Dear Friends,

Fall is almost here, which means one big thing for me: hiking and camping season is back! This past week the late summer weather let us down a bit — by now we should be having temps back in the mid-80’s, but the 90’s and high heat indices have been hanging on here in Southeast Missouri. We got semi-lucky on Saturday and finally got a break from the 90’s with a high of 86, and a low in the 60’s. We managed to get just one good weekend day for some comfortable camping!

We have a little cabin on the family farm where we do our camping, and aside from a generator we can use for lights or charging phones, it is completely devoid of electricity and running water. That means no air conditioning, no bathroom, and no refrigerator. When it comes to food, we are limited to a cooler with ice, and shelf-stable foods. When your diet is more plant-centered and processed food-avoidant, this can create a challenge.

As I do with all of eating — I planned ahead. I wanted to make sure I had veggies, fruit, grains and protein…with a bit of a treat since we were in “vacation mode”. For me, that treat was a favorite…chocolate chip cookies! I also kept my cheese intake low this week so that I could enjoy some at the cabin.

So…what was on the camping food list?

• veggie hot dogs…because you have to have hot dogs to cook over a camp fire, and my kids even like them!
• black bean burgers…toss in the cast iron skillet over the fire and toast away
• French fries…to go with the burgers
• carrots, celery and broccoli with hummus…which is also a staple at home
• brown rice crackers
• white cheddar and sharp cheddar cheeses
• organic multi-grain tortilla chips
• black bean chips
• salsa
• green apples
• blueberries
• peanuts
• peanut butter
• cranberry-almond energy bites…date-based, with a little dark chocolate so it’s like dessert
• boiled eggs, oats, raisins, setvia and almond milk for breakfast
• chocolate chip cookies
• And of course, you have to have marshmallows for the camp fire!

The marshmallows were more for the kids than for me, although I did eat a couple. The treat for the kids was sandwiching the marshmallow in between two chocolate chip cookies to make a sandwich. I definitely never buy this stuff at home, so when we have fun special occasions like this, I let them go a little crazy. Everyone needs that once in a while!

I may not have been able to get the bulk of veggies that I normally do at home while camping, but I feel pretty good about what we had, and I got a new idea for next time — chili! I have no idea why this never occurred to me, but while we were roasting the veggie dogs Hunter said he’d love to have some chili dogs. I could easily do a good meatless chili too, if I want to keep it all plant-based. That is a food that is flexible, and just to make up for his campfire craving, I’m making some chili and veggie dogs for dinner tonight 🙂

Wishing you all a happy camping season!

Love,
Loren