The essential cooking utensils are a pot and/or a skillet, a spatula, a long spoon and tongs or a long fork. If you're taking cans, make sure to take a can opener.
You really only need to bring five ingredients: pita bread, potatoes, carrots, meat in vacuum packs or cans and processed cheese that doesn't require refrigeration.
For breakfast, grab a pita and add meat, potatoes and cheese and heat the pocket over a fire until the cheese is warm.
For dinner, add carrots to the meat and potatoes, wrap everything in foil and add some moisture — an ice cube or two or a tablespoon or two of water. Roll the ends to seal and your foil dinner is ready to go into the fire.
To make cooking a snap, do most of the prep work at home, like peeling and chopping vegetables.
Potatoes are great to start at home. Wash them and dice them or slice them. Put them in boiling water for a few minutes, then drain them and put them in bags.
Freezer bags are the best way to carry your food — they can handle more weight than ordinary bags but you won't need heavy cans or bulky boxes.
To get a good campfire started, did you know tree sap acts as a fire accelerant? If you see birch wood nearby, use that for fire starter. Or, save your empty paper or toilet rolls and loosely fill them with paper. Another option: fill cupcake papers with sawdust and cover them with paraffin and light the paper.
If your food waste is biodegradable, dig down at least six inches to bury it — at least 200 from a water source to keep bacteria from contaminating it. If it won't decompose, carry your trash out of the camping area when you leave.
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