Food

Food - Summer Camp Food, Menus & Meals

Nutritious and Delicious! Alpengirls healthy, well-balanced camp menus go way beyond satisfying hungry active girls at camp, they nourish all that is "CAMP". Food is our foundation at Alpengirl, we eat it at least 3 times each day, it is the camp activity that takes place more than any other activity we do! Summer camp food is so important to the camp experience at Alpengirl, we've created our own summer camp cookbook that a majority of our camp meals are prepared from and girls are actively involved in cooking and serving camp food every day.

Banana Nut French Toast

Summer Camp Food

Alpengirl has set a new standard in summer camp food.  Our meals have been designed to provide nutritionally sound options for all mealtimes.  A healthy assortment of vegetables and protein sources are deliciously arranged to make each meal at Alpengirl as memorable as the adventures they fuel.  Recipes are only served one time during a trip so there is always a new, tasty meal to be eaten and plenty of healthy snacks to go around.

Healthy and Nutritious

Alpengirl promotes healthy fat consumption, avoids hydrogenated oils, and promotes a very limited use of processed sugar.  Inclusion of sugar comes in the natural forms contained in fruit, honey, or grade B maple syrup.  Exceptions are made when we celebrate birthdays and when we have s'mores!

All meals prepared are well-balanced and include a variety of grains, proteins, fruits, and vegetables.  We provide every girl the opportunity to fill up on the needed amounts of protein, fiber, and calories.

We encourage appreciation for each meal from its origins, to its selection and purchase, its preparation and cooking, and, of course, its consumption.

We’ll select local organic food as much as possible within our food budget and we love to stop at local farmers markets to stock up on fresh local produce as available along our route of adventure together!

The Shared Meal Experience

Alpengirl places significance on a shared meal experience, so each girl attending a camp session will be provided an opportunity to prepare, cook, present, and serve a meal.  Presentation and service of meals are integral to the enjoyment of every person’s intake of nutrition.  If the meal is presented well and served with pride, the enjoyment of the meal is enhanced.

Lil' Alpengirls Enjoying Broccoli at Camp! 

Menu Planning

The meals are pre-planned for the first half of camp and the girls plan the meals for the second half.  Near the middle of a camp session, girls plan breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, choosing the meals that they want to try, with help from the camp cookbook.  Emphasis is put on making sure everyone gets a desired meal on the menu.

New Foods

We never eat the same meal twice at camp and therefore, we are exposed to a lot of different foods with different colors, textures and flavors.  Many girls have joined Alpengirl and tried a new food - and LOVED it! We alternate our meals by using different grains, vegetables, meats or protein sources and fruits on different meals - from pasta, to couscous, to quinoa and from carrots to cucumbers to yellow bell peppers.  We encourage all girls to become a “Food Adventuress” and try a little of everything prepared.  We also don’t like to waste food, so, we ask that you try a little bit of something before taking a whole serving and to finish what you put on your plate. Our goal is to please everyone at camp with the meals and food options, and while we realize that reaching that goal can be difficult, if not impossible to accomplish at every meal, we’ll continue to try.

"Camp Gourmet" Meals

At Alpengirl, we turn typical foods into “camp gourmet” meals!  We go beyond your average French toast and make it “Raspberry Stuffed French Toast!” And, for a new twist on an old favorite, the standard peanut butter and jelly sandwich, we add honey, currents and shredded carrots and it becomes, “Pumped Up PB & J’s.”  You thought you couldn’t have crepes at camp, but, with Alpengirl, you’re eating fresh strawberry crepes in the great outdoors!

Alpengirls in Alaska Making Calzones at Camp

Picky Eaters

Picky eaters beware, you’ll need to “step up to the plate” and join camp knowing that you need to expand your comfort zone a bit here and ask for what you need. Although our Alpenguides do have many superpowers, none of them have the ability to read your mind, so, you need to be able and willing to tell us what you need and we’ll try our very best to make it happen for you. If you are still hungry after a meal is served, you will be fed and should never leave camp thinking you didn’t get enough food, but, you MUST verbalize your needs and let us know if you are unsatisfied or need more food after a meal. You should leave a meal at Alpengirl feeling satisfied and energized for camp activities and not feeling “stuffed to the gills,” seconds are almost always available but we rarely serve seconds on desserts.

S'mores & Sweets

Of course!  We'll have s’mores during a campfire night at camp. We also sometimes include desserts such as lemon yogurt raspberry parfaits, dark organic chocolate pieces and we do put M & M's in our GORP backpacking trail mix. We avoid serving desserts every day at camp and when we do, we are selective in what we serve and it is all about portion control. Birthdays are our favorite dessert celebration, you’ll get a real cake and candles here!

Backcountry Grilled Cheese

Vegetarians

We always have vegetarian meals available and, in fact, 1 of 3 meals served each day is automatically meatless. When we do serve meat, we cook it separately from the vegetarian options – never the two shall meat (meet – ha ha!) If you are a vegetarian, please indicate specific foods of interest to you that are good for protein substitutions in meals – you’ll be asked for this information on one of the registration forms called, the “getting to know you” form.

Meat: Poultry, Beef, Pork, Fish

Meat is served as a main component of a meal at least once each day. We alternate types of meats at meals just like we do types of cheeses, breads, grains, fruits and vegetables.

Accommodating to Your Tastes, Preferences and Restrictions

At Alpengirl we recognize that everybody has different dietary restrictions, food allergies and preferences.  We do our best to accommodate every girl, however, due to our wilderness-based style of teen trip and travel camp, we are unable to accommodate vegan and gluten-free diets. Each camper and camp parent is asked to provide us with specific food information on one of the registration forms that is due before camp starts. We use the food information you provide us with to plan menus ahead of time to accommodate for campers food needs and desires.

A Typical Day

A typical day would be a breakfast of blueberry sourdough pancakes with turkey (or veggie) bacon followed by fresh deli sandwiches and vegetable or fruit snacks for lunch, and pan-glazed basil balsamic chicken (or tofu) served with cous cous and vegetable medley for dinner finished with lemon yogurt raspberry parfaits.

Dieting at Girls Summer Camp

No thank you, no weight loss diets are allowed at Alpengirl girls camp.