Vegetarian/vegan camp food?

[Cuckoo996]

I'm sure the title raises a few eyebrows, but I have a conundrum.

I've recently HAD to become vegetarian due to health issues, (40 years of being a carnivore, not a lifestyle choice I would willingly make) and I'm struggling to find food I can take camping.

Especially protien in the daily amounts I need.

Protien 211-240g
Carbohydrate 281-319g
Fat 72-94g
Calories 2807 -2812

I can't have soya due to another separate health issue that soya aggravates the situation.

I manage at home, but I would need a wheelbarrow and full camp kitchen to carry what's available at home, rater than a Billy can on the fire and 15l bag of food.

Any ideas? Any other vegans/vegetarians on here that could help me out, point me in the right direction?

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[Toddy]

Okay, old fashioned vegetarian here, of almost all my adult life.

When I realised that I didn't want to eat meat, no opprobium to those who do, just I don't like meat, I figured out how to make sure that I got enough protein, etc., and more so since my young sons decided they didn't want to eat meat either...that led to a whole family debate, but the reality is that we don't need to eat meat to be healthy, it's a choice.

So, old fashioned vegetarians believed the science that said that to get a complete protein in our diets we needed to combine two of the three 'elements' in every meal.
Those are,
Nuts
Bean/legumes
Grains

Any mix of two of those gives a complete protein....but so does dairy, and if you can eat fish, so does fish.

Now, we know that just getting enough variety and the body does fine.

Soya/tofu is a fairly recent thing here. I certainly never had it as a child or young adult. I learned to make it because it's good protein, it's good for me and I quite like it.
If you can't have it though, there's no necessity to have it. It's a good calcium boost for those of us who're vegetarian and can't drink milk though....I make almond milk.

Having said all that; what do you want to eat ?

Can you have bread ? gluten ? can you manage stuff like tvp (my husband calls that tortured vegetable protein, I'm inclined to agree) and can you manage mushrooms ? can you eat quorn ?

I have to say that that's a lot of calories you're expecting in a day. Normal for a man is between 2,000 and 2,500

M

 

[Broch]

Toddy is our resident vegetarian expert - and I bow to her superior wisdom - but I have to ask: is the need to cut out meat entirely or reduce it drastically? What I mean is, if you camp say 20 nights a year, could you eat meat at camp which equates to around 5% of the time?

I know vegetarians that don't eat any form of meat, some that can't resist a bacon sarnie, and others that are happy to eat chicken (OK, I agree, they're clearly not vegetarian!). My point being, it doesn't have to be all or nothing for many people.

 

[slowworm]

I'm curious to know why you need so much protein, isn't that about 4x an average intake, which would be something like 40 eggs or a Kilo of steak? I.e. wouldn't you be taking quite a bit of food even if meat was included?

 

[Chris]

Lots of eggs and cheese? Could carry a container full of egg whites to make scrambled egg, or just carry full eggs.

How about fish, or is it strict veggie?

 

[Cuckoo996]

Okay, old fashioned vegetarian here, of almost all my adult life.

When I realised that I didn't want to eat meat, no opprobium to those who do, just I don't like meat, I figured out how to make sure that I got enough protein, etc., and more so since my young sons decided they didn't want to eat meat either...that led to a whole family debate, but the reality is that we don't need to eat meat to be healthy, it's a choice.

So, old fashioned vegetarians believed the science that said that to get a complete protein in our diets we needed to combine two of the three 'elements' in every meal.
Those are,
Nuts
Bean/legumes
Grains

Any mix of two of those gives a complete protein....but so does dairy, and if you can eat fish, so does fish.

Now, we know that just getting enough variety and the body does fine.

Soya/tofu is a fairly recent thing here. I certainly never had it as a child or young adult. I learned to make it because it's good protein, it's good for me and I quite like it.
If you can't have it though, there's no necessity to have it. It's a good calcium boost for those of us who're vegetarian and can't drink milk though....I make almond milk.

Having said all that; what do you want to eat ?

Can you have bread ? gluten ? can you manage stuff like tvp (my husband calls that tortured vegetable protein, I'm inclined to agree) and can you manage mushrooms ? can you eat quorn ?

I have to say that that's a lot of calories you're expecting in a day. Normal for a man is between 2,000 and 2,500

M

Hi Toddy,

Thanks for your reply.

What do I want to eat? Anything I have a varied pallate and there isn't much I don't like, apart from fish and seafood. ( I'll eat bland white fish and tuna, but that's it.)

I went into hospital just before Christmas, extreme chest pain running into right arm and lower jaw, suspected heart attack.

But after 8 hrs and many tests and scans, it turns out I have a haitus hernia, which happened the week before lifting a 120kg paper guillotine and carrying it down 4 flights of stairs.

Since the hernia, (which I have been told I will have to live with unless it becomes bigger or strangulated), everytime I eat meat, the same agonising pain comes back and it takes over 24 hrs to subside.

Can't eat soya as I have a thyroid issue and soya messes with thyroid hormones, just my luck.

I know it sounds a lot of protein and calories, but my body needs those amounts to maintain what I am and my activity level. (90kg , 15% bmi , 3 x 10 mile walks a week with the dogs, 2 days physical labour at work, then weight training for 2 hours 3x per week)

Beans are my main source at the moment, along with whey protien shake, just started trying different lentils and such, just concerned the lack of protein over 7 day long camps would be an issue.

(Highlands next week, 7 days, average temp -5 , another the same in October and at least 4 other week long camps this year)




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[Cuckoo996]

I'm curious to know why you need so much protein, isn't that about 4x an average intake, which would be something like 40 eggs or a Kilo of steak? I.e. wouldn't you be taking quite a bit of food even if meat was included?

93kg bodybuilder, 16 inch arms 20inch legs 48 inch chest, need a lot of protein to maintain my body.

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[Cuckoo996]

Lots of eggs and cheese? Could carry a container full of egg whites to make scrambled egg, or just carry full eggs.

How about fish, or is it strict veggie?

Can do fish, just not a fan of the rich tasting, smelly fish. I'll have to carry full eggs I think, especially as I'm planning a few week long trips this year

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[TeeDee]

Bodybuilder or not you simply don't NEED to hit those macros every single day - its not going to be you withering away over the course of what ? 3/4/5 days?

I can appreciate how the bodybuilding world view presses the need for daily targets to be met but whilst the intervention of a few days away camping is going to be minute the overall calorie and protein trend is going to still be on track for retaining all that lean bodyweight.

 

[Cuckoo996]

Bodybuilder or not you simply don't NEED to hit those macros every single day - its not going to be you withering away over the course of what ? 3/4/5 days?

I can appreciate how the bodybuilding world view presses the need for daily targets to be met but whilst the intervention of a few days away camping is going to be minute the overall calorie and protein trend is going to still be on track for retaining all that lean bodyweight.

I don't do body building for competitions or show off, I'm actually really shy person and won't even take my top off in public. I do it because I rely on my strength for work, and more than anything, it's for my mental health. I had a psychological breakdown 8 years ago, and weight training helped me recover.

It's not a worry what others think, it's a fear of going backwards mentally. But you are right, I'm being over anxious.

Thank you for your input, it has been a great help.

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[billycoen]

Have a look at Forest Pot Cooking on youtube,they've got some nice camping recipes. Maybe get some B12 tablets too.

 

[TeeDee]

I don't do body building for competitions or show off, I'm actually really shy person and won't even take my top off in public. I do it because I rely on my strength for work, and more than anything, it's for my mental health. I had a psychological breakdown 8 years ago, and weight training helped me recover.

It's not a worry what others think, it's a fear of going backwards mentally. But you are right, I'm being over anxious.

Thank you for your input, it has been a great help.

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Ok, well think of it from a purely biological pathway and nutrition standpoint to assist the psychological hurdle.

When we lower Carbs in the diet we assist in down regulating the IGF response mechanism - which can be a good thing.. A good thing so the body doesn't get used to and ' up regulate ' the IGF to accommodate the constant additional carbs.
When you then return to a carb heavy diet the body makes better 'use' of those available nutrients and will increase storage via glycogen.

The same theory is becoming more prominent regarding protein - the occasional lay off and return can be a good thing for the body to assist in putting a pause on certain stages of homeostatis.


Think of the time away from lots of food as a vacation/break for your digestive system, enzymes and biological pathways and gives your natural biome a required break.


Good luck and sorry to hear about your breakdown -you're right, it can echo a long time even if it does get quieter it still lingers, and dysmorphia can be a nasty little insidious thought process that takes a lot of management.

 

[Pattree]

What Tee Dee says.

You can live on anything for a week or even a fortnight. London dockers lived on bread and beer and the odd oyster.

Keep your specialist diet for home.
I have reduced my meat intake over the years. I often camp with mixed tinned beans that have been drained and carried in plastic containers. It halves the weight. Rice is the easiest carb but the beans also provide that.

Don’t fret it, enjoy the change and put the balance right when you get home.

 

[Broch]

Mmm... a high proportion of the population, including me, have hiatus hernias (including Paraesophageal hernias) - they are normally managed with medication so, even if you didn't eat meat most of the time, I'd be surprised if you couldn't eat meat over a short period of time with the aid of acid control medication such as lansoprazole (but there are many others). However, I respectfully accept that everyone's medical condition is different.

There are times when I don't need medication; other times I can't swallow without extreme pain. On rare occasions I can't breath either - that scares anybody around but not me

 

[Toddy]

So, no meat, no soya, but everything else is fine, apart from smelly fish ?

Dairy, eggs, and faux bacon and you'd manage as is.

Me ? I'd eat more nuts, but then I like nuts, I use nuts in my everyday cooking. Powerhouses of both calories and minerals....and protein builders.

For camping, good cheese and nuts would be my basic starter on the protein.
Dried fruit is both calorie heavy, tasty and nutritious....and light weight, if you want to pile on calories without adding more fat or oil to your diet.

What would you normally take ? is it just stuff to replace the meat bit of your diet that's a concern ? because there are Vegan alternatives to all of those, and they're not all soya.
Personally I'm not a fan of the fake bacon/hotdog type stuff, but then I don't like meat, why would I want to eat fake 'meat' ? but if you do like meat, then maybe try the replacements. They're as easy to pack and carry as dead stuff is.

You could look at recipes for Meatless Monday, there's a whole culture out there that's pushing alternatives like those.

It's actually almost too easy for vegetarians to get too many calories from our diet. Almost all of the elements in it are fairly calorie rich, well apart from the salad stuffs.

 

[Chris]

When it comes to smelly fish, how about tuna? Or tuna mayo? Can carry tinned tuna and a plastic squeezy thing of mayo and then mix them together when you eat, so shelf life isn’t an issue.

 

[gibson 175]

butterbean casserole

• 2 tins butter beans drained
• 2 leeks -sliced and washerd
• pint or 2 of stock(use stock cubes)
• tinned tomatos

errr..that it .
have it with baked potatos or boiuled spuds or whatever you want. Sometimes I have it with meat sausages or chicken breast or other meat if i don't want to go full veggie.
I think that was a hairy bikers recipe- they bought out a veggy cookbook a while a go-good for some ideas

 

[Woody girl]

I'm a flexitairian, which means I occasionally at meat, but in small quantities, and 99% of the time I eat veggie. I'm unable to have gluten too, except for oats, for some odd reason. I also have a hiatios hernia and have problems swallowing, bending over bri ngs on a nasty reflux, so lace up boots are a nightmare! That, despite meds too.
So, one thing I quite like to make is a cowboy stew, using veggie sausages. Fry the sausages, and onion, add some mixed herbs some salt pepper, a can of baked beans, a decent knorr veg stock sachet ,( tho the origional recipe called for a beef oxo), and a can of chopped tomatoes, and some chopped carrots and potatoes. I put this in the slow cooker, and let it gently stew while I work, but can be done as a casserole in the oven(Dutch oven?) Or stove top. It's a variation of pork and beans, which was a staple of the wild west. I call it cowboy stew.

 

[nigelp]

hairy bikers recipe- they bought out a veggy cookbook

That’s a great cookbook. Loads of tasty recipes in there.

 

[Pattree]

a decent knorr veg stock sachet

If you haven’t got two packs of those in the cupboard you haven’t started to explore veggi meals . Wonderful things. I could make a decent meal out of one of those, fried onions and fried mashed spuds. You can do all that in a zebra pot and it’s tray.