Camping Fan

I was driving around South Jersey near the shore the other day and drove past what I would consider our second favorite campground in all of New Jersey:  Avalon campground.

They are down the shore with the drive to several local beaches including Atlantic City being well under 30 minutes. They have nice sized sites and clean facilities.

I truly believe that in this world you get what you pay for and that is true of this facility, it’s a little on the pricy side but the quality of the people there, the cleanliness of the campgrounds and the size and amenities on the sites reflect it.

I would not hesitate to camp there anytime we want to camp near the beach.

Eric

So are you all getting the idea that I think food is important?

Especially when camping food can really make or break the trip. When you go camping you burn lots more calories than you do in your normal day-to-day activities unless of course you have a very physically demanding real world job!

So when planning your food for the trip always add at least 25% more than you think you will need. That way when you son who normally only eats one burger asks for a second or even a third you have enough to feed him and keep him going.

What I’ve actually done is taken a page from what I learned when planning a cub scout camping trip for my kids and plan a menu according to the following guidelines:

Breakfast

Morning snack

Lunch

Afternoon snack

Dinner

Dessert

When planning the main meals use much larger portions than normal. For breakfast if you normally eat a 3 egg omelet…make it a 4 or 5 egg. If you have 3 slices of bacon make it 5, if you eat two pieces of toast make it 3.

The snacks should be mini-meals in themselves. An apple, a pack of cookies, a sweet treat and a juice box are about the minimum.

Hopefully these extra little tips will help!

Eric

The most important thing to remember when planning your menu for a camping trip is to Keep It Simple!

Camping can be a challenge and the last thing you want to do is make it more challenging by creating this menu that will take hours and hours of prep and/or cook time.

That is one of the best parts about cooking in a dutch oven, all you have to do is figure out what you want to make, combine all the ingredients get the heat going and then just monitor it until it’s done.

Please don’t misunderstand me, this is not a fire and forget cooking method. It takes some time to prep and you must watch over things but if you follow the recipe and think things out ahead of time you will be able to eat some very, very good food and not spend every waking moment of your day sweating over a hot stove.

Eric 

One of the most important things when you start to think about going camping, whether it be spring, summer or winter is treading lightly. I am by no means a “tree-hugger” but I do agree with them that we have a significant impact on the world around us and not always for the positive.

So when you go camping try to make sure you leave the campgrounds better then you found it. This is actually pretty easy to do if you think and plan for it. Extra trash bags, only camp where others have camped before, take a little time to make sure you’re campfire is in a safe and approved area, etc…

Here are a couple more tips:

·         Plan Ahead and Prepare

·         Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

·         Dispose of Waste Properly

·         Leave What You Find

·         Minimize Campfire Impacts

·         Respect Wildlife

·         Be Considerate of Other Visitors

For more information visit: http://www.lnt.org/programs/principles.php