Outdoor Cooking with Food Storage

If you're planning a weekend getaway or a large family reunion, how about pulling out some of your food storage and giving your camp meals a delicious new twist? Food storage should be first on your list of things to bring to the great outdoors. Not only is it often convenient, but it helps you learn to use your food storage, and it provides you with a great opportunity to familiarize your family with the foods you store and rotate them!

It is often difficult to introduce your family to food storage if you are waiting until an emergency or a time when your family must eat food storage. Even though you may be familiar with most of your food storage in your diet, there still may be some items that you need to learn to use and foods that your body may need to adapt to. Don’t wait for an emergency to learn; take the opportunity while camping.

Some of the common hassles of camp cooking include lack of refrigeration, excessive weight in packing the food, the lack of a full functioning kitchen for cooking multiple foods at a time, and having measuring equipment handy. Most of these inconveniences can be lessened or solved altogether by using some of the dehydrated foods frequently found in food storage.

Here are four ways food storage foods make camp cooking more convenient:

    1.    No refrigeration required.
 If you're tired of constantly worrying about coolers having enough ice in them and keeping your food at safe temperatures, you'll love using freeze-dried and dehydrated foods. Dehydrated pancake and other mixes, butter, vegetables, fruits, and even main entrées do not require refrigeration before use. Camp meals made with dehydrated foods can be great, and you can leave your cooler at home.

    2.    Make-ahead/just-add-water mixes.
 Imagine not having to worry about chopping vegetables, measuring spices or leaving a main ingredient 50 miles away at home. Dehydrated foods allow you to assemble meals at home so all you have to do in the great outdoors is add water. One pot, one measuring cup, and your camp meals are ready to go.

    3.    Lightweight. 
If your camping plans include going to more remote areas and carrying in all your food, you know that every ounce counts when packing your gear. And when you compare the weight of canned goods to just-add-water mixes stored in plastic bags, it only makes sense to use your food storage as part of your daily camping menu. Measure out food beforehand, and store it in plastic bags that can be resealed to avoid bringing more than you need.

    4.    Makes large camp meals a snap. 
If you have a large crew--say for family reunions--cooking in the outdoors is that much more of a hassle and inconvenience. But again, freeze-dried and dehydrated foods can become a part of your plan. Most of these foods come in #10 cans (about 8/10 of a gallon), which were originally designed to feed large groups of people. They are now used in an efficient manner for food storage. For some delicious recipes that use common food storage items, check out the recipe section at beprepared.com/recipes.

Cooking Outdoors

Cooking in the open is a great way to enjoy the outdoors and prepare for cooking without electricity during emergencies. There are a variety of ways you can make meals outdoors. Choose the method that will work best for your family. There are many types of camp stoves (propane, butane, kerosene), Dutch ovens, and grills available. If you are planning on cooking over an open fire, find out current fire regulations in the area you will be traveling. Certain areas may not allow you to collect firewood, create a fire pit, or have open fires.

Eat what you store and store what you eat, and outdoor cooking and food storage really can go together. Happy cooking! 

Some general food storage that works well in camp cooking: 

Breakfast
    •    Hot Chocolate Mixes
    •    Fruit Drink Mixes
    •    Dehydrated Milk
    •    Freeze-Dried Cheddar Cheese
    •    Dehydrated Egg Mix
    •    Freeze-Dried Ham and Sausage
    •    Textured Vegetable Protein
    •    Potato Chunks
    •    Wheat
    •    Pancake Mix
    •   Low-Fat Granola
    •    Freeze-Dried and Dehydrated Fruits

Lunches and Dinner
    •   Freeze-Dried Meats
    •   Textured Vegetable Protein
    •   Freeze-Dried and Dehydrated Vegetables
    •    Soup Mixes
    •    Chicken or Beef Broth
    •    Freeze-Dried or Dehydrated Potatoes
    •    Refried Beans
    •    White Rice
    •    Peanut Butter Powder

Desserts
    •    Pudding Mixes
    •    Hot Chocolate Mixes

For recipes that use these products, check out the recipe section at our blog, or use your favorite recipes and substitute food storage items whenever possible.

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