Paleo & Whole30 Camping

When we travel, our #glutenfree #dairyfree #paleo lifestyle comes with us, even if it’s into the woods camping! And yes, even a few Whole30 rounds have come camping too. You can still have a delicious camping experience without the more inflammatory foods, I promise!

We always bring our Coleman little two-burner propane stove and a large cooler to make this possible. Keep in mind with these lists that all Whole30 food is Paleo, but NOT the other way around. I am separating the two so those who are on a Whole30 have those more narrow options spelled out. Also, our family is not die hard Paleo, but more gluten-free dairy-free “Paleo-ish” – legumes work ok for us so my kids do eat hummus and legume chips. We also eat occasionally GF bread that has rice flour in it (not Paleo).

Breakfasts:

Paleo

• My Paleo Granola or Freezer Granola (kept in the cooler) + Almond milk
• So Delicious or Silk dairy-free yogurts
• Birch Benders Pancake mixes or a dry mix of one of my own recipes
• French toast made with Canyon Bakehouse GF bread (I premix the batter at home and just bring it in a tupperware)
• Juice
• Sometimes we splurge on Chocolate Almond milk (I know, getting crazy!)
• I also make sure they still have some protein, bringing some form of breakfast sausage or bacon to cook on the stove.
• My husband and I love to bring Paleo Chick-fil-a Chicken, pre-made at home, and the cook Birch Bender Paleo pancakes for the bun, making like a breakfast sandwich. I love it with my date mustard and it is so good!

Whole30

• Some variety of eggs – scrambled, sunnyside up, etc.
• Bacon or compliant breakfast sausage like Aidell’s chicken apple sausage
• Breakfast casserole you make at home and heat up in a foil pack or on the stove (the easiest way to go!)
• Veggie fritters (you can cook them there, but I usually just make at home, freeze, and then heat up on the stove there)
• Fruit
• CoYo Yogurt – compliant, but it’s a healthy fat y’all, so think like 2-3 spoonfuls, not trying to make it into a parfait!

Lunches:

We usually hike during the day so our lunches are on the go/portable. Also, I still make sure I am getting protein/veggies/healthy fat

Paleo

• Basically the same options I spelled out in my Clean Eating for Kids Lunchbox Ideas here.

Whole30

• Compliant jerky (like New Primal Beef Thins) or jerky sticks (CHOMPS, Nick’s Sticks). There’s also DNX and EPIC bars, but we don’t love the flavor of those as much.
• Compliant lunch meat
• Tuna, egg or chicken salad made with compliant mayo (my recipe here), if you have a way to keep it cold.
• All the nuts
• Compliant RxBars, Lara Bars, R Bars
• Fruit, dried fruit (just be careful if the dried fruit or fruit/nut bars trigger your sugar dragon too much!)
• Coconut chunks (I get mine from Trader Joes – so good!)
• Olives
• Apple + nut butter (I like the RxBar or Georgia Grinder portable nut butter pouches for hiking)
• Salad in a bag (sounds weird, but it’s fantastic – just put your salad into a ziplock bag, bringing the dressing separately and a fork. When ready to eat, toss with dressing and eat, then reuse the bag for a trash bag to carry out your trash.)
• Raw veggies – carrots, snap peas, cucumbers, peppers, maybe even some ranch to go with it
• Laird Coconut water powder – we use this as our electrolyte source. It was a game-changer when I hiked 26 miles across the Grand Canyon in 100+ degree weather!
• Homemade cauliflower hummus + homemade plantain chips or veggies. I love this recipe.

Dinners

Paleo

• My kids love the classic roasted hot dogs and s’mores. We love All Natural Hebrew National hot dogs (sold at Trader Joes and Target) and use Canyon Bakehouse Gluten-free buns.
• Plantain chips or cassava chips like Siete Foods and salsa, Kettle potato chips, or Enjoy Life Foods lentil chips.
• More fruit
• Fun drinks – we love Izze, it’s just juice + sparkling water! Sometimes we will do sugar-free Zevia, which is a great Keto option, but I don’t love the artificial sweeteners in those.
• S’mores – I often make my own Paleo graham crackers OR buy Simple Mills or Enjoy Life Foods cookies. We melt Enjoy Life Foods dairy free chocolate chips on our camping stove, smear it on the cracker/cookie and then roast either homemade Paleo marshmallows or less-crap in them Dandies all-natural marshmallows.
• If we are staying for two nights, we make dutch oven pizza. I pre-make the dough at home and keep it in our cooler until ready to cook. I use the Grain-Free Everything Dough. I bring parchment paper to roll it out on and then also line the dutch oven with it when it’s cooking. I cook the crust till it can hold it’s shape, then the kids top it with sauce and toppings, and we cook again until cheese is melted. Still perfecting the amount of time to cook, but it’s becoming a fun tradition!

Whole30

• Compliant hot dogs or sausages – We love the Hebrew National all natural ones mentioned above (yes, compliant!), those have the best flavor to us, but Applegate and a few other brands have compliant hot dogs. Compliant sausages you can find at Trader Joes, Whole Foods, or many places carry Aidells. My favorite compliant sausage is Applegate Fire Roasted Red Pepper – a little pricey, but SO good!
• My broccoli salad or a green salad
• Raw veggies
• If we are staying for two nights: pre-made meat from home or meat marinated at home and cooked on a skewer or on the stove skillet. I will also roast potatoes and veggies in a foil pouch.
• We love our hot dogs with my date mustard and the New Primal BBQ sauce or my homemade BBQ sauce.
• Fruit
• Drinks – Spindrift, La Criox, compliant coconut water, fruit-infused water. Juice and drinks like Izze are compliant, but not recommended for a Whole30 as it is all the sweetness without any of the fiber and satiety
• While the kids do smores, I have enjoyed making baked apples in my dutch oven or in a foil pack over the fire – just chopped apples + cinnamon + ghee, roasted until tender. Top with chopped nuts (I love walnuts). Warm and delicious!