Camp Kitchen Set Up for Families

I like to rely on my brain as little as possible when I’m packing up to head out the door with the kids. Especially if we are going camping. There are so many moving parts and little pieces, I’m bound to forget something unless I pack it ahead of time. This is why I use a big bin for all our kitchen things, and store it in the garage so we can grab it on our way out for the weekend.

About once a year I try to go through our kitchen bin and clean out/ restock a few items. It seems like every spring I find at least one pan with dried on sauce/pine needles, and seem to have lost a few forks. Since we are still at home for a beat or two longer during the Covid-19 pandemic, so I’m using some of this extra time to get my kitchen bin ready for some camping trips this summer.

When my husband and I got married, we each had a pretty fully stocked kitchen. Starting a camping bin was easy with the extra utensils. If you need a few extra items, head to GoodWill and stock up! While I definitely love a good backpacking meal kit, for car camping with the kids finding some second kitchen items works great.

Aside from all the gear/supplies, I also like to have a bag of dried food/condiments to grab and go. I mean, how disappointing is a breakfast burrito without a little hot sauce? And I have found that adding chopped pistachios and balsamic glaze to my pan fried veggies/mushrooms/quinoa REALLY TAKES IT UP TO ELEVEN. A few dried/canned items I like to grab are pasta, black beans, quinoa, pancake mix, nuts, tortillas, and of course my favorite condiments.

Before we leave town, I refill our water jug, and fill up the cooler and grab a few veggies to chop and cook for dinner, some shredded cheese and my favorite salsa, and refill my egg container. And of course some marshmallows for s’mores.

When you are camping, it’s important to practice LNT principals. That includes the skin of fruit, nut shells, and harsh chemicals. Thank you for sponsoring this post, Setton Farms! Last summer the Garlic and Onion Pistachio Kernals lived in my bin, and were chopped and sprinkled on quinoa, pan roasted veggies, and fresh salads.