Have any questions? Get in touch. +44 7460 829 701 info@trackandtrail.uk
Have any questions? Get in touch. +44 7460 829 701 info@trackandtrail.uk
Expedition Food
There’s nothing quite like the thrill of embarking on a camping adventure - the crisp morning air, the scent of pine trees, the crackle of a campfire, and the endless possibilities that the great outdoors offer. Amidst all the excitement of hiking rugged trails, paddling across serene lakes, or simply soaking in the beauty of nature, one thing is certain: you’ll need a satisfying lunch to keep your energy levels up. But planning meals away from the comforts of a kitchen can seem daunting. Fear not! With a sprinkle of creativity and some easy-to-pack ingredients, crafting delicious and hearty lunches can be one of the most enjoyable parts of your camping experience.
Imagine biting into a juicy grilled sandwich filled with melted cheese and fresh veggies, all prepared over an open flame. Or perhaps assembling colourful wraps brimming with your favourite proteins and crisp greens, enjoyed while overlooking a breathtaking vista. Maybe a zesty pasta salad or a warm, comforting bowl of campfire chilli is more your style. Whether you’re a fan of classic sandwiches, love the convenience of wraps, crave the freshness of salads, or desire something more substantial to refuel after a morning of adventure, there’s a wealth of options at your fingertips.
Crowd Pleasers
• Creative sandwiches like Turkey and Avocado Wraps and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches are easy and tasty options for camping lunches.
• Quick and easy wraps, such as Chicken Caesar Wraps and Breakfast Burrito Wraps, are perfect for on-the-go meals.
• Quesadillas, including Cheese and Chicken Quesadillas, are simple to make and can be customised with various fillings.
• Healthy salads like Greek Salad and Taco Salad offer refreshing and nutritious lunch options.
• Hearty soups and stews, such as Chili and Chicken Noodle Soup, can be prepared ahead of time and reheated at camp.
• Foil packet meals, like Foil Packet Nachos and Prawn Boil Foil Packets, are convenient and require minimal cleanup.
• Classic hot dog recipes, including Pigs in a Blanket and Chilli Cheese Dogs, are fun and easy to prepare.
• No-cook options like Cold Cut Sandwiches, Hummus and Veggies are perfect for quick and effortless lunches.
Breakfast With a Twist
Why not start your day with a breakfast pizza? Use a pre-made pizza crust, spread a layer of scrambled eggs, and top with bacon, cheese, and any other breakfast favourites. Cook it over the campfire or on a portable stove for a hearty and satisfying meal.
Camping breakfasts range from no-cook options like trail mix or overnight oats to cooked meals like eggs and bacon, French toast, or one-pan scrambles that can be made on a campfire or camping stove. Popular choices focus on being easy to prepare with minimal dishes, often using ingredients that don't require refrigeration, such as eggs or pre-cooked meats.
No-cook and minimal-cook ideas
-
Breakfast trail mix. Combine cereals, nuts, and dried fruit in single-serving bags before your trip.
-
Overnight oats. Mix oats, seeds, and other ingredients in a jar the night before. They are ready to eat in the morning and are a good source of sustained energy.
-
Pre-cooked items. Reheat items like pre-cooked sausage or pancetta for a faster breakfast.
Cooked ideas
-
Eggs and bacon: A camping classic. Scramble, fry, or make them into a one-pan breakfast with potatoes and onions.
-
French toast: Dip bread in a mixture of whisked eggs and milk and cook in a pan. Serve with syrup or cinnamon sugar.
-
Breakfast burritos: Cook eggs, bacon, and vegetables, then wrap them in tortillas. Add salsa and cheese for extra flavour.
-
One-pan breakfast: A hearty option where you cook bacon, mushrooms, and onions in a single pan before cracking eggs into the mix and scrambling everything together
Build Your Own Lunch
A taco bar is a fun and interactive way to enjoy lunch. Provide tortillas, seasoned meat or beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and salsa. Let everyone assemble their tacos just the way they like them.
-
DIY Salad Bar. For a healthier option, set up a salad bar. Include a variety of greens, veggies, proteins like grilled chicken or tofu, and a selection of dressings. This is a great way to ensure everyone gets their veggies in a fun and engaging way.
-
DIY Wrap Station. Similar to the sandwich bar, a wrap station allows for endless creativity. Provide tortillas, a variety of fillings like turkey, avocado, and hummus, and let everyone roll their own wraps. It’s a simple and delicious option.
- DIY Pizza Station. Who doesn’t love pizza? Set up a pizza station with mini pizza crusts, tomato sauce, cheese, and various toppings. Cook them over the campfire or on a portable grill for a fun and tasty lunch.
Make it Fun & Interactive! Setting up a DIY lunch station is a great way to make meal prep easy and enjoyable. It allows everyone to participate and ensures that there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
Main Meals 1 - The Burger
For an easy camping lunch, buy tubs of already-cooked BBQ chicken that you can reheat over a stove and then spoon into hamburger buns. Pair with side items like corn on the cob or pasta salad for a complete meal.
For a unique twist, try BBQ jackfruit burgers. Jackfruit (top photo) has a texture similar to pulled pork and is a great meat substitute. Mostly an American thing, but delicious, and well worth finding if you can. Cook the jackfruit with your favourite BBQ sauce and serve it on a bun with coleslaw for a flavourful and satisfying meal.
Main Meals 2 - The Baked Potato
Another classic, everyone loves a baked potato. Pre-bake and reheat in tin foil over the campfire or on a camping stove. Provide a wide selection of fillings to cater for all campers’ dietary requirements. This is another chance to make something interactive.
Main Meals 3 - One Pot Chilli
The one-pot chilli is ideal for pre-prepping and reheating in the field, certain to raise morale at any time, but a real heart-warmer on a chilly (excuse the pun) evening. Use soya mince to cater for everyone’s tastes. The more the numbers, the bigger the pot. Provide some rustic soda bread for dipping. Hmmm… Just writing this is making me very hungry!
Main Meals 4 - Three Cheese Pasta Bake
Cooking a cheese pasta bake over a campfire is a comforting mix of patience, improvisation, and smoky flavor. As the fire settles into glowing embers, a foil-wrapped pot or cast-iron pan becomes your oven, gently heating cooked pasta stirred with a rich, rennet-free cheesy sauce until it bubbles and melts together. The crackle of the fire and the faint scent of wood smoke weave into the dish, giving the cheese a deeper, rustic taste you can’t get at home. You rotate the pan carefully, checking the heat so the bottom doesn’t scorch, until the top turns gooey and irresistible. When it’s finally ready, eaten straight from the pan under open sky, the pasta feels more satisfying simply because it was cooked slowly, simply, and outdoors.
Main Meals 5 - The Hot Dog
Whether it’s meat, meat-free, or vegetable-based. Hot dogs are such an outdoor classic that it would be difficult not to include them somewhere during the expedition.
Remember the key takeaways from the top of the page. Make it fun, interactive, and as easy and quick for the Chef de Camp as possible. Never forget about your diner's dietary requirements and always double check for allergies. If you do all that, crowd pleasers are key to keeping everyone well-fed and happy!!
Meals Ready to Eat
We really didn't want to go here, but no webpage on Expedition Food would be absolutely complete without acknowledging Meals Ready to Eat, commonly known as MREs, which are self-contained, pre-packaged meals designed to provide complete nutrition in situations where traditional cooking is impractical or impossible. Originally developed for military use, MREs have expanded far beyond the battlefield, becoming popular among hikers, campers, survivalists, emergency planners, and humanitarian organisations worldwide.
Modern MREs were introduced by the U.S. military in the early 1980s to replace older canned field rations. The goal was to create lightweight, durable, and nutritionally complete meals that soldiers could eat anywhere. Over time, MREs have evolved significantly - improving taste, variety, calorific content, and packaging technology. MREs are formulated to fuel physically demanding activities. This means they are typically:
-
High in calories
-
Moderate to high in sodium
-
Balanced with protein, carbohydrates, and fats
-
Fortified with essential vitamins and minerals
For everyday consumption, they are not intended as a long-term dietary replacement due to sodium levels and preservatives. However, in emergencies or rugged environments, they are extremely effective. especially if the self-heating versions are used.
One of the defining features of many MREs is the flameless heater. Using a simple chemical reaction activated by water, it can warm the meal within minutes without fire or stoves. This is especially valuable in combat zones, disaster areas, or wilderness locations.
A standard MRE is designed to provide roughly 1,200 to 1,500 calories, ensuring sustained energy; military versions are much higher. While contents vary by manufacturer and country, most include:
-
Main meal (such as pasta, beef stew, chicken, or rice dishes)
-
Side dish (rice, potatoes, fruit, or vegetables)
-
Snacks (crackers, bread, peanut butter, cheese spread, trail mix)
-
Dessert (biscuits, sweets, flapjack)
-
Beverage mixes (tea. coffee, electrolyte drinks, chocolate)
-
Flameless ration heater or field cooker
-
Utensils and accessories (spork, salt, pepper, sometimes a spicey sauce)
Military MREs are engineered to withstand harsh environments, extreme temperatures, and long storage periods - often up to 5 years, depending on storage conditions. The British forces have their own version, of course; mostly disgusting, but enough said about that!! Let's quickly move on to more tasty things...
Next Up - Trail Food
Making your own trail mix offers a simple, healthy, and customisable way to fuel your body while saving money. When you create it yourself, you control the ingredients, allowing you to tailor the mix to your taste preferences and dietary needs - whether that means adding more protein-rich nuts, reducing sugar by skipping candy, or including allergy-friendly options. Homemade trail mix is often more nutritious than store-bought versions, which can contain excess salt, sugar, or preservatives.
It’s also cost-effective, since buying ingredients in bulk is usually cheaper than purchasing prepackaged mixes. Beyond the health and financial benefits, making your own trail mix is convenient and satisfying, giving you a personalised snack that’s perfect for hiking, school, work, or everyday energy boosts.
Whether you’re planning a hike, hitting the gym, or just trying to get through the midday slump at work, there’s one snack that has stood the test of time for adventurers and health enthusiasts alike: trail mix. This simple yet versatile blend of nuts, seeds, and dried fruits (sometimes chocolate, too) has cemented its place as a go-to snack for people seeking a convenient source of energy and nutrition. Beyond its reputation as a trailside staple, its crunchy texture and layered flavour profile include an abundance of nutrients, making it not just a tasty treat, but a legitimate nutritional powerhouse. In this DIY trail mix guide, we’ll talk about ways to customise this classic snack for a variety of needs.
Dieticians are compelled to boast trail mix’s impressive nutritional resume because it checks a lot of boxes. Though probably most well-known for addressing hunger while still being very portable (“dry” foods like nuts and seeds are good for that), the blend of ingredients includes the major macronutrients - carbohydrates, proteins, and fats (water is also considered a macronutrient, but we’ll assume you’ve already got that covered. Each has its own satiety profile - carbs help calm immediate hunger pangs, while the slower breakdown of proteins helps keep you feeling full through a few hours. Fats, with an even longer molecular chain, typically take the longest to break down, so they can satisfy your energy cravings the longest.
"If trail mix had a motto, it would be: Expect the unexpected… and maybe a rock"
Nuts and seeds can be a great source of vitamins and minerals like iron, zinc, magnesium, and calcium, as well as vitamin E and the B complexes. They also provide plant-based protein, which helps build and restore muscle without adding any saturated fats. Additionally, the dried fruit and granola found in most mixes can provide more vitamins like A, C, and K as well as plenty of fibre, which is chronically low in most people's diets.
Trail mix is also an easy snack to assemble at home and customise at will. You can pick and choose your own ingredients according to your needs, and you can save money by buying them in bulk.
But that’s enough on the biochemical genius of trail mix. Let’s get down to the fun part: trail mix recipes.
Basic Trail Mix
As described above, basic trail mix is defined by relatively equal parts nuts, seeds, and (typically) granola. The nuts can be anything but often include almonds, peanuts, cashews, walnuts, and pecans, which offer varied flavours and textures. Pumpkin and sunflower are typically the most commonly used seeds, but hemp and sesame also make the list. Granola clusters can be sourced from anywhere, and because they’re often held together with honey, you get a nice mix of savoury and sweet.
Additional add-ons can be chocolate morsels, yogurt chips, and pretzels. I like adding pretzels, or other simple, starchy carbohydrates, because they’re a good source of energy and are easy on the stomach compared to the fibre and texture of the other ingredients. Pretzels, specifically, also provide sodium, which is the most important electrolyte used by the body to maintain hydration and intracellular volume.
Now, with all of the above, there are variables you tweak however you like. If you struggle with hypertension, which was redefined in 2017, consider unsalted nuts to help manage your blood pressure. If allergies or food intolerances are your obstacles, simply swap one ingredient for another. You can really customise the following recipes however you like, but let’s start with a generic template to build from. Here’s our base mix:
Ingredients:
-
Nuts: Almonds, Cashews, Walnuts
-
Seeds: Pumpkin, Sunflower
-
Fruit: Raisins
-
Dried Fruit: Banana, Apricot, Apple
-
Sweets: Smarties, Chocolate Buttons, Pretzels
-
Granola
The Allergy-Free Trail Mix
There are now nine official foods on the list of major food allergies, but don’t worry. There’s still a way to make a delicious allergy-free trail mix that will stave off hunger and taste great at the same time. Feel free to swap in or out any foods that you enjoy or swap out any specific items you might have a reaction to. Always check with your doctor first to make sure you’re good to go.
Ingredients:
-
Hypoallergenic nuts: Tiger “nuts” (actually a root vegetable with a nutty taste and texture) and pili “nuts” (from Southeast Asia)
-
Seeds: Watermelon and sunflower
-
Starch: Puffed corn or quinoa
-
Extra: Gluten-free pretzel braids and dried coconut flakes
The Vegan Trail Mix
Going plant-based has become really popular over the last few years, but vegans have been around forever. Trail mix has been a staple for us herbivores because it’s often difficult to find a meal without any animal products. The mix below is aimed at providing a variety of flavours so that the vegans can enjoy snacking, too.
Ingredients:
-
Nuts: Peanuts, pistachio nuts, hazelnuts
-
Seeds: Pumpkin and sunflower
-
Fruit: Dried figs and banana chips
Traditional Meals Ready to Eat
We like a bit of the traditional English working man's food. Things that go back centuries, when men worked the coal mines of Yorkshire, the tin mines of Cornwall, and the slate mines of North Wales, and needed something whole they could eat without packaging... Shove a pasty in your pocket, and off you go.
Ingredients
-
150g (5oz) medallion steak, cut into 0.5-1cm cubes
-
1 potato, peeled and finely diced
-
1 small onion, finely diced
-
15ml (1tbsp) olive oil
-
dash worcestershire sauce (optional)
-
375g (12oz) ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
-
1 egg, beaten
Method
Preheat the oven to gas 6, 200°C, fan 180°C.
In a bowl, mix together the steak, potato, onion, olive oil and Worcestershire sauce if using. Season well.
Unroll the pastry and cut out 4 circles approx. 14-15cm (6in) in diameter – about the size of a small bowl. Place on nonstick baking paper on a baking tray.
Divide the steak mixture between the circles of pastry, heaping it on one side, and brush around the edge with the beaten egg. Fold the pastry over to cover the filling, then crimp with a fork to seal the edges. Put in the fridge to chill for 5-10 minutes.
Brush the pasties with the beaten egg and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Then turn the oven down to gas 3, 160°C, fan 140°C, and bake for a further 15 minutes. Leave to cool a little before serving.
The Bedfordshire Clanger
Created by the resourceful farming communities of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, the Bedfordshire Clanger is a traditional English pastry dating back to the 19th century. It is a distinctive elongated suet pastry that cleverly combines both a savory and a sweet filling in one roll, with each end containing a different course. Historically, the savory end often featured meat such as pork or beef with vegetables, while the sweet end might include jam, apple, or dried fruit. This practical design made it especially popular among agricultural workers, who could carry a complete meal in a single, sturdy pastry. The Bedfordshire clanger remains a celebrated regional specialty today, reflecting the ingenuity and resourcefulness of rural English cooking traditions.
The Samosa
Meat or vegetable, the beloved Indian snack actually originated in Central Asia as the sanbosag, a meat-filled pastry carried by traders along the Silk Road, arriving in India during the Delhi Sultanate (13th-14th century) with Middle Eastern chefs who brought it to royal courts. It transformed in India, becoming filled with spiced potatoes and lentils, evolving from a royal delicacy enjoyed by figures like Amir Khusro into a ubiquitous street food, symbolising cultural exchange and culinary adaptation.
Enjoy!
