Hints for meal planning when you are packing in short
distances. |
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Here are some ideas to reduce the load (weight and space) when you are not camping next to the car but you are not backpacking either. |
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- Avoid milk and OJ. Gallons jugs are heavy, take up valuable cooler space, and are often not finished. Drink water. Bring powered drink mixes if you want something else. |
- Limit the number of cans and jars due to weight. |
- Try dried foods such as soup mix (instead of cans), noodles or rice (plain or just-add-water flavored packets). |
- Limit the food that needs to be in a cooler so it will fit into one small or medium size cooler. Carrying a full-sized ice chest is not fun. |
- Limit the cookware (number of pots, skillets, etc.) you need. |
- Coordinate the meals so you do not have to use different cookware at each meal. |
- Cooking over the fire, on a campfire grill for example, minimizes the amount of cookware and propane you need. |
- We will heat water over the fire in the large coffee pot. We can all use it for hot drinks and meal clean up. Take advantage of it. |
- Bagels do not get squashed as easily as loaves of bread. |
- Leave room in your personal pack for some crew gear. |
- If you need a stove and you can get by with one burner, consider a backpacking stove. The troop has several. But remember they are on or off. There is no flame adjustment. |
- Repackage food to take up less space. (If the package it comes in takes up more space than necessary, take the food out and put it in a something else.) |
- Do not take a whole bottle of ketchup/mustard/mayo. Save extras packets from restaurant take-out. |