“All of Alpengirl’s delicious meals, chosen from the special Alpengirl cookbook, are not only tasty but healthy for your body too. The low-sugar foods taste just as great if not greater than the high-sugar, high-calorie, high-carb stuff. Pancakes made with whole grain, oats and fruit are sinfully good, while remaining healthy and giving you enough energy to get through all of the camp activities before lunch. So, to anyone who believes health food will never be as good as unhealthy food, you obviously need to spend two-weeks at an Alpengirl Camp. The food made for campers, or rather, mostly by campers, is also very unique. Foods and flavors I would have never thought to put together touch bored taste buds and create powerful flavor explosions! Such as Breakfast Quesadillas with melty cheese and fruit salsa or a Chinese Chicken Salad. Many times girls event try foods they haven’t ever heard of, opening them up to new palettes. Even in the rare occasion that someone doesn’t like a meal, there are always other options. All in all, the food at Alpengirl is above and beyond any other camps food, and most other food for that matter. If not go to Alpengirl for any other reason, at least go to try the delicious camp food.” ~ Athena, Alpengirl 2009

Banana Nut French Toast

A “Dear Alpengirl” email letter received today at Alpengirl…

Dear Alpengirl,
I am a vegetarian and was wondering if there will be vegetarian food, but I’m not a vegan so dairy is fine.
I was also wondering if it will be easy to change contacts.
-Vegetarian & Contact-Wearer

Dear Vegetarian & Contact-Wearer,

Thank you for your excellent question!

At Alpengirl, there is ALWAYS a vegetarian meal option. Many of our Alpenguides (camp counselors) are vegetarian too and are accustomed to preparing delicious, filling and nutritious vegetarian camp food. There is usually at least 1 vegetarian camper in every Alpengirl camp session, vegetarians are more than welcome to join us.

There are usually a few people at Alpengirl that wear contacts during camp – campers and camp staff. We always have soap and water available for washing hands before and after cooking, using the bathroom, changing contacts, etc. Back-up lenses and back-up eye glasses (in a hard sided storage case) are recommended just in case a contact lens is lost during camp in the wilderness. Changing contacts at home is easier of course – but, girls do it all the time in the woods at Alpengirl without much issue – it’s a great place to ask for help from your fellow campers and camp guides.

Contact lenses and vegetarianism should not restrict you from attending girls overnight wilderness camp, these things are easy to accommodate at Alpengirl.

Looking forward to learning more about you and to adventuring with you this summer at girls camp!

- Alpengirl

Say Cheese! Vegetarians LOVE Alpengirl!

Camp vision - wearing contact lenses at adventure camp is A-OK!!

Alpengirl opts for organic foods, especially when it comes to the “dirty dozen” fruits and vegetables. We also love to support local food and farmers markets as available during our camp adventures. The Hilo Farmers Market was a fantastic event for Alpengirls last summer! If you are registered for our Big Island Hawai’i 2010 Adventure and you mention to me that you read this blog entry, I’ll give you a free Alpengirl t-shirt or hat!

You are what you eat!

A recent dirty dozen list:
- Peaches
- Apples
- Sweet Bell Peppers
- Celery
- Nectarines
- Strawberries
- Cherries
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Grapes (Imported)
- Carrots
- Pears

A great quick sandwich on-the-go served at girls camp, part of the Alpengirl Camp Gourmet Cookbook. Enjoy!

Pumped-Up Peanut Butter Sandwich

Peanut butter
Shredded carrots
Sunflower seeds
Currants
Honey
Whole wheat grain, seeded sandwich bread

In small bowl combine peanut butter, carrot, nuts, currants and honey and blend well. Use to make sandwiches with bread.

White Bean Chili has been a favorite for many Alpengirls! This “camp gourmet” recipe is a good choice for the evening that backpacking ends; we return after 4 or 5 days in the mountains to the front country campsite and the van and trailer of gear and these ingredients are ready to go without refrigeration. There’s nothing like a hot, comforting, non-dehydrated meal after backpacking ends! The day after backpacking ends typically requires a re-supply of fresh food at a local store and/or farmers market and the Alpengirl menu will start out once again with the freshest salads, meats and fruits eaten before foods that keep longer such as watermelon, breads, carrots. Due to the wilderness nature of our adventures and lack of dining lodge or freezers to store food, the Alpengirl “camp gourmet” menu relies on a great familiarity with the day-by-day itinerary and the Alpengirl Cookbook. A lot of time and energy is spent on determining the Alpengirl menu and creating food shopping lists for each session and for each camper, we aim to please. Alpenguides plan the first half of the menu before campers arrive at camp and campers plan the second half of the menu using the Alpengirl Cookbook with Alpenguide support. We re-supply with fresh foods as much as each itinerary will allow and we don’t repeat meals at Alpengirl, we want to expose the girls to as many different food colors, textures and tastes as possible while enjoying good food that girls will want to have again at home. Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches are never planned in the menu more than once during camp with Alpengirl. Well fed girls are better Adventuresses!

White Bean Chili (serves 2-3)

2 C Water
1 1/2 TB Organic “Better Than Bouillon” Chicken or Vegetable Paste
15 oz can Great Northern Beans - drained
15 oz can Garbanzo beans - drained
15 oz can White Corn - drained
8 oz can Chopped Green Chilies - drained
Canned or Cooked Chicken (optional) - diced
Onion - diced
Garlic
Oil
Ground Cumin
Hot Pepper Sauce
Monterey Jack Cheese- shredded

Combine Water, Bouillon and Green Chilies
Bring to a near-boil.
Add Beans and Corn.
Sauté chicken in oil, with onion garlic, & cumin.
Add to soup.
Stir in cheese and add hot sauce to taste.
Vegetarian and non-vegetarian options are available.
Serve Hot.
Tastes great with crisp corn chips crumbled on top!