This post brought to you by Giant Food Stores. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Six Figures Under.
Last week, my husband took a day off of work and we took our four kids on a much-anticipated family outdoor adventure. We backpacked to one of our favorite spots in the mountains. It’s close to a beautiful river that is tucked far enough up in the mountains that it’s off the beaten path.
The three older kids carried their own packs and even helped carry some of the family gear. As we hiked there, the kids discussed how cool it was that we could go places where cars could not.
We only stayed two nights, but the kids wanted to stay for a week. I’m excited that they are falling in love with the outdoors. Taking a even few days off to relax, unplug, and enjoy one another was refreshing and fun.
In addition to enjoying some fresh air, the kids fished, played in the sand, explored the river, paddled in a lake, and ate around the fire.
And some of us were happy just playing in the dirt.
When it comes to food for camping, we like to keep things exciting. For some people, camping food means hot dogs or ramen noodles. Not us! We don’t believe in boring camp food. We’re always experimenting with new ideas.
This time, I decided to try out a new recipe. We loved it and I think you will too!
Since our eight-year-old has chosen to eat a vegetarian diet, we wanted to try this Veggie Burger with hummus recipe. I thought our camping trip would be a great time to try it out. I packed along our smallest cast iron skillet just for the occasion.
While we used veggie burgers, you could definitely substitute in a beef patty with delicious results!
This was our first time trying veggie burgers and we were all very impressed. My daughter was in disbelief that the burger was not actually meat (she thought I was teasing her!). Honestly, I was surprised how meat-like they were myself.
You can cook your burger on the stove, on the grill, or even over coals on your campfire, like we did! With a little olive oil and garlic on your sourdough bread, you can toast it in the oven, on the grill, or over the coals.
Spread spinach and artichoke hummus (yep, that’s a thing) over the toasted bread, then add fresh spinach.
Place your veggie burger patty on top of the spinach and sprinkle with thinly sliced green onions.
Top with another slice of toasted bread and you’re good to go!
I think the magic of this burger comes from the spinach and artichoke hummus. I’ve never put hummus on a burger before, but I’ll definitely be doing it again! Plus, we enjoyed the leftover hummus with pretzels the next day!
You can get the full recipe and lots of other creative and affordable summer food ideas from Giant Food Stores. Their recipes are an easy way to give variety to your summer menu!
While we don’t do boring camp food, we’re not afraid to indulge in our favorite traditional camping food… you better believe we finished off with s’mores!
Check out the Giant Recipe Center for some affordable and delicious summer food ideas like the Summer Fruit Crumble (I’m trying that one next!). There are also more than a dozen other creative burger recipes.
How about you?
- What’s your favorite summer burger or side?
Ok HOW did you backpack with young kids?! How far did you go and what did you bring? I really want to try this with my family but am overwhelmed. My youngest is 11 months so needs to be carried. Oldest is 6. Thanks!
Hi Rachel! My husband and I have always backpacked together, so when the kids came along it only made sense to include them. When we only had one, I carried her and my husband carried all of our gear. With 6 of us now, I carry my own pack too in order to bring everything we want/need to bring.
On our last trip, the hike to where we went was less than 2 miles each way and was very kid-friendly. My three older kids all carry their own backpacks with their own clothes and sleeping stuff. The big thing is that the kids’ bags shouldn’t be more than 20% of their weight. My husband and I carry all of the food, water, tent, and other group gear. Since we weren’t going super far, we definitely packed heavy this time. We brought our big tent (we’ve outgrown our light backpacking one) which my husband carried in arms since it wasn’t very far.
On the way in I used our Baby Bjorn in conjunction with my heavy pack, which was pretty miserable (and I’m not usually a complainer). On the way back since it wasn’t very long or arduous, I carried our 14-month-old in arms, which was way better! I would have used my Moby wrap (I’ve done that in the past), but as I was packing the day we were going to leave, I realized that I loaned it to a friend (who was out of town).
I think the key is to start small. Do day hikes with your kids first to see how they do. Let them carry their own water and snack to get used to it. With your first overnight trip, choose a kid-friendly hike that isn’t too long.
It’s so awesome that you’re supporting your eight-year-old’s vegetarian diet! More than that, it’s awesome you’re instilling a love of the outdoors in your family. What an amazing gift!
You guys probably already know that marshmallows aren’t technically vegetarian because they contain gelatin (although Fluff often doesn’t have gelatin – go figure?). I’ve been a vegetarian for several years, but firmly believe in the value of flexible diets and labels; I’m sure there are vegetarians out there willing to eat marshmallows. However, I also believe in the power of information, especially when there is a product with an easy, vegetarian substitute like marshmallows and fluff!
I’m also glad you’ve had better luck with veggie burgers than I have; I still haven’t found one I like! For summer BBQs, I tend to stick with Light Life veggie dogs. Even my meat-eating friends will gobble them down!
Hi Casey! Thanks for the thought on marshmallows. I hadn’t thought of that.
I think we’re in the “flexible definition” camp here. My daughter’s stance is just that she doesn’t want to eat “meat.” It used to be that she just didn’t want to eat fish because it looked too much like a fish still (as opposed to a hamburger that doesn’t resemble a cow at all). Then she decided she didn’t want to eat any meat. I was really surprised that she has stuck with her decision, but she has!
Your kids look so happy and that looks like a really awesome camping spot! We have not branched into being vegetarians, which is a great thing, but we are trying to reduce our red meat intake. I may give this recipe a try since I love hummus. We have made a few interesting things while camping. One that comes to mind is we made a big chocolate chip cookie on the grill in a pie pan out of a store bought mix then scooped it into bowls and topped with ice cream. We have also made several kinds of veggie packs wrapped in foil, which are delicious and healthy, that you could sit right on the coals if you wrapped them well. Another thing that can sit right on the coals is whole corn unshucked, just be careful to not burn it. I loved looking at your kids sweet faces so much I had to scroll up and look again. Thanks!
Oh, I thought of one more thing. We like to make portabella burgers out of the large portabella mushrooms. They can replace meat because they have a meaty feel to them. You can also marinate them because they will soak up seasonings so well. They can be pricey but I will often luck up and find them reduced at my local grocery store.
I bet my husband would love those! 🙂
Thanks Jennifer! 🙂 Those all sound delicious! We’ve never made cookies over the fire, but we’ll definitely have to try it. You can’t go wrong with chocolate chip cookies!
I love that you’re allowing your child to follow her conscience. My husband and I go back and forth between being vegan and vegetarian so we’ve tried all sorts of veggie burgers. My favorite store bought is Spicy Blackbean. Morningstar has a BBQ Riblet that reminds me of the McRib. My favorite homemade veggie burger is black bean & chickpea, the combo is delicious and very filling.
Thanks Amy! I’ll have to try blackbean burgers again sometime. The first time I tried them, they stuck to the pan and fell apart!