Looking for some inspiration
i do boca and portobello burgers with my partner
there's also homemade macaroni salad we prep before and bring
we'll also do nachos with vegan cheese. just throw onion, salsa, red bell peppers, cumin + chili powder whatever else
There’s the classic beans and cornbread. I’ve also done cast iron pan pizza, mushroom kebabs, baked potatoes, and a zucchini/chickpea “hash” seasoned with cinnamon and cumin.
Gotta love beans and cornbread. Love my cast iron fur that stuff
The hash sounds pretty good!
I love a good nice chilled pasta/macaroni salad with vegan mayo, but that's if you wanted to bring something cold.
To piggyback on this - Traditional Bavarian Potato Salad. Really basic provincial stuff that isn't burgerstan indulgence. You won't have to worry as much about spoilage or the mayo doing weird separation stuff.
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Shallots
White Vinegar
Mustard
Any combo of herbs - I like dill and flat leaf parsley
Edit: if you're feeling spendy the beyond brats are pretty good. I hate the Italian sausages but they nailed the brats.
Just a touch of mild mustard from a jar or bottle. Like not enough to make it more yellow. Just enough to round it out.
If you're going camping for a while, what's important is to have a good mix of fairly healthy, hearty, quick-cooking bulk ingredients; and having enough spices to avoid getting sick of shit; while still having enough candy and processed shit to make sure you shit regular. Here's how I used to be about it when I lived on my bike:
Staples
- TVP
- Quick-cooking grain (quinoa, minute rice, polenta, oats, cornmeal etc.)
- Quick-cooking pulse (red lentils...never figured out another lol)
- Camping Oil
- Sandwich loaf (pre-peanutbuttered loaf)
Spices
I would usually have 1-3 spices blends depending on how long I was planning to be gone, and how recently I was in town, and how broke I was + some basics. Specific items are basics, points with multiple items are like trying to capture the essence of a particular blend. Ranked by importance with plusses
- Nutritional Yeast +++ (protein and vitamins but will stain your piss)
- Lime salt (sold as beer salt) ++
- Garlic Salt +++
- Lemon Pepper +
- Onion Powder +++
- Sweet blend: some combo of cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, tumeric, ginger, carrot + (wound up not wanting to put in the effort for hot breakfast much)
- Berebere +++
- Psyllium Husk
- Taco seasoning/Chili seasoning +
- "pizza blend": Herbs de Provence/Italian Seasoning + Smoked Paprika ++
Supplement with vegetables, fruits, fried food, candy, dried vegetables, gas station pies, fried food, fried food, fried food, dried fruit?? (idk shit was too expensive) as budget and access allow. My big mistake was eating 'too healthy' early on and not being able to shit. I was in the rare condition of actually needing more candy to maintain my health lol.
Eventually, I quit being vegan because my cravings for fried fish were so intense. It's been a weird journey since then.
Breakfast skillet
- potatoes and oil, high heat (don't flip them til browned) then reduce to medium
- peppers and onions until soft
- mushrooms. around the time they're done the potatoes should be cooked through
- seitan
- avocado, fake cheese (optional), and a little bbq sauce
Dinner ideas:
- block of tofu in half, blackening seasoning, same cast iron skillet. make green beans for the side
- seitan curls and mongolian sauce served w rice
- massaman curry (curry paste, potatoes, tofu/seitan, onion, vegetable, etc) w rice
camping oil is whatever oil comes in a small plastic bottle. Ideally, it's olive oil but it could just be butcher boy. You'll be hungry enough it don't matter.
Another good one, we called it 'hobo meal' growing up. You chop up potatoes and whatever schmeat and veggies you have. Throw it in tinfoil. Cover it in camping oil, salt, spices, and ketchup and mustard. Close it up and put it in a fire for a while until its done.
I also used to bring packets of this as a treat for the crew when I did controlled burns and reached a new level of crunchiness heretofore unknown to formerly-urban whitekind.
If you have access to a heating element, you can make tamale polenta gruel! I use nixtamalized cornmeal, copious amounts of camping oil, nutritional yeast and whatever spice blend I packed. You can also add walnuts or sunflower seeds. It is hot, filling and tastes like gods love. I vividly remember crying for joy eating my first bite on a bike tour. I had got the cornmeal from a hippie store at like 85 cents a pound and was profoundly sick of my other camping food.
If you're car camping, instant couscous packets with hella camping oil + maybe a vegan weenie and crushed bbq chips is also a godly food.