Before I was a mom, I had grand plans about my kids eating only fruits and vegetables with no processed sugar. I imagined that my kids would eat everything I made for them – or if they got hungry enough they would eventually eat. If you are a parent, you’re probably laughing because you know that’s not what happened.
I have four kids and two of them eat anything I put in front of them. One of my kids though has a complex medical history and at one point had a feeding tube. My medically complex kid would never “get hungry enough” to eat – he would lose weight and end up with a feeding tube again rather than eat certain foods. This kid has been in feeding therapy, occupational therapy, etc. and slowly is increasing the number of foods he is able to eat. Camping presents its own set of challenges since we need to think about food storage, staying adequately fueled on the trail, and eating food that is not part of our normal food routine.
All of that back story is simply to say – zero judgement from me for whatever reason you have a picky eater. It could be sensory, it could be normal childhood picky eating, it could be a medical condition. This article isn’t about solving picky eating issues, it will be to give you some ideas of how to take the stress of camping food away for your picky eater, no matter the reason for it! Keep reading for some of our favorite ways to prep camping food for picky eaters.
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Prepping for Camping with a Picky Eater
Plan Meals Ahead!
When we leave for a multi-day camping trip, I like to type out breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for each day before we leave. I print out the meal plan and keep it tucked inside our food bin so I can reference it while we are camping. This helps keep me organized when packing, when cooking at camp, and for looking back the next time to make meal planning much faster!
If you are new to camp cooking, learning how to set up a camp kitchen is a good place to start to get organized.
If you have a child like mine who likes to know what meals are coming up, you can even include a picture of the meal on the printed menu so kids can know what is coming up for each day and what the food choices are for that day.
Let Kids Help Choose (and Cook) Meals
Involving kids in the planning and prep for camping meals can make the actual camping time go more smoothly! When kids have input and can have ownership over choosing some of the food, they may be more excited when meal time comes! For our family, camping is also a time when we will buy snacks and special treats that we don’t normally buy for our family.
Try Out the Snacks and Meals Before You Go
For some kids, even how things are cooked can make a difference in the taste. If you are planning to cook your meal over a fire, it may be a good idea to try to actually cook the food over a fire ahead of time since some things can have a slightly different texture or flavor than when cooked other ways!
For families with picky kids, camping won’t be the best time to try out new recipes. Try out the recipes ahead of time at home to give kids a chance to get used to the meals you will be having at camp. Our pickiest kiddo doesn’t like having his food mixed together, so I try to think of meals that can have parts that are easily made separate with things we can add in for the adults (like spaghetti that we can add sausage, cheese, veggies, etc in at the end after we dish the first plate).
Breakfast Ideas
Breakfast on a Stick
This recipe comes from the Camping with Kids Cookbook by Amelia Mayer. This recipe is great, because kids can assemble and cook their own breakfast sticks!
Ingredients:
- 8 fully cooked breakfast sausage links
- 1 (8-oz) tube refrigerated crescent roll dough
- Maple syrup for dipping
- Sticks for roasting
Directions:
- Spear each sausage individually lengthwise with a stick.
- Roast the sausage over the fire until warmed through, turning often, about 5 minutes.
- Spread the crescent rolls apart, and carefully wrap 1 piece of dough around each of the warmed sausages. Squeeze the dough to make it tight.
- Carefully roast over the fire for about 6 minutes, or until the outside is lightly browned and the dough is cooked through.
- Carefully remove from the stick and serve with syrup, for dipping.
Cereal
Our family’s go-to breakfast for camping is boiled eggs and oatmeal for the adults, and boiled eggs and cereal for the kids. It is so simple, but everyone likes it and it is really easy cleanup. If you read labels, you can find cereals that are filling and tasty.
We try to choose cereals that are lower in sugar and higher in fiber. Look for cereals that have “whole grains” on the label, ideally have 5g of fiber per serving with less than 8 grams of added sugar. Eating cereal with milk adds protein to breakfast too.
Muffins and Fruit
Elaine, one of the writers for Tales of a Mountain Mama, has a great Green Monster Muffin Recipe as part of her make-ahead meal ideas! Banana, zucchini, blueberry, and bran muffins all can be good make-ahead choices too. Try out the recipe on your picky kids ahead of time – freezing the muffins is a great time-saver to prepare for your trip.
Fruit goes well with muffins for breakfast. Pre-slicing fruit ahead of time makes breakfast prep and cleanup faster at the campsite!
Lunch Ideas
Build Your Own Sandwiches
Pre-slice meats, cheeses, veggies, etc. Kids and adults can grab some bread and go down the line and add what they like to their sandwich. I typically make my own bread at home, but when we camp I buy bread since store-bought bread is more shelf-stable. I try to choose bread that is a similar texture and flavor for our camping sandwiches.
Crowd Pleasing Charcuterie Platter
Another Camping with Kids Cookbook meal idea, a charcuterie platter gives everyone the option to choose what they want to put on their plate!
Make sure to bring a platter or cutting board for arranging the food!
- Meats: Summer sausage, rolled-up ham, salami, prosciutto
- Cheeses: Cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, mozzarella balls
- Vegetables and Fruit: Baby carrots, celery sticks, cucumber, grape tomatoes, olives, pickles, apples, blueberries, grapes
- Crunchies: Round crackers (butter and/or whole wheat), pretzel rods, goldfish crackers, dried banana chips, cashews, nut-based trail mix)
- Dips: Hummus, cinnamon-peanut butter dip (1 cup peanut butter + ½ cup raisins + 2 teaspoons cinnamon), ranch dressing
Prep Ahead Instructions:
- Slice the summer sausage and salami and cube the cheese
- Wash and cut the vegetables into slices or sticks.
- Prep the dips in containers with lids.
Campsite Instructions:
- Arrange all your chosen ingredients on a large serving patter or cutting board. For a big group you can split the ingredients onto two platters or boards.
- Serve immediately
Pro tip: When serving this dish to a group, plan on 4 ounces of meat and cheese per person, plus two handfuls of fruit and vegetables. Leftovers can easily be packed up and brought out for another day. Let kids wash and prep the veggies and do the arranging. They may surprise you with their creative designs!
Dinner Ideas
Cast Iron Pizzas
We made cast-iron pizzas on our last car camping trip and they were a huge hit with our kids! We cooked them on a camp stove with our cast iron pan.
Ingredients:
- Individual size flat bread
- Sauce (we used marinara)
- Toppings: Mozzarella, pepperoni, pre-cooked sausage, Canadian bacon, sliced cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, black olives, etc.
- Olive Oil for brushing
Instructions:
Pre-heat cast iron pan. Brush flat bread lightly with olive oil and heat one side. Once warmed, flip the flatbread over and load the warmed side with toppings. Cover with a lid for 2-3 minutes until warmed through and cheese has melted.
Serve warm!
Our kids were able to have individual cheese pizzas at the campsite which they loved! The adults were able to add more toppings to each person’s preference!
Grilled Individual Mac n Cheese
This is another wonderful meal from the Camping with Kids Cookbook! These can be adjusted for each person in the family as far as add-ins. Write each person’s name on the lid of the pan to keep them organized for camping!
Ingredients:
- Cooking spray
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups elbow macaroni
- 1 cup Alfredo sauce
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- ½ cup shredded smoked Gouda cheese
- ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Prep Ahead Instructions:
- Mist four mini foil pie pans well with cooking spray.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni according to the package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Return the cooked pasta to the pot and stir in the Alfredo sauce, ½ cup of the cheddar, all the smoked Gouda, all the mozzarella, the milk, ½ teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Combine well.
- Divide the mac and cheese evenly among the four mini pie pans. Top evenly with the remaining ½ cup of cheddar. Mist four sheets of foil on one side with cooking spray, cover the pie pans (sprayed-side down), and seal. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 weeks.
Campsite Instructions:
- If the mini pans are frozen, let thaw overnight in a cooler or RV refrigerator.
- Place the pans on a grate set over a campfire. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the mac and cheese is hot and bubbling. Be sure to move the pans around and rotate them every 5 to 8 minutes to they cook evenly. Serve hot.
Substitution: Try adding ½ cup of frozen vegetables or ½ cup chopped cooked bacon into the mixture before you divide it among the pans.
Alfredo Noodles with Canned Chicken
This is a meal that was a huge hit with our picky eater on our last camping trip! The pieces of chicken stirred in are so small that they are barely noticeable with the sauce but add a lot of protein!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb dry pasta (fettuccini noodles or any type of noodles that your family prefers)
- 1 jar Alfredo sauce (this also works great with spaghetti sauce)
- 2 (2.6 oz) packages of canned chicken (it looks just like canned tuna)
- Optional: Parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions:
- Boil noodles according to package directions, drain water once cooked
- Add in jar of Alfredo sauce and packets of chicken
- Stir together and serve! Bread and salad are great sides for this meal.
Snack Ideas
Rita Muller wrote a full post about Best Kid-Friendly Snacks for Your Adventures. If you are bringing prepackaged foods, have your kids try them out ahead of time! Our favorite camping snacks are:
- Cheese and Salami
- Bars (Kind, Lara, Cliff, etc.)
- Trail Mix (we have a couple kids that just eat the M&Ms out though haha!)
- String Cheese
- Apples, grapes, bananas
- Hummus and carrots
- Goldfish Crackers
- Beef sticks or beef jerky
- Peanut Butter Pretzels
Putting It All Together
Planning a meal ahead, letting kids sample and prep the food ahead of time, and having meal ingredient options that can be customized for each person all will help take the stress out of camping with a picky eater!
We would love to hear if you have any other tips and tricks that have worked for your own picky eaters when camping!
If you are looking for a low stress meal plan, make sure to check out our FREE 3-day meal plan!
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Camping Food for Picky Eaters
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