How to Have a Vegetarian Camping Trip
Food is an essential part of any camping trip. Without food, you will not be able to enjoy your vacation, you will not even have the energy to do the activities in line for you. For vegetarians, food is a major concern because most camping foods include meat, chicken, dairy products, and other items that do not belong to a vegetarian diet. If you are a vegetarian and you want to go on a meat-free camping vacation, here are some guidelines for you to remember.
Things to Bring
First, you need to plan the things you need to bring for the trip. These include cooking equipment and eating utensils such as pots, pans, grill, stove, spoons, forks, plates, cups, can opener, kettle, and so on. Aside from that, you also have to take care of food storage like Coleman coolers, food containers, and cooler accessories. These are very important for the trip, as they would keep the food fresh and safe. You will also need to bring lots of fresh water to be used for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. Speaking of cleaning, do not forget to pack a sponge and biodegradable dish soap.
Checklist and Menu
To plan the meals right, you will need to create a checklist that will enumerate all the equipment and food ingredients you need to pack. Write down a comprehensive menu so you will have an overview of all the ingredients and cooking equipment necessary for each recipe you are planning to cook.
Vegetarian Snacks and Ingredients
Stock non-perishable food items such as grains, oatmeal, pancake mix, rice, quick-cooking grains like pasta and buckwheat, cereal, granola bars, pop corn, canned beans, trail mix, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, canned juice, canned vegetable soup, soy milk, cookies, and bread. Use non-meat and non-dairy ingredients for meals such as vegetarian faux meats, veggie burgers, veggie hotdogs, yogurt, tofu, and many more.
Meal Ideas
For the breakfast, you can prepare oatmeal and cereals with soymilk. You can also serve pre-baked muffins, scrambled tofu, or baked beans and toast. During lunchtime, prepare hummus from canned chickpeas and serve this with pita filled with onions, tomatoes, and cabbage. You can also create tofu salad, grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches, and buttered corn and carrot side dish.
Now for the dinner, it would be best to whip up dishes using vegetarian faux meats like grilled veggie burgers and hotdogs served with mashed potatoes, pasta or rice. You can also roast vegetables like carrots, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and zucchini and put them on sticks to look like veggie kabobs. Cap the meal with luscious desserts like banana boats, fresh fruits, and baked goodies.
If you are going camping by yourself or with fellow vegetarians, you will not have much trouble with your diet. However, if you are joined by people who eat meat, you will need to consider and respect their food preferences. Do not force them to eat only the foods that you prepare. If they want to cook and eat meat, let them. This way, you can all have a good time during the camping vacation.
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Category: Recreation
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