Camping with kids is a lot of fun but you don't have to eat marshmallows the whole time. Here are some tips on child friendly meals that are easy to prepare and eat while camping.
Breakfast
We have a few favorite breakfast options. I love to tell the kids the story of the 3 bears when we are camping. In our story the three bears are the big sister bear, big brother bear, and little brother bear (this is a striking resemblance to our family). I always include adventures in our story that we are doing or planning to do during our camping trip. Of course mama bear always makes porridge for breakfast so its natural that we have it too. All you have to do is boil the water on the camp stove and the kids will have a warm breakfast of instant oatmeal. Its easy to make and the kids are always excited to eat it.
We also like to make breakfast burritos. You will need tortillas, shredded cheese, eggs, bacon or sausage or both. Before you leave home cook the sausage and bacon and store in a Ziploc bag in the cooler. We also like to crack all the eggs, mix with a little milk and whisk. Pour that mixture into a Ziploc bag and then put that bag in a container (so it doesn't spill) in the cooler. While camping you can cook the eggs on the camp stove and you are ready to go. Put out the cooked eggs, bacon and/or sausage, shredded cheese, and tortillas. Let the kids pick what they want in there burrito and roll it up. You can add ketchup or salsa if you want.
Lunch
For lunch we are usually out hiking, swimming at a nearby lake, or some other adventure. We usually make our lunches right after breakfast and clean up breakfast and lunch at the same time and then leave the campsite for an adventure in the great outdoors. Lunch usually includes sandwiches of peanut butter and jelly, tuna fish, egg salad, or cold cuts. I like to prepare tuna salad, egg salad, chicken salad, etc ahead of time so the sandwiches are all ready to make. Gorp ("Good Old Raisins n' Peanuts"), trail mix, and apples make great snacks for the trail.
Dinner
Dinner is a little bit easier. The more you prepare ahead the easier it will be at the campsite. Hamburgers and hot dogs are very kid friendly. Marinate cubed chicken in Italian dressing or teriyaki sauce and put on skewers with cut up veggies at home. Cooking those over the fire is pretty easy. Instant rice and pineapple is a great side dish for that. You can prepare raw veggies ahead such as carrots, celery, cucumbers, etc. and serve them with dip for an easy vegetable. You can also make baked beans and put cut up hot dogs in the beans. My kids have also enjoyed grilled cheese and soup. If your kids like chili you can make it home and reheat it over the fire.
Campfire Snacks 
Roasting marshmallows and smores are traditional campfire food but my kids like to do popcorn over the fire too! I like to get a couple of the Jiffy Pop Popcorn for us to make. Just be careful you don't burn yourself or the popcorn. An oven mitt is a must. If you have a larger family or a lot of friends you might want to get an Open Fire Pop Popcorn Popper
You can take smores to a new level too by changing up your ingredients. Switch chocolate graham crackers for regular ones and switch out chocolate bars for other candy bars such as snickers, milky way, or peanut butter cups. So yummy!
What does your family like to eat when you are out camping? We would love to hear your ideas!
