Packing for camping?

[mellymomof4]

So we are doing a month long family trip from the west coast to Ontario and back. It will be my husband and I, our 4 kids, and my MIL. We will be staying with relatives off and on but mostly camping in our tent trailer. Believe it or not this is pretty much my first time camping as an adult. I am looking for any and all advice on what to pack. Especially when it comes to food/meals etc. Think easy, frugal (of course), and healthy.

TIA

[Copasetic]

Will you be able to make stops at grocery stores while you are travelling? If so, you can get fresh produce and meat there when you need to. You might want to stock up on pasta if you can; it makes for easy and cheap camping food. Things like granola or protein bars are also good for camping. You want to grab anything that is light and non-perishable to be your staple foods, then make stops for fresh stuff if you can.

[mellymomof4]

Thanks for the advice. I'm thinking taco's for the first lunch (going to make the meat ahead of time). And maybe some chili or something for dinner (also pre-made). I'm sure we will eat a lot of sandwiches etc.

[harbie]

When we go camping we also bring a cooler in the car (cool-a tron) and make sure it's loaded with things like pasta salad(mayo based ones), sammys made from home or bought, individual yogurt, cheese cut up or strings.

We did that on our drive to Arizona a few months back We could just grab something while we were on the road to help tie us over til the next stop. You can pack before you leave and then just "top off" as you run low and get to WM's or whatever is around.

Also thinhgs like:

Peanut butter(if there are no alergies)
Jam
Crackers
Salsa( can be eaten alone or used to spice up meats)
Canned soups(meals and used as gravy)
Potatos in a jar(we just wrap in foil and add spices plus they are great to re heat in the AM with bacon,etc.....)
Canned tuna
Pickles
Cereals
Canned beans
Protien bars (your FPC ones )
Hotdogs
Coffee!!!DH would die without this LOL
and the most important, for me anyways is MARSHMELLOWS, GRAHAM CRACKERS, AND CHOCOLATE!!!

[RMurp007]

I make meat spaghetti sauce, etc. and freeze it in zip lock bags because they don't take up much room when I then use these to keep the other things in the cooler cold. I also freeze juice boxes for the cooler. This saves on having to buy ice to keep cold foods cold.

[lilo0003]

We also have a tent trailer & I always forget the condiments & nothing is worse then paying full price for stuff you have at home. I must have 3 sets of salt & pepper now. Make sure you add plastic wrap, ziplocs, foil and reusable dishes for the left overs as well as paper towel, this stuff is crazy to buy full price. The cooletron is awesome for keeping snacks close at hand.
Other food my kids love:
KD (pack a strainer)
canned pasta
hot chocolate
popcorn (we have a hot air popper for the trailer & paid 1.00 new in the box)
bring as much as you can from your home stockpile & take your coupons for what you need to buy along the way
Don't forget the pillows...been there done that.
& mostly... have fun

[mellymomof4]

Wow! You guys are great with the ideas and tips! A lot of stuff I was probably going to forget to add to my list! Thanks so much, and feel free to keep adding to this thread :D

[travel-mum]

I've been camping for about 47 years, so here goes:

Buy those wooden plate holders and a whole bunch of paper plates from the dollar store. When meals are done, have everyone throw their paper plates into the fireplace. The kids always got a kick out of it when I said everyone had to do their own "dishes"!

Make meals double up. I used to make a rice/hamburger mixture one night, and with the leftovers the next night I would add salsa, put the mixture in taco shells, add lettuce, cheese and tomatoes and you've got tacos!

Or I would make spaghetti one night and then the leftover sauce would make sloppy joes the next night.

We ate lots of subs, cooked hot dogs and sausages over the fire. We even had a basket and made nachos over the fire!

[Sunshyne1]

Hot dogs and sausages cooked over the campfire...best way to cook them in my opinion!

We just got back from a little four day camping excursion. We did the normal burgers, hot dogs, steak, ribs etc. So nothing too fancy. We had a small camp bbq, but actually found we did more cooking over the little green propane tanks with the pot attachment
it looks like this:
http://chazaq.files.wordpress.com/20...0l-_ss500_.jpg

we had two of them and used them more than the small bbq. They we're great.

i don't have alot of food suggestions, but i do have some other suggestions.

Buy a bulk pack of either baby wipes or face wipes. I used those at night before going to sleep to get all the grime off my hands and face before going to bed. It was a bit of a hike up to the washrooms.
buy a cheap tablecloth & those clips to keep it secured to the picnic table. The picnic tables at some sites are pretty gross and no amount of cleaning will help them. (Dollarama has a great camping aisle!)
Bring a small dustpan with brush. Great way to brush off the picnic table before you eat and to keep the tent floor clean.
Fill some 2 ltr pop bottles with water in them (not full all the way otherwise they may bust) freeze them and use those in your coolers instead of ice. We froze about four of them and laid 2 on the bottom and two on the top and it worked great. Then when they thaw you have some clean drinking water available to you instead of buying it.
You said you were staying at relatives along the way, so you can always just refill them and refreeze.
Bring some line to string between trees for a clothes line. Even if you just use it for towels you'll find it very helpful.

[save_girl]

It was a bit of a hike up to the washrooms.

Speaking of this... bring a mirror. Helps save a trip to the washroom occasionally if you are heading out, and also saves you from parading through a campground with medusa hair in the morning. Dry shampoo is also great, as sometimes lines for showers are long and hot water supply is short. Flip flops to wear in the shower are always a good idea too, and if you can find a toiletries bag that hangs over a bathroom stall door or shower bar, you'll probably find that useful.

Don't forget the first aid kit, extra bandaids, sunsreen, insect repellant, polysporin, after-bite, benedryl, calamine, aloe vera, disinfectant, purell, tweezers, batteries, flashlights, matches.... this stuff is all ridiculously priced if you have to buy last minute or on the campground. Rain gear (those plastic ponchos pack small and cover lots) often gets overlooked.

[Clippy]

We have a tent trailer too.
If you are going to camping on Hydro sites ... one of the best things that we have in ours is a night light, its amazing how dark it can be inside a tent trailer in the middle of the night when somebody needs to take a trip to the washroom!
A small fan is also very useful, its great to have some air movement at night when it is hot.
We also have 2 coolers, the large one I pack with all my frozen meat etc, plus bottles of frozen water to keep it cold.
I try to only go into this one once a day to pull out food for meals.
The other smaller one is for the drinks and snacks, we keep this one handy in the car when travelling.
Saves endless stops for refreshments.
As for camp food ... pizza is pretty good cooked on a camp fire!
The only other advice I have is to take a supply of drinking water with you ..... water quality is not reliable at many camp grounds.
Enjoy your trip!

[Clippy]

Almost Forgot!
Take a roll of quarters with you ... many places charge for the showers.

[Brandy Hunter]

They charge for showers !?!? Here it's free .. but we have 'suicide showers' that shock (not hard) you if you're not wearing sandals. Thank god our camper has a shower. The people we know here that don't have a shower/hot water tank come here to shower. They love our assortment of toiletries

[miztia]

I use to pack an electric skillet for all my cooking. The big one with the lid will do for everything. Boiled water for coffee,tea, cooked every meal, then heated water and washed the dinner dished is it.