How to Have a Zero Waste Camp Kitchen

When I talk to people about this National Park to Park Highway trip we’re on, they inevitable have some questions. The first one is usually “What’s the National Park to Park Highway?”. The second an incredulous, “And you’re doing this with three young kids?”

Later in the conversation they may ask for some specifics. One that has come up many times is the issue of food. What do you eat? How do you prepare food? You do this without a dishwasher?

Some people feel intimidated cooking in the outdoors. Yes, setting up a camp stove or stoking a fire is not as easy as pushing a button on the microwave, but being outdoors for a meal helps connect us with nature, and that’s what our National Park to Park Highway adventure is all about. While on the road I’ve tried hard to have my kitchen away from home as comfortable as possible, while still being portable.

Before I got into Zero Waste (I still have a long way to go in this area, but we try) my camp kitchen involved a lot of paper towels, paper plates and plasticware. Now my camp kitchen features reusable gear, that is really cool too.

Here’s what we use in our Zero Waste Camp Kitchen. If you want to see my Top Ten Tips for Zero Waste camping click here.

1. Stove

Every camper or backpacker needs a quality stove. Warm food and drinks are lifesavers especially if you adventure in the mountains. The mornings and evenings can be cold!

We like our BioLite Campstove and KettlePot for boiling water. It’s fueled by wood sticks – easy for little hands to gather and zero waste because their’s no propane tank to throw out later. Plus, the innovative technology incorporated in the burn area turns the fire’s energy into electricity! Seriously, you can charge your phone or flashlight while cooking a hot meal.

BioLite also has a grill attachment for their camp stove, but it’s too small for our family of five. For meals requiring more than hot water I use our two burner stove.

2. Cookware

If you’re a once-a-year camper, the easiest cookware to pack is what you use every day at home. Consuming less is a main tenant of zero waste living, after all. But if you’re a frequent camper family like we are, you might want to invest in some dedicated gear.

When we were looking for sponsors for this National Park to Park Highway tour I dreamed of trying out Sea to Summit X-SET 32 which includes a pot, kettle and fry pan. I had seen it at Outdoor Retailer and was impressed by its well designed style. The aluminum pot bottom heats well while the silicone sides fold down for storage. The kettle or Sea to Summit bowls nest nicely inside and the built in strainer in the lid is super convenient. It’s a really sweet design that leaves so much more room in our camp box. The whole pot packs down to one inch tall!

Miraculously Sea to Summit agreed to sponsor our trip by sending me their X-SET 32 as well as X Bowls and X Cups for our crew.

As cool as the Sea to Summit X-SET 32 is however, I was not impressed with the pot and kettle lids. They cracked within the first week of our adventure, possibly from packing them too tightly with our other gear. Plus, they’re not kidding when they say the lids can melt.  After the kettle lid cracked beyond use I tried using the pot lid on the smaller sized kettle. Bad Idea! I have the melted plastic to prove it. (Update: After reading this post Sea to Summit sent me new replacement lids for free. Thank you.)


3. Plates, Bowls and Cups

Before going Zero Waste our camping box held lots of paper plates, cups and plasticware. It also held large garbage bags to manage the trash we produced. Now instead of creating all that waste, we bring reusable plates, bowls and cups, even though it drives Mountain Dad crazy that we have to wash dishes after every meal.

Sea to Summit X series bowls and cups have been awesome. The rigid bottom of the bowl doubles as a cutting board while the silicone sides fold down flat for easy storage. Conveniently the cup nest inside the bowl and both are unbreakable – great design for kids.

Tip – Store all your camp plates, bowls and cups in a cloth bag so you can easily set the table. Everyone grab your stuff out!

4. Water

Pack a reusable water cooler and water bottles for the whole family. Most campgrounds and trailheads in National Parks provide potable water spigots, not to mention that plastic water bottles are no longer sold in most if not all National Parks. Refilling reusable bottles makes a lot of sense, and it’s an easy habit to change.

Several National Parks including Denali, Grand Teton and Yosemite are moving toward a Zero Landfill goal and reusable water bottles are just one step in that direction.

Tip – Give each family member their own color water bottle so it’s easy to tell whose is whose.

5. Flameless Heating

Since Big E has serious food allergies we are limited on the meals we can eat on the go, especially for picnics. He can’t eat wheat, so any typical bread or cracker meal is out. No sandwhiches for us.

What has saved us from the monotony of plain cheese and lunchmeat for lunch every day is the Innobaby Aquaheat Food Warmer by Innobaby. While this is not Zero Waste, it is really cool.

Add water to the heat pack, put the food in the upper stainless steel container, close the lid and in a few minutes you have hot tasty food. It’s awesome. I feel like a food magician that I can make a hot meal without a typical heat source. I’ve found that foods with liquid cook better in this set up – soup, stew, pasta, even refried beans.

So there you have it, the pieces of my Zero Waste Camp Kitchen. Now the only question is, “What’s for dinner?”

What camp cooking tips do you have? What’s your favorite camping recipe?

BioLite, Sea to Summit, and Aquaheat Lunch gave me the items above for review. My opinions are my own. This post includes affiliate links. See all of our National Park to Park Highway Sponsors here.

Sequioa National Park Photo Journal

To see where we are RIGHT NOW follow @mountainmomtots on instagram.

Sequioa National Park is home to the biggest tree on earth. Seriously. The BIGGEST tree on EARTH. General Sherman, that amazing giant sequioa, is the largest tree by volume in the world. I strongly believe that every American should see it sometime in their lives.

A giant sequioa tree.

This National Park to Park Highway stop has more to offer than access to the tree that gives it its name. There are mountains, rivers, forests, caves and wildflowers. Beauty to behold every where you go. Here are a few of our favorite sights from Sequioa National Park. Enjoy!

At the Visitors Center

Love that hair
Sisters
Little G gazes at General Sherman
Big E walks through a sequioa log tunnel.
Giant Forest
I spy a baby peeking at me.
Waterfall
Crystal Cave
Crystal Cave
Tunnel Log. We fit, but it was tight.
Auto Log
Clover Creek natural water slides.
The land of forest and river.

Channel Island National Park Photo Journal

Many people have never heard of Channel Islands National Park, even southern Californians looked at me funny when I said I wanted to go there. I know Channel Islands wasn’t on the original 1920s National Park to Park Highway tour, but we couldn’t pass up the chance to visit the only island chain National Park in the US (Hawaii doesn’t count because the whole island chain isn’t a National Park).

Getting to the Santa Cruz island of the Channel Island chain requires a boat ticket from Ventura via Island Packers. Because of this, the cost was high, but the views were unbelieveable. From the boat we looked for dolphins and sea birds and closer to shore we saw sea lions, birds and the unique island fox.

Don’t jump!

Our short time on Santa Cruz Island convinced me that I will need to visit again. I was glad that Grandma and Grandpa could join us for this excursion, but unfortunately Mountain Dad had to stay on the mainland with Baby L who had 102.0 degree fever!

Enjoy these photos of one of the prettiest places I’ve been.

Boarding the Boat
Little G with the wind in her hair.
Hiking the trail with Grandma and Grandpa

Wildflower
From these cliffs we saw pelicans and seagulls.
Little G and Grandpa look out at the water

Little G chases an Island Fox.

These Eucalyptus trees filled the air with a fresh scent.

Me and Little G in matching shirts!

Mom! Feel this leaf!

I Wanna Go Home!

Follow @mountainmomtots on Instagram to see where we are RIGHT NOW on our National Park to Park Highway tour.

When we first envisioned our National Park to Park Highway Tour we imagined seeing amazing sites, hiking and biking beautiful trails and spending lots of quality time as a family. We’ve seen and done many of those things, but a 6,000 mile long road trip also includes long hours in the car. Camping along the way means limited access to showers and laundry. Close proximity to the same four people all day and night long leads to cranky kids and adults.

I’m embarrassed to say that on more than one occasion I have wanted to go home. I’m not the only one. At least every other day Little G will say something like, “When we get home can I play at my friends’ house?” or “When we get home can we go to that movie?”


The kids have been great on this trip over all. They’ve camped, swam, hiked, biked, shared and learned a ton about the natural world. They have also fought, bickered, hit, complained and cried. It seems every great moment we have on our National Park to Park Highway tour is tempered by daily struggles to just get along.

Mountain Dad and I knew what we were getting into on this 6,000 mile journey. We signed up for long hours in the car, sleeping in our truck and setting up camp several times each week. It’s been challenging doing the work of parenting and camping while on the road, but at the same time it’s been rewarding.

We get to see our kids light up with new information, watch as they discover a new animal or plant, help as they aquire new skills like taking first steps or pedaling a big girl bike. Being on the road has required us to be more attentive, more available, pulled away from obligations that distract us from each other.

Even with these great things I’ve felt that pull toward home. I find myself thinking of what I want to do when I get back, planning projects for that space that is uniquely mine. I’ve longed to sleep in my own bed, have some space away from kids and husband and wash my clothes in my own machine whenever they need to be cleaned.

The work of camping wears on me, even if some of it is the same work I’d be doing at my house. I’d still be cooking and doing dishes at home. Kids would still need to be clothed, diapered and cleaned. The big difference from doing these chores on the road versus at my house are the convenience things. The sink is in the kitchen, hot water at ready access and food in a temperature controlled fridge. A bathtub down the hall and minimal dirt on the floor makes cleaning kids easy. In my daily life I take those conveniences for granted. I’m grateful to have them, more so now when I don’t.

The way we have managed this homesickness is to break up our camping journey with stops in actual houses or hotels. Staying at a rental home or my sister-in-law’s has been life saving. It’s given us opportunities to catch up on normal life activities, relax and have a break from living outdoors all the time.

It’s also given us a break from each other. Cousins play with my kids and Mountain Dad and I have real conversations with other adults instead of being constantly interrupted by one of our three tots. Brief stays in homes have been nice, but even so I’ve felt that desire for comfort and peace that only my own living room can afford.

Why keep going on this crazy adventure with three young kids in the back of the truck if I’m not loving it? Why not call it quits and head back?

The answer is joy. Mixed with all the daily chores are moments of pure happiness. Some days have more and some have less, but every day there are moments to treasure. Whether it’s looking out at the Grand Canyon, swimming in the Pacific Ocean, watching marmots on the tundra, hiking to a giant Sequioa or watching Little G learn to ride a bike with pedals at Mesa Verde, these moments are the payoff that keep me committed to this adventure. They are shaping us as a family and me as a person.

Being on this trip has taught me that simple is better. At home I fill my life with things that don’t matter that much in the end, but on the road my time is spent with my family doing fun things. What could be better than that?

So yes, it would be nice to sleep in my own bed, but I’m sticking this journey out. Why? Because having adventures is worth a little sacrifice. The payoff outweighs the cost.