No-Cook Weekends

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My husband and I love to go camping.  We go to a family member’s cabin, we do tent camping, we have gone backpacking, and we frequently go to events for the Society for Creative Anachronism.  Sometimes these events provide food, but there are many weekends that you are left to fend for yourselves, at least for some meals.

I go away on the weekends to get away from the stress of work and cleaning and worrying about things like bills.  I need that opportunity to be in the moment rather than finding the next project.  My husband doesn’t understand why I can’t just sit in the living room and relax when I’m at home, but being at camp forces me to chill.  And do you know what?  It feels niiiiiiice.  And then I don’t want to spend any time or energy to feed myself or my family.

The last thing I want to do when I am camping is take time out of my day to cook something I could have made at home.  When we are at S.C.A. events, there are often other activities going on during the day that I would prefer to attend.  I love cooking over a fire, but fire food takes time.  Depending on your recipe, you have to start a fire and wait to get some coals before cooking.  Some dishes only take a few moments, others will be done in an hour or two.  If you’re going to cook on a camp stove, recipes do not take any longer than when you are at home.  The camp stove, cooking dishes and fuel take up space in the car that you may prefer to use for other things.  When you’re done cooking, you must do dishes; there’s no leaving them for the dishwasher or leaving them for later.  Making no-cook meals makes my life easier!

These are my meal plans for two weekend events we attend in the spring every year.  Often, lunch is a small affair.  Sometimes we never get around to eating lunch and just snack on nut bars or cereal bars.  I always plan for lunch just in case it’s the type of weekend when we’re really hungry.  I choose these things together because I did not want to pack bread and worry about it getting squished on a four hour car ride.  I try not to pack any meat that may be contaminated in the cooler.  Everything I pack I want to be fully cooked and have no real danger of not being kept cool properly.  I use cured meats such as deli turkey, salami, and bacon and canned meats such as salmon, tuna or chicken.  I also do not pack full sized condiments.  Leading up to trips, I grab an extra packet or two when we go out to other meals so I do not have to worry about more cooler space.  You can also transfer some of your condiments into smaller packages to put in the cooler.  On this particular weekend, we never ended up eating the peanut butter wraps.

My mom has an awesome plastic picnic basket she packs for weekends like this.  I use square plastic buckets from kitty litter.  I wash them out once the litter is used and repack them for camping.  The lids are attached so they can’t get lost in my house.  They are less likely to get water in them than many of my other options, and they stack nicely in the Jeep; I can still pack things on top of them.

 

Weekend #1

Arrive Thursday Night

Friday Breakfast – freeze dried fruit, (I find them at Big Lots, they’re delicious! You can use any fresh or dried fruit though.) Granola, soy milk

Friday Lunch – Turkey Wraps, Applesauce

Friday Dinner – Deconstructed Sushi

Saturday Breakfast – No-Cook Breakfast Wraps, Apples

Saturday Lunch – Peanut Butter Wraps

Saturday Dinner – Chicken Bacon Ranch Noodle Salad

Snacks – canned nuts, tortilla chips, mio, dots candy, string cheese/gouda sticks, salami, nut bars/Cliff bars

Sunday Breakfast – Visit a local diner on the way out of town!

Pack List for 2:

  • wraps
  • 2 c cooked rice
  • 2 packs salmon
  • soy packets
  • soy soaked cream cheese
  • chicken bacon ranch salad
  • nuts
  • tortilla chips
  • mio
  • water
  • dots
  • 2 string cheese
  • 2 gouda sticks
  • mini hard salami packet
  • 4 cliff bars
  • 2 individual packs of peanut butter
  • 8 oz deli turkey
  • 1/2 lb American cheese
  • 1/2 lb cooked bacon
  • 4 hard boiled eggs
  • 2 individual applesauce
  • 2 apples
  • soy milk
  • 2 paper cups (for granola)
  • 1 package granola
  • 2 packs dried fruit
  • paper plates
  • plastic utensils

No cook camping recipes

 

Weekend #2

At the second weekend, we have a fire pit readily available, and it’s usually the first time I’ve be sitting at a fire since winter finally ended.  I always plan to have a few meals and snacks that are warmed up over the campfire.  I know if I plan anything else, I’ll just end up going to the store in the middle of my trip because the wood smoke is so appetizing!  I still count this as a no-cook weekend, because there is nothing to clean, and the fire is going to happen whether I cook over it or not.

Friday Lunch- Turkey, Salami and American Sandwiches

Friday Dinner – Mountain Pies if our friends have made a fire, pizza sandwiches if they have not.  Check out our favorite Mountain Pie Recipes!

Saturday Breakfast – Hard Boiled eggs, pre-cooked bacon, PB & Honey Uncrustables

Saturday Lunch – Potato salad with canned chicken

Saturday Dinner – Vendor on site!

Sunday Breakfast – Cliff Bars or Nut Bars

Snacks – chips, mio, Swedish Fish, string cheese/gouda sticks, marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers, hot dogs just in case a fire appears

Pack list:

  • 1 loaf white bread
  • spray butter
  • 8 oz deli turkey
  • 3 oz salami
  • 1 package turkey pepperoni
  • 4 slices Mozzarella Cheese
  • 1/2 lb American Cheese
  • 1/2 package pre-cooked bacon
  • 4 hard boiled eggs
  • 2 Uncrustables
  • pre-made potato salad
  • one can of chicken
  • 4 cliff bars
  • 2 single serve pringles
  • mio
  • Sweedish Fish
  • 1 string cheese
  • 1 gouda stick
  • 4 marshmallows
  • 1 Hershey Bar
  • 4 Graham Crackers
  • Ketchup
  • 4 hot dogs
  • paper plates
  • plastic utensils

I hope these pack lists help you to plan your next weekend adventure!  What other great no-cook meals are great for camping?  Leave a comment with other meals you would take along!