Camping Food Ideas

If you're going camping, then you need camping food ideas. It's important to take along some good food that you enjoy, and that will keep away from the wonders of modern-day refrigeration.

After all, it'll be hard to get groceries out in the wilderness, and no one wants to be stuck eating granola bars and beef jerky for the whole trip. Fortunately, there are enough good food ideas around that it's not really all that hard to figure out what to take.

For some camping food ideas, check out

• Easy Camping Recipes
• Recipes for Camping with a dutch oven

And don't forget camping grills for making up the food!

Step one is deciding how many meals you're going to need to bring, and how many people will be eating at each meal. Remember to account for beverages and snacks, plus a little extra in case something goes bad, a meal doesn't cook correctly, or you end up sharing with neighbors. You should also account for whether or not you'll be backpacking and carrying your food or you'll be driving right up to the site. That can make a big difference in what you bring.

While many people pack a huge cooler, that's not required. A lot of food that we often refrigerate doesn't need cooling over a short period of time, including hard cheeses and breads. Of course, food stored in a hot, damp place will go bad more quickly, so be sure you choose a shaded, protected place. If you're going to bring meats of any kind that haven't been heavily preserved, or you're thinking about bringing milk products, you should make sure you'll be able to cool them properly. No one wants to get food poisoning!

Be sure you're bringing balanced meals when you go camping. Chips, salsa and beer aren't the greatest camping food ideas, after all. If you'll be out of the campsite for long periods, be sure to bring trail mix or something similar, as well as individual water bottles. That'll keep your blood sugar up and your body well hydrated. These are real dangers when you're doing more exercise than usual and you're away from home, so take care.

If you're going to be cooking, you'll need to make sure you have the tools to do it. Fortunately, a lot of foods can simply be cooked by wrapping them in something fireproof, such as aluminum foil, and placing them in the coals of a fire. Add seasonings and herbs into the packet, and you've made a simple meal without any pots and pans.

Traditional foods to cook this way include potatoes, sweet potatoes and other roots, meat and fish, and corn on the cob. Corn still in its husk and root vegetables may not even need a foil wrap. Just eat the potatoes out of the ashy skin and peel the burnt husks off the corn. There are lots of great camping food ideas out there to try. These are just a few.