14 day meal planning

Actually there are groceries available in the park.

Like others I plan a few days and let the rest happen. Trying new things is good for the soul.

I cook and freeze stuff. 2 weeks of food in the freezer is normal for me when camping. I agree with the person who said it makes more time for fun!

Glad you posted this topic. We leave in two weeks for a five-week camping trip, and it's time to start planning.

A fun camping meal is cowboy packets with ground beef, sliced onion, thin-sliced potatoes & carrots with seasoning (can include BBQ sauce) on double thickness of foil, folded into square packets you can put on the grill over a campground fire. I haven't tried this yet, but you can also bake salmon in foil with green beans seasoned with lemon juice and pesto from a jar.

Many other things work on a charcoal grill besides steaks, burgers, and dogs. Salmon, pork chops, chicken. I like boneless chicken breasts with BBQ sauce topped with a slice of Swiss cheese when it's almost cooked. Kebabs are great from beef or chicken, with squares of vegetables you like (red onion, peppers, mushrooms,etc.)

Naio wrote:
I cook and freeze stuff. 2 weeks of food in the freezer is normal for me when camping. I agree with the person who said it makes more time for fun!

X2
Yup. I cook up chili, stews, noodle/rice pork/beef dinners, homemade soup, etc at home and freeze them in small containers.

Keeps me out of the dreaded fast food restaurants while traveling to my destination too. Stop at a rest area and just pop one in the micro for a healthier food experience!

Even after I went Full Time RV'ing I STILL used this method for healthier food. I would pick one day during the month, hunker down in a CG I liked and spend the day cooking up the same and freezing them in containers.

I bought a nice Coleman stove that could accommodate 2 big pots and start cooking. Only thing is the aroma of a good homemade chicken soup at a CG? Starts your fellow campers circling you RV wanting to know whats for supper and when! :B

Naio wrote:
I cook and freeze stuff. 2 weeks of food in the freezer is normal for me when camping. I agree with the person who said it makes more time for fun!

x3!
One of the first changes I had the manufacturer make on my ordered TT was an all freezer unit instead of a refrigerator. I figure a Yeti or similar cooler will do fine for foods that need refrigerating.

rexlion- my DGD will clean her room/do her homework w/ no shilly shallying if I offer her a second glass of gazpacho:W. She's also a merciless critic if I don't put enough tomatoes in the ratatouille:o.
Conversely, her father, claims I made it too often when he was a kiddo. Told him I'm proud to have been able to scar his childhood properly....

I should be making both dishes in the coming weeks so will post the recipes then. Been making em so long I've really no printed recipe.

Why we plan: To avoid days like today's "Garfield" comic strip menu offering of toothpaste on a saltine. :-)

I have the large double door Norcold fridge/freezer. I hit up Costco for ribs, chops and brats, then use my vacuum bagger and load up the freezer. Also usually have a big bag of frozen chicken breasts, frozen burgers, veggies, and a couple all-in-one meals in there too. I carry canned chili, soups, spagetti sauces, pastas, Ramen noodles, and several Knorr instant pasta side dishes in the pantry. Also always have burger and hot dog buns on hand. I always have a package of good ole hot dogs in the fridge as my go-to emergency food, as well as various shredded and whole cheeses. I buy hamburger and produce locally.

I carry two grills - a small Weber charcoal grill and a Green Mountain Grills Davy Crockett pellet grill/smoker. I think having a good grill is KEY.

Good restaurants can be found everywhere - that's why I like to carry frozen food as opposed to multiple days of fresh food. And 24 hour Walmarts are everywhere too.

You will be several miles from anywhere at Devil's Tower so definitely need to have meals with you, but Cody has everything (gateway to Yellowstone). I would not do the major provisioning till I got to Cody. It's been a while since I was at the Tetons, but know Jackson is close enough for re-provisioning or for a restaurant break.

I full time so YMMV.

We use our foodsaver and do some prep work first. We freeze in marinade chicken breasts, we buy bulk hamburger from our butcher and then we freeze them very flat in the the foodsaver bags (they defrost quick then). We also premake burgers and foodsaver them. We marinade a tritip or two, and the becomes dinner one night and leftovers for tacos or sandwiches the next. We take lunch meat, hot dogs, sausages, eggs, etc...

The hardest part for us is veggies, we love a salad and obviously that can't last forever, so we end up buying a head of lettuce at an expensive market if we can.

When you are in Yellowstone, I would suggest a quick drive out to West Yellowstone, such a cute place and they have the Grizzly / Wolf discovery center...you could get groceries there for sure.

Wavesprite wrote:
We use our foodsaver and do some prep work first. We freeze in marinade chicken breasts, we buy bulk hamburger from our butcher and then we freeze them very flat in the the foodsaver bags (they defrost quick then). We also premake burgers and foodsaver them. We marinade a tritip or two, and the becomes dinner one night and leftovers for tacos or sandwiches the next. We take lunch meat, hot dogs, sausages, eggs, etc...

The hardest part for us is veggies, we love a salad and obviously that can't last forever, so we end up buying a head of lettuce at an expensive market if we can.

When you are in Yellowstone, I would suggest a quick drive out to West Yellowstone, such a cute place and they have the Grizzly / Wolf discovery center...you could get groceries there for sure.

I'm warming up to the beauty of salad mixes found in the refrigerated section of the produce aisle. As long as I wash and re-dry it myself I feel comfy from a health stance.

Just as a prep head's up, peppers and onions flash freeze nicely. For some trips I put up a quart or Ziploc gallon bag of each to travel with.
Great for stir frys, stews, to enrich soup bases whether homemade or store bought or really wherever your imagination takes you. No need to discuss how much time it saves you.

We have 2 boys and when we go camping, even for a weekend, I make a daily meal plan for all 3 meals. It started mainly because we wanted to save money by not eating out and also to have the proper foods to feed the little ones. Now that they're older (11 & 13) I don't worry as much but still do the planning anyway. The reason for the menu now is so I can plan what's for dinner based upon what's in the RV. At home I (or the wife) can just pull things out of the cupboard or freezer and go with it but we don't have that luxury in the RV. Keep in mind, we sometimes punt on dinner because we don't want what's on the menu!

I try to get the 1st weeks worth of food and many of the staples and non-perishables in the RV to start with. I also don't mind shopping while camping since stores are usually close enough (or along the way) and I might as well try and spread some money around. If nobody ever shopped around, the small shops won't survive. We're by no means rich but I'm visiting, why not help out the local towns?

I use our Weber Q200 grill for almost all of our dinners while camping. I also really like cooking while camping and at home. To me there is nothing better than silence while the meal you just cooked is getting devoured!

This summers trip (3.5 wks) from Rochester, NY to the Black Hills with a round about way back home will be a little different since we'll be hitting some restaurants but I'll still plan ahead so I know what's coming and when we'll need to go shopping.

BTW: Lunch is almost always cheeses, cured meats (salami, pepperoni, ham, etc), crackers, apples and such stuff ... if we even have lunch.

Another BTW: I think of the menu as a "living" plan. Meaning, it's a menu plan can be changed to fit your needs/wants at that point in time. If you don't want the chicken for dinner tonight, have it tomorrow ... as long as it's not going to spoil - then ya got to eat it!