Keeping healthy while camping

TYH: Sticking to your healthy diet while camping this summer season

Jul 2, 2019 | 12:50 PM

Hot dogs, burgers, s’mores and chips–these could potentially be considered camping food staples, but are they the best for you?

This is my first summer in PG and since my time here I have realized that Prince George is a super outdoorsy town, and quite frankly, I need to get with the program.

Eating healthy is something I have been passionate about since a young age and I wanted to know what the best way to transfer my “at home” eating habits to the great outdoors was. We spoke to Laurel Burton a Population Health Dietitian at Northen health and she gave us some great suggestions in staying healthy this camping season!

Burton says keeping it fun, engaging and simple are three key things you need in order to maintain a healthy diet away from home. “Making some whole grain muffins before you leave, sliced fruit and vegetables, maybe some sliced hard boiled eggs that are sliced smaller for children as well,” prepping the food with your kids keeps the activity engaging, and the delicious reward is well worth it in the end.

Healthy items to pack with you:

  • trail mix
  • pre-cut fruits and veggies
  • whole grain muffins
  • cheese and crackers
  • veggie burgers/dogs

How you transport and store your food is also really important. We headed over to Northern Hardware where we spoke to Corene Bryan, Fishing and Hunting Associate, for Northern Hardware and she told us that Yeti coolers are “the best” at keeping fresh food fresh longer. However, knowing how to pack your food, whether in a Yeti cooler or not is essential to long lasting freshness.

“With the ice you want to make sure you layer it…at the bottom of the cooler and then layer in your food and pour in cubed ice as you’re going,” said Bryan, “and then if you have extra room at the top of the cooler, or in extra spots or anything you can either put in more ice, more product, repack everything or put in some towels to fill in the gaps a little more.”

Although I love eating healthy, I will be enjoying s’mores and Beyond Meat burgers this summer, you can bet on it.

Happy and healthy camping friends!

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