Clever Ways to Work with Food While Camping
While it is true that camping involves making do without a lot of the conveniences that we often take for granted, this doesn’t mean that we have to eat MREs or out of tin cans either. Even during a survival situation, if you have some basic items on hand, you can improvise them in order to create a greater variety of meals. Here are a few examples to consider.
Citrus and Banana Peels
After you’ve eaten your orange, grapefruit or banana, you can stuff the newly-available space with almost any food you like and use it as an improvised pot. People have baked muffins in the field with orange bowls, and bananas can be stuffed with almost anything as a way to hold the ingredients together while they cook. Both will also add a little extra flavor to whatever you’re cooking as well.
Additionally, remember that you can also use an orange half as an improvised candle. When that’s finished, you can stuff it with sap or pine pitch and continue to let it burn.
Aluminum
Aluminum foil and empty cans give you a world of opportunity when it comes to being able to diversify your meal options in the field. You can use cans to bake with, boil liquids or eat and drink from. Everyone should have at least one can and some foil on hand in their bug out bag or survival kit.
Empty Chip Bags
Many empty chip bags are made with a Mylar-like lining with bottoms that are generally well-sealed. This makes them excellent choices for food pouches. Shake out the leftover chips and place any food you like inside. You can also use them to rehydrate dried soups or other dehydrated items if you don’t have a suitable container nearby. Just pour in the dry ingredients, add water, wait, and you’re good to go. Just remember that the pouch will be as hot as the water inside, so be careful not to accidentally burn yourself when you’re ready to grab it and start eating.
Zipper Bags
You can use zipper bags as a means to boil almost any kind of food, and a little thinking outside of the box can open the door to all kinds of possibilities. Just put the items inside, squeeze out the air, and zip up the bag before placing it in the water. One fun recipe idea to try is to make an omelet. Simply add the eggs and other ingredients into the bag, squish and mix everything thoroughly, seal it up and put it in the water. Let it poach for a few minutes and you’re good to go.
Bring Seasonings
The last thing that a lot of people think to incorporate into their bug out bag or survival kits are seasonings. Aside from salt or maybe some pepper, most spices are kept at home instead of in the field where they can do you, and your meals, a lot of good. However, it’s a good idea to put these items into small containers instead of baggies or individual packets. This will minimize the risk of losing them if they get wet. Instead, think about putting them in small Tic-Tac or similar containers. They are compact and easy to store, and they also tend to be pretty water and spill-resistant.
Hopefully these examples will prompt you to mull over some outside-of-the-box ideas well. While this may not seem like a big deal now, a happy stomach can provide a tremendous morale boost during a wilderness survival situation, and there are a lot of little things that we can do in order to improve the quality and variety of what we eat in the field.
