vegan foods for camping?

[made of sequins]

I'm going to Pennsic (any other SCAdians here, btw? ) and this year I won't have access to a cooler. Usually I drive there, so I just pack regular foods and stash them in the cooler with ice all week. This time I'm flying in, so any ideas for foods that can withstand 90-degree summer heat without refrigeration would be awesome. (well, hopefully it won't be quite 90* in the shade of my tent! But it will still be really hot and humid.)

So far all I can think of is dried fruit, nuts(?), and dehydrated vegetables. Actually I'm not sure if nuts would go rancid in the heat or not...I'm kind of thinking they might since they have oil in them. What about dry roasted chickpeas/beans? Any other ideas? I've tried googling, but pretty much all the on-topic links I've found are all about how to make jerky or otherwise preserve meats for camping; yuck! Not what I'm looking for, obviously.

[Blueberries]

Heya Made of Sequins, camping sounds fun! I'm sure there's a thread around the forum somewhere on food to bring camping.

I've never gone camping myself (festivals don't count!) but I'd say you could bring a small insulated lunch bag that would fit in your camping rucksack to keep nuts cool (or slightly cooler than the outside temperature). I know you said jerky is disgusting but one thing you could bring is vegan jerky, Primal strips are a commercial brand.

I'm sure that there are some campers around the forum that could offer more constructive advice!

[Robinwomb]

I have found that cut up carrots (leave skin on and DO NOT buy the pre cut baby carrots that are horribly bleached and devoid of nutrients) and fresh snap peas keep very well without refrigeration outdoors for several days. So do apples. Otherwise dried fruits and vegetables (think sun dried tomatoes) are a good choice.

If you have access to a campfire, small campstove, or another way to cook, bring some dry oats or instant rice and cooked it up with some water and add spices and dried fruit. Another is chickpea flour. At home, add some spices to it (ground pepper, cumin, garlic, etc) and seal it up. At camp, mix in a bowl with water to a pancake consistancy, pour into a hot skillet and fry up like a pancake. Add your dried or fresh vegetables (spinach leaves will keep a few days too) and fold it over like an omelette for a filling meal.

Raw dry buckwheat groats can be eaten by just soaking them in a bowl of room temperature water for an hour or so to soften them. Add some cinnamon and nuts/seeds/dried fruit etc for a nice meal.

You can also premake larabars at home before you leave if you have access to a high speed blender. You can blend some whole dates, cashews, and add cocoa powder or dried apples or whatever else you desire and blend it to a thick batter. Press into a pan and refrigerate for an hour or so and viola you can get a good twelve bars out of that and it will keep several days without refrigeration. Sometimes I just end up buying cliff bars if I know I am going to be on the move (long distance canoeing all day or hiking) and no time to cook or prepare food. I do a lot of canoe camping so I have to pack light and easy because I have to carry all my food over portages and into the canoe for up to 22 miles.

I think a package of tempeh will keep a few days too. You could bring soft tortillas and add tempeh and seasonings to it, maybe some lettuce or spinach and sundried tomatoes for tacos.

I bring a lot of dried foods (grains like oats, rice, couscous, bulgur, millet etc; dried vegetables and fruits; nuts and seeds, especially preroasted pumpkin seeds that are light and filling; dried lentils because they cook up fast and dont require soaking). I also make my own granola ahead of time and sometimes my own bread as that will keep a few days. I believe Ezekiel brand bread will keep a few days too in heat. You can buy individual packets of almond butter or peanut butter in some health food stores or order online and bring some tortillas and spread it on in camp for a nice pick me upper or breakfast. I plan to do this on my canoe camping trip in August. I will be in a wilderness area for one week, living quite primatively. All of the above foods are staples I bring on my camping trips or long distance hikes (over 10 miles). I hope this helps! Have a great time!

[made of sequins]

fantastic ideas, both of you! Thanks so much.

Robinwomb, i hope you have a great time on your canoe trip!

Blueberries, technically I've never been camping either. Pennsic is basically like a 2-week-long medieval/Renaissance festival where 10,000+ people camp out and recreate, as we say, "the Middle Ages as they should have been". All the fun stuff, without the plagues and whatnot. There's music and dances and mock battles and commedia dell'arte shows, classes and workshops on all kinds of period topics, parties and concerts at night in various camps, and a great excuse to wear gorgeous costumes for two weeks...if you ever happen to be in the US in early August, I highly recommend it!