getting ready for camping somehow turns into packing half the house, getting ready for camping somehow turns into packing half the house, feeding everyone, remembering all the random kid things, and still trying not to lose your mind before you even leave the driveway.
so this year, i decided to make some of our camping food ahead of time.
not because i think every single thing has to be homemade all the time. that sounds exhausting, and honestly, unrealistic.
but even when we are not home in our own kitchen, i still want our food to feel a little more like home. i want fewer overly processed foods, fewer preservatives, less last-minute convenience food, and more of the things i know my family already loves.
basically, i am trying to make the easy option the homemade option.
why i’m making homemade camping food ahead of time
camping is fun, but it is also a lot of work.
by the time everything is packed, the kids are loaded up, the cooler is full, and we finally get where we are going, i do not want to start from scratch for every meal.
i know myself. if everyone is hungry and tired, i am going to reach for whatever is easiest.
so instead of hoping i magically become more organized at the cabin, i decided to do some of the work at home first.
this is not about perfection. it is about slowly changing what normal looks like for our family. little by little, we are adding more homemade food into our everyday life, and i want that to come with us even when we are away from home.
what i froze for our camping trip
before this trip, i made and froze the foods i knew we would actually eat.
i made slider buns, hot dog buns, hawaiian rolls, donuts, and pancakes.
nothing fancy. nothing complicated. just practical, homemade freezer food that can make the trip easier.
the slider buns will be used for cheeseburgers, the hot dog buns are for when we cook over the fire, the hawaiian rolls are for the pulled pork, the pancakes will make breakfast easier, and the donuts are because i have kids and i am not pretending vacation needs to be all oats and good intentions.
i still want camping to feel fun.
i just want the food to feel a little more like us.
what i’m prepping the day before we leave
the day before we leave, i will prep the things that make more sense fresh.
i will wash and cut fruit, cook a boston butt, and shred the pork so we have an easy meat option ready to go.
pulled pork is one of those foods that can stretch across multiple meals without feeling too complicated. we can use it for dinner, sliders, lunches, or whatever we need when everyone is hungry and patience is running thin.
that is exactly the kind of camping food i need.
easy, homemade, and flexible.
how i’m packing frozen food for the cabin
since the bread, pancakes, and donuts are already frozen, i will pack them straight into a cooler before we leave.
they should only be out of the freezer for about three hours max. once we get to the cabin, everything will go right back into the freezer.
that makes the whole thing feel a lot less stressful.
instead of baking right before we leave or buying everything last minute, i can just pull from the freezer, pack the cooler, and know we have food ready to go.
it is not glamorous.
it is not perfect.
but it is practical, and practical is kind of the whole point.
what i would do differently next time
next time, i would definitely start prepping sooner.
this was doable, but it was still a lot to squeeze in before a trip.
the good thing is, i am learning that making extra and freezing it makes this kind of thing easier later.
if i am already making pancakes, i can make more.
if i am already baking rolls, i can freeze some.
if i am already making bread, i can tuck part of it away for a lazy night or a trip like this.
that is the part i am trying to build into our life. not one giant prep day where i destroy the kitchen and question every decision i have ever made. just little habits that make homemade food easier to reach for later.
final thoughts
yes, this is a lot of prep.
but for me, it is worth it.
we are still going to eat treats. we are still going to keep things easy. we are still going to be a normal family on a trip with messy bags, snack requests, sticky hands, and probably at least one thing i forgot to pack.
but slowly, we are adding more homemade things into our everyday life.
the more i make something, the less intimidating it feels the next time. the more i freeze ahead, the less i have to rely on last minute convenience food. and the more i do this, the more normal it becomes.
that is really the whole point.
not perfect.
just a little more homemade than last time.