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152 Meals in a Kayak

Every year, we take a group of Scouts kayaking for a week in the San Juan Islands, usually a 70-mile to 100-mile trip, stopping at a different island every night. The luxury of travelling by kayak is that the weight of your food doesn’t matter as much as how much room it takes up, and what we call a food’s “squish-ability factor.” For example, a loaf of bread doesn’t do well after being stuffed many times into a kayak with your sleeping bag, cooking gear and a tent.

If you don’t kayak, these meals and recipes would work great for a fall car camping trip or even for a quick worknight meal. After all, if you can make these delicious and low-sodium meals sitting on a rocky beach with a camp stove, you should get rave results cooking in a real kitchen with running water, a good stove, a sharp knife, and workspace.

When camping, some people opt for those “just add hot water” precooked, dehydrated packaged meals. But every time I look at their labels, I am appalled at how much sodium is in them. Many have more sodium packed into one meal than two people should have for a whole day, which is, of course, not healthy for anyone and can lead to high blood pressure and kidney and heart issues. Not to mention—those “just add hot water” meals are pretty awful in texture. One of the Scouts described it as eating “mush out of a bag.”

Taking food for a week when you can’t just drop in to your local grocery for a forgotten item is also a really good reason to do some serious menu planning. Planning menus for a trip is also a good reminder of what a great thing this is to do when you are at home as well. You will save time, money, and waste a lot less food if you have at least a general idea scratched out for the week—when you will be eating at home, when you will be eating out, and what produce is in your fridge that needs to be worked into meals before it spoils. As the Scout motto says, “Be Prepared” … whether it’s in your own kitchen, on a fall road trip, or taking a nice paddle through the San Juans.

Because of the burn ban in effect in the San Juan islands, we chose to leave behind our trusty Dutch Oven, which we often use for dishes like Enchiladas and Shepard’s Pie. Because we were planning ahead, we switched all the recipes to be cooked on our small camp stove. Enchiladas became Wet Burritos, pouring the sauce over the top of a bean, veggie, and rice-filled tortilla; Shepherd’s Pie became Upside Down Shepard’s Pie, with the sauce on top of the mashed potatoes; and we added a Phad Thai dinner that could be cooked entirely on a one burner stove.

These recipes do rely on some dried foods. You can usually find them at grocery stores that carry a large selection of bulk food items. Most will carry some kind of precooked dried beans, dried vegetable combinations for soups or casseroles and dried mushrooms. You can also pick up more mainstream items like instant boil-in-a-bag rice or instant mashed potatoes. We took our own home-canned tomato and tomatillo sauces; if you don’t do this, just look for the lowest sodium items you can find. Brands can vary a lot, and you may find hidden gems. Rinsing canned meats like canned chicken, turkey or canned roast beef in water actually removes about 60 percent of the sodium. Or you can look for low-sodium brands to reduce your overall daily intake of salt. These recipes serve about six people, or four very hungry teenagers.

Breakfasts can be a bit tricky on a kayak trip because we are always watching the current and tide tables—paddling against them is no fun. Consequently, we have some very early mornings, when we shove off before 6 a.m., and some very late mornings, when we are waiting for the tide to turn or the current to go slack. For early mornings, we have what we call a “bar” breakfast. Everyone gets a bag with the healthiest, low-sodium granola bars we can find, plus dried fruit and unsalted nuts, to eat in the kayaks as we go, or quickly on the beach before shoving off. But those later mornings are really something special. Time for Bananas Foster Pancakes or French Toast with homemade jam and a squirt of whipped cream from a can. What a beautiful way to start the morning.

As always, I tell people contemplating a road trip or any outdoor cooking to try these recipes at home first. You will figure out shortcuts for when you lack countertops, multiple burners, and running water. The more familiar you are with a recipe, the easier it will be to recreate on your trip.  Be Prepared.

Upside Down Shepherd’s Pie

1 can roast beef or canned chicken, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon oil

1 onion, diced

1 cup dried mushrooms

1 cup dried salt-free soup vegies (buy in bulk)

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup powdered milk

2 tablespoons dried mixed herbs or salt-free Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups instant potato flakes

• Soak mushrooms and dried veggies in 2 cups warm water to rehydrate while you get the rest of the meal ready.
• Mix up the powdered milk with 2 cups of water. This is easiest done in your water bottle; shake to mix.
• In a large pot, add oil and onions. Cook until the onions are transparent. Drain mushrooms and veggies and add to onions. Add meat, dried spices and pepper.
• In the same pot, add butter and flour. Stir to keep from burning. When flour mixture is lightly browned, slowly add liquid milk until thick and creamy gravy forms. Cover and set aside.
• Follow directions for instant mashed potatoes.
• Serve potatoes with meat gravy on top.

Nutrition Info per serving (serves 6): Calories; 393, Carbohydrates: 35 gm, Protein: 19 gm, Sodium: 187 mg

Wet Burritos

1 can roast beef or chicken, rinsed and drained, or omit

1 tablespoon oil

1 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 garlic clove, chopped

2 cups dried refried beans (buy in bulk)

2 cups quick cooking rice

6 flour Tortillas, lowest sodium you can find or choose corn tortillas for lower sodium

1 can diced salt-free tomatoes

1 can enchilada sauce (lowest sodium you can find)

• Rehydrate dried beans with warm water
• Follow directions on instant rice package, make rice and set aside
• Meanwhile, in large pan, add oil, onion, garlic, cumin and pepper. Cook until onions are soft. Add canned rinsed and drained meat
• Add cooked rice to meat mixture
• Mix tomatoes and enchilada sauce in separate pan and heat
• Set up a line of food and let people make their own burrito, adding the following fixings, then roll up and top with the tomato-enchilada sauce mixture

Filling options:

• Grated cheese
• Sliced green or red peppers
• Canned jalapeno chilies
• Rice, meat and onion mixture
• Rehydrated dried beans
• Sour cream
• Sliced avocado
• Chopped cherry tomatoes

Nutrient info per serving (serves 6): Calories: 335 Carbohydrates: 40 grams Protein: 13 grams Sodium 600 mg

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Contributor Katy G. Wilkens recently retired as registered dietitian and department head at Northwest Kidney Centers. The National Kidney Foundation Council on Renal Nutrition has honored her with its highest awards for excellence in education and for significant contributions in renal nutrition. She has also been awarded the Medal of Excellence in kidney nutrition from the American Association of Kidney Patients.

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Eating Well, Living Well classes

Studies show that working with a registered dietitian can delay kidney failure and postpone dialysis for longer than two years. FREE nutrition classes taught by Katy’s former team of registered dietitians are available at convenient times and locations around Puget Sound.

Eating Well, Living Well classes teach people how to eat healthier to slow the progress of kidney disease and postpone dialysis. Learn more at www.nwkidney.org/classes.

This article appeared in the September 2024 issue of AgeWise King County.