Camping Animal-Based

Written By Sadierose Saucier

When my husband and I travel by car, we always bring two coolers filled with food. We always anticipate eating 85-100% of our food out of these coolers, especially when camping.

In this blog post I will lay out exactly what we bring (equipment and food), how we pack it, and what our day to day eating looks like.

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LIST OF EQUIPMENT:

This is of course not everything we bring camping, this is just the food related stuff.

LIST OF FOODS:

  • 3lb of prepped burgers (usually with organ meats blended in); I use a local farmer or “Force of Nature” organ blend

  • 3lb usually makes me 9-10 burgers.
    I store these in a non-toxic BPA free ziploc bag, 5 in each, then FREEZE.

  • 4-5lb brisket (already cooked and sliced), see my recipe for brisket.
    I store it in a glass tupperware container and keep it in the FRIDGE. This is usually cooked 1 day prior to leaving. Keep in mind it needs 2 days to thaw and overnight to marinate.

  • 2 steaks (typically steak tips, already marinated)
    I store these in a non-toxic BPA free ziploc bag together, then FREEZE

  • A pack of fish (we prefer haddock or salmon)
    These are usually in a plastic seal from the store, and I'll place in a ziploc for extra protection, then FREEZE

  • 2 dozen eggs (free range, corn/soy free preferred)
    Packed in hard plastic egg cases (usually found in a camping section at the store)

  • 2 packs of bacon (nitrate & sugar free) usually “Applegate” brand, then FREEZE

  • 1 pack of sausage (cheddar & Jalapeno "Force of Nature" brand is great), they even use raw cheddar, and they are a regenerative farm
    FREEZE

  • 1 gallon raw milk (I buy 2 half gallons in glass)

  • 2 blocks of raw cheddar cheese

  • 1 block of raw parm. reggiano (Scots favorite)

  • 4 sticks of butter (we prefer Kerrygold, as we dont have access to raw)

  • Banana/Egg muffins (4 over-ripe bananas, 8 eggs, pinch of salt and dash of cinnamon... blend and pour into buttered muffin tins. I like to add 4-5 blueberries on the bottom. Bake for 15 min at 375).
    These make a great after dinner dessert or during the day snack

    These following foods are not animal-based. We like to splurge on these foods when we are away and they don’t negatively effect us, especially when we are being physically active:

  • Local no pesticide potatoes
    I cube these and place them in a double ziploc with water. It's much easier to have them pre-cut, otherwise you need to bring a food knife and cutting board. ‘

  • Local no seed oil sourdough bread or english muffins

  • Date balls: (1 (16oz) pack of dates, 1 cup of shredded coconut, 1/4 C cocoa powder, blended and formed into balls). I keep these in the fridge before we leave. These make great hiking snacks.

  • Decaf coffee (Lairds Superfood brand), made with a glass french press

  • Maple syrup (we add a bit to our raw milk at night)

  • Honey, we add some to our morning coffee or just as a nice boost before a long hike

    (we like to buy something local when we arrive, if stores are available)

  • Pickles (nice to eat with the burgers or just to snack)

  • 8 apples

  • Bunch of bananas

  • "Siete" Lime Chips

  • "Barnana" Plantain Chips

and thats pretty much it! We will hit a local food co-op or organic grocery store (preferably) if we want anything else while we are away. But, that is just a WANT. This list will last us 4 days without extras if we had to.
This past trip I grabbed a pack of guacamole just because I wanted it with my cold burger. Sometimes we like to find fresh pressed juice or local fruit.

HOW WE PACK THE COOLERS:

This is our "fridge" cooler

This is our "freezer" cooler

One cooler will be your "fridge" and one will be your "freezer".

We invested in a hard YETI 65 cooler because we camp a lot and it is the only cooler that will keep the water bottles frozen for 4+ days). This is especially perfect for camping when you have no access to new ice, such as canoe/river camping, remote camping, etc. If you do have access to new ice, it’s not necessary.
The other cooler is a cheaper coleman cooler from walmart and that does pretty well for the "fridge" cooler. It will keep frozen water bottles frozen for 2-3 days.
Line the bottom of your coolers with frozen water bottles. One layer is good. Once food is added, we add 1 bag of ice to the top of each before leaving. We typically DO NOT have to buy more ice after this.

Foods in the “Freezer" cooler:

-all frozen meats except for what we will eat that night and the next morning (so minus a pack of burgers and pack of bacon)
-cooked brisket
-cheese
-sourdough
-pickles
-anything that might not fit in the fridge cooler but I keep it towards the top


Foods in the “Fridge" cooler:

-everything else that is not listed above that needs to remain cold.

Throughout the weekend, you can move meats to the fridge cooler to thaw a little more before cooking. For the most part, everything will start to thaw a little anyway.
By the last day, you should be able to consolidate into one cooler (whichever one is colder).
Use the now empty cooler to store your empty glass containers, etc. making an easier trip home!

DAY BY DAY MEALS:

Friday AM (leave for camping)
-We make eggs and a coffee before we leave, usually eaten with raw cheese and carnivore crisps or epic meat bar.

Road snacks: apple, banana, date balls, egg/banana muffins.

Friday PM (first night at camp)
-5 burgers* with raw cheese on the flattop grill
-pickles
-Siete chips
-glass of raw milk
*Scot will usually eat 2 and I will eat 1, leaving us 2 burgers for snack tomorrow!

Saturday AM:
-6 eggs fried (2 for me and 4 for Scot)
-pack of bacon
(both cooked on the flattop grill, bacon first so it oils it up for the eggs!)
-sourdough english muffin
-raw cheese
-coffee (with raw milk & local raw honey)

Midday: we are usually out hiking/exploring
-apple/banana
-date balls
-cold burgers from yesterday with raw cheese
-pickles
OR
if we are at camp, we can warm up some brisket with butter

PM:
-steak tips
-potatoes
(cooked over the fire on the cast-iron if weather is clear)
-glass of raw milk and maybe banana/egg muffin or date balls for “dessert”

Sunday AM:
-6 eggs fried (2 for me and 4 for Scot)
-pack of bacon
(both cooked on the flattop grill, bacon first so it oils it up for the eggs!)
-sourdough english muffin
-raw cheese
-coffee (with raw milk & local raw honey)

Midday: we are usually out hiking/exploring
-apple/banana
-date balls
-brisket (cold or warmed depending on if we are at camp) with raw cheese
-pickles

PM:
-5 burgers* with raw cheese on the flattop grill
-pickles
-Siete chips
-glass of raw milk and maybe banana/egg muffin or date balls for “dessert” ‘

*Scot will usually eat 2 and I will eat 1, leaving us 2 burgers for snack tomorrow!

Monday AM:
-6 eggs fried (2 for me and 4 for Scot)
-Pack of "Force of Nature" sausage
-sourdough english muffin
-raw cheese
-coffee (with raw milk & local raw honey)

Midday: we are usually out hiking/exploring
-apple/banana
-date balls
-cold burgers from yesterday with raw cheese
-pickles

PM:
-pack of fish
-brisket
(both cooked on the cast iron over the fire is weather is clear, with butter)
-potatoes
-glass of raw milk and maybe banana/egg muffin or date balls for “dessert”


Tuesday AM: The day we are packing up to leave; our last meal before hitting the road
-6 eggs fried (2 for me and 4 for Scot)
-whatever is left for meat (in this case it was the brisket)
Both cooked on the flattop with butter
-raw cheese
-coffee (with raw milk & local raw honey)

Road snacks:
Apple/banana
other fruit we may have picked up at a local co-op
date balls
any snacks we have left!

This is a plan for CAMPING primarily and it has so much room for change.
You could have steaks, chicken, burgers, hot dogs, etc. You will also need to account for how many people and how much you personally eat each. My husband and I eat pretty big portions, maybe for some families, 2 dozen eggs would be enough for a family of 4!
My biggest advice is to plan out a few meals that will leave you leftovers for midday meals the next day, and to prep one big meat before you leave, like a brisket.


Im sure there will be questions or things that need clarification, please feel free to reach out via email at sadierosepl@gmail.com or DM me on instagram following this link.

Sadierose Saucier