Camping Food Hacks For Your Upcoming Trip to KL Ranch Cliffside on River Road
1. Make Your Own Grill
You can leave your bulky, heavy grill at home. Pack a cooling rack, a foil pan and some charcoal. If you need somewhere to set up all of the items, use an empty tin can. Start by cutting two inch strips down the upper part of the can and spread them out. Put charcoal inside the tin can and then put the foil pan over the can. Now you have a great way to cook hot dogs or burgers in a pinch. Then when it’s time to pack up, simply clean everything up and toss it in the trash.
2. Use Frozen Water Bottles Instead of Ice
Bags of ice are expensive and as the ice melts you have to drain your cooler, plus it gets really hot here in New Braunfels, Texas on the Guadalupe River. Fill a few large bottles with water and place them in your freezer before your trip. Then when you are ready to go camping use the bottles in your cooler. The ice will also last longer this way. When it does melt, you have a few more bottles of drinkable water.
3. Bring Reusable Bags and Containers
Reusable bags, often called stasher bags, are great for storing leftover meals in your cooler. They are plastic-free and BPA-free as they are made from pure platinum silicone. You are able to safely use them in the microwave and the freezer, as well as use them with boiling water or put them in the oven. Stasher bags are also useful for phone charging cords, camping toiletries and extra batteries. Gelato containers are another great container to pack. They have leakproof lids and are very durable. And who doesn’t love the excuse to eat gelato all the time?
4. Keep Food Fresher
One way to keep your food fresher is to consider vacuum sealing it when packing it. You will create more room in your cooler as well because vacuum sealing pulls out the extra air. It’s another way to ensure bugs stay out of you stash as well. You can also freeze your camping food before the trip. This provides extra “ice” with your water bottles and your cooler will stay colder for even longer.
5. Pre-Wash and Dry Fruits and Vegetables
This is one of the simplest, most useful camping food hacks. Clean water is a limited resource in the great outdoors. You can save water and time by washing and drying fruits and vegetables before you go camping. You will be able to start cooking as soon as you arrive. Cutting your vegetables before camping is another great time saver. You can easily store pre-cut veggies in the cooler using your stasher bags.
6. Space Saving Spice Packing
You aren’t going to need the entire bottle of spices for your camping trip, instead pack your needed spices in pill organizers or old tic-tac containers. This gives you plenty for your trip, but also saves a ton of space! Be sure to label your spices accordingly so you don’t get them mixed up!
7. Protect Food From Insects with Shower Caps
Cover your bowls and plates with plain shower caps to keep insects and other bugs out of your food while camping on River Road. Many shower caps come in a pack of six, providing you with more than enough. When leaving your campsite, use the shower caps for your dirty shoes to keep any dirt or mud out of your car! Double use – even better!
8. Dry Dishes in Mesh Laundry Bags
You finish eating your delicious camping food and wash your dishes, but the moment you put them down they are covered in dirt and sand. Grab a couple of mesh laundry bags before your camping trip – one for your dirty clothes and one for your dishes. Once you finish washing your dishes, put them in a mesh laundry bag and hang them from a tree. Your dishes dry quickly and will be clean for your next meal.
9. Tin Foil Is Your Friend
Whether you think you need it or not, pack it! You can cook so many things over the fire simply by wrapping it in tin foil.