Healthy Recipes For Your Next Outdoor Camping Adventure

Who doesn’t like going camping? Australians love nothing more than spending time in the great outdoors. However, we still need to eat. Please read below for some healthy recipes you can try when camping.

Camping is a great way to travel around Australia. For many Australians, there is nothing like spending time around a campfire cooking a meal for the whole family to enjoy.

It is also a great time to try out some new creative recipes and cool camping equipment.

Although most campers will be looking for one-pan meals with minimum ingredients that are usually meat-based, with a bit of creativity you can have healthy camping food that will satisfy any palate.

Here are some healthy recipes for outdoor camping to start off with:

Breakfast

Traditional camping breakfasts usually consist of a quick fry up that involves lots of grease. Why not try some of the following healthy alternatives?

Oatmeal: This is a quick and easy meal to start the day when camping and you can ring in the changes with healthy and interesting additives.

All you need is hot water and salt to prepare quick-cooking oats in less than 5 minutes, then try the following ingredients to add interest:

• Add freshly chopped apples or other hard fruit and a generous dose of nutrient-packed seeds.
• Drizzle maple syrup or honey over it instead of sugar for sweetness.
• Add natural, unsweetened yoghurt and a few nuts.

Granola: This is a great breakfast for camping as it can be served as is or fortified with fresh or dried ingredients like dried blueberries, nuts, fruit, or yoghurt.

Lunch

Campfire Nachos: These are an easy and fun dish that takes no time at all to prepare. Layer your nachos with a variety of canned or fresh ingredients and top it with cheese.

• Lightly oil the bottom of a Dutch oven and place a layer of chips in bottom.
• Start stacking layers of ingredients, starting with a layer of El Pato sauce and finishing off with a cheese layer. Anything will do like green onions, shredded cheese, tomatoes, black beans, olives, chillies, avocadoes, fresh cilantro.
• Place the Dutch oven on an open grill, pop the lid on, and wait for the cheese to melt.

Dinner

Instead of the usual meat or chicken barbecue, why not try a satisfying hot meal that is easy to prepare and very filling?

A stew is both healthy and satisfying and will keep you warm inside all night long.

The ingredients can be chopped beforehand and placed in plastic containers to make preparation easier.

Sweet Potato Peanut Stew:

Ingredients

• ½ c diced onion
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 2 cups sweet potatoes chopped
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 can chickpeas
• 2 cups fresh kale or spinach

Preparation

• Heat two tablespoons of oil in a Dutch oven.
• Add the onions and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
• Then add the rest of the ingredients except the chickpeas and spinach. Mix thoroughly to avoid clumps forming.
• Simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender.
• Add the chickpeas and spinach and stir until it has warmed through and the spinach has wilted.
• Serve as is or on rice, freshly baked bread, or baked potatoes.

Snacks

After a day of hiking, canoeing or swimming, campers will not only be exhausted but ravenous.

Instead of grabbing bags of unhealthy potato chips and store-bought chocolate bars, why not tide them over until mealtime with healthy, tasty snacks made ahead of time?

Here are some healthy snack alternatives you can take along:

• homemade fruit and nut granola bars,
• roasted, spiced almonds,
• gluten-free crackers
• jerky is a wonderful natural source of protein
• apple sauce on the go is a great snack for smaller children
• wholemeal nutritional crackers are great on their own or can be served with healthy spreads or tuna mayonnaise for a quick snack between meals
• kale chips which allow to still get your fill of nutritious leafy greens while camping

Camping is an activity that needs to be carefully planned if it is to be enjoyed to the full.

The ultimate guide to camping is never complete as each individual will always be adding their own personal preferences and basic requirements to the list.

If you would like to enjoy healthier food on your next camping trip, we hope the above recipe ideas will give you something to think about before stacking your coolers with the usual meat and potato fare.

If you are thinking about camping anywhere in Australia, then there is no better way to do this than with your very own caravan.

For the best caravans in Australia, then you can’t go past Retreat Caravans. 

Please check out our range of caravans below, all carefully designed with you in mind:

• Whitsunday – Touring caravan
• Keppel – Compact caravan
• Fraser – Semi off-road caravan
• Hamilton – Luxury caravan
• Daydream – Off-road caravan