Food ideas for family camping trip

We're off to Urupukapuka in the new year for a few days camping, fishing, diving. Want to do food differently this time, on one hand, can't be frigged taking a huge chilly bin and worrying about salt ice melting, so wet/refrigerated food is out. On the other hand, definitely do not want to be eating filthy Backcountry Meals for that amount of time. Thinking tinned and dried foods, then things like par-cooked rice, eggs and fresh fruit which won't go off too quickly. Water isn't an issue at the campsite. Hope to supplement diet heavily with fish! I always fall down on hot drinks without milk. Any thoughts?

Anything with rice, pasta, cous cous as it just needs water to cook. Tuna pouches are good, fresh veg will keep and shoot fresh meat every couple of days must be plenty of hares and rabbits around.

For milk use either long life (nuked), evaporated or condensed milk. Or milk powder and a wide mouthed container to put it in to shake and mix. Just make up enough for a half day.

Veges need to be stored out of the sun. We take a hanging basket setup and hang up inside the bush and keep wet towels over the top.

Tins of bully beef. Condensed milk. Flour yeast beer camp oven canned fruit citrus fruit butter eggs instant pudding cusyard powder cheese honey salt pepper onions tea coffee large wafer/ships buscuits cocoa raro etc and a food safe you can hang in a cool place.

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Originally Posted by Happy Jack

...shoot fresh meat every couple of days must be plenty of hares and rabbits around.

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That would be awesome, but Urupukapuka is a "pest"-free island, so not going to work. We'll be fishing and spearfishing though, so hopefully the ocean will provide.

Family camping i a spot like that wr always had a bucket of ware with a little dettol in it, a cake of soap and a towel in a handy place.

years back i had my steaks etc nitrogen frozen so super cold and kept it on the hike in on a separate pack attached to the bottom of the pack. after 5 days we were still defrosting it.

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Originally Posted by XR500

For milk use either long life (nuked), evaporated or condensed milk. Or milk powder and a wide mouthed container to put it in to shake and mix. Just make up enough for a half day.

Veges need to be stored out of the sun. We take a hanging basket setup and hang up inside the bush and keep wet towels over the top.

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you take vege ?
go repent ! its is the food of satan :omg:

Rice, flour, nuts, dried fruit, muti vitamins, a good awareness of editable native plants for greens,
Some way of getting meat. Fishing in your case it seems.
Use manuka tips to make tea. Don't use flowering tips. Dont go off colour of tea it's a very light
colour. Never tips leave in billy after have strength you want, it gets overpowering strong steeping for too long.

I would take a big big bag of kumara as a base. Great with fish, quick to cook, eat hot, or cold with salad, no storage issues

Cloncurry salad… I make this when working away from home where kitchen facilities are limited.
Rice base, Pam’s brown rice with 6 ancient grains pouches or the sun rice brown rice with quinoa are both good.
Finely cubed telegraph cucumber.
Can of black beans or brown lentils.
Can of tuna or a lean red meat cut flashed rare. Your fresh caught fish will work.
Maybe some spring onion.
Some cherry tomatoes.
Maybe an apple.
Maybe some coriander, celery leaves work too.
A little finely chopped orange goes nice.
Maybe some lemon juice.
Sometimes a splash of Worcester sauce.
Coarse black pepper and salt to taste.
Anything else to suit, chop everything reasonably fine and uniform. Hearty, filling and tasty.


Attachment 211889

Also a few nuts raisins dates, capsicum & that sort of thing.
I think that’s kangaroo fillet on the photo, doesn’t suit fatty cuts.

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Originally Posted by Woody

Tins of bully beef. Condensed milk. Flour yeast beer camp oven canned fruit citrus fruit butter eggs instant pudding cusyard powder cheese honey salt pepper onions tea coffee large wafer/ships buscuits cocoa raro etc and a food safe you can hang in a cool place.

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Sounds just like the contents of your standard NZFS S70 hut food locker:D:D:D

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Originally Posted by MB

We're off to Urupukapuka in the new year for a few days camping, fishing, diving. Want to do food differently this time, on one hand, can't be frigged taking a huge chilly bin and worrying about salt ice melting, so wet/refrigerated food is out. On the other hand, definitely do not want to be eating filthy Backcountry Meals for that amount of time. Thinking tinned and dried foods, then things like par-cooked rice, eggs and fresh fruit which won't go off too quickly. Water isn't an issue at the campsite. Hope to supplement diet heavily with fish! I always fall down on hot drinks without milk. Any thoughts?

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I'm Curious why you have an aversion to freeze dried food (Back Country) My experience with it has been positive. Freeze drying retains 100% of the nutrient value of the food and the one I have tried have tasted great.

Miso soup sachets like this:

https://www.countdown.co.nz/shop/pro...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

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Originally Posted by zeropak

I'm Curious why you have an aversion to freeze dried food (Back Country) My experience with it has been positive. Freeze drying retains 100% of the nutrient value of the food and the one I have tried have tasted great.

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I don't mind it for an overnighter or two, especially when I've walked in, but I'll avoid it if I can. Crazy amounts of salt and farting!

Not to mention per meal cost for a family camping holiday!

We used to take corned beef, it kept well in a chilly bin and was easy to cook. used to get some funny but envious looks from other campers.

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Originally Posted by MB

I don't mind it for an overnighter or two, especially when I've walked in, but I'll avoid it if I can. Crazy amounts of salt and farting!

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Yep I understand the cost thing which @XR500 mentions. Freeze dried food is probably a more expensive option than some other alternatives but not so sure about the salt issue. I have just looked at the salt content on a roast lamb and vegetable pack, the 90gm 1 serve pack, it contains 1080mg of salt, that's about 0.2 of a teaspoon. This seems like the same sort of volume you would sprinkle on your ordinary type meal.
As for the Farting!! Not sure about that one.

@MB How many nights are you going for and how many of you? what have you got for cooking?

In the past I have frozen solid blocks of ice, freeze all the meat and in a iceteck 40L chillybin this will last for 3-4 days if keep in the shade and kids not opening up every ten minutes to get drinks

Go native boil in the bag meals are pretty good https://www.gonativeworld.com/ and use these over dehy meals when I go bush. They can be used with mash, rice, couscous, on wraps/burritos etc but might work out a bit expensive for a large family

Lots of cheaper options too like instant noodles, bake beans, tuna, wraps, cereal and long-life milk, parboiled rice etc

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Originally Posted by zeropak

I have just looked at the salt content on a roast lamb and vegetable pack, the 90gm 1 serve pack, it contains 1080mg of salt, that's about 0.2 of a teaspoon.

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The nutritional information does not list salt, but sodium content. For the meal you mention, they list sodium 2000mg. Those small meals are (surprisingly) small, so I would eat a regular size pack containing sodium 3840mg. That's nearly double the recommended sodium intake per day for an adult contained within one meal! It equates to salt 9.6g or well over 1.5 teaspoons. In context, I'm not a healthy eating freak. I like salt and use a lot, but this is too much for me both in terms of taste and dehydration after eating that junk for more than a couple of days.

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Originally Posted by Fat belly Dog

@MB How many nights are you going for and how many of you? what have you got for cooking?

In the past I have frozen solid blocks of ice, freeze all the meat and in a iceteck 40L chillybin this will last for 3-4 days if keep in the shade and kids not opening up every ten minutes to get drinks

Go native boil in the bag meals are pretty good https://www.gonativeworld.com/ and use these over dehy meals when I go bush. They can be used with mash, rice, couscous, on wraps/burritos etc but might work out a bit expensive for a large family

Lots of cheaper options too like instant noodles, bake beans, tuna, wraps, cereal and long-life milk, parboiled rice etc

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It's 5 nights. 2 adults and one child, but mixed up with other families, not sure how it's going to work with sharing food. We normally do the chilly bin thing, but keeping the kids out requires a full time guard and I'm a bit over chasing bits of cucumber around salt ice slurry!

By new year there should be fresh corn that can be cooked on a barby or fire to go with Kumera or new spuds. Couple of lettuces, carrots etc and a few wraps. I wouldnt over think it just take stuff that needs no refrigeration and is ok just sitting in the shade with a wet towel over it

Corn is a great idea!

Just to add, we've got one dude who really knows what he's doing line fishing plus two wannabes and three wannabe spearfishos, so hopefully we'll be OK on the fresh protein front.

As for hot drinks and the milk quandary, if I can't have real coffee, the Moccona sachets like cappuccino are the next best thing. Convenient and 100X better than the Nescafe version.

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Originally Posted by MB

Corn is a great idea!

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Yeah, and the left over cobs are fine for kids to chow on cold the next day, and if it was cooked with the husk on it doesn't need hygienic storage.
Watermelon ?

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Originally Posted by MB

That would be awesome, but Urupukapuka is a "pest"-free island, so not going to work. We'll be fishing and spearfishing though, so hopefully the ocean will provide.

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Take limes or lemons, garlic and salt.

You can make Ceviche from fish and shellfish.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/1...afood/ceviche/

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Originally Posted by 300CALMAN

Take limes or lemons, garlic and salt.

You can make Ceviche from fish and shellfish.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/1...afood/ceviche/

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That's funny, tonight's dinner! Made with trevally, island style. Forgive the sriracha, I seem to put it on everything these days.

https://i.ibb.co/SXLxGbv/IMG-5640.jpg

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Originally Posted by MB

That's funny, tonight's dinner! Made with trevally, island style. Forgive the sriracha, I seem to put it on everything these days.

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Amazing! Our fishing trips usually end in a pig-out on ceviche and beer. We tend to make the South American style with lime, chili, onion, ginger, garlic, coriander, corn and kumara as a side. Island style is good also, trevally seems the best fish here for ceveche.

Plenty of boarfish and snapper around those parts. And the odd bronzy.

milk powder has come a loong way in few short years.....mix it up in cold water and let it sit overnight is the trick to getting it good....
bit of flour n baking powder..fritters or scones in camp oven or skillet..too easy if hard on butter supply. margerine has also come along way even if it is still only one molecule away from plastic.....
savalouys keep for a few days and dont need much to prepare...the wee ones go down a treat for lunch if weather is shitty and easy to pop in thermos flask if heading out n about for day.
our goto for quick easy meal for years has been sanremo sauce..cheese n tomato (barkers do great versions too) with pasta its one of the few our glueten/dairy free hoard could handle that actually tastes great..chuck in a few raisins of mixed vege and its a good meal...dehy mixed vege is great IF you let it sit and rehydrate before cooking.