Clever Camping Hacks
If you’re looking to spend some quality time with your family enjoying the outdoors, camping is always a great option. But cooking by the campfire can present a lot of challenges if you don’t plan ahead.
Before you spend valuable family time trying to get the hot dogs to cook just right or attempting to whip up waffle batter on-sight, take these tips into consideration for a much smoother camping experience!
Before Your Trip
Eggs make for a great breakfast, but are often too delicate to transport without breaking. Try cracking a carton of eggs before your trip and placing them in an easy-pour bottle. All you have to do is keep the bottle cold, and pour into a frying pan when you’re ready to eat for no-fuss scrambled eggs.
Even though you’ll be stocked with coolers and ice, it’s a good idea to bring some meals that don’t need refrigeration that can be eaten toward the end of your trip. Canned tuna or chicken and boxed foods will be a blessing if you run out of refrigeration by the last leg of your camping excursion.
Pancakes and waffles are also a fan-favorite, but making the batter can be difficult at home, let alone while camping! Prepare the batter a head of time and store it in a recycled ketchup bottle or other easy-squeeze container.
Meal prepping is essential for any successful camping trip. Making full meals ahead of time, and freezing them in individual portions, will save you a lot of time and energy later on—and they’ll even keep other refrigerated foods cool.
Nonperishable snack items can be great too, like granola bars, energy bites, cookies, muffins, crackers, and other on-the-go eats. They’ll save you valuable cooler and car space, and are perfect to send off with the kids for a trip to the pool or playground.
Don’t sacrifice flavor just because you’re away from the spice rack! Pack small amounts of everyday spices in Tic Tac® containers so you won’t have to bring the whole shaker from home.
No camping trip is complete without a grill, so you’ll be needing plenty of aluminum foil as well. Whether you’re grilling up burgers or foil-packet meals, this makes cleaning up after dinner so much easier.
During Your Trip
Try to eat the most perishable meals at the beginning of your camping trip. This will save you from having to keep everything stowed away in the cooler for days at a time.
Instead of preparing everyone’s sandwich individually, try lining the bottom of a foil pan with bread and layering all the fixings in an even sheet, topping with another layer of bread—easiest ham and cheese ever!
Another time saving hack? Prepare lunches the night before, such as after dinner-time, so all you have to do is pull them out of the cooler or heat them up, and spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing.
Lastly, don’t forget to give everyone a job. Roughing it is great fun when your family works as a team!
BY ALEXA BRICKER
