• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

When camping on the road, what do you eat?

nakwakto00

Adventurist
On a recent long distance road trip through several Western states, the discussion often came up, "What's for supper?" Eating out is expensive and sometimes not always healthy for you. I can only eat so many cheesebutgers before I never want to see one again. So again the question is, "What's for supper?" Do you pack some groceries, or pack canned foods (such soup, pasta or stews) or "insta-meals" that you micrwave at a motel? Or freeze dried foods? Do you look for recipes that would be conducive to camping? Are there techniques or strategies, or brands you regularly use while on the road? What about breakfast? Okay enough questions, let me know your road food strategy.
 
SPAM on a stick. :eat

Beef jerky and shelled sunflower seeds.

Sometimes backpacker meals.

Granola bars.

Ground coffee in the Jetboil french press with powdered creamer and stevia sweetener. Or PG Tips tea.

new addition to the pack: box wine, without the box.

Otherwise, water to drink.

(or vodka with beer chasers, if there's ice.) :drink

Ian

.
 
In theory

it's not too difficult to stop and buy food for supper, and cook it at camp.
I've done that often, and been perfectly happy doing so, but maybe the choices are limited to a certain degree. Never gotten into backpacker meals but hey- why not? Perfectly good technology there, tried & true.

In general, I like to tote some stuff along for meals along the way. Things like canned tuna or other canned "meats", dried meats, like salami or similar, dried fruits & nuts, even cheeses, and rolls, bagels, or breads will last for days without refrigeration. Granola, or other cereals, and granola bars or energy/protein bars, are also good to go. If you have something (like cheese?) that may need to be kept cooler, you can always wrap it up and stuff it deep into a saddle bag- even keep it in a sleeping bag (down, for example, keeps things hot AND cool) to keep it at a more steady temperature range and protect it from extreme heat. If you're traveling thru any kind of farm country in any kind of growing season, it's easy to pick up a few veggies along the way, also which need no refrigeration, in the short term- and maybe no cooking depending on what you wind up with...
I personally tend to eat more the type of things listed above for morning and afternoon meals, and try to cook something at night, in camp.


"Road food" need not be "fast food" products.
BUT- anything truly worthwhile is going to require some dedicated attention IE: TIME.
 
When I camp, I like to use some of the $ I save by camping and spend it on restaurant meals. No need to eat unhealthy or cheeseburgers all the time. Even a small mom & pop place will have reasonably priced healthy items on the menu, in my experience. A big salad with grilled beef or chicken on it comes to mind.
 
Truckstops and mom & pops have good healthy food. I don't deprive myself a good meal. a salad bar is always a good choice.
 
When I camp, I like to use some of the $ I save by camping and spend it on restaurant meals. No need to eat unhealthy or cheeseburgers all the time. Even a small mom & pop place will have reasonably priced healthy items on the menu, in my experience. A big salad with grilled beef or chicken on it comes to mind.

I'm with you. As a "professional traveler" I know that unhealthy eating at restaurants is your choice of place, and choice of food.

I also backpack, and I eat a lot of "Mountain House" meals. They are good, not cheap, but certainly easy. The advantage to me is that all you have to do is boil water. No seasoning, oil, or cleanup needed. For backpacking they are great but I'd eat better on a motorcycle trip.
 
We either eat nice meals at restaurants or nice meals t the campground.

As others have said, it's not hard to pick up a bag of salad, a steak, some fruit for dinner and have a great meal at the camp.

If we're not very hungry, salad and soup with some cheese and fruit afterwards, doesn't get much better...........Rod.
 
What's in my saddlebags?

small cans of green peas and salmon. I've been eating this for years and haven't gotten tired of it yet. I usually ride alone so I don't have to please anyone else but me. If I do have a pillion, they either eat it or starve. I do supplement this with some fruit and good scotch along the way. But, it's simple, keeps my insides working good and money in my pocket. I know, it's not for everyone.

DW
 
Mountain House and a Jet Boil. All of the diversity you want is available. Packs easy. Doesn't attract bears (until you cook it).
 
I learned this one from another Boy Scout leader while on a backpacking trip recently - Shrimp and Grits! Shrimp is dehydrated ahead of time and grits - well they come dehydrated naturally. I was skeptical upon hearing it, but after a fairly quick preparation with nothing but a Jet Boil stove and water, we had a hearty meal of shrimp and grits. Hits the spot on a cold day, too.

It packs extremely small along with a small pot and the stove. +1 on the Jet Boil French press and coffee in the morning. This guy had dozens of recipes for dehydrated meals - chili, spaghetti, rice and chicken. We tried them all and they were all quite good with a little spice mixed in.

It takes some thought and preparation on the front end, but you can literally dehydrate weeks worth of food at a time and it is shelf stable. One of the best backpacking trips I ever had!
 
If you are riding in the Pacific Northwest, you can literally live off the farmer-stand food. Rolls, fresh fruits, giant mushrooms, bell peppers, snap peas, that wonderful smoked salmon - well, you get the idea. Healthy, fresh, and nutritious. No cooking needed. This stuff lets you graze and explore.
Possibilities like this elsewhere?
 
I pack a couple or three dehydrated meals and the jetboil, but usually eat out of the supermarket, gas station, or diner.
 
I pack a couple or three dehydrated meals and the jetboil, but usually eat out of the supermarket, gas station, or diner.

Just did a week in the Boundary Water Canoe Area with a jetboil and dehydrated meals. Great stove!
 
Simple meals

An "off thread" buddy told me he prepares seasoning packets in zip lock bags then adds ingredients as needed. For example, Chicken Stew - seasoning packet, canned chicken, canned peas and carrots, and a potato. Seasoning packet has spices, dried onions, dried herbs, and chicken bullion. He says that all he adds is water besides the above ingredients. He writes the instructions and other items to add with a Sharpie on the bag. He gave me a seasoning bag for chili, I followed his instructions (canned corned beef, canned beans, and can of Rotel) and it was great and easy to do. He often uses cut-up beef jerky as the protein - such as "beef sesame noodles." Some suppers he carries in baby food jars versus a seasoning packet that contain liquid ingredients such as soy sauce, sesame oil, etc. He has over 50 different meals! Some sound better than I eat at home.:eat

What do folks think about this? Sounds tasty to me.
 
Find the finest restaurant in the area. Stand outside. After a day's ride, you'll look like heck anyway. Someone will take pity on you and give you their doggy bag. Enjoy!!
 
Back
Top