24 Oct 24hr As A Vegan Camper: Recipes For The Adventurous (And Conscious) Types
Some of you may know that I turned vegan in January. It began with the Veganuary month-long challenge that the team at 31days dared me to take on, and after feeling the health benefits (and knowing the power of veganism to combat the too-much-talk-not-enough-action environmental issues), I decided to stay on and see how long I could last. Yes I’ve cheated once or twice, and yes I eat fish sometimes (especially when we are staying on an island in Iceland that basically lives off the wild salmon from the river around it, or when we visit friends in Swedish Lapland and get offered a rare Swedish delicacy of fermented herring – have to try everything once, right?) but for the most part, probably 99% of it, I stick to vegan-only snacks, meals and recipes.
As any new vegan knows, coming up with creative and varied dishes is tough at first. There’s a whole new world of grains and proteins that you probably haven’t heard of, and you suddenly find yourself (or at least I did) shopping in the Asian food and fresh produce store sections a lot more, trying out new vegetables, new spices, and meat and dairy replacements.
When we planned our 21-day road trip in the USA, I guess I hadn’t really thought about what we’d eat. Traveling as a vegan is tough enough as it is, so thinking about camping as a vegan would’ve probably spun me into a panic if I thought about it too much. Luckily, after picking up our JUCY camper, I realized that this camping trip would be a whole lot easier than others, as we had two gas stoves, a fridge, and every utensil I’d need to make flipping delicious food. YES!
As camping food isn’t synonymous with veganism, I thought I’d share these three recipes I invented on the fly, for any other adventurous vegans (or non-vegans) planning a trip. If you have any others, it’d be great if you’d add them into the comments, or pop the links in there.
Breakfast – Banana Oat Pancakes
Super simple and only 4 ingredients needed, those that know me well know that I have a HUGE sweet tooth, so will have (what seems like) desert any time of the day, (if I can have it my way, of course).
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 cup of oats
1/2 cup dairy-free milk (I love almond or cashew)
Oil for frying
Add your oats to your mashed banana and mix.
Slowly add the milk until it resembles a chunky pancake/crumper batter (you might end up using less milk, depending on the size of your banana).
Drop tablespoonfuls of batter onto a hot pan, lined with a good layer of oil.
Turn over when golden brown and fry until cooked on both sides.
Enjoy alone, with tea, with fruit or with drizzled maple syrup (although unless you’re in Canada, you probably won’t have that in your camping pack).
Lunch – Caramelized Onion & Mushroom Burgers
This is really a preference meal, so you can take any veggie you love and add it onto your bun. The mix of mushrooms and caramalized onions is a favorite of mine, but the additions always vary depending on what I have in my fridge (or camping pack).
Fresh bread rolls
A few mushrooms, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced into rings
Orange pepper (or some call it capsicum), sliced
Cucumber, sliced
Lettuce, torn
Rocket
Oil for frying
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Tomato sauce (optional)
Begin by frying your onions slowly in some oil until translucent.
Add a little sprinkle of sugar to speed up the caramelization.
Once brown enough (not burnt) take off the heat and add your sliced mushrooms.
Fry with some salt and pepper until soft and brown.
Slice up your bread buns and pile all the fresh and fried ingredients on top.
Enjoy with chips or alone.
Dinner – Peanut Veggie Stir-fry
A really simple camping dish that looks like you’ve spent hours preparing. Once again, most veggies can be swapped with others you prefer or have in your fridge or camping pack, so these are just a list of the ones we had with us.
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon paprika
150g mushrooms, sliced
150g carrots (we used the washed and peeled baby carrots – easier for camping)
150g broccoli pieces (you could also use snow peas, peppers, bok choy – anything you like, really)
50g roasted peanuts
1 teaspoon chilli paste (or more if you prefer a little more heat)
1 can coconut milk
Spaghetti (but you can use any type of noodle, or rice if you prefer – we just had this for the camping trip)
Oil for frying
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Put a pot of hot water on the boil for your noodles, and add salt.
In a hot pan, heat up some oil and add minced garlic and paprika.
After about 30 seconds, add your mushrooms, carrots and broccoli.
Stir fry on a high heat for approximately 3-5 minutes.
Add your chili paste and stir to coat the veggies.
Add coconut milk and stir.
Add peanuts.
Put your noodles on the boil and cook until ready.
Drain noodles and add them into the sauce, stirring gently to coat.
Serve while hot (preferably with some wine).
We have to give a shoutout to the epic JUCY camper that made cooking on the road trip such a breeze. You can book your own at jucyworld.com or check them out on social media @JUCYworld.
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