke

Well-Known Member
#11
Several of use recently camped at a show we attended here in the UK at a showground and I decided some weeks before that I was going to do this rather than a relatively expensive hotel!

I bought seven meals from a range of British MRE's... these included a breakfast for each of two days and five other main meals.

Now when I served it all came in tins and you got a mini tin opener in the pack, but this time around, some 30 odd years after leaving the services, they came in sealed foil pouches.
I carried a small folding gas stove, two 2.5 litre containers of water and two cartridges of butane gas, my mess tins and cutlery and a flask to fill with tea, could have been coffee which would have been marginally easier!
I also carried a small flask of fresh milk and one toilet roll, which unsurprisingly, I did not need!

Most of the other guys ate energy bars and bought very expensive meals from stalls at the show.... not my preference!

Everything I carried for eating and drinking etc whilst camping was in one pannier, the MRE's took up very little room as I only brought the meals and none of the ancillary odds and ends.

I found the MRE's easy to use by heating them. still sealed. in a mess tin half full of water, which once the pouch was removed was topped up and boiled for making a flask of hot tea for the day.

This all worked very well and I can safely say I was not disappointed with my choices of meals, which despite not appearing to be much, were filling, hot and tasty!
So much so that I would repeat the exercise if needed.

YEMV
 
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igneouss

Premier Member
#13
US MREs are not generally the best option. They are designed for 18-24 year olds carrying heavy packs all day in hot weather. As such they generally contain way more sodium than a rider would need. And way more calories, etc. They also are likely to cause constipation. I'd look at other options.