We all share in the purchase and preparation of group meals. The number of meals (typically2) you are assigned depends on the length of the trip and the number of people — Kayaks act like coolers on the water, so the majority of
foods will keep at least a week. Heavy, uncut breads keep much longer than regular varieties.

Desserts are a nice touch. Lettuce usually only lasts 4 days (longer if you can buy it DRY); cabbage keeps more than a week. Hard vegetables travel very well. Wrapping vegetables in news paper helps. Some dishes can be frozen before the journey to extend life. Because red meats do not travel well, it is rare that vegetarians need to be concerned about diet. Remember, everything tastes good outdoors, so don’t worry about it.

Here are a few ideas for meals that work well on trips. Because we aren’t constrained by weight and because most foods will keep for the duration of your trip, you can count on eating fresh foods. Pretty much anything you can make at home, you can make on a kayak trip, so choose a simple recipe you are comfortable with.

If you like, you can also join The Paddling Chef facebook group for ideas, to share recipes/tips and discussion .

Some basic principles to consider: 

1. Our double burner propane outfitter stoves are hot and it is quite easy to burn food. Plan to stir more often than you would on your stove at home. Items that will take a while to cook (eg potatoes) may be easier boiled in water than simmered in a sauce. Once they’re almost cooked, you can add them to your sauce. We wil mostly use stoves, but for cooking on open fires,  again, it is nice to have food that doesn’t take hours to cook. For example, brown rice is harder to cook than instant rice...
2. We carry most of our fresh water for the trip with us, and have little opportunity to restock, so we try to be conservative. Meals that absorb cooking water are great - eg rice, bulgur wheat - use 100% fresh water. To 
   cook pasta and potatoes, use 1/4 ocean water for boiling.
3. Fresh meat will not keep past day one. If you can cook meat at home, freeze it and keep it frozen en route to the trip, it will thaw in time for dinner day 2 or 3. Beyond that, meat is always going to be dried and spiced (eg 
   pepperoni) or tinned (eg canned ham, tinned chicken). It is best if meats can be added to the meal late in the cooking process, so vegetarians can have their portion before meat is added.
4. Fresh vegetables & fruits will travel well if you buy them free of scrapes or bruises, and if you wrap them in cloth or newspaper, and then in plastic. If you wrap them in plastic bags alone, they’ll sweat, and go bad quickly. Citrus fruits are more forgiving, due to their thick skin.
5. Packaging - If you are able to pack at home, please leave  & recycle all extra packaging at home. Like you, we quite often will end up packing our food on the way. You can give all excess packaging to the guides for recycling when you meet them on the first day - they will have a recyling set up for you to use. Thanks :)

Breakfasts

BAKED GOODS

For early in the trip, these are a big hit. Muffins, cinnamon buns, whatever you can bring from home would be great. Cooking them from scratch on our stove can be frustrating. 

EGGS

They’ll keep for at least ten days, and they should travel alright in their cardboard container (as long as you keep it dry). Serve with fries (potatoes cooked the night before) and bacon or ham. Toast or English muffins are a nice addition, and a melon or some bananas. 

CEREAL & FRUIT SALAD

Great for an early start. Don’t underestimate how easy and original this will be (everyone else will be making pancakes!). Fruits with thick peels travel well. Adding a little orange juice, and maybe some cinnamon, is a nice touch. Mix up some powdered milk, or bring boxed UVH or tinned milk. Toast with jam is original too - you can grill it on the stove. 

RICE PUDDING

Great for using up leftovers - add raisins, cinnamon and sweetened condensed milk, or powdered milk and sugar. 

HASHBROWNS

Fastest if you grate the potatoes and squeeze the water out, or boil the potatoes the night before and just brown them up in the morning. Delicious with onion and garlic. 

FRENCH TOAST or PANCAKES:

Try adding berries, apple, nuts, poppy, lemon peel, etc. These can be time consuming, on our two burner stove. 
Maybe serve with canned ham. 

COOKED CEREAL

Add dried fruit to the cooking mixture, so it’ll re hydrate (good for meals late in the trip). Or cook it up with coconut, milk and honey. 

FOR THE AMBITIOUS CHEF

SCONES

Makes 8-12 small portions 2c flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp cream of tartar, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp baking soda 

Take 1 cup of above mix with enough buttermilk or sour cream to form a soft dough. Form into circle 1/2” thick. Cut into wedges. Cook on floured griddle until lightly brown (medium heat). Turn to do the other side. Peanut butter or jam or cinnamon spread on top is great. 

BANNOCK 

4 cups flour, 3-4 T baking powder, 1 t salt, 1 t sugar, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup raisins, 
2 T cooking oil 

In large bowl stir flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Add water into a hole made in the flour. Add 2 eggs and raisins. Stir again. Knead, put grease on your hands and knead it in - add more if necessary. Flatten dough, use a jar lid to cut in rounds, use griddle to cook. Makes 10 pieces.

Lunches

 
These are most often eaten “on the go”, so the simpler the better, but we can pull out the stove to warm soup. Cutting 
down your prep time leaves room for a longer siesta.. 

SANDWICHES

For lunches early in the trip, buns, cheese, pepperoni, & fresh tomatoes will be a big hit. For later meals, canned tuna or salmon with cucumber is nice. Buns will last 3-4 days. Bagels, dark breads (eg pumpernickel), uncut heavy breads will keep well, especially if frozen. 

CRACKERS & CHEESE

Serve accompanied by fresh fruits, tinned smoked oysters, or sardines, and veggies with dip. 

MACARONI SALAD

Good for lunches day 4 or 5. Cook the pasta the night prior, and add at lunchtime cans of tuna, mayonnaise, onion, carrot, and maybe peas. Get a small jar of mayo, as it may not keep once opened. 

POTATO SALAD

Good for lunches day 4 or 5. Cook the potatoes (1 big one, or 1.5 medium, per person) the night prior, and at lunchtime add onions, vinegar, mustard, and hard boiled eggs.

CABBAGE SALAD

Grate cabbage with carrots, add vinegar, mayo or salad dressing, onions, raisins, diced apples. This is delicious, and 
crunchy (which is a real asset as the trip goes on). 

BEAN SALAD

Try tinned, precooked beans (a variety of colors and textures is nice) and add lots of crunchy vegetables - cabbage, peppers, celery - with vinegar and oil. 

TABOULI SALAD

Bring a store-bought mix and add water and fresh veggies. 

DESSERT

Fresh fruit, chocolate, licorice, jelly beans, etc., are always great. The biggest hit of all is something baked - cookies, carrot cake or some other loaf, frozen for travel. 
 
 

Dinners

 
APPETIZERS

Are not essential but helpful in keeping the hungry crowd off your back while you are cooking. 

HUMUS

Great with bread, crackers or veggies. Try either tinned, or the dried, add-water variety. Once made, this won’t keep, so eat up.. 

CHIPS & SALSA 

TINNED CRAB or SHRIMP with mayo on crackers is nice. 

SMOKED OYSTERS, with lemon cut in, are nice on crackers. 
It is hard to have too much CARBOHYDRATE... when kayaking 

RICE

One cup cooked per person won’t be too much. For regular, 20 minute rice, the safest cooking method is to bring it to a boil and remove from the heat (place close to the fire, but not on direct heat). This will take a little longer but ensures it won’t burn. Instant rice are the easiest, where you add rice to boiling water and let it soak. Instant rice in a bag is easy too. 

PASTA

Count on 100 grams (raw) per person. Stir lots. 

POTATOES

A nice change from pasta. 2 per person, unless you have huge potatoes. Dicing them first speeds cooking. 

GARLIC BREAD

On french bread or English muffins, this is a nice touch. 

STIR FRY

With lots of fresh veggies, this is a real treat early in the trip. Hard veggies like carrots, zucchini, and onions will easily keep for five days. Curry or peanut sauce is nice. Add a few tins of cooked chicken or fresh fish towards the end, and serve with rice, pasta or potatoes. 

CURRY

Great early in the trip with fresh veggies, or later on with lentils, potatoes & carrots 

CHILI

With or without meat, you can use tinned tomatoes and beans for a meal late in the trip. Making and freezing this at home makes for an easy meal up to day 3. 

PASTA SAUCE

Tinned tomatoes are good for late in the trip. You can make a nice sauce on the trip with tinned mushroom soup, or with any dried mix (eg pesto). Or make and freeze in advance. If you are fishing, you might be able to add to your meal. 

QUESADILLAS: (makes 20)

These are also a good breakfast or lunch. 

20 burrito-size tortillas 
750 gr. mozzarella or jack cheese 
4 sliced tomato, 1 sliced onion, 3 sliced avocado 
Over low heat place tortilla, place ingredients on one half of it, turn it over so both sides are hot. 

SEAFOOD CHOWDER 

1 kg fish cut into bite-sized pieces (buy it frozen to keep until day 2) 
1/4 cup margarine or oil, 2 garlic cloves minced, 3 onions sliced 
4 cups of mixed vegetables (cooked) 
3 cups of water from veggies, 3 chicken bouillon cubes 
5 tomatoes diced, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tbsp parsley flakes, pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan over low heat melt margarine and saute onions and garlic. Add 3 cups of vegetable water, add bouillon (mashing to dissolve) and bring to a boil, reduce heat and add tomatoes. Cook 10 minutes until soft. Add fish, seasonings, & cook 5 minutes. Add cooked veggies and simmer until fish flakes readily and stew is heated through. 
Or, bring a big tin of clam chowder and add to it. 

Dessert

It is always a nice touch having something sweet at the end of the day. 

You can make something - there are no-bake pies and cheesecakes on the market - or go simple with chocolate bars or cookies.