Breakfast

Mix your own porridge – Rather than plastic porridge pots that can crack and take up lots of space, I recommend making your own porridge mix at home. Starting with around 100-150 grams of oats per person per day, add milk powder, or even better, hot chocolate or protein powder. You can then sprinkle in your favourite nuts, seeds, dried fruit, add a little sugar and you’ve got a super-nutritious breakfast that be eaten hot or cold, simply by adding water.

Pancakes or Waffles – Making your own pancakes or waffles can quickly ruin a frying pan so isn’t advisable. Pre-made pancakes and waffles are a great breakfast option, however, and can be reheated on a sheet of tinfoil. Make them more nutritious and flavourful by adding, dried fruit, jam, syrup or honey.

Lunch

Lunch is one of the trickier meals to prepare. You generally can’t cook at lunchtime; it takes too much time to cook and then wait for the Trangia to cool down enough to pack away, and you probably won’t have enough water to cook and wash up.

Day One Lunch – Your first day from home is easier. As the lunch only has to survive in your bag for a few hours, you can bring sandwiches, cold pizza or quiche from home.

Picnic Lunches – Pita breads, wraps, or crackers such as Ryvitas or oat cakes make great lunches and tend to pack smaller and survive better than bread.

Here are some suggestions for what to eat your pitas, wraps or crackers with:

• Cheese and dried meats such as jerky or Peperami.
• Tuna.
• Falafel and Hummus (hummus is advanced and will only last a day or two if you keep it cool and don’t squash it).
• Boiled Egg – lasts a day or two if you can stop it getting crushed.
• Peanut butter or chocolate spread – check no one in your team has a nut allergy.

Embrace the Leftovers! – Some teams cook double portions for dinner and keep the leftovers in a Tupperware for the following day’s lunch. A big plate of leftover pasta or noodles can be a tasty option.

Dinner

These dinners are more elaborate than your typical DofE menu, requiring more ingredients, more cooking time, and sometimes both of the team’s stoves. They work best when you’re cooking as a group. Check out this blog post on how to cook as a team. 

Bring something from home – for the first night, an easy option to enjoy a taste of home-cooking is to bring something you already prepared at home – Bolognese, curry, lentil dhal, chicken stew, etc. – that you can reheat and eat with freshly boiled rice, pasta, or noodles.

Fajita wraps – This surprisingly simple will make you the envy of every other teams eating bland pasta. Heat a packet of precooked rice or couscous with a packet of pre-cooked chicken, lentils or beans and add some cheese to assemble your own fajita wraps. Bring a plastic tub of guacamole and add lettuce and tomatoes if you’re feeling really adventurous! 

Sausage and Mash – You can bring instant mashed potato powder which only requires a little boiling water to prepare. Add pre-cooked Frankfurter sausages and a tin of beans for a tasty dinner.

Hot Dogs – You can prepare hotdogs with vegan sausages or a pre-cooked meat such as Frankfurters. A side of couscous or a packet of rice can make a tasty side dish to ensure you get enough calories!

Jazz up that Pasta Dish – if you’re planning pasta, there are many things you can bring to effortlessly transform your pasta and sauce dish into a gourmet meal. Why not add cheese, olives, tuna, sweetcorn, chickpeas, or sliced chorizo. What about bringing stuffed ravioli instead of normal pasta? Decanting a small amount of spices and herbs such as salt, pepper, paprika (check if your team like it spicy!) or oregano into a small Tupperware or plastic bag can make your dinner a gastronomic experience.

Snacks

Trail Mix – Trail mix is a great high energy snack that will keep you going. Again, just check no-one has a nut allergy in your team!
Sweets – High in sugar and always popular, sweets will get you up and over the next hill.
Dried Fruit – A great snack and a great source of natural sugar, once you’ve maxed out on sweets.
Cereal Bars – Cereal bars pack a serious punch in terms of energy and nutrition. They won’t melt like chocolate and make a great snack for when you’re on the move.
Teas/Hot chocolate /Cup A Soup – As the night cools, a warm cup of tea, hot chocolate (oh, go on then, with marshmallows) or soup are a great way to keep warm before diving into your tent.

If you cooked a meal on your DofE that worked really well, leave us a comment below and maybe we’ll add it to this list!