Eating well while away is something of a travel 101 for many of us. In fact, keen food lovers will even choose a location based on cuisine alone. Unfortunately, despite this food-based travel focus, many of us completely forget to consider what we’ll eat when it comes to trip alternatives like camping.

Suddenly, food goes from being a pressing priority to an afterthought at best, with countless campers assuming that, for ease if nothing else, they’re stuck with freeze-packed meals that they wouldn’t even feed their dog.

In reality, though, any wilderness trip where you have a base lends itself to a far better culinary experience. Instead of admitting defeat before you’ve even begun, then, it’s vital to consider the following secrets for eating well, even in the wilderness.

Camping and good food can seem like such an unusual pairing that meal plans often don’t even get a look-in. Instead, we slip into the bad habit of eating what we can when we can, without really thinking about quality. By instead taking the time to meal plan using quality camp recipes like these on eatingwell.com, you not only ensure far better meals to forward to, but also keep your pack light by only stocking up on precisely what you need. This is a small effort that’ll make a huge difference to the quality of your camp-based eating, and could even teach you some new culinary skills in the process.

The joy of campfire cooking, and often the taste sensations possible as a result of that, typically come from simple setups that you’re able to easily manage regardless of where you are. As well as significantly slowing you down during the day, complex cooking additions including fire bowls and even campfire popcorn poppers (yes, they’re a thing!) are only going to convolute your creations. Instead, stripping back to basics with an essential campfire stove and a pan or two, as well as plenty of flashlights as found on sites like ecogearfx.com to help you see what you’re doing, is going to make your cooks far easier to manage and enjoy. They might even highlight that smoky campfire authenticity!

Wilderness trips expend a whole lot of energy whether you’re hiking in the day or just collecting firewood, etc., meaning that going without food between meals is guaranteed to leave you so hungry that you eat what’s there, instead of taking the time to make something decent. A good stock of snacks is crucial for avoiding this, whether that involves dried fruit that can easily restore your energy levels, or even a pre-made trail mix packed with protein and everything else you need. These options are easy, nutritious, and guaranteed to keep you going until mealtime.

Eating well in the wilderness might be more complicated than simply walking into wonderful restaurants overseas, but there’s no reason you can’t still eat amazing food if you follow these pointers.