For those lucky enough not to be in Lockdown, travel in 2021 looks to remain quite restricted. Instead of overseas escapes, people are looking at holidaying within their own state or country and camping is becoming a more popular option!

For those with any type of dietary allergies or restrictions, your food limitations do not have to mean life limitations! Camping is just as accessible to you as anyone else! However, it may mean a little more preparation.

Last year I was planning a 7-night camping trip without power. Knowing about my food intolerances, the first question my friends asked was “What (the h3!!) are you going to eat?” Well, let me tell you! And maybe this will provide some camp meal inspiration to others with intolerances, food limitations, or those simply looking to eat a bit healthier on their trip.

For more information about AIP, the Autoimmune Protocol, the Paleo Mum explains it best in her post What is AIP. I also discuss how this protocol can be used as part of a plan to naturally heal autoimmune diseases in my post Next Steps – Naturally.

To set the scene, I was camping on an un-powered site in the UK with just a spirit burner stove (my beloved Trangia) and a cooler bag. However, other campers will likely have more cooking and cold storage options to expand their meal possibilities, so I have included some ideas for you too based on my other travels.

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Breakfast

For those still on the full elimination phase, the best camp breakfasts are a cooked breakfast with foods such as bacon, meat patties, avocado, mushrooms, sweet potato “toast” and greens. Other options are a hash or any re-heated meals! Soups actually go down really well too (once you get over the strangeness).

After some successful reintroductions, I now prefer an oat-free muesli or a Wild Zora AIP instant cereal (I’m not sponsored, just a big fan) with either hot water and coconut milk powder or a little dairy-free milk. With these, I mix in hemp seeds, hemp protein powder, a banana and maybe some extra nuts/coconut to bulk it up. Or, just add reintroductions to your cooked breakfast!

Lunch / Snacks

For me, lunch is often eaten mid-hike or while lounging and reading a book, so instead of a sit-down meal it is usually a mixed plate/bag of throw-together healthy snacks. Ideas are listed below.

Full elimination

• Tinned fish: salmon, mackerel and sardines are my favourite
• Pre-made and frozen/refrigerated burger patties or meatballs
• Pre-cooked cold sausages and bacon
• Pre-made salads
• Olives
• Avocado
• Wild Zora AIP meat bars
• AIP homemade dip
• Raw veggie sticks to dip or munch on, such as carrot, celery, cucumber, zucchini, broccoli etc.
• Pre-made cassava flour (or AIP-friendly flour) tortillas or pan-bread
• Wild Zora AIP soups – best with a little slippery elm, marshmallow root powder or gelatin to thicken it up
• Fruit and/or a little dried fruit (but beware of high sugar content)
• Veggie chips, bought or homemade
• Coconut chips
• Pre-cooked jacket sweet potato

With reintroductions

The options are essentially endless, so I’ve listed ideas that are easier with basic cooking and cold storage facilities (some of which I’ll only eat in the first few days of the trip).

• Seed crackers (check out my easy recipe)
• Rice crackers or similar
• Corn ships / tortilla tips
• Hummus
• Nuts
• Other raw veggies such as sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes, capsicum/pepper
• Nut butters
• Boiled eggs
• Cheese slices

For a bit of a treat, I throw in a little dark dairy-free chocolate but make sure to limit your intake – you don’t want a sugar-brain or bodily inflammation while on holiday! Cacao nibs may be a good alternative.

Dinner

It really helps to meal-plan and prepare as much as you can in advance using your fully-equipped home kitchen, including: pre-cutting vegetables, pre-cooking meats and pre-assembling salads. When planning these meals, consider how long your prepared food will keep in your camp cooler/fridge/freezer and how long your trip is.

Don’t forget to pack your prepared food in silicone baggies for extra environmentally-friendly points!

Full elimination

This used to be the most challenging meal, but thanks to Wild Zora’s AIP meals camping is made easy! (Again, not sponsored, I simply love them). Add a little slippery elm or marshmallow root to thicken the liquids so no flavour or nutrients go to waste. One packet makes a huge serve (!!!) so I usually eat just half with something like an avocado on the side, which also makes them more cost effective to buy.

Meal options include:

• Zucchini noodles with homemade pesto mixed with tinned fish, olives, grated carrot etc.
• Sweet potato hash
• Burger patties with your favourite AIP toppings (lettuce, fried onions, beetroot, pineapple… I’m an Aussie in case you hadn’t guessed!). You could also make these into wraps with some large lettuce leaves or AIP-flour tortillas
• Fried veggies (onions, carrots, zucchini, mushroom) with a pre-cooked and reheated protein or tinned fish
• Cold pre-cooked sweet potatoes stuffed with whatever you have on hand

With reintroductions

Again, the options are endless, so I’ve listed some that require less refrigeration/cooking facilities for those with limited set-ups like me.

Ideas for dinners with reintroductions include:

• Pasta with pesto
• Dehydrated soup with rice and whatever is on hand
• ‘Fry-up’ dinner with bacon, eggs, avocado etc.
• Rice and frozen veg
• Tortillas
• ‘BBQ’ on a stove
• Kebabs with salad
• Skewers with salad
• Frittata
• Burgers (perhaps with a lettuce ‘bun’)
• Fish tacos
• Or a camp surprise!

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Keeping in mind that I was camping in a cold climate, and that most evenings I was flattened with exhaustion from hiking all day so I wanted an easy but nutritious dinner, my plan was as follows:

• Night 1 – Refrigerated soup/stew to simply reheat
• Night 2 – Frozen soup/stew (which slowly melted in my cooler bag while keeping other things cool)
• Night 3 – Half a Mountain Beef Stew Wild Zora meal (since my other soup/stew was still completely frozen!)
• Night 4 – Frozen soup/stew (that had finally mostly-melted)
• Night 5 – Meal from scratch (see pictures above)
• Night 6 – Other half of Wild Zora meal
• Night 7 – Leftovers from Night 5

Let me know if you have any further camping AIP or reintroduction suggestions!

Happy camping 🙂

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