At the Campground Part 3

Our last full day in Maine and for lunch I had a gorgeous salad with avocado and sauerkraut. Steve and Keller had Sunbutter sandwiches made with gluten free bread by Ener-G. Sunbutter is a fabulous nut butter substitute and can be found at almost any grocery store these days. Go look for it and if you can't find it head on over to your local natural food store. I know that I once found Sunbutter at a Target. It's creamy and delicious and can be taken to schools that have nut free policies. 

These Greek Gigantic beans are one of the best foods that I have ever eaten. Of course when I can get the Greek beans I make them at home and the whole family gobbles them up. But, most stores do not carry these beans and you have to either order them online or go to a Greek Grocery store or if you are lucky like me ask a family member that has brought them back from Greece if you can take some. 

Luckily, I found that Trader Joe's sells them by the jar. They are the perfect food to take camping because they can be eaten right out of the jar or heated up in a pan. 

Please don't think that we have forgotten our veggies. Steve cut up this beautiful zucchini that we steamed. We also had cucumbers and carrots and lettuce. 

Another easy thing to bring along would be applesauce. If you are packing for a camping trip and eat vegan or want to eat more of your meals as vegan than head on over to your produce section and grab lots of fruits and vegetables. Remember also that there is a vegan substitute for almost any meat and dairy based products out there you just have to know where to look. I hope that this site will offer ideas and knowledge about where to go and what to look for. 

We don't just eat lunch and dinner. I never took a picture of our breakfast because, well, I think they never lasted long enough to snap a photo. Every morning we headed into town and got a fresh fruit smoothie and then we topped that off with more fruit and more fruit and more fruit. 

I look forward to our next camping trip and I may just forget the stove again, on purpose this time. 

At The Campground Part 1

Camping is such a fun and relaxing way to spend time together as a family. There are many ways you can enjoy vegan food at the campground. You can set up your tent, go for a hike, and then drive into town and eat at a restaurant. You can make all your food ahead and bring it in a cooler. Or, you can find a great natural foods grocery store like A&B Naturals in Bar Harbor, Maine and load up on delicious and easy vegan food to enjoy at your camp site. We've done all of these things but my favorite is when we buy the food, support a local business, and eat simply but abundantly.

On our first night at the campground we were just starting to talk about dinner when my partner said "where's the camping stove?" We looked around and realized it was sitting at home snuggled against the bookshelf. I have to admit that normally I would have freaked out, 1. because I don't like forgetting things and 2. it meant that we now had to schlep into town and find a restaurant where we could all eat (little side note, my husband is eating gluten and soy free these days due to a ulcerative colitis and Crohn's diagnosis).

But what came out of my mouth shocked me- I laughed, a big hearty laugh and I simply didn't care. We needed this vacation more than you could believe and I was in my favorite place, Acadia National Park so a camping stove just wasn't going to bring me down. We didn't need a stove it turned out to cook our food, we cooked everything over the fire pit. A brilliant plan devised by my 5 year old son.

Here is what vegan's can eat on a camping trip.

This wonderful raw sauerkraut was locally made by Thirty Acre Farm and it was delicious. I ate it on top of Morningstar Farms Chikn' patties, by itself on a fork, and the next day on salad greens. 

This Morningstar Farms Chik'n Patty was very good and our son loved it too, he ate two before running off and playing a game. 

Spinach and artichoke hummus with soy free rice crackers is a wonderful way to get nutrients like protein and iron. 

Avocados are the ideal food and they taste great on their own, slathered over your vegan burger, sliced onto a cracker or cut up with blueberries and cucumber in a delicious salad. 

Traders Joe's sells some good vegan things. I wanted to pick up something special for our son and I thought chocolate soymilk would be fun for him. 

My husband enjoyed cooked gluten free pasta and a light tomato sauce. The water didn't take long to boil over the campfire although we did find bits of char hanging out with the pasta- but that's something you over look when out in wilderness.