Thank you!! Great tips, great blog!

Karya, we usually just take one rather large cooler camping. It looks just like this but without the handle: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DNRHIFC/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1535523722&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0000DH4LT&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=030NPPF46YJ0FY7CZK18

It lasts us about a week, so if we are camping for longer than that, we restock for the second week with foods that I don’t prep at home. I do usually freeze anything that can be frozen ahead of time (yogurt, meats, eggs, even milk). I freeze just the amounts we need in different size bottles/tupperwares/etc. We just drink water usually so we would need a second ice chest if we were trying to ice down drinks.

I try to organize the cooler, but usually it ends up being a big jumble after a day or so. Mostly, I just put the heavy things at the bottom. 🙂 I will definitely let you know if I do a camping prep guide. I hope you guys have a great trip! 🙂

Alison, Thank you so much for your reply. Your tips are very helpful and you have inspired me to branch out past our usual “Cup of Noodle” dinners we take camping. A few other questions for you: how many coolers do you usually take for a week long trip and do you organize them in any specific way? And do you freeze your yogurt prior to packing too? It looks like in the photo you stored your buttermilk for pancakes in a thermos, which is brilliant….I would definitely love it if you wrote a “camping prep” guide 🙂

Karya, Thanks so much! We do love to eat well while we’re camping!

Those are GREAT questions and I have really been meaning to do a “camping prep” guide for YEARS to answer questions like these. YES. We do a lot of prep before we leave home. It just makes things easier on the trail. My dad used to freeze milk jugs full of water and then put them in the ice chests to keep them cold for longer. Blocks of ice keep things cold longer. Also, we crack our eggs through a funnel into a bottle, shake it up (to scramble them) and then freeze it. Then you let it thaw while you’re camping and just pour as much as you need in the skillet each day for scrambled eggs. We also freeze meat ahead of time. In some cases (chicken fajitas), we even cook the meat, chop it and freeze it ready to use. We do tend to do our meat heavy meals at the front of the week and eat beans and rice later in the week. Summer sausage and bacon keeps a long time though. Anything that needs to be mixed up (pancake mix or even soup mix) we do ahead of time at home. For potato soup, I chop all the onions, potatoes and freeze it ahead of time. You can even add the spices you want in a freezer bag of veggies for soup.

Hope that’s helpful! Happy Camping!!! 🙂 XO

Hi Jen! In the bottom of the bowl is canned veggie chili (just a little bit) and then there is grilled summer sausage, triskets, cheddar cheese and dijon mustard. 🙂