Tips to Prepare Food for Winter Camping

When you embark on winter camping, you need double the calories as you would in normal times. Instead of high-carb foods, high-fat, high-protein food items are the best to keep you fuller for a longer time, keep you warm and energetic throughout the day. However, choosing proper food items and packing them are not an easy task.

You need a lot of planning before starting for camping. When it comes to food, it is very important to keep you active, energetic and enjoy your outdoor activities. So, you need to pay special attention to pack the food items depending on the weather condition and length of your trip.

Follow the recipes that need fewer steps and easy to make since you cannot invest most of your time in extensive cooking see this article for easier camping recipes and learning more ideas on how to use Dutch oven, precooking, how to pack food items for camping etc.,

Here are some useful tips.

  • First, don’t forget to hydrate yourself frequently even if you are not feeling thirsty. Also, make sure that warm water is readily available at anytime in your camp. Use metal Nalgene bottles for water and place them near campfire so that it is kept warm all the time.
  • To stay hydrated during winter campouts, including fluids like soups, brothy meals, hot tea, are good option.
  • Since you will be burning an extra 1000 calories to keep your body temperature during freezing temperatures, don’t forget to allow for increased consumption while packing your food.
  • As would freeze your foods for summer camping, the same can be done for winter camping also to keep foods from freezing. Place them in cooler without ice. Place a bottle of boiled water inside the cooler during the night, so that you will have warm water to drink the next day.
  • Place the cooler in such place where it can get some warmth.
  • Dehydrated foods are the best choice for freezing temperatures. You can either buy them or make your own at home which will be a healthier and cheaper option.
  • Already frozen meals also make the best choice especially on your first day of camping. Just thaw them and enjoy.
  • Dried food items like pastas, rice etc., are easy to cook with just boiling water. These choices save you lot of time cooking and are easy to clean afterwards. Add some other ingredients to make them into a delicious meal.
  • Crackers or freshly baked bannocks are good alternat to sliced bread that can freeze so easily. For the treats, choose the items that won’t freeze. If you are bringing cheese and meat, pre-slice them in desired size and shapes. Don’t forget to place a wax sheet in between them to avoid getting into one big lump.
  • You need lot of snacks to nibble on the go. Pack a lot of snacks like, cheese sticks, dried fruits, crackers and place them in your pockets and backpacks for easy access.
  • Above all, don’t forget to bring fuel that is 2.5x more than you need for summer.