life & style // no. 16 theotherpress.ca

Beach and hike
friendly meal ideas

» Making the most of a beach day
or long hikes with BioLite

Morgan Hannah
Life & Style Editor

 

Wwe warmer weather approaching, it
is time to start thinking about taking

advantage of those beautiful outdoor
days—and beach days in particular.

Living in British Columbia, we are all
blessed to be close to a variety of beaches,
mountains, trails, and parks. So, when the
opportunity arises, it is crucial to make the
most of each day spent outdoors. For me,
taking advantage of the outdoors is packing
dinners and bringing them to the beach or

  

Janis McMath
Editor-in-Chief

 

ertain vegetables get a lot of hate

for just being themselves. Many
people recount disgusting experiences of
vegetables being bland or having a strange
texture, and that permanently turns them
off of certain veggies forever. When I was
a veggie-virgin, I ate an avocado straight—
no flavouring, no spices, no lemon—and
I wanted to puke. It was like eating butter
straight, but worse. (Don’t tell Paula
Deen.) That’s just because I didn't know
jack though. It seems some have a strong
distaste for everything vegetable, but you're
simply wrong if you feel that way. Veggies
are jam-packed with nutrients, are often low
in calories, and are an extremely efficient
source of fuel. Tough people eat their
veggies. So, if you don’t want to be a weenie,

making coffee at the summit of a hike.

When I say dinner at the beach, I do
not mean grabbing takeout or pricey sand-
side grub; I mean full, healthy, delicious
meals with proper cutlery and plates.
And when I say coffee at the summit, I
mean water-boiling French presses of
coffee with genuine cream—none of that
powdered stuff.

Portable camping tools help make
my outdoor meals memorable and easy;
BioLite offers an excellent CampStove
with many accessories, including a kettle,
French press, and grill! It’s light-weight,

Photo by Morgan Hannah

here are a few ways to get into vegetables:

1) Add oil or butter

This is the king of all ways to enjoy
vegetables. Douse them in oil or butter,
cook them, add a pinch of salt—and they
speak a universal language of deliciousness.
You can also heat your oil or butter on its
own first and add flavour with garlic or
other spices to permeate the oil or butter.

2) Make them tender, crispy, or rice-like!
If you don't enjoy eating broccoli raw

for example, there are a million other

ways you can enjoy it. Steam them until
they're bright green for a soft yet crunchy
experience or bake them in the oven

for some crispy bites. Cauliflower has a
crumbly texture that can easily be made
into a rice-like dish that has a ton of
nutrients and few carbs (unlike actual rice,
and especially white rice).

portable, and an incredibly handy tool with
perks such as a heat to electricity phone
charger! Using my wonderful BioLite tools,
I have easily packed up a cooler bag full of
ingredients on multiple occasions and you
can too with similar camping cooking sets!
Here’s a couple of my favourite meals:

Salmon and Cauliflower dinner on the
beach

It really is as simple as it sounds; a slab of
salmon smothered in butter, maple syrup,
salt, and cayenne pepper. (If you're not into
salmon, beef steaks, or pork shoulders are
just as easy to prepare and cook up in the
same way!)

Pair your protein with a whole head
of cauliflower hollowed out with butter,
chopped onions, and seasonings inside.
Wrap the cauliflower head in tinfoil and
throw both it and the salmon right on the
portable grill. Bring some ciders or OJ and
enjoy a full flank of salmon on the beach—
and you'll be the envy of the crowd!

Protein-stuffed poblano peppers for
breakfast

A perfect hike-starter, these peppers are
a mild chili pepper packet for eggs, bacon

 
 

3) Add something sweet or sour

The association for sweet and sour
shouldn't end at pork; veggies are seriously
tasty when doused in a good marinade.
You could go for something more acidic
like lemon juice and vinegar (and olive oil),
or you could go for something sweet like
maple syrup, honey, or rice vinegar. Often a

little bit of both is best.

4) Toss in some spices

Seasoning salt should get a spotlight in all
things cooking—especially veggies. It’s great
ina simple salad or all over your cauliflower
bites, along with paprika and sunflower oil.
Don't forget about garlic and onion salt,
cayenne pepper, and all the dried herbs like
oregano and thyme.

5) Wrap them with other foods like
bacon
Fat and sauces from other treats like bacon

 

 

bits, maple syrup, and cheese! OR fora
vegetarian option, substitute the bacon for
tofu and try goat cheese for a healthier and
more flavourful alternative. Scramble up
your chosen ingredients ahead of time and
stuff them into the peppers, then wrap the
peppers up in foil.

First thing in the morning at the base
of your hike, bring out your camp stove and
toss on your stuffed peppers—tinfoil and
all. Cook until insides are toasty and melty.

Coffee at the summit

This is where things get exciting! Bring out
the BioLite kettle and boil up some water.
When the water comes to a bubbling boil,
drop your ground coffee directly into the
kettle. After ftve minutes of steeping, use
the French press accessory and slowly
plunge down on the coffee mixture.
Because of the light weight and perfectly
packable nature of these BioLite tools,
there’s plenty of room left in my backpack
for a small canister of cream and some
honey. How easy is that?

Photo by Arnaldo Fragozo

for example can get soaked up by veggies
like asparagus while cooking... and that just
means you get to eat more of the grease and
bacon fat. Vegetables also go great with a
bite of meat as the two contrasting textures
complement each other.

6) Dip them in something

Tzatziki is ridiculously easy to make

and easily makes everything else taste
ridiculously amazing. You could also
make guac, which would mean you would
be eating veggies dipped in vegetables.
Hummus also always comes to party.

7) Blend them

Want to get your recommended serving of
vegetables with no fuss or muss? Make a
smoothie with some delicious fruits added
in. Avocado and banana yogurt smoothies
will energize your keister right off.