Healthy camp cooking

[Derek700]

I can't believe I am bringing this up, but at 47 years old this year I need to eat better than I do. I love burgers and bacon(preferably at the same time). Snacks is chip and dip. How do others try to eat better while camping and trying to make it camping fun cooking. I just finished looking up beer and brat recipes (not good for you but good to eat"!!). One I did last year was margarita chicken. It was delicious. I did out in too much cilantro by mistake but everybody thought it was a good touch. Here it is.

Ingredients
zest from one lime
1/3 cup fresh lime juice, from about 4 limes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons tequila, optional
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1 teaspoon chile powder
pinch salt and pepper
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, 6-8
Directions
Place all ingredients, except for the chicken, in a gallon-sized zip top plastic bag. Squish to combine. Add chicken, seal bag, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for one hour or overnight.
Coat grill pan (or grill) with cooking spray. Heat pan (or grill) to medium-high. Cook chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side, turning breast a quarter turn after two minutes if cross hatch marks are desired. Serve immediately.

[Denise]

Thanks for the healthy recipe option Derek. Ray and I have had to change our 'diets' considerably in recent months to reduce fat and cholesterol intake. Spices make a great substitute for fat and makes ground turkey work for burgers, loaf, etc. We eat more fish and chicken too.

We camping right now, and have all the ingrediants above except for tequila and lime. I think we'll pick up a lime later when we head into town. We're going to bbq "Derek Margarita Chicken" tomorrow LOL

[OnTheGo]

We don't need to start a poll to determine if a double cheeseburger with extra bacon is more desireabe than a cup of fruit salad.

had to change our 'diets' considerably

... you're not the only ones. That's in almost everybody's future. Anyway, I think the Ms. Dash spices are way better than they used to be, and that's made some of the "diet food" easier to take for those folks watching their salt intake.

[mcfarmall]

You can eat how you want but camping and health food just don't go together. If my poor old body can't handle eating garbage for a few long weekends and one solid week out of the year when we camp then take me out in the woods and shoot me.

Aside from my rant, the recipe sounds good. I wonder how it would work in a dutch oven with rice.

[Derek700]

Originally Posted by healthi

Thanks for the healthy recipe option Derek. Ray and I have had to change our 'diets' considerably in recent months to reduce fat and cholesterol intake. Spices make a great substitute for fat and makes ground turkey work for burgers, loaf, etc. We eat more fish and chicken too.

We camping right now, and have all the ingrediants above except for tequila and lime. I think we'll pick up a lime later when we head into town. We're going to bbq "Derek Margarita Chicken" tomorrow LOL

Don't marinate the chicken too long we did overnight and the lime juice started to cook the chicken.

My big concern about camping is pre packaged or prepared foods they are loaded with sodium which isn't good for any body. I am looking at cooking my own home made burgers this year not premade and seasoned stuff. I love camp cooking.

[Derek700]

The funny thing about this recipe is I found it online on the family.com Disney site. The tequila is optional but it is a good option!!!

[mcmahonm]

This sounds good, will have to add to options on next trip. I love to cook, really need to get a really good outdoor BBQ for the trailer. To many options

[Jagiven]

I love my junk food, but I have never been a chip eater, but the DW and kid are. I am a bit like Farmall, I hope to keep eating not quite so well while camping. However, I do like to eat good. Luckily my kid is not a hotdog eater, so while camping we eat a lot of grilled items like chicken and steak, good brats (pineapple brats). We have a nice selection of spices stocked in the TT. We also prep a lot of meals at home to make it quicker and easier at camp.

Good luck with changing to good eating habits.

[CruizinKim]

I still cook from scratch while camping. We use few pre-packaged foods.
I love to make very unhealthy breakfasts when we camp. I make homemade pancakes and french toast. We also love our bacon, sausage, and MUST HAVE our beloved Goetta. For those of you who aren't aware of goetta, it is a Cincinnati/N. Ky thing! We have goetta festivals every year. It's made with oats, pork, and/or beef and it is delicious. I prefer mine with grape jam slathered on the top. We do have a local goetta maker who delivers anywhere in the US, if you want to try it. http://www.goetta.com/ I have no affiliation with this company, but it's the one we buy in our local Kroger's.

[LongIslandCamper]

Originally Posted by mcmahonm

This sounds good, will have to add to options on next trip. I love to cook, really need to get a really good outdoor BBQ for the trailer. To many options

The small Weber's are great!

I don't know about you guys, but I tend to drink a LOT of "milk" when camping. 95% of my camping is at 2 local beaches and it gets hot there in the summer! lol

[Beerlifter]

Originally Posted by Derek700

I can't believe I am bringing this up, but at 47 years old this year I need to eat better than I do.

At 53 I guess I'm a little behind on the eating good! I'm just 20lbs heavier than I was in my senior year in highschool (145 lbs).

We indulge on anything and everything while camping. Seems like everything is fried in bacon grease!!! On the other hand the wife tries to feed us "good" food when we are at home but it's an epic fail when it comes to me eating it!!

On the grills, we have a Weber Q that is awesome. Got a cast iron griddle that fits perfectly on top and we do breakfast on it. Dinner is usually on the Q, over the fire, or in a Dutch Oven.

Good luck on the eating right!!!

[Denise]

Originally Posted by mcfarmall

You can eat how you want but camping and health food just don't go together. If my poor old body can't handle eating garbage for a few long weekends and one solid week out of the year when we camp then take me out in the woods and shoot me.

Aside from my rant, the recipe sounds good. I wonder how it would work in a dutch oven with rice.

LOL... yup, we do the typical camp cooking when doing the shorter weekends with grandkids. Gotta have hotdog, hamburgers, and smores!

We tend to 'travel camp' which means we are on the road for 2-3 months at a time. Threads like this "Healthy Camp Cooking" is neat for us who will have no choice on what we -have- to eat *sigh*. Currently, we are on the road for a while and appreciate some new healthy cooking recipes




Derek! Thanks for the recipe. Tasted great (no tequila though)! Our bbq pit was happy, and the aroma had the neighbors drooling. Shared the "Derek Chicken" with a few who walked by LOL.

So who else has some "healthy choice" recipes??? Post them here in the "Campfire Cooking" forum!!!

[Derek700]

Glad you enjoyed it, we did last year.