With careful preparation, even Early Years and Primary School children can experience the joy of campfire cooking.
Food seems to taste better outdoors - and even better again when you've foraged for it, built your own fire, sat round and chatted with a hot drink and then cooked it all yourselves. These step by step recipes & cooking tips & tools are a great place to start your outdoor culinary journey - suitable for adults and children (with a little help).
Dr Mel McCree reflects on the role of food when children and adults spend time outdoors.
Reclaiming snack time
Cooking and eating in the open air are part of life’s simple pleasures and an essential part of outdoor sessions. Yet a focus on snacks and food has not had the attention it deserves. It’s time to think more deeply about the role of snack time for children's physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Dr Mel McCree makes a case for inclusive practice for nurture through food and nutrition in this indepth, 8-page article.
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Reclaiming Snack Time references
References and further reading mentioned in the article Reclaiming Snack Time: the importance of comfort which appeared in the Health & Wellbeing issue of the Outdoor Practitioner magazine.
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Make a campfire cooking fork
Make a campfire cooking fork -simple to make and perfect for cooking little tasty treats like pieces of apple!
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Campfire popcorn in a sieve
Cooking popcorn kernels over a campfire using sieves is a fascinating campfire cooking activity.
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Fires: building a cooking fire
Many campfire cooking activities need embers to cook on, rather than flames - here's how to prepare your fire.
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More campfire cooking inspiration
Campfire bread on a stick
Freshly baked bread smells even better on a campfire! Here’s a quick unleavened (non yeast) recipe to try.
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Campfire 'doughnuts'
A simple alternative to jam doughnuts; try this jammy campfire snack - so good!
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More campfire recipes. Yummy ideas for outdoor nurseries and outdoor classrooms. Tried and tested by outdoor practitioners.
Foraging activities, recipes and reflections in our Activity section.
A selection of campfire craft activities (including pewter craft) for older children & adults attending a forest school or outdoor classroom setting.
Foraging & food useful websites
Signposting you to the main national bodies, key organisations, initiatives and websites in the world of food, foraging and cooking outdoors.
We do our best to keep these links up to date. If you find any broken links, or have a suggestion of a link to add, please email share@muddyfaces.co.uk with ‘links’ in the subject line. Thank you.
Campfire recipe sites
Specialist sites offering tons of outdoor / campfire cooking recipes, tips and equipment guides.
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Cooking & food prep resources
Useful teaching resources on food and food production.
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Outdoor ovens
Articles, guides, websites and forums looking at cob ovens, wood fired ovens and more.
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