Calling All Campers -- Need Advice, Suggestions ...
We are going away this weekend. Spending Friday night after work, all day Saturday, and Saturday night at Watkins Glen in a cabin. Then on Sunday we are driving to Buffalo for a family picnic. Can't do much to control the food situation for Sunday.
I know that we have some campers on the boards. What have you done to help stay pop, what have you packed. Any suggestions? There is no fridge there, we will be living out of a cooler all weekend long.
Just got back from a camping trip myself but I'm not sure I'm the best one to advise you....didn't do so well staying on plan
The good things I did were plenty of fruits and veggies for snacks; popcorn over the fire (I'm on one of the new plans); baked potatoes in the fire; reduced fat PB and low sodium turkey for sandwiches; turkey burger; and grilled chicken. I went ahead and cut up the veggies and melons into "snack packs" so there were easy for us to grab when we were hiking. I took string cheese to help get my dairy in...milk and yogurt are hard to transport. I like the light Sargento's.
I'm not on LAWL, but I do a lot of camping. Here are a couple of ideas for main-dish camping. The second recipe assumes you have a camping stove.
1) A day or two before you go, put some chicken breasts in a ziploc bag with your favorite marinade or just some low-fat or regular Italian dressing. Freeze it. Put it in the cooler just before you go (I double-bag, just to make sure). By the time you get to your destination, it will be thawed and ready for grilling. (Actually, it may not thaw until the second day, depending on your cooler & how much ice is in it.)
2) I love to make ratatouille when camping. You'll need the following:
onion (can be precut and stuck in a baggie in the cooler)
garlic (ditto)
bell pepper (ditto; optional)
1 med can diced tomatoes; Italian style is good
3-4 baby zucchini
1 can garbanzo beans (optional)
parmesan or other cheese for top (optional)
a touch of olive oil (I have a 1 oz. bottle from REI that I refill w/ EVO)
salt & pepper to taste
Italian herbs to taste
When you're there, saute the onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil. Add zucchini and cook until nearly tender. Add bell peppers and cook some more. Add can of tomatoes and garbanzos, if you're using them. Heat through. S & P to taste. Serve in bowls with cheese sprinkled over the top. If you have a two-burner stove, you can also make up a pot of wild rice or ww noodles, and serve the rat-tails on top of this, although I don't know if rice/noodles are LAWL-friendly. There are no set proportions for this recipe, so you can add tomatoes and zucchini as necessary to feed your crew.
Sherry I am not a camper but I would probably make up the LAWL trail mix for the amt of days I would be gone and bring slim downs or slim fast and fruit and bring turkey burgers and turkey hot dogs my family doesn't know the difference! I also would bring PB and jelly and use that as my CC one of the meals. Good luck I am sure you will do fine!! Where are you going in Buffalo I live in Rochester but I was born and raised in Buffalo I lived in a small town called Boston NY about 20 minutes south of Hamburg NY! Have fun!
Sherry - One of my favourite camping foods is a banana hotdog. You just smear peanut butter on a wrap or pita or bread...then wrap it around a banana. Its so filling, and on low cal, high fiber bread I'd call it 2F, 1/2P, 1S
I have gone camping the last few weekends, plus the whole week of 4th of July. Granted, I am with others (for the most part anyway) and I have a pop-up, my parents and grandparents have regular camp trailers. I took up hamburgers and turkey burgers, fruit and veggies already cut up, yogurt, sf pudding (store bought), lots of sandwiches.
One of our favorites is omelet in a ziploc bag. Super easy and it's one protein, plus whatever you want in your own. Since each person 'makes' their own in their own bag, it individualized and they can all be made at the same time. (I even make these at home, when I'm feeling lazy.) We usually have hashbrowns with it, and I count about 1/4-1/3 cup for one starch. I've lost weight EACH time I've gone camping and I have been quite...creative...in my counting!
Do you know that you can make an omelet in a plastic (freezer) quart size zip loc bag? Put the eggs and veggies too if you want, cheese. Zip the bag closed and shake it up to mix all the stuff together. Let most of the air out of the bag and pop it into a pot of boiling water (hopefully you will have a campfire that you can put a pot on top of. This is on the same principal that the plastic bags of food that comes packaged for cooking in boiling water on the stove or in the microwave.
Hope this helps. I did this and it was really yummy.
Nanette - I was raised in West Seneca, NY. Up until 2 years ago, I lived in South Buffalo. I've only been in PA for 2 years. The rest of my family is in the Buffalo area. I know where you're from. The Boston Hotel has some great food!!
The family picnic is usually held at Akron State Park.
Sherry-I miss the food from home Rochester just does not know how to make Buffalo wings! I went to school in Hamburg not far from West Seneca I went to Immaculata Academy and cheered for St Francis which is where my 5 brothers went to school, I have 5 sisters and we all went to Immaculata small world! I know where Akron State Park, you should have a great time. I am not a camper but that omelet in a bag sounds cool!!! I may have to try that with my kids.
I'm not on LAWL, but I do a lot of camping. Here are a couple of ideas for main-dish camping. The second recipe assumes you have a camping stove.
1) A day or two before you go, put some chicken breasts in a ziploc bag with your favorite marinade or just some low-fat or regular Italian dressing. Freeze it. Put it in the cooler just before you go (I double-bag, just to make sure). By the time you get to your destination, it will be thawed and ready for grilling. (Actually, it may not thaw until the second day, depending on your cooler & how much ice is in it.)
2) I love to make ratatouille when camping. You'll need the following:
onion (can be precut and stuck in a baggie in the cooler)
garlic (ditto)
bell pepper (ditto; optional)
1 med can diced tomatoes; Italian style is good
3-4 baby zucchini
1 can garbanzo beans (optional)
parmesan or other cheese for top (optional)
a touch of olive oil (I have a 1 oz. bottle from REI that I refill w/ EVO)
salt & pepper to taste
Italian herbs to taste
When you're there, saute the onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil. Add zucchini and cook until nearly tender. Add bell peppers and cook some more. Add can of tomatoes and garbanzos, if you're using them. Heat through. S & P to taste. Serve in bowls with cheese sprinkled over the top. If you have a two-burner stove, you can also make up a pot of wild rice or ww noodles, and serve the rat-tails on top of this, although I don't know if rice/noodles are LAWL-friendly. There are no set proportions for this recipe, so you can add tomatoes and zucchini as necessary to feed your crew.
Kim
Kim, thanks for sharing, that looks wonderful. What a great dutch oven stew type meal.
Oh, I love that omlette in a bag idea. What a great way to inspire kids to eat their eggs. Also, the clean up would be so easy.
I love to make tin foil dinners to throw in the fire while camping. That is a really easy way to get some veggies and protein in. Taco salad with veggie black bean burgers are an easy favorite too.
I forgot to say - you can only use 2 eggs in a quart size freezer ziploc type bag. bring water to a boil, add the bags, bring back to a boil, then boil for 13 minutes or your eggs won't be set.
I love cream cheese in mine, rf cheese, black olives, any types of meat, etc. You can get alot of exchanges in one omelet.
I'm just back from a family reunion/4 day camping weekend. For the most part my family is pretty health conscious and active. Some of us were in tents, some in "sleeping only" cabins and some in decked out trailers so we had many cooking options. Mostly I had cereal or eggs for breakfast, hamburger w/salad and grilled veggies for lunch, dinner was usually potluck at someone's site, with most of the options being grilled - fish, steak, veggies. Our downfall though were the s'mores and wine/beer around the campfire at night. However, I chalk it up to the enjoyment of the event - all part of bonding with distant relatives, etc. I'm hoping that all the activity at least kept things on an even keel.
Most important have fun and if you're going to eat something off plan, make sure you thoroughly enjoy and savor it for the treat that it is, don't feel any guilt and get back on plan at the next meal.
a Trick I pull outta my sleeve is i measure out my EGG BEATERS, add green pepper,onion,fat free cheese,pepper put all ingredients in a ZIPLOC bag,then freeze...throw it in the cooler before camping then in the morning we throw the ziplocs in a pot of boiling water until the egg is cooked take the bags out and upzip onto a plate and VOILA a POP Omelette for breakfast or lunch...
also when the boyfriend and son start making smores..I save one of my LUNAS And get to enjoy a smores luna....
we also premake TURKEY burgers in the premeasured weight add some spice..pepper,garlic..etc and freeze burgers then ziploc them and have a POP supper on the bbq with salad etc...we also take alot of fruit and i always bring my scale too
Calling All Campers -- Need Advice, Suggestions ...
; and grilled chicken. I went ahead and cut up the veggies and melons into "snack packs" so there were easy for us to grab when we were hiking. I took string cheese to help get my dairy in...milk and yogurt are hard to transport. I like the light Sargento's. 
and have a great time. Sounds wonderful
