# River Lunch Ideas



## Kendi

My favorite river lunch of all time was on the Grand Canyon. Chicken curry wraps. Was a bit spicy yet refreshing on a hot day. Don't know the recipe, but it can't be too hard.

Looking forward to other replies....


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## Rich

Beer, power bar, another beer.

Some trips I have been on have BYO lunches.
Much easier, no long stop, eat when you are hungry, not when the group is hungry. Works better for days with hikes.


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## caverdan

You might try using lettuce as your wrapping material.


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## Big Da

Chili Cheese Dogs with a side of Frito's is a huge hit.


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## lmaciag

A couple non-traditional favorites:

Greek lunch - Mix cannellini and kidney beans (drain and rinse first) with a jar of pesto for the base. Slice some hard salami. Have a bunch of condiments - feta, hummus, cucumbers, tomatos, red onions, marinated artichoke hearts, olives. Pita bread to hold it all.

Mexican wraps - Mix canned chicken (or fresh if you can) with pinto, black and kidney beans and a package of taco seasoning. Have tortillas, sour cream, cheese, black olives, onions, salsa and hot sauce.


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## El Flaco

Pasta salads (cook the pasta in the morning during breakfast) are a pretty quick and easy option. Vinaigrette dressing is probably a little safer than mayo though.

Laurie- I like the sound of those mexican wraps.


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## TakemetotheRiver

For cold weather trips, I like this idea- Heat up soup in the morning with breakfast, put in an Igloo drink cooler. It will still be warm at lunch; serve with hard rolls in plastic cups.

I've made several different kinds of soups, but gumbo I think was the biggest hit.

Thai peanut chicken salad- pre-cooked chicken cubes, celery, peanuts, and thai peanut sauce on wraps or pita pockets. The peanut sauce will last longer than mayo.


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## raymo

Bagel's with lox (smoked salmon), cream cheese and sliced tomatoes. I am going to write down these other lunch idea's also.


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## zboda

This is similar to the meat and cheese wrap, but does work very well:

Pitas with summer sausage, cheese, and hummus


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## kayakfreakus

cataraftgirl said:


> I'm looking for some new ideas for river lunches. I somehow end up being the "Lunch Lady" on a lot of trips. We usually do wraps with meat & cheese, chips, fruit, cookies. Also do tuna or chicken salad. What are your favorite lunch ideas???? I'd like to infuse some variety into our lunch menu.
> Thanks
> KJ



The best lunch I have had on the river was a fairly basic wrap, but what made it so good were the chips, cookies(oreo in this instance), gummie bears, trail mix, and and apple also included. I say the extras dress up any good base sandwich or wrap and are easy to vary. But I like the snacks, made my feel like my loving mother packed the lunch especially for me.....


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## the_dude

the best lunch i can have on the water is a heavy duty sandwich, chips, and a beer, followed by a few cookies. i like lots of veggies on the sandwich, a good hearty bread, some good cheese, and a moderate amount of meat. chips need to be salty. beer needs to be cold. cookies just need to be sweet and chewy.


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## FatmanZ

PB&J sandwiches on bread (or tortillas/pitas) make a great addition to any lunch, especially if you have kids in tow. They're quick and easy and I think they taste great after a long morning of paddling (what doesn't). They also provide some quick energy.


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## Andy H.

When planning lunches I think its important to consider what kind of microtrash your offering will generate. I recommend wraps as well for this reason - not only are they tasty, quick and easy, they don't require plates or paper napkins, and there's very little food that falls from them compared to regular sandwiches. 

Also I like to think about other things when planning lunch: Does this fruit have seeds folks will be spitting into the bushes? Will juice from this fruit dribble onto the ground and attract ants? Will the crumbs from cutting this baguette litter the ground? 

This has the benefit of leaving the beach more pristine and discouraging critter colonization at lunch stops and camps.


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## riverdave

one of our staple lunches, we set up 1 tray with assorted meats, cheeses and crackers, another with vegitables and ranch dip, then a third with assorted fresh fruits. having everything prepped and divided by meal makes setting out the trays quicker and less messy (though some things like cucumbers and melons need to be cut up as you use them). this lunch never gets boring because there are so many variations. you can even do ethnic themes. not to mention the convenience of canned and dried stuff for longer trips.

though pricey, MREs are also quick and convenient. they allow everyone to eat when and wherever they want.


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## Kendarflugen

One tip I learned is... Whoever is on breakfast duty makes lunch right after breakfast, and passes it out to the group at that time. This way everyone can throw their lunch in the cooler, then eat whenever they're hungry. It saves time later in the day since there is no need to stop for lunch...


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## cataraftgirl

*Thanks*

Thanks buzzards...... keep the great ideas coming!

I'm doing lunch on an April Deso trip, so the warm soup idea sounds good. I'm also digging the different chicken & pasta salad ideas.
We love wraps because they travel & pack better than bread, plus you can cram them full of goodies.
I've done the BYOL thing, but we prefer to stop for lunch. We keep the lunch stuff in one of those smaller York Action Packers (food, cutting board, knife, hand wipes, trash bag, etc). We also keep a small table handy. When we stop for lunch it's easy to grab the lunch table & lunch box and get lunch set up. Stopping gives the kids & dogs (and us old folks) a chance to get out of the boat, stretch, pee, eat, chat, and discuss the afternoon float plan.
KJ


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## GutterFresh

For a quick easy & convenient food with some *Substance I like to get one of those cooked little whole chickens they have at like Fred Meyer & some Hawaiin Rolls or hotdogs buns (whatever type of bread sounds good) and sometimes an eazy squeeze mayonnaise/mustard. Usually nobody will even notice or care if you skip those,, just rip some chicken off and cram it on a bun! good2go.. note: i have a cooler floaty & a few dry bags, to keep the food how it should be on the float, a little floating food island, filled mostly with alcohol though lol


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## MNichols

Kendarflugen said:


> One tip I learned is... Whoever is on breakfast duty makes lunch right after breakfast, and passes it out to the group at that time. This way everyone can throw their lunch in the cooler, then eat whenever they're hungry. It saves time later in the day since there is no need to stop for lunch...


And a super fast and easy way to make a bunch of lunches at once is to take a flat, I think it's either 12 or 16 Kings Hawaiian Rolls, slice the entire flat in half, load whatever fixins you want, chicken salad, tuna, lunchmeat, whatever onto one of the flats along with associated condiments, put the other flat on top and slice into individual sandwiches, place in ziplock baggie which the user uses to eat the sandwich out of, eliminating most possibilities of microtrash crumbs and such hitting the ground.


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## Wallrat

cataraftgirl said:


> I'm looking for some new ideas for river lunches. I somehow end up being the "Lunch Lady" on a lot of trips. We usually do wraps with meat & cheese, chips, fruit, cookies. Also do tuna or chicken salad. What are your favorite lunch ideas???? I'd like to infuse some variety into our lunch menu.
> Thanks
> KJ


Judging by the folks I was boating with last year, beer and mushrooms are all you need to pack for lunch. Oh, and Doritos.


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## Bootboy

Wallrat said:


> Judging by the folks I was boating with last year, beer and mushrooms are all you need to pack for lunch. Oh, and Doritos.


Delicious, and nutritious. Ive done trips with people that seem to subsist on those items alone


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## rdramsey

Vietnamese pork lettuce wraps- ground pork can be pre cooked, add fresh herbs (we like cilantro and Thai basil)

naan, veggies, and hummus

Wraps- we mostly do a variety of veggies with hummus

fried rice- we like it cold, so no heating required


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## rdramsey

Oh, and cold mixed bean salads with avocado


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