I like a strawberry millennium bar as much as the next guy, but there are times when you need hot food and meat-based protein. The more arduous the task and the more stressful the day, the more you want those fatty, warm, and filling meals. Bugging out can have many hang ups, but food is rarely one of them.
While bugging out should be done swiftly and without delay, longer trips are going to require that you eat. The quality of the food you put into your body will make all the difference in what you get out of it. Don’t forget, arriving at the bugout location doesn’t mean the end of threats and problems in a survival situation.
After scouring the internet, I have found 10 recipes that will keep you well fed and are easy to cook on the open fire. Most of these were derived from classic camping recipes.
I hope you enjoy these. Feel free to practice them on your next camping trip and choose the ones that will fit your bug out.
1. Mountain Man Breakfast
Breakfast is by far the most important meal of the day. If your bug out consists of two days, you are really gonna want the help of a powerful breakfast to get you going on another long hike.
This egg-based casserole is packed with all the breakfast staples: sausage, bacon, peppers, and onions are all combined with cracked eggs and cheddar cheese to offer up a breakfast that will carry you through the day. This breakfast can also double as a great dinner, too. If you packed some rolls, it does equally well on bread.
2. Campfire Cowhorn Biscuits
It’s hard to beat a biscuit. The problem with biscuits and camping is that there are no ovens. If you are bugging out, you will likely not have an oven either. Of course, you could bring a Sun Oven. It’s not a bad call.
But with this recipe, you don’t need an oven. It involves a method for making biscuits that only requires a simple stick and fire. From there you can wrap some premade biscuit dough around the stick and then you really have a tasty treat.
You can also wrap a hot dog with the biscuit and do the same!
3. Banana Boats
Look, even in the face of disaster, we are still humans. We still have emotions and all of them need to be stimulated. While a stew or a foil wrapped meal will get you through, there is something about a super dessert like this one that will boost the morale of your group.
These little treats are foil wrapped and stuffed with chocolate and marshmallows. The banana gets all gooey along with everything else.
4. Campfire Popcorn
You know, sometimes it’s just a simple snack before bed or during a rest period that can get you through a tough hike or a bug out. Many people are worried about the quality of the food they eat, and popcorn is one of those foods that has a ton of health benefits.
Freshly popped corn is a great treat. It’s also easy to carry and cook.
5. Breakfast Cornbread
I am very certain that this breakfast cornbread will have you waking up with a smile on your face. When you think cornbread, you may think about delicious additions like jalapenos. This recipe takes cornbread in a totally different direction with additions like cinnamon raisins and maple syrup!
Make this breakfast cornbread part of your breakfast plans. It can be cooked in a cast iron skilled as shown above or you could even use a Dutch oven.
6. Stuffed Fish in Foil
What I like most about stuffed fish in foil is that you can cook a meal that you don’t pack. Hopefully, you have some method of getting your hands on fish in the wild. Whether it’s poles or traps, you need to acquire this efficient protein.
The foil cooking method is a wonderful way to get your fish cooked in a hurry without too much fuss. This method also allows for a tremendous amount of wiggle room on things like seasonings and flavorings.
7. Campfire Pizza Nachos
Who would have thought you could find a way to combine two of the best snacks on the planet? Even better is the fact that it can be cooked on a campfire. I am in love with the idea of being able to cook nachos on the open fire.
This is one of those meals that will assure you good sleep. The cheese will fill you up when you lay your head back for the night, and you will find a deep rest and power for the next day.
8. Foil Wrapped Salmon with Herbs
Another one of these meals where the main ingredient might not need to be packed. Of course, any time you go into the wild in hopes of getting a meal, you could wind up being left hungry. Still, there is something to be said for eating what you catch.
The fresh herbs can be packed, or you can use some fragrant wild herbs that could be foraged. If you are looking to add flavor to fish from plants in the wild, you could cook that fish on a plank rather than in foil, or you could add things like lemon sorrel to the dish at the end.
9. Campfire Grilled Cheese Fries
Sometimes the campfire is calling for some food that has no business in your diet. Remember, if we are talking about camping foods or bug out foods, there are going to be some exceptions made. Depending on the severity of the bug out, you might not have many more meals left on your ticket, if you know what I mean.
An absolute junk food fest, these cheese fries will have you sleeping like a baby. Just make sure they are the last meal of the day and you have nothing to do after.
10. Herbed Chicken and Foil Dinner
After all these great recipes, I wanted something to remind you that there is nothing wrong with going back to the basics. You could be on a survival marathon and nutrition might be high on your list. Well, chicken and fresh vegetables or even foraged plants are always going to be a great option.
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I don’t believe bananas will be at the top of my list if I have to bug out. They don’t last long at all. I would replace with baked apples. They last longer and plus you can extract the seeds to plant your own trees. I would encourage everyone to learn how to cook in cast iron.
I have made bannock on a stick and in a pan many times camping. It is a very good an easy food to make. You can have all the dry ingredients in a plastic baggie and just add the water before cooking. You can add any eatable berries that you have picked to the mix as well.