Camping Food: Easy &
Warm Camping Meals

Dehydrated/freeze-dried camping food is great for hiking, backpacking, or camping meals because you don't have to keep it cold to avoid spoiling.

Camping, backpacking, or hiking food that's freeze-dried or dehydrated can reduce weight by sixty to ninety percent. If you're carrying a backpack or other hiking gear with a few days worth of camping food and supplies this can make a BIG difference.

As with any prepackaged food you'll probably find most camping food portion/serving sizes extremely optimistic or after a long day of hiking...laughable. I'm not sure who dreamed up the system but keep it in mind when you're buying it because otherwise you'll probably be going hungry, or if you're carrying a pack all day you might even be undernourished.

Something else to keep in mind is the design of the container itself. The containers with corners can make it difficult for the boiling water to mix with the camping food leaving dry spots. Also tall narrow containers make it almost impossible to reach inside with a spoon without getting as messy as a two year-old, as you work your way down to the bottom. (A quick fix is to trim off the top as you eat.) And if you're a light eater or use them afterwards for trash some of the containers have a "ziplock" type of closure which can come in handy, if they're not trimmed to ribbons. ;-)

You can find a good selection at Backcountry.com or REI Camping & Hiking.

Some pre-packaged foods can now be heated with a heating pouch by adding water to a chemical heating source. The advantage is there's no flame. The drawback is they weigh more than the pouch by itself and there's more trash to dispose of properly. So it may be better to just bring a small stove if you're backpacking.

Camping food offers tradeoffs. While it isn't usually gourmet that doesn't mean it has to be bad. After all a gourmet meal would make for a lot of extra weight and inconvenience. Not my idea of a fun trip. The reason people buy it is because it's light, convenient, and it can provide a quick hot meal. As for taste...

If you're looking for a hot breakfast remember instant oatmeal, hot cereals, or even cold cereal. Although you may need to combine two or three packages for a meal they usually taste good and you can pick from several flavors instead of having plain oatmeal for a week straight. You may want to combine some of the smaller packages or pour part of a big box into a "ziplock" baggy so you won't have to carry as much trash out with you if you're backpacking. You can also pre-add your sugar, salt, raisins, dried apples, nuts, and dry milk to make it quick and easy later.

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You could also pick up some instant soup or noodles, if you don't mind the salt. Tea or instant coffee are also options, as a nice warm complement to a hot lunch or dinner. Individual packets are light and easy to pack.

You'll also want to consider animal and/or bear resistant camping food containers especially if you're going to bear country. The park services usually have suggestions for how far to keep your camping food from your site and if you should suspend it from a tree etc. Please check the local area for suggestions on camping food storage and how to deal with trash.

I hope this camping food information helps to make your next camping trip one to remember. Find more information on camping meals, cookware comparisons, or even camping cooler maintenance here. :-)