Fun & Nourishing Camping Meals

Itasca Meal Planning 101: High Protein Breakfast, Lunch & Supper Guide #7

Summer weather is here!  For many of you that means camping season! 

We did a lot of camping last summer and the following ideas were some of our top picks.  They are really designed for car camping because you need a cooler and would need some drastic modification to make them work for backpacking or BWCA canoe trips.

Hot Breakfast Cereal w/ Turkey Sausage

Cook steel cut oats or teff (Ethiopian gluten-free high protein grain) according to package instructions.

Heat pre-cooked turkey breakfast sausage

Add 1 serving protein powder to each individual portion; Jaclyn and I love the various flavor options from True Nutrition.  For instance, the teff pairs well with chocolate options—reminds me of childhood CoCoWheats and the oatmeal pairs well with cinnamon flavors (chai, carrot cake, cinnamon swirl, churro, etc.)

Additional toppings:

·       Sweetener (monk fruit, stevia, honey, or maple syrup)

·       Butter or coconut oil

·       Nuts & seeds (chopped walnuts & pecans, slivered almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, ground flax)

·       Unsweetened coconut

·       Dried fruit (raisins, craisins, dates, goji berries, etc.)

·       Vanilla

·       Cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, ginger, sea salt

Gluten-Free Pepperoni Pasta Salad

Gluten free pepperoni pasta salad is a classic summer recipe!

Brightly colored veggies, a flavorful vinaigrette dressing, and spicy pepperoni make this dish a real crowd pleaser.

I love a good pasta salad. It’s easy to make pasta salads suitable for those with food allergies or sensitivities. If you need it to be gluten free, no problem! Use your favorite gluten free pasta.

For additional protein, add cooked and diced chicken or turkey OR serve with turkey brats or other grilled meat.

Ingredients:

• 10 ounces gluten free rotini or other pasta shape if desired

• 1 small red onion or scallions, finely chopped

• 1 cup carrots, sliced

• 1 English cucumber, chopped

• 1 yellow or red bell pepper, diced

• 4 ounces nitrate-free turkey pepperoni, quartered

• 1 clamshell greens (spinach, arugula, mixed baby)

For the dressing:

• ½ cup olive oil

• ½ cup vinegar (balsamic, apple cider, red or white wine, rice)

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• ⅓ teaspoon pepper

• 2 Tablespoons Italian seasoning

• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional

Instructions:

1.    Boil gluten-free pasta according to package directions. When it is cooked, rinse it with cold water to cool it off.  Do not overcook so it maintains integrity when mixed.

2.    Combine dressing ingredients in a pint jar with a lid and shake well to combine.

3.    Place the pasta, onions, carrots, peppers, cucumbers, greens and pepperoni in a large bowl. Pour the dressing on top.

4.    Mix until everything is coated with dressing. Garnish with chives or other fresh herbs if you like. Enjoy!

Street Tacos

Prepare meat ahead of time.  You can either make regular taco meat although we prefer to make pulled pork, chicken, beef, or turkey.  For instance, to cook the pulled pork put the pork tenderloin in the crockpot with 2 cans of green chiles, spices, and 1 cup broth until cooked.  There is a myriad of variations on how to make pulled meat and they all turn out great.

Ingredients to pack in cooler:

·       Prepared pulled meat

·       Corn or Siete tortillas

·       Cilantro

·       Bag of coleslaw mix or angel hair cabbage or brocco-slaw

·       Guacamole

·       Salsa or pico de gallo

·       Hot sauce

·       Limes, quartered

·       Shredded cheese, optional

·       Sour cream, optional

Rachel Oppitz, ND

&

Jaclyn Rebekah Roberts, NBC-HWC, CIHC