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I've found that one of the keys is to get them involved with the cooking. If you make it fun for them to cook while camping, they'll eat every bit of what they help with. I threw in a few ideas that you can cook without any pots/pans (just a fire and grate) which has the extra benefit of cutting down cleanup. It's advisable to bring some fire gloves and tongs, though.

WORD OF CAUTION: These are great meals for the kids to help with, but closely supervise them around the fire. Depending on their ages, only the adults should be placing or removing food from the fire/coals.

For dessert - all kids like dessert:

Baked apples - core an apple. Mix brown sugar and cinammon and fill the core. Plug each end with marshmallows. Wrap in aluminum foil and let it sit in the coals until done (turn over in 5 minutes, remove in 10). They taste like apple pie.

Banana boats - Pull one peel of the banana (leave it dangling). Scoop out some banana to make a sort of canoe. Fill it with marshmallow pieces and chocolate chips. Put the peel back together and wrap in aluminum foil. Put it in hot coals until done (about 10 minutes)

For dinner:

foil packs are good for kids because they make their own and they can be rather creative. You'll need a selection of sliced foods for them to build their meal. Slice the potatoes, add veggies and even meat (hot dogs, hamburger, etc.) Season to taste and put the entire foil pack on the hot coals. Turn about half way through. Let it on the fire until the meat (if any) and potatoes are cooked (about 30-40 minutes.) My kids have even thrown in the occasional chocolate chip. Note that you might want to spray some PAM or butter the inside of the foil before assembly.

Steak - This normally isn't a kid favorite, but if you involve the kids with the dry-rub preparation before you go on the trip, then they'll be looking forward to helping to cook their meal. Before you leave home, get some steak and dry rub a mix of paprika and salt on both sides of the steak. If you don't have a means to keep cold food, freeze the steak and eat it for the first meal since it it will have thawed by dinner time. Just put the steak on the grill and cook it, flipping it once. Cook to desired doneness.

Bonus - if you don't mind buying some extra equipment:

Mountain pie makers - get a couple of these and the ideas are limitless. My kids love making their own - mini pizzas are among their favorites.

Enjoy!

Trail staples like peanut butter, Nutella, trail mix, hard candies/chocolates will all keep really well without refrigeration. Things like Spam Singles and tuna singles are really shelf stable and versatile. Instant oatmeal is also an easy breakfast and pretty negligible in terms of weight, especially since all you need is some hot water. I like taking instant polenta for the same reason - fills you up, takes 3 minutes to cook and is great with some salami or cheese mixed in.

There's also a supermarket chain in Iceland called Bonus and there are quite a few of them around the place. They have a huge selection of things like salami and hard cheeses which were staples of what I carried while I was there (spent 3.5 weeks hiking/camping the whole country basically). Tortillas are light and easy to pack and would definitely last you a week.

Soups and stews, gumbo and jambalaya are great one pot meals.

Bear Creek makes good starters that you can add to.

Knorr sides are also good starters you can add to.

The key to camp cooking is prep work. You want to do as little processing of the food in the wild as you can. Pre chop, and measure your spices as much as you can. Hell pre cook it, so all you have to do is warm it up.

On the first day everything will be fresh. That is when you have a steak dinner or bacon for breakfast.

Day 2 you will eat things that have defrosted (you froze and chilled everything before putting it in the cooler, right?) Chopped up and cooked chicken, pre cooked hamburger crumbles.

After all the fresh stuff is gone you go to shelf stable meats like chicken in a pouch, beef in a pouch, caned tuna. For more good camping meats check out this thread

I love fresh fruit, but camping is hard on them. You could bring pre made fruit salad for the first few days. I like fruit pouches. Most are apple based but you can find some that are mango/pineapple or berry mix. They will be with the apple sauce, chilled case in the fresh fruit section, or the baby food section.

Breakfast: Oatmeal or home fries (pre boiled chopped potatoes, veggies, breakfast meat)

Lunch should be packable on the go food. Jerkey, bebel cheese, carb of choice (tortilla, pita, bagel) fruit pouch, protein bar.

One of my favorite quick dinners is Bangers and mash:

2 Aidells sausage per person. They are pre cooked. Get a couple of different flavors for aded fun. I slice them in half then put them in a baggie with enough for each meal. Heat on the skillet.

1/3 of a cup per person fancy potato flakes all you have to do is boil the water.

edit:spelling

And remember you can just bring the bits you need. I like mine better for the weight actually, and have 2 different kits:


https://www.reddit.com/r/CampingGear/comments/2h32ru/picked_these_up_at_the_store_for_1495_and_1995/

I reeally like them and when i go by myself i just take the small one, and when 3 people I take them all and 2 stoves. I have an older pocket Rocket clone but got this little baby a few months ago for $10 or 11 bucks:

https://www.amazon.com/BRS-Ultralight-Camping-Outdoor-Cooking/dp/B00NNMF70U

I just try to be cheap thrifty so I do tend to look for sales and "clones". My buddy just bought the whole kit he needed for JMT and is in over 3 grand. My kit is pretty good and I am in for maybe $500-600.

I can always go back and buy the super expensive gram saving thing if I find I want to loose more weight from my pack down the road. But i figure at this point a diet will do more for trail weight than fancy gear.

Just to add, you can get a really good dehydrator for about $65 that will do virtually anything you want. I've done jerky, fruit leathers, veggies, etc but you can also dehydrate cooked meals with great success. It's crazy how easy it is, you literally pat stuff dry, cut it into small/thin pieces, and plug it in. It's really that easy.

Don’t have any recipes but TVP will probably be a great addition because you only have to barely bring water to a boil and stir. Add some taco seasoning and your good to go.
Also this book will probably be of great use.
https://www.amazon.com/Lipsmackin-Vegetarian-Backpackin-Lightweight-Trail-Tested/dp/0762785020/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=lip+smacking+vegetarian+backpacking&qid=1565379203&s=gateway&sprefix=lips+smacking+vege&sr=8-1&utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app

Google led me to this Canadian online store: http://www.bridensolutions.ca/instant-refried-pinto-beans-nutristore-10-can

That's about twice as expensive as I pay on Amazon in the US: https://www.amazon.com/Santa-Fe-Bean-Southwestern-7-25-Ounce/dp/B000FI701Y

But 2x as expensive might be acceptable if you really really want beans.

You might also experiment with looking for instant bean soup, instant hummus, and instant falafel.

Couscous is a pretty solid base for cold-soaked meals as well, but it might not pack as much nutritional value as the beans, depending on how important that is to you.

Check your local health food store as well. You might get lucky in the bulk bins.

--Lentils: high protein, quick cooking, cheap, can season for different kinds of meals. Dry lentils will be much lighter than canned/bagged/cooked lentils. Boil for 25 minutes.

--Quinoa: same as above! Use it like rice. It only needs to boil for about 15 minutes.

--Baked chickpeas. Do this ahead of time and pack servings in ziplock baggies. High protein, crunchy, delicious. Here's a simple recipe.

--Homemade trail mix. Nuts, seeds, dried fruits, chocolate chips, etc.

--Avocados. These need to be eaten within 2-3 days of buying them (if they're hard), but easy to cut in half and eat with a spoon and salt. The fat in avocados is awesome.

--Spices. You'll be set with salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin. You could get something like a Multi spice jar or ziplock baggies.

I've helped with cooking for 50+ youth groups. This is spot on advice.

Pasta is a no-go. Giant pots of water take way too long to boil.

Sandwiches benefit from a side of soup. Canned soups don't have to boil. Heating should be your watchword.

Also, camp pies are awesome for groups. Bring some canned pie fillings and white bread, and butter or pan spray. Lots of apple filling, everybody loves apple pie. Buy a few of these and you are set.

I love ramen for cold nights. The shin black is OK, but this one is spicier and I like it a lot more. I add a dehydrated veggie mix like this one.

This makes for a relatively low-sodium soup. Add chicken or some other freeze-dried protein and it’s a light weight and tasty trail meal.

Good to know.

I have a Excalibur 9-tray dehydrator. It's great. Good temp and timer controls - not digital though.

https://www.amazon.com/Excalibur-3926TB-Dehydrator-Temperature-Dehydration/dp/B008OV4FD0

I originally went looking for coconut milk powder but could only find coconut cream powder. This is the brand I ended up using, and maybe it's a translation thing, but I do think its coconut cream? When you let the noodles sit for a while in the powder, it really all thickens up nicely, making it pretty creamy and hearty.

This is the model I have: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090WOCN0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_27ABybM378CRH

Pros are it's cheap to get into, expandable up to 12 trays, and easy to clean.

Cons are the heat comes from one end, so you will have to rotate trays part way through.

An alternative is something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017HX1966/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_F.ABybB9VDQGT

Pros are it heats evenly, so no need to rotate.

Cons are you're stuck at the amount of trays it came with (anywhere from 6-12 usually), and it's a little harder to clean.

Edit - Either way, you'll need to be careful of the smell, it'll get into everything. My dad bought one. I tried to warn him, he didn't believe me (although he did use his balcony). Thought I was exaggerating. Until his neighbor two doors down asked him what he was cooking (jerky). I recommend doing it in a shed or garage.

What u/choomguy says. Santa Fe Bean Company has some that are pretty good and can be bought off of amazon, though you can sometimes find them at the super market. Couple them with Minute Rice!

Note: the amazon link is to an eight pack of beans. I accidentally bought these and end up putting most of the bags in my emergency barrel.

Santa Fe Bean Co., Instant Fat Free Vegetarian Refried Beans, 7.25-Ounce Pack (Pack of 8) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FICDO8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fu0PAb35WF8B2

Amazon.

If you are doing from scratch, you probably need to do the beans from scratch. I would also recommend smashing the beans before dehydrating them, to make flakes.

But, since you are buying the beans, might as well buy pre-dehydrated beans like this

I do not. I use The Dehydrator Bible as the base for my recipes and sub ingredients to fit my own tastes. Feel free to ask if you have any specific questions, between that book and a lot of trial and error I've learned a good bit about the process.

I've made Khao Soi (northern thai coconut curry soup) with Ramen noodles. It was one of the best trail meals I've made

you'll need:

1 package of ramen noodles, throw away the seasoning

1 package of Khao soi seasoning https://www.amazon.com/Lobo-Brand-Thai-Kao-Seasoning/dp/B000ESIDBQ

1 package of coconut milk/cream powder https://www.amazon.com/Coconut-Cream-Powder-Chao-Thai/dp/B0095VQH5M/

1 package of chicken https://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Breast-Protein-Snacks-Pouches/dp/B0025ULWVE/

freeze dried shallots and cilanto (Litehouse brand)

chili flakes

crushed peanuts

dehydrated lime juice (optional) https://www.amazon.com/True-Citrus-Lime-Shaker-2pk/dp/B01F2PKK8E/

​

To make:

Crumble a few noodles and reserve, cook the rest in boiling water, pour off a bit of the water and add the chicken, when warm, mix in the Khoi soi seasoning and coconut milk/cream powder, stir to combine. Add freeze dried shallots and cilanto and let them rehydrate, top with crumbled noodle bits, chili flakes to taste and some crushed peanuts, add a touch of dehydrated lime juice. Enjoy.

As long as your dehydrator has a fan you should be fine. That one seems to have good reviews. Even if it doesn't work as good it's only going to take longer to dehydrate. It's not like it won't work.

Mine is here

Nesco Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator FD-75A https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090WOCN0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_egq3wbGX4QJPW

The grand daddy of home dehydrators is the Excalibur. I'm waiting for mine to break but it's still going.

Excalibur 3926TB Food Dehydrator, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008OV4FD0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_mkq3wbRYPYS3K

Plus one for Knorr sides. I also had instant potatoes a couple times that I mixed with dehydrated veggies someone had left in a hiker box. (You can buy a pre-dehydrated mix in advance, like here: https://www.amazon.com/Harmony-House-Foods-Dried-Vegetable/dp/B0039QXWPM?th=1) Mix the veggies in with the water first and then add the instant potatoes for a creamy veggie soup (adjust water for preferred thickness). Don't forget salt and pepper!

I use something like this on amazon

You spread out the chilli in a thin layer then let the machine do its work. I have heard of some diy dehydrators, that may be a more economical choice.

I agree with Dutch Oven. And don't forget that awesome "hooky thingy"! for removing the lid and fetching the oven from the coals.

How do you get it back to a dip-like state? Adding water just seems... no.

I was thinking something like these guys (there are also ones of nut butters)

On the flip side there is PB2

Looks like it, but it's out of stock. I found a couple on [amazon] (http://www.amazon.com/Hoosier-Hill-Farm-Butter-powder/dp/B00DC5ZKQE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407838826&sr=8-1&keywords=powdered+butter), I apparently never looked there or I quit too soon in the results because most are prepper sized monster cans.

Instant Hummus There are a few different products on Amazon

Yeah, the chicken is kind of hard to find, I usually just order it on amazon, but it's kind of expensive. http://www.amazon.com/Valley-Fresh-Premium-Chicken-7-Ounce/dp/B000V1LXU4

Typically I dehydrate most meals so 12 of these go a long way.

This is the one you want

Here is the mobile version of your link

4 1/2 stars after over 2000 reviews on Amazon for the FD-75A.

They are very cheap on Amazon

I just buy the Casbah hummus in bulk on Amazon

https://www.amazon.ca/Hoosier-Hill-Farm-Butter-powder/dp/B00DC5ZKQE

It kind of makes sense to me. Regular butter is 7:1, and if you assume dehydrating it halves the mass you're at about 14:1

Just a heads up, sriracha powder is available on amazon.

Here is the mobile version of your link

I use these:

GSI Outdoors Halulite Boiler Cooking Pot, 1.1-Liter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GP1GSAO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_gGI0CbV08N5W5

BRS Outdoor Camping Gas Cooking Stove Portable Ultralight Burner 25g https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NNMF70U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_HFI0Cb57SJ66E

Total weight: 135g or 4.76oz; Total cost: $47

You can get stuff that weighs less but I’m cheap.

I ended up going with the stove I posted, as it had a lightning deal where another $5 was even taken off. Additionally, I also bought griddle

Can’t find it at all?

https://www.amazon.com/Buds-Cricket-Power-Trail-Crickets/dp/B07TMGTJ7L

https://nutriteck.ca/pcart/index.php?id_product=81&controller=product&id_lang=1