Jun 9, 20232 min read

What does a dietitian eat while camping?

"You must be going camping!" The grocery clerk chirped

"How did you know?" I jested, while dropping marshmellows, graham crackers, hot dogs and watermelon on the checkout counter.

"Just a lucky guess." Replied the clerk.

It's finally summer! And the clerk guessed it right: we're going camping with hot dogs and marshmallows to cook over the campfire.

Hot dogs and marshmallows are not my favorite foods.

Marshmallows are 100% sugar. I can easily eat 100 of them without realizing it. And hot dogs.....well......who knows what's in hot dogs........besides your day's worth of salt!

But I still buy them.

Why?

They taste good. Food is more than nutrition. Food is culture. Food is connection. Food is fun. And camping without hot dogs and smores isn't camping.

But I'm going camping for 10 days.

And eating hot dogs for 10 days will give me a stomach ache. Plus, we can't have a campfire in most of the places we're camping.

So what will I feed my family while on the road?

Mostly pre-made cold salads out of the cooler. Also some fruit and crackers.

I like to cook everything ahead of time and pack it in ziploc bags/tupperware. Here's my menu for the next 10 days, starting with a photo of everything in the fridge:

Snacks for the week

frozen gogurt
snap peas
apples + peanut butter
triscuits + cottage cheese
cheese slices+crackers
homemade peanut butter oatmeal cookies

Saturday

B: greek yogurt + homemade granola (I made this a month ago and it's still good)

L: 5 minute greek salad + italian crackers with cream cheese

D: camping with another friend, and she's cooking dinner for us

Sunday

B: overnight oatmeal (I don't like chia seeds, so I leave them out)

L: tzatiki + hummus + stonefire naan bread + avocado slices + watermelon

D: tortillas/cheese + rice/bean salad + avocado + watermelon + homemade rice pudding (I used 3/4 the amount of sugar it calls for, and I put 1 tablespoon of cinnamon in)