The Outdoor Life: Camping Cooler

Camping with a baby? What will the little dude eat!? If you’re bringing a cooler… you need to fill it with food. Food that travels well!! Lots of my favorite foods don’t. Like ice cream. But there are many delicious, organic, nutritious options for camping, hiking, road trips, picnics… any kind of outdoor eating! Here are a few of my favorites! (And baby likes most of them too!).

ECOlunchpod Stainless Steel Snack Cup

When I have snacks that don’t work in the SnackTAXI, I stash them in my ECOlunchpod stainless steel snack cup. This nifty half-cup container might hold applesauce one day and sliced fruit the next. Anything that might be damp/fragile (but not too liquidy, because there is NO plastic in this container so it isn’t leak-proof). Perfect for protecting a serving of berries or sliced vegetables for a road-trip lunch!

Find this item separately (ARV $7) or as part of a 3 container set (ARV $22) at EcoMom.com, where I love to discover amazing natural/organic products! First time buyers get a 15% discount with this code: SB005897.

Batter Blaster

What’s a camping morning without a hearty breakfast cooked in a cast-iron skillet over the fire? But who wants the mess of mixing up pancakes? Not me! We’ll be taking cans of Batter Blaster with us to whip up a pile of flapjacks for the family! When I heard about pancake mix in a can, I knew I had to try it! What a nifty concept! Batter Blaster is organic all-in-one pancake and waffle batter mix in a whipped cream-like recyclable can. Shake and squeeze into your frying pan.

It took a few pancakes to get used to the light batter (I make a heavier one from scratch, but the CO² makes the pancakes light and airy, and gives them a longer shelf life!), but soon I was flipping out Batter Blaster’s Organic Whole Wheat with Brown Sugar & Cinnamon,  Double Chocolate,  and Buttermilk pancakes. Batter Blaster is GREAT for filling pancake molds without spilling batter all over!

Find Batter Blaster at Whole Foods and other grocers. ARV $3.99. Follow Batter Blaster on Facebook and Twitter!

Mountain House Chicken Salad Wraps

Would you believe a freeze-dried chicken salad could taste great!? Believe it. I ate two of them last weekend. Mountain House, the leading brand of freeze-dried backpacking food, just came out with a new Chicken Salad Wrap flavor! The Chicken Salad Wrap includes chucks of creamy chicken with red onions, cranberries and pumpkin seeds. Hubby and I agreed the pumpkin seeds really made this wrap stand out. This wrap took us about 10 minutes to make. We added cold water to the pouch and let it sit for 8-9 minutes. Stir, and spread onto whole wheat wraps to eat! Delicious. You could serve this over rice or pasta, but I think as a wrap it’s best! Mountain House Wraps include Buffalo Style Chicken, Mexican Style Beef, Barbecue Sauce with Beef, Breakfast Skillet, and Chicken Fajita. It’s gourmet eating on the mountaintops! (And super lightweight if you’re backpacking!).

Oh, can’t use it this summer? No worries –the pouches keep for 7 years, so hang onto it! Find Mountain House online or at major sports/outdoor retailers. ARV $6.40. Or follow along on Facebook and Twitter!

LÄRABAR

You don’t get far down the trail without breaking out… the granola bar. There are so many snack bars on the market, but look closely and you’ll find many with HFCS or lots of sugars and little nutrition! Which is why I like the distinctive flavors of LÄRABAR . LÄRABAR is a delicious blend of unsweetened fruits, nuts and spices. Made from 100% whole food, each flavor contains no more than nine ingredients. Another cool fact: If placed in the freezer or in cold temperatures, LÄRABAR becomes firmer, but will not freeze. Similarly, LÄRABAR (with the exception of the flavors containing chocolate chips) will not melt when heated. Making it the perfect traveling food! There are nineteen incredible flavors to choose – my favorites include Pecan Pie, Cashew Cookie , and Chocolate Chip Brownie – check out their website where you’ll get cool nutrition facts on each ingredient in each bar!

Follow LÄRABAR on Twitter. Or like them on Facebook!

Disclosure: I was sent sample products to facilitate this review, and was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are 100% my own.