Healthy Camping Food: Foil Packs!

Summer is in full swing—it is officially camping season! (Woohoo!) I am a mountain girl at heart and any opportunity I have to get to a higher elevation sitting around a campfire with good friends is a good day for me. A few weeks ago my husband and I went up with the droves of people to look for a camping spot over Memorial Day weekend. We were definitely worried when we left our 5th campground empty handed. Contemplating the possibility of camping in our back “yard” (we live in a run down apartment complex, the yard is mostly weeds) our 6th campground led us to a charming spot right next to a creek. 6th time is a charm, I guess?

Typical camping food can usually be pretty chock full of processed junk. Hot dogs, chips, marshmallows, and anything else that can be cooked on a stick. But it doesn’t have to be all junk. If you are trying to eat healthier, camping can be the perfect time to have a lot of fresh food which is both healthier and cheaper.

Today I am going to show you how to make a foil pack. These are delicious conglomerates of basically whatever kinds of veggies and meat you have on hand. First we’ll start with the supplies.

You’ll need:

• Heavy duty aluminum foil
• Oil (preferably olive, but coconut or another kind would work just as well)
• Salt and other seasonings
• Tongs
• Assorted veggies: For this one we used cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potato, garlic, spinach, and asparagus. But get creative! We frequently will throw in squash, mushrooms, cabbage, or carrots.
• Meat: You don’t really need any meat; it is delicious with just the veggies. But if you do make it with meat, you can get creative here too. Chicken is one we use pretty frequently, but this time we used salmon and shrimp.
• A roaring campfire!

Step number one is pull out the foil and place veggies and meat on it lengthwise. Don’t fill it too full because the foil needs to be able to wrap around the food with room to spare. You can see an example in the picture to the right.

When you’re done adding in food, season it with salt and/or other seasonings. Finally, you need to shape your foil into a little boat and pour some oil in so all the veggies and meat have something to cook in and don’t stick to the foil. You can see on the left how to shape it.

This next part is crucial. Crimp the ends and roll the tinfoil down tightly around the food. This ensures that the contents won’t spill out and you’ll be left with your dinner only feeding the fire instead of you.You’ll then want to flip it over and wrap it in another layer of tin foil with the seam on the opposite side. If you don’t feel like it’s a good wrap job, go ahead and give it a third layer of tinfoil.

Now you get to cook these bad boys! You can either place them directly on the fire, or if there is a grill available, that makes it a little easier to grab and flip them.

They usually take 15 to 20 minutes to cook, but if you have things like potatoes and carrots, they may take a little longer.

The next step is the easy one! Open it up and enjoy!

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