No-cook Meal Ideas For Camping

Cooking over a campfire or a cook stove can be very difficult and fraught with disasters if you are not experienced at camping. Campfire meals can be very limited in terms of preparation and tastes. Camp cooking can also be inconvenient, especially if you are returning from a hike or fishing and you are just too tired to cook. At these moments, it is good to have no-cook meals standing by to save the day.

Cold But Bountiful Breakfasts

You can start your campers' day right with a healthy breakfast that is high on taste and energy, and low on fat and prep time. Set out a veritable outdoor breakfast buffet featuring chilled juices, bottled chilled coffee, whole grain cereals, chilled milk, fiber bars, a variety of yogurts with and without fruit, bagels and cream cheese and fresh fruits that include oranges, grapefruits, raspberries, blueberries, and bananas. Instead of spending energy on cooking, put effort into the presentation. Lay out your spread on a tablecloth, and add sprays of freshly picked wildflowers and greens. Make sure the milk and cream cheese come out of a deep-chill box, stocked with dry ice, as serving begins. Return these products quickly to the cold when finished with them.

Hearty Cold Luncheons

Prepare a variety of sandwiches at home and then freeze them or pack them in a chill box with dry ice. Make up toasted focaccia bread with a pizza sauce spread in advance. Add cold mozzarella cheese and salami to suit at camp. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are classic. Add bacon strips, or banana slices to spice them up. You can make a number of chicken or tuna salad spreads in advance. Take crusty rolls along, cut them and invite campers to spread their own. Be sure to keep chicken and tuna salads very cold to prevent spoiling. Top lunches off with chips, fruit and bags of trail mix with chocolate and nuts. Serve lemonade or iced tea.

Cold Suppers

You can prepare any number of entree items for dinner in advance and pack them away in dry ice chests. At dinnertime, pull them out of cold storage and serve them up with little “prep.” Entrees that are delicious cold include meat loaf, roasted chicken with herbs, crusty Parmesan chicken, barbecue wings, cold roast beef, cold steak and flat iron steaks nestled in a pocket. Take garlic salt, shake-on spices, and salad dressings and vinaigrettes to use to spice up any of these entrees.

Cold Salads Galore

You can make literally hundreds of different salads, in advance or on the scene, that are great served cold with lunches or dinners. If you use any mayonnaise, egg or meat products in the salads make sure to keep them on dry ice to prevent spoiling. Salad ideas include pasta and pepper salads, macaroni salads, layered salads, slaws and potato salads. You can make fresh lettuce salads to order in camp.

Self-Warming Foods

Food products are available that come packaged in a special thermal can that includes heat-producing chemicals. When you pull the tab, the chemicals mix and produce enough heat to warm the foods. An inner barrier separates the food from the chemicals. Soups, coffees and hot tea packages are available. If you do not want to light a fire in camp, these products can be lifesavers, especially if a cup of hot coffee is a must first thing in the morning.

Snacks

If you are camping with a gang of people or family members who may be milling around or in and out all day, have plenty of self-serve snacks available. Chips, fresh crunchy vegetables, pudding cups, fruit cups, cookies, whole grain crackers and the ubiquitous “cheese in a can” are munchies everyone can help themselves to without a cook's help.