BOUNDARY WATERS 2016 BACKCOUNTRY MENU PLAN & FOOD PREP LIST

Warm, delicious meals around the campfire after a rainy day of paddling and portaging make the trip. Nothing feels better than sharing a well earned meal with the one’s you love while reliving the day and making memories.  On our trips, traditional family favorites like beef stroganoff and chili nourish the heart and fuel the body, while new treats add fun. Let’s gather around the food barrel, and find out what’s for dinner.

Traditional favorites such as gorp, pre-cooked bacon, and tortilla pizza make the cut every year. Last year I ran out of peanut crunch granola bars and oatmeal much to my family’s annoyance. This year we’ll have plenty. New items on the menu include corn bread and biscuits. I gifted my husband a reflector oven over the holidays, and it turns out it works quite well for baked goods. New luxury items for my husband and daughter to try this year include pudding, scones, and freeze dried apple cobbler. My luxury item is fresh apples with peanut butter.

Packing the food barrel can be an adventure of its own. It usually takes about three tries to get everything to fit properly. Remove and repackage a few items, and eventually it all fits perfectly. But what takes the most time, is developing a menu plan to satisfy a carb lover (my daughter), a carb avoider (me), and my husband.

Boundary Waters 2016 Menu Plan

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Day 1	Breakfast in Ely	Trail Mix, Beef Jerky. Granola Bars	Tortilla Pizza
Day 2	Trail Mix, Pepperoni, Granola Bar	Cheese and Slim Jims, Bagel, Apple w/Peanut Butter	Manwich and Cheese  w/ Tortilla Apple Cobbler
Day 3	Hashbrowns, Bacon Bits	Tuna and Cheese, tortilla, Apple w/ Peanut Butter	Stroganoff w/peas Cinnamon Apples
Day 4	Pre-cooked Bacon, Oatmeal, Dried Fruit, & Nuts	Granola Bar, Trail Mix, Pork Jerky, Apple w/ Peanut Butter	Bean Dish w/Biscuits and Jelly
Day 5	Choc Chip Pancakes, Pre- cooked Bacon	Salmon, Knorr Noodles, Apple w/ Peanut Butter	Chili & Corn Bread Pudding
Day 6	Hashbrowns, Bacon	Trail Mix, Beef Jerky, Granola Bar, Apple w/Peanut Butter	Beef Stroganoff w/Peas Cinnamon Apples
Day 7	Pre-cooked Bacon, Scones	Bagel, Beef Jerky, Apple w/ Peanut Butter	Spaghetti w/Corn Peaches
Day 8	Pre-cooked Bacon, Oatmeal, Dried Fruit, & Nuts	Trail Mix, Beef Jerky, Granola Bar	Spare Freeze Dried Mountain House Meals

Dehydrating foods in advance and creating a shopping plan organizes the adventure. The food listed here, plus a cook and dining set and our trash bag (2 gallon ziplock bags, double bagged) fit into the blue barrel with a bit of rearrangement. Fuel and the ground cloth fit in the side pockets of the barrel pack.

Boundary Waters 2016 Shopping and Food Prep List

Home-cooked Dehydrated Foods
Chili	Meat Sauce
Manwich	Stroganoff	Bean Dish
Grains/Starches
Oatmeal (10 ea) flavor
Spaghetti	Egg Noodles	Mini Bagels (9)
Tortillas (10)	Chocolate chip pancake mix
Hash Browns (2)	Biscuits	Corn Bread (2)
Scones	Knorr Pasta Meal
Trail mix (15) w/raisins, peanuts, and goldfish
Purchased Protein and Dairy
Mozzerella Cheese	Cheddar Cheese	Pack Mini Slim Jims
Peanut Butter (6)	Precooked Bacon (4)	Bacon Bits (1)
Beef Jerky	Cashews	Almonds
Pepperoni	Foil Pouch Tuna	Foil Pouch Salmon
Drinks
Gatorade (3)	Nuun (2 tubes)	Mint Tea (8)
Lipton Cup O'Soup (6)
Freeze Dried Veggies and Meals
Corn	Peas	2 Mountain House Meals
Treats, Desserts, and Snacks
Marshmallows	Peanut Crunch Bars (18)	Clif Bars (3)
M&Ms	Granola Bars (7)	Pudding
Clif Bars (4)	Kids Candy	Apple Cobbler (1)
Fruits
Peaches (freeze dried)	2 Apples & Cinnamon (freeze dried)	6 Apples
Dehydrated Pineapple		Raisins
Condiments and Cooking Aids
Cooking Oil	Butter	Salt & Pepper
Jelly (4) Nutella (4) Ketchup (6)	Pizza Sauce	Crushed Red Peppers

For more tips on foods backpacking and paddling adventures, check out Mama's 11 Tips for Lightweight, Low Cost Grocery Store Foods for the Pack. Also, check out Mama's Tips for Dehydrating Foods for the Pack, Getting Your Veggies, and Getting Your Protein Using Inexpensive Grocery Store Foods.

As always, get outdoors and keep our wild places wild!

DISCLAIMER

I do not receive compensation for products mentioned or reviewed in this post. All products mentioned or reviewed were purchased by me. All comments made are based on personal use and experience with products.