Camping, Connecting & Clean Food

Camping

Special blessings emerge when we disconnect from the world and reconnect with God’s creation in community with others.  Neither Brandon nor I grew up camping, but we have befriended many who are “generational campers” – parents who are carrying forward a familial tradition that spans, maybe, centuries.  Their stories are the ones that inspired us to try something new, and risk failing along the way.

We have certainly had our fair shares of learning through mistakes.  During our very first tent camping experience, we invited midnight racoons to our party because we left out a tied garbage bag.  I slept zero hours that night as I awoke to an orchestra of unfamiliar, eerie sounds. Interestingly, nobody else in the family heard their clamor, but the evidence was clear the next morning . . . our trash was everywhere.

There was also the time that we left the back hatch of our vehicle open to help us with additional shelter which, in turn, turned on the trunk light of the Highlander.  To our dismay, when it was time to pack up and go, our SUV wouldn’t start.  We had killed the battery.

Fortunately, we have always had kind people come to our rescue in our “crises”.  They have never made us feel stupid, but were genuinely eager to help.  Their enthusiasm and love for the great outdoors, a warm campfire and fellowship over food has spurred us on to keep trying!

We forfeited the tent camping experience a few years ago.  After five joint surgeries, my body would be screaming at me the next day.  We tried mats, extra blankets and even an air mattress, but alas, sleep deprivation and the feeling of being run over by a mac truck simply was not worth it anymore.

We have since found our groove with rustic cabins that provide actual BEDS (we bring the linens).  We still cook over a campfire; we march to the bathhouse if we want a toilet or a shower; and the cabins are small so there is no temptation to hang out indoors until it’s time to sleep. 

Connecting

There’s a revival of sorts that happens when you disconnect from the world for a weekend.  Emails, zooms and phone messages are replaced with people to people connection.  The laundry list of “to dos” in the home is out of site and out mind and is therefore replaced with the freedom to explore and relish God’s creation.  The ease of modern-day appliances is replaced with an opportunity to develop new skills as a family: collecting wood and tinder, starting and maintaining a fire and creating healthy recipes that can feed a hungry crowd but require cooking over said fire.

Because camping serves as renewal for the body, soul and mind, the last thing I want to do is feed our family junk on the journey.   Some of the best memories are made when we are fueling our bodies healthfully for the experience and avoiding headaches, dips in energy and digestive distress (because, really, while I am grateful there are bathhouses, I would not say the use of them is the highlight of the trip).  We want to be PRESENT while we are camping and RESTORED when we return home. With our desire to be the first generation in our family to pass on the tradition of camping, we hope our children are inspired to learn how to feed their families healthfully while enjoying sacred time with God, His creation and each other.

Clean Food

With each camping trip, I enjoy exploring new recipes.  I often use my gluten free taco seasoning recipe for “walking tacos” and my oatmeal raisin cookies for a healthy snack and dessert.  Both these recipes can be found in my digital cookbook “Free the Glutens”.   

Gluten-free, dairy-free, and other anti-inflammatory recipes

Created for families seeking clean-food solutions.

Today I want to share a new-to-us recipe that I prepared for our last camping trip that was a huge hit with our children (ages 13, 8 and 6) as well as the three other teenage boys we hosted.  In fact, one of the boys said, “This is one of the best meals I have ever eaten.”  My heart was so happy!  I must admit, though, that playing in the wilderness can lead to a hunger that is satisfied heartily with just about anything.  You add a “cooking over the fire, underneath the stars” experience to that and food just tastes better than normal.  However, I agree with him in that the meal was truly delicious. His compliment boosted my confidence in preparing clean camping food that tastes amazing.

German Foil Packets

Ingredients for 8 packets:

1 head green cabbage, chopped into bite-size chunks

2 lbs russet potatoes, cut into bite-size chunks

2 yellow onions, chopped into bite-size chunks

8 apple chicken sausage links, coined

4 cloves of garlic, minced

Himalayan sea salt, to taste

Ground black pepper, to taste

2 tsp dried Italian herbs

3 tbsp butter or olive oil

Instructions:

1.      Cut 8 pieces of heavy aluminum foil about 2 feet long

2.      Add equal portions of the ingredients above into the center of each foil piece (divide Italian herbs into ¼ tsp per packet and top packets with 1 tsp butter or olive oil)

3.      Fold the edges of the foil over the ingredients

4.      Tightly roll up both sides of the foil

5.      Store foil packets in a cooler with ice to travel to campground

6.      Place foil packets on grate over the campfire and cook each side for about 8 minutes each side (use a metal spatula to flip) Check inside of packet with metal tongs and a fork to assess tenderness of potatoes to know when cooking is complete

7.      Place packet in a bowl and eat the meal hot right out of the foil or by dumping ingredients into the bowl

8.      Enjoy!