Northern Exposure Bushcraft: Camp Food

Hi all, having recently come back from some very welcome time in the woods; I wanted to share my thoughts on a topic very close to my heart.....FOOD.

Starting off, food is very individual to all, so please take my observations with a pinch of salt i am not a doctor (if you excuse the pun)

All food mentioned in this article unless otherwise stated was purchased at a Sainsbury’s Supermarket. Prices are correct as per there website 11/09/12. Calorie information is from the brands own websites.

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In its simplest form we need to breakdown any food requirements in to the following:

How much energy will you be using?

Expending high amounts of energy i.e. Hiking with weight over 10+km/ shelter building etc
Expending medium amounts of energy in physical exertion i.e. hikes without weight <7.5km
Expending Low amounts of energy i.e staying static in camp and the surrounding area

The average calorie (kcal) intake for a man per day is 2500kcal . Based on this

High energy activities – ~4000kcal/day)*
Medium energy activities – ~3250kcal/day
Low energy activities – 2500kcal/day

* 4000kcal/day for high energy activities derived from the standard British army 24hr ration pack providing ~4000kcal, thinking of daily energy expenditure of a solider in combat and the number of calories that have been calculated to replenish this

From this you can then begin to break this down into the daily consumption of:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snacks

For the purposes of this article I will be focusing on the low energy activities band as this was my routine. I want to run through the food I bought.

Being static in around camp is something we are all familiar with. Either sitting in front of the fire, going for a stroll through the woods or being stuck in a tent due to bad weather etc.

Breakfast: Quaker Oats – Oats So Simple Pots – Golden Syrup – 213kcal - £1

I found using this very tasty and hassle free as there is only your spoon to wash up afterwards

http://www.quaker.co.uk/products/oat-so-simple-pots

Simply just add boiling water to the line and follow the instructions on the back. In 4 mins you have a hot and healthy start to your day.

Very filling, slow release energy to begin the day with and to get you to lunch.

If in a bind you can always keep and reuse the container.

Lunch: Uncle Bens Risotto Pouch - Chicken and Mushroom – 453kcal - £2.29

http://www.unclebens.co.uk/our-products/rice/risotto

I found these pouches in the supermarket and thought i would give them a try. Personally, to eat something this quick and tasty in camp was a real morale boost, and gave me that little pick up that was needed in the afternoon.

Just empty the pouch out into your mess tin, add 100ml of water (a long splash of water in my words) add heat. As it starts to bubble up just stir the risotto around so it absorbs the water. When hot, consume.Also to bulk this out for old times sake i also had a Chicken and mushroom King Pot Noodle 513kcal

Dinner: 250g rump steak 312kcal - £3.00, Heinz Cheese and Tomato Tortellini - 229kcal - £1.00

For a little bit of luxury I brought along a steak from the supermarket in my cool bag, this was shared between two, and flame grilled over the open fire on the cooking stick method.

The Heinz pasta comes in a durable plastic pouch, and this was emptied into the mess tin and heated until it started to bubble. Stirring occasionally until hot enough to eat. This was a fantastic purchase, again very tasty and quick to make up. There are also other flavours available.

For desert was a sachet of Cadburys Highlights hot chocolate 115kcal - £0.32 and some marshmallows roasted over the open fire.

A couple of slices of white bread £0.76/ loaf - 86kcal/ slice were consumed with Lunch and dinner to act as filler.

Final Thought

Taking all the above daily consumption into account, this would have put me in the area for my daily 2500 calories and a whole days food for circa £10.

If space is at a premium, then the breakfast oats can be swapped for the individual sachets of instant oats and the Pot Noodle for a pack of Super Noodles.

I hope this shows that you can get quick, tasty, reasonably priced , low volume food for camping at your local supermarket. Go have a look and see what you can find.

I've not gone into snacks as they are very individual and make up very little of the daily meal. My favourite is http://www.naturevalley.co.uk/index.aspx#/Trail_Mix

Below is a picture of our camp set up for our living, dining and kitchen set up. The Tarp is at about 9ft and gave a real sense of security from the elements. You can make out the camp water container in the lower centre of the picture, the cool bag to the left and the Swedish Army stove to the right.