Hi there fellow canoe campers!

I am fortunate enough to go on two trips this year, the second of which is going into Mudro on Sept 6th for 3 nights. My wife and I have been on many BWCA trips in the past (this will be #10 for me, #7 for her) and mostly outfit ourselves. What's going to be new for this particular trip is that we will be traveling with a vegan couple for their first trip!

My wife and I are omnivorous, so we have always eaten meat, dairy, cheese, fish, etc.. Our vegan friends are not familiar with constraints of packing and preparation needed for a BWCA trip, so they do not have enough input at this point to help.

I am hoping some in this crowd have some meal ideas in their heads that could work for vegans. We are looking for 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 3 dinners that are hearty and lend themselves well to be eaten whilst canoe camping.

So far, here's what I've come up with:

Breakfast:
Day 1: Veggie Sausage Patties + Tofu scramble
Day 2: Oatmeal + toast
Day 3: Bagels + hashbrowns

Lunch:
Day 1: ???
Day 2: ???
Day 3: Bob's Red Mill Veggie Soup Mix (takes 1 hour!)

Dinner:
Day 1: Burritos with Morningstar Farms Vegan Chik'n Strips (cooler)
Day 2: Vegan Chili with Textured Vegetable Protein
Day 3: Maybe Spagetti w/tofu crumbles? Has anyone had success making the sauce from tomato powder + spagetti sauce spice packet? Or perhaps Zatarain's Jamalaya with tofu (not sure if it is vegan?)

Or, has anyone made this:
http://www.amazon.com/Paradiso-Dei-Golosi-Puttanesca-Dehydrated/dp/B0055N28ZW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1342555626&sr=8-5&keywords=dehydrated+sauce

For lunches, I'm thinking we need 2 quick no cook lunches and 1 camp lunch. I am unsure of the veggie soup mix because of the cooking time ... if there is a fire ban we'll go through a lot of fuel.

Just looking for ideas to help make this a success. Thanks in advance!

Did you look through the Lunch cookbook above? I really like instant Hummus with whatever you like, crackers or pita bread. My little local garden farm store has some sort of freeze dried veggies that are great. Kind of like chips, crunchy and salty. I think there are beets, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes. Maybe a food co-op would have that too. The co-op has the instant Hummus.

Good advice, SunnyDay, thanks for the input. I will try to find a co-op in the Twin Cities area.

One of our favorite breakfasts is REAL potatoes, diced up with green pepper & onion. (I am curious how you make 'toast'?) We like to bring Bagels and grill them in the fry pan.

I also make an instant veggie soup mix, then mix up some Bisquick and drop the dough over the top of the soup and they make great dumplings! Really fills you up, too!

For lunch there are plenty of granola bars etc., We like Clif bars. Great energy bars! I like these on a portage day.
Also dried fruit right from the grocery store. Dried pinneapple, apricots, I love yogurt covered raisins. And Trail mixes, of course.
I really love to bring apples, so refreshing! Add some Vermont white cheddar - yum!

We tried Jambalaya before. It is good, but not sure about it being Vegan but I would think so.

I heard someone had found Tomato paste? in a tube?
You can buy spaghetti sauce in plastic jars, I think it is in larger sizes but it's heavy, of course.

I like the idea of potatoes with pepper and onion, but not the weight. My wife and I love the dehydrated hashbrowns, so we'll have to try them with these mix'ins. I just want to find a vegan way to increase the protein content. Maybe some TVP, although I struggle with how to work it into the dish.

I've made toast on a forked stick like a hot dog, on the fire grate, as well as in a pan. Personally, I like the pan technique, buttered on both sides, then sprinkled with some cinnamon sugar after it's golden brown. Bread is a little tricky to get in without squishing though, so it may not be worthwhile for you.

I really like the idea of the veggie soup with dumplings, thanks for that idea.

I have actually used tomato paste in the tube before and found it to be workable. We used it primarily to shore up the tomato flavor in the bear creek chili. I was thinking the powder would probably be about the same but weigh a little lighter, so I'll give that a try this year and let you know how it goes.

Thanks for chiming in!

Lazerath-

I think there was a post not too long ago in this forum about a vegan trail cookbook. Try scrolling back through the posts a little way.

I think you'll have to enlist their help with what they normally eat and what the options might be.

I have no problem with people being vegans or vegetarians, but I would not want to plan meals for them. They know what they eat. Let them plan their own meals. I am not a vegetarian or a vegan and I don't want to have to eat what they want to eat. I want to eat what I want to eat. It's my trip too. Just me I guess.

Boonie, thanks for the tip, I'll take a look.

Mr. Barley, thanks for the comment, but it's not that simple. These are our friends and we are grateful to be their hosts on their first trip into canoe country. We want them to enjoy the trip. My wife and I have had the fortune to share many meals with these friends and honestly have found it's not that bad and, in some cases, we've found things we'll happily add to our diet ongoing.

From a logistical standpoint, it is simply impractical for us to pack in different meals that have to be prepared separately based on dietary restrictions. There is certainly a way to do this, but to us it's not worth the hassle.

As I research this topic more, I'm finding plenty of dishes that sound appetizing and should pack pretty light. Hearty veggie soup with dumplings, breakfast burritos, sloppy joes, spaghetti, chili all should turn out pretty good. Perhaps we'll come out of this with some go-to meals for future trips!

You may need to check with your friends, but my understanding is that vegans don't eat any animal products, which would include dumplings, bread, and other products made with dairy and egg products...?

I have been looking for gluten-free dehydrated/freeze-dried meals and have noticed some vegetarian and vegan options, although the vegan options are a lot fewer than the vegetarian ones. I did notice that Mary Jane's Farm makes an oatmeal that is vegan - uses soymilk. The oatmeal is good.

TVP is probably your best protein option, although quinoa is a high-protein grain - check it out, it's pretty good. I beleive amaranth is another, although I have not tried it. Beans and lentils would be other otpions.

I believe if you search you can find vegan food bars, although I have no idea if they are any good.

Good luck.

You are right that vegans don't eat animal products. I was surprised to find out that they don't even eat honey! The good news is that Bisquick doesn't have any animal products in it and the dough can be made without any animal products to form a dumpling.

I will check out quinoa. They have some at Whole Foods and I'll try to make some at home before the trip.

Thanks for your suggestions!

Quinoa is good. I buy a pre-washed/pre-rinsed brand (Ancient Harvest) here, but if it's not be sure you rinse it thoroughly before cooking or the saponins (think soap) will make it taste bad. You'd probably want a pre-rinsed one to take on the trip for convenience. Quinoa is pretty bland itself - it's mostly a base like rice or couscous, which you could use also, but quinoa has much more protein - about 4X the equivalent volume of rice. And it's the only grain with all the essential amino acids. You can use it any way you'd use rice or couscous.

I was surprised to learn that about Bisquick. My sister has celiac disease. Trying to plan vegan meals is complicated, like trying to avoid gluten, which is hidden in a lot of products.

I was surprised to learn that about Bisquick. My sister has celiac disease. Trying to plan vegan meals is complicated, like trying to avoid gluten, which is hidden in a lot of products.

Good suggestion by Boonie on the Quinoa, it only takes about 10 minutes of simmering to be done. Add a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, dried red and green peppers, carrotts, peas, onions, a little salt pepper and oregano or rosemary, good stuff. What you really need to do is break down and buy a dehydrator, (you'll eat better and lighter on future trips) opens up a whole lotta vegan and other recipes. Chili, Red Beans and Rice, Enchiladas, etc... You can dry rice and bean dishes and it doesn't take long to prepare in the woods.

Can you add soy cheese to the hash browns?

Go To: Camping Recipes-->MAIN COURSES-->Scroll down to end then scroll back up to the PaddleFamily posts:
HARVEST PASTA &
JAIPUR VEGETABLES, CHANNA MASALA WITH BROWN RICE + MANGO CHUTNEY.
Warning: So much good stuff in that thread it could convert.

Wow, some really great responses. Thank you all so much for providing
your input.

nojobro: I haven't tried it, but I don't see how it couldn't be a tasty addition. The main thing I'd be concerned about is whether or not I need to keep it refrigerated. Typically we eat hashbrowns later in the trip, so I'll have to look into this.

FYI, a note on the harvest pasta - since it contains cheese, it is unfortunately not vegan. But it sounds awesome and I will have to try it on my non-vegan trip.

quote boonie: "I was surprised to learn that about Bisquick. My sister has celiac disease. Trying to plan vegan meals is complicated, like trying to avoid gluten, which is hidden in a lot of products. "

There is a new Bisquick with no trans fat in it. Called Heart Smart Bisquick There is no mention of eggs but it does contain wheat.

We really enjoy bean pate which we got the recipe from the LUNCH section in this messageboard. It does involve dehydrating, but it was delicious with added garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper, and cumin.

I would keep it simple and avoid the substitute stuff, ie Morningstar farms and all of that.
Breakfast: Oatmeal with nuts and dried fruit, pancakes
Lunch: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, dried fruit, potato chips, granola bars, trail mix
Supper: rice and beans, rice and bean burritos, chick peas and basmati rice, loaded hash browns, QUINOA, cous cous, mixed nuts

I have ordered several dishes from an Online dehydrated food company called Hawk vittle's. I was looking through the ingredients of some of his dishes and looks vegan to me. I can vouch for the North African Stew being fantastic. Might make your job a little easier just going freeze dried. www.hawkvittles.com