2015 Boundary Waters Backcountry Menu Plan

Fire up the dehydrator Honey, we're going for a paddle! Nothing tops delicious, home-cooked meals in the outdoors. My biggest trip preparations these days revolve around camp eats. Demands include compact, lightweight, temperature resistant foods. Adding to the challenge, my husband likes spicy foods. He also needs protein. Our daughter still loves sweet, carby foods. I don’t eat sweets and prefer not to eat too many carbs. Given palates and constraints, for our August 2015 Boundary Waters Canoe Area trip, I planned and prepped our Boundary Waters menu.

BOUNDARY WATERS MEAL PLAN 2015

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Day 1 Camp Night	At home	On the road	Grilled Ham & Cheese, Grapes, Carrot Sticks
Day 2 Entry Day	Trail Mix Beef Jerky	Cheese and Sausage Wrap, Apple w/Peanut Butter	Tortilla Pizza
Day 3	Pre- cooked Bacon, Oatmeal, Dried Fruit, & Nuts	Tuna and Cheese Wrap, Apple w/ Peanut Butter	Spagh-etti w/Corn
Day 4	Hash- browns, Bacon Bits,	Quesilla w/Salsa Packets, Apple w/ Peanut Butter	Chili & Fritos
Day 5	Pre- cooked Bacon, Oatmeal, Dried Fruit, & Nuts	Mac 'n Cheese, Apple w/ Peanut Butter	Beef Stroganoff w/Peas
Day 6	Pancakes, Pre- cooked Bacon	Gumbo w/Rice, Apple w/ Peanut Butter	Tacos & Black Beans
Day 7	Pre- cooked Bacon, Oatmeal, Dried Fruit, & Nuts	Knorr Noodles, Corn, Calico Beans	Tortilla Manwich
Day 8 Exit Day	Hash- browns, Bacon Bits	Granola bars, Jerky
Snacks	Granola Bars Trail Mix, Cashews, Dehydrated Tropical Fruit Mix,  Beef Jerky, Marshmallows,Peanut M&Ms, Kid's Candy

 

Getting ready to perform magic -  packing all of this food into one blue barrel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOOD PREPARATION LIST IN SUPPORT OF OUR BWCA MENU

 

Cook & Dehydrate at Home	Purchase & Pack
Tacos w/Black Beans	Oatmeal packets	Ketchup Packets, Nutella Packets, Salsa Packets, Jelly Packets, Honey Packets
Chili	Dehydrated Pineapple, Freeze Dried Peaches	Peanut butter
Meat sauce	Cooking oil (small empty shampoo travel bottle)	Pouch Foil Tuna
Stroganoff	Precooked Bacon, Bacon Bits	Small Tub Butter
Gumbo	Dehydrated Hungry Jack Hashbrowns	Salt, Pepper, Cinnamon/Sugar, Crushed Red Pepper
Bean Dish w/Ground Beef and Bacon	Block Mozzerella cheese	Flour tortillas
Manwich Meat	Block cheddar cheese	Packet of pizza sauce
Spaghetti, Macaroni, Egg Noodles	Small Stick Sausage	Apples
Macaroni	Clif Bars, Larabars	Bag Peanut M&Ms
Purchase & Pack	Beef Jerky	Cashews
Pepperoni	Nature Valley Peanut Crunch Granola Bars, Oatmeal Raisin Granola bars	Marshmallows
Single Serve Packets: Lemonade, Dry Lipton Soup, Cocoa, Gatorade, Mint Tea	Pizza Sauce Packet	Angel Hair Pasta, Egg Noodles,  Macaroni
Freeze Dried Peas and Corn	Mountain House Meals	Beef Jerky
Complete Pancake Mix	Kids Candy	Nuun Electrolyte Tabs

My shopping and food preparation list included foods cooked and dehydrated at home, foods purchased and repackaged, and a fine collection of fast-food condiment packets. To facilitate the food packing process, baggies of all sizes prove invaluable. One and two gallon baggies facilitate organization. A special baggie for snacks, another for breakfast foods, and so on, and a sharpie for special instructions and content identification provide convenience and organization. A perishable foods baggie (cheese, apples, and sausage) placed at the top of the barrel reminds me to serve these items early in the trip. In camp, small baggies will be used to preserve unfinished foods for the next snack, and will allow us to pack wet socks next to dry underwear. A two gallon baggie reinforced by a second two gallon baggie will serve as a handy pack-it-out trash bag for the week.

Do you have tips or meal plans you’d like to share?

I’d love to hear from you. Please comment below…