Planning your RV Camping meals

Your trip preparation can make all the difference to your holidays.

A trip camp checklist is my ideal tool for planing my camping trip or holiday.

Plan your menu before you hit the road

Spending some time planning your meals before the trip is absolutely essential for a stress free time. It will also make your meal preparation a quick and easy task. Consider meals you can quickly and easily prepare. Remember, the cook (you?) usually is on holidays too!

Several things you need to take into consideration when planning your menu:

 

What type of camping trip are you planning?

Are you planing a fishing trip, a 4WD trek, hiking, a leisurely RV trip or what? Each type of trip requires different considerations.

Why carry it when you have a donkey?

My recent Cape York trip up to the tip of Australia was a 3 week planned 4WD trek through some very remote areas where we did not expect to encounter many stores and those we might come across would be limited in their range and be very expensive. So we had to plan to take everything we might need with us.

For one trip, we are planning a 1 week trip down to Melbourne with a couple of overnight visits to friends along the way. We will be driving through many towns along the way and do not need to stock up at all. We could even buy dinner most nights if we so wanted to!

Both trips require a much different approach. You will need to do so according to your destination  and the resources you will have available to you.

One thing is for sure: None of us can survive without food!

Camp cooking method

The types of meals you plan with depend upon your cooking methods such as camp fire, gas burner, oven or even microwave oven. Maybe you can vary it for added interest thus widening your choices of meals. Maybe one of you will be catching your meat or fish. Don’t forget to have a backup just in case the weather stuffs up your plans, or they are not always successful in their endeavours!

Camp Food Storage and Shopping List

Waeco

Consider your storage capacity esp of foods needing refrigeration. Write down your menu for the time away and then break down the ingredients list and make your shopping list from this. Don’t forget to include seasonings and other ‘little quantities in your packing list at least, especially if you do not add it to your shopping list. A shopping list can be made from your menu plan and most if not all supplies can be packed away in readiness for your trip.

Keep a duplicate of your ingredient/shopping list and check off each item as you pack it.

Hints

• Pack your seasonings, herbs and spices and other “small items” in tiny zip lock bags with a label. These take up less room and if you pack them as you write your shopping list, you are less likely to leave them behind! 
• Prepackage dry ingredients for each meal into separate bags. Sort of along the lines of a cookies in a jar idea! I have yet to try this suggestion myself! 
• Precook a meal or 2. 
• Freeze any precooked meals and meats etc BEFORE placing in your freezer. Even if you do not have a freezer, freeze it and place in your fridge or esky to keep cold longer as well as to keep your fridge or esky cooler.
• Pack any ‘spare’ space in your fridge or freezer with ice. I like to use Long Life juice packets for blocks of space and then smaller ziplock bags of broken or crushed ice to fill in those odd spaces. You will be amazed how much longer your fridge, freezer or esky will stay cool if it is fully packed. 

  

  Chicken Schnitzel

Next week I will publish my actual menu plan for a 3 week camping trek with no expected access to shops or fresh food! This might help you plan a menu for longer trips or at least give you a starting point. I sure wish I had one when I started!


I love comments and would love to hear your hints in the comments below..