Stocking Your Pantry

[Rainier70]

I had asked about this in the recipe section, but maybe that is the wrong area, so I thought I would ask here. What are some of the main items you keep packed in your camper? Especially those of you that do some camping for extended periods.

Lately I have been exploring some of the grocery store sauce mixes, but I don't normally cook with these so I am looking for some help. Does anyone have some particular likes or dislikes in the shelf stable sauces, mixes, dry soups, or anything else that can be left packed in a camper? I get bored with just the things that I am most familiar with, so I am looking to get some fresh ideas. Recipes would also be great.

I need to keep my camper pretty heavily stocked with dried foods and staples all year round and I add canned foods in the non-freezing months.

Thanks!

[dales133]

I camp with a good range of herbs and spices. Canned tomatos ,stock,canned beans ect.
When i stock my td i plan on having a smaller but similar variety to what i have at home.
I cook e c erything from scratch so i cant realy coment on packet soups and sauses but it realy is cheaper and healthier to cook from scratch anyway

[Jim.Johnson]

I travel alone and I'm not a gourmet cook so this may not fit for you. I keep a fair supply of herbs and spices. I pack rice and pasta as staples. I'll usually have a pancake mix and maybe a biscuit mix. Usually have cans of baked beans and some basic soups. Rotel (sp?) is useful - it's spiced tomato mix that can flavor other stuff. Canned chicken or turkey can be useful. For each trip I'll take whatever fresh things I might want or I'll buy them along the way. I don't think I've ever planned a menu or recipes but if I'm staying in one spot for awhile I'll do a meat and veggie stew in the Dutch oven and eat it for 3 or 4 meals.

[mkitchen]

If you enjoy cooking then you may be better off stocking completely for each trip. Spices should be fresh, I keep a plastic container that hold all the spices I need including fresh garlic etc. It takes me a couple of minutes to set that up. Fresh spices go into the cooler. Most campers are close to food resources so access to fresh food is not usually a problem. The biggest thing for us it to have a menu written, trying to follow it, but being flexible enough to be able to change due to circumstances.
Mikey

[Rainier70]

Thanks. Some good ideas so far. I can't believe I forgot about Rotel tomatoes. So many good things you can do with them.

I cook from scratch all the time at home, but I was wondering if some of the packaged stuff might fill in some of the gaps on the camper where I don't always have the right stuff or fresh ingredients.

I love camping and we travel for fun when we get the chance, but I should explain that a lot of my camping is done because of a breathing problem. I frequently have to leave the smoke in the valleys and camp in the mountains at a moments notice. My camper has to be ready to go already. I may stay a week or a month. I can't pick up fresh items each week. Wish I could, but I mostly depend on dried or canned goods that are already packed. I do supplement that with some brook trout occasionally, depending on what the streams are serving up.

That also means that I can't do campfires or charcoal, so I can't camp in any campgrounds where they are in use. I usually boondock at 7,000 feet or higher so what I have with me is pretty much it. I can take a limited amount of frozen or refrigerated items, but my ice runs out if I am there much longer than a week.

[Gunguy05]

We keep herbs, spices, flour sugar, coffee, etc pretty well stocked in the trailer. We have a "food box" that we take with us. We keep a couple cans of cherries (for cobbler), Rice, Pancake mix, and a few cans of odd veggies and tomatoes etc in there. Every thing else is bought just before the trip as needed depending on the menu.

[Vedette]

We have spent some long periods on the road as well as weekenders. And we cook most everything from scratch.
Sandi has the dry goods (cereal, macaroni, pancake mix, etc. stored in Costco nut containers (our camping canister set) and a separate bin for spices, and condiments, oil, etc. We also have in the back of the TV a 3 drawer stand up plastic cabinet if you may, for canned goods and fresh purchases. As we travel almost exclusively in the USA. We do not cross the border with any meat , poultry, eggs, or fresh fruits and vegetables. We buy everything on route to where we are going , once we have crossed the 49th.
We do have a running fridge in Miss Piggy, as well as a wet cooler (mostly used for Beer, white wine, bottled water, beer, milk, beer,
etc. (did I mention Beer?)
Our plan while camping is to indulge ourselves, thus we eat every bit as well while camping as we do at home (with more snack food as a treat) along with lots of leisure time to enjoy Wine, Cheese, and great olives!
Now, you have done it ....I miss camping already!
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[S. Heisley]

Cindy, thank you for adding more information about your request. With the one that you had posted in the Recipes forum, I was at a loss to know what, if anything I could contribute.

A couple years ago, I gave a talk on how to travel with food intolerances. Because some of it is about dehydrated foods, I have included an excerpt, below. Note that I have left in the references to food intolerance because some people may be reading this who do have intolerance problems. If nothing else, some of the electronic addresses may be helpful. I’ve added in little comments/notes here and there, where it might help you.

WHATS AVAILABLE AND WHERE CAN I FIND IT?

WHAT’S AVAILABLE FOR BREAKFAST:
- Boxed, Gluten Free cereals
- Gluten free Granolas and Granola bars (i.e. Bakery On Main)
- Breakfast bars
- Oatmeal (i.e. Glutenfreeda) Note: You can make your own packets, too!
- Eggs & egg substitutes …CAUTION! Read ingredient list. Many contain dairy.
- Dry pancake mixes…Again, read the ingredient list
- Powdered milk or substitutes (i.e.Darifree)

WHAT’S AVAILABLE FOR LUNCH & DINNER:
- Soup packets
- Packages of dehydrated vegetables
- Packages of dehydrated fruits
- Individually packaged entrees
- Jerky, if gluten free
- Gluten free soup cups, (i.e. Dr. McDougall’s Asian Entrée Pad Thai Noodle)
- Leftovers from a previous meal

NOTE: When you make pancakes, make extras to save for other meals. They can substitute for bread for sandwiches, especially peanut butter and jelly types. You can also make homemade tortillas or crepes, to use for roll-ups.

FOOD TO COMPLIMENT AND ROUND OUT YOUR DEHYDRATED STASH:
- Nuts, if you can have them
- Packaged Pine Nuts, if you can have them
- Tea Bags (black and/or herbal)
- Packets of Crystal Light or Kool-Aid or other flavoring to add to water
- Kind Bars (Caution: contain nuts)
- Larabars (Caution: some contain nuts)
- Gluten free cookies
- Gluten free candies
- Gluten free pretzels
- Whenever Bars (i.e. Pamela’s)
- Dehydrated fruits (i.e. apricots, pears, bananas, etc.)
- Powdered chocolate milk substitutes
- Gluten free Trail mixes (Caution: most contain nuts)
- Individually wrapped nut butters (not dehydrated), if you can have them
- Individually packaged jams and jellies (not dehydrated)
- Specially packaged, long shelf-life bread, unopened (i.e. ENERG)
- Gluten free crackers
- Gluten free Graham Crackers (i.e. SMORS)
- Individual Gluten free canned foods, when appropriate
- Hard boiled eggs, for short trips
- Veggie sticks (carrots, celery, etc) for short trips
- Kale chips, when appropriate
- Dried seaweed, when appropriate

BUY LOCALLY WHEN YOU CAN:

- Health food sections of grocery stores (i.e. Raleys, Holiday...)
- Health food stores (i.e. Orchard Nutrition)
- Sports sections of department stores
- Sports stores where camping and backpacking items are sold
- Discount Retailers, ( i.e. Trader Joes for dried fruits and nuts)

ONLINE SOURCES:

http://www.backpackerspantry.com
http://shop.katadyn.com
http://www.mountainhouse.com/category/GLTFR.html
http://shop.trailcenterlodge.com/CAMP-CHOW_c2.htm
http://www.wildernessdining.com/gl.html
http://www.trailfoodexpress.com
http://www.rei.com
http://www.amazon.com

Harmony House Foods, Inc. has a nice line of organic dehydrated foods and they sell a backpacker kit that comes with half a dozen recipes and a rehydration chart. It’s a good way to try their products:

http://www.harmonyhousefoods.com/Backpa ... html#tab-2

NOTE: Although tasty and edible, the Harmony House peas stay fairly hard and I find that I like freeze-dried peas better. Just Peas and Nature’s all freeze-dried peas are both great alternatives to dehydrated peas. You can usually find those at local grocery or natural foods stores.

Almost forgot to mention that Harmony House's dehydrated cherries and pineapple are really yummy. Also, you can take a cherry, pineapple piece, and banana slice and pop all three in your mount and chew them and they taste like ambrosia ...makes a nice desert or snack.

ANOTHER OPTION, MAKE YOUR OWN:

CAUTION: Do this at your own risk! You already know how to dehydrate and do; but, you may find information from the websites below helpful.

Sample websites for ideas:

http://www.glutenfreeforgood.com/blog/t ... rated-food

http://www.trails.com/dehydrated-camping-food.html

http://www.happyceliac.com/gluten-free- ... king-food/

Home-made trail mixes are good, easy to make, and fairly safe. Use whatever dried fruits you like, dusting them with a little gluten free flour such as rice flour; add nuts, seeds, or whatever works for you; mix and package.

=======

...I will try to add some recipes, later.

[lkinney]

We keep bags stocked with camping supplies so that we can just add fresh food to the cooler and go.
Our longest trip was 2.5 months, and we took all of our staples with us.
We are vegetarians, so you woul want to add meat to your list.
General:
~Spices saved in small spice containers that hold 4-6 different spices, 12 in total which include several spice mixes (Asian, cajun, Italian, Mexican, etc.)
~ Olive oil bottle
~Soy sauce
~Balsamic vinegar
~Tube tomato paste (tomato garlic even better) shelf stable until opened
~Tube garlic paste (shelf stable until open)

Breakfast:
~Home-made pancake mix (just add water type)
~Dehydrated eggs (done in home dehydrator, but can be purchased online)
~Oatmeal (regular - not quick)
~Dehydrated vegetables - Kale, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, etc.

Lunch/Dinner
Shelf stable tortillas and flatbreads - purchased just before the trip
Canned tomatoes, beans, refried beans, applesauce, etc.
Dried pasta
Shelf stable fresh and vacuum packed - gnocchi, and torellini
Rice
Israeli couscous
Quinoa
Red lentils
Canned sauces (home canned)

Other:
Spicy mustard
Milk powder
Coffee
Coffee flavorings
Tea and hot chocolate
Box wine
Packets of sugar or small bottle of agave

Snacks:
Nuts
Granola bars
Chocolate chips
Pretzels
Home-made granola
Sunflower seeds
Dried fruit

Cooler gets stocked with:
Fresh vegetables
Cheese
Butter
Homemade pesto

[Rainier70]

Wow, some great lists and links. I am picking up all kinds of good information and ideas. Thank you all for taking the time to share these!

IKinney, I am curious on what kinds of home canned sauces you do?

I can a number of pie fillings and jams thickened with clearjel. Clearjel is a little tricky to work with, but it works great and you don't have to add a set amount of sugar like you do with pectin, it can even be no added sugar at all. It makes good low sugar freezer jams too. I've been thinking of trying a few savory sauces with it.

Sharon, Clear Jel is a modified corn starch that doesn't break down with the heat of pressure canning. I don't know if it is 100% gluten free, but I think it is.

[lkinney]

Wow, some great lists and links. I am picking up all kinds of good information and ideas. Thank you all for taking the time to share these!

IKinney, I am curious on what kinds of home canned sauces you do?

I can a number of pie fillings and jams thickened with clearjel. Clearjel is a little tricky to work with, but it works great and you don't have to add a set amount of sugar like you do with pectin, it can even be no added sugar at all. It makes good low sugar freezer jams too. I've been thinking of trying a few savory sauces with it.

Sharon, Clear Jel is a modified corn starch that doesn't break down with the heat of pressure canning. I don't know if it is 100% gluten free, but I think it is.

I do a lot of tomato sauce, soup stock with assorted vegetables and greens, salsas, and the like. I aslo like clearjel, but LOVE Pamona's Pectin. It allows me to use no sugar, agave, stevia (favorite), and the like.

I'm currently exploring more pasta sauces with squash and other veggies. Currently, I freeze most sauce ingedients. But, given our future travel plans - I hope to dehydrae or can more items.

[felixx]

I have some 'braai seasoning for meat'
a few of sachets of soup (beef, tomato and onion) as a simple stew base
some sachets of jam and peanut butter (for the kids)
salt and pepper, curry powder, etc
a couple of tins of seasoned tomatos
a couple of tins of beans
pancake mix
a premade mix of soda bread (add 1 bottle of beer)
some flour
cooking oil
hot chocolate

This is always in the TD

Before a trip away I get some
coke
beer
meat
fruit
bread
butter
snacks for the kids
more beer
charcoal

[capnTelescope]

I tend to eat canned things on a camping trip that I like if I don't eat them that often. Some are the whole meal, some are side dishes for a fresh entree.

In no particular order:

Canned/dry:
peas, mixed veggies, 'shrooms in the small cans. Heat 'em up in the can.
Cup o' Noodles
beef stew
Canned tamales
canned chili, soup
Underwood deviled ham, chicken spread for sandwiches
canned corned beef hash for breakfast, with egg on top.
Instant mac & cheese
beans

Staples:
Olive oil
Tabasco
sea salt & pepper that come in their own grinders
mustard (I don't hardly use ketchup, mayo can ruin your day if it's not kept cold)

Local:
fresh meat, fruit, veggies
beer, ice

Precooked in the store, warm in the oven:
fried chicken
bbq ribs
whatever looks good

There's a lot of good ideas in this thread. I expect my camping diet is about to improve.

[rebapuck]

Check out freeze-dried foods. They have a very long shelf life. Even opened it's about a year. Maybe not stored in the TD(too hot). But in a box in the house ready to go.

[Rainier70]

Besides what is on here I found a boating provision Excel spread sheet that is easy to use and easy to customize for your own trips. I thought some of you might be interested in it.

http://theboatgalley.com/downloadable-p ... readsheet/