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Chia seeds-a super food that everyone should be eating. Chia seeds have become extremely popular after the release of Christopher McDougall's book "Born To Run" ranted about the benefits of chia seeds for endurance athletes. Chia seeds are so rich in antioxidants that they will not deteriorate and can be stored for long periods without becoming rancid. Chia has a pleasant nutty taste. Chia has the ability to absorb liquid and take on the taste of the liquid. I like to sprinkle chia seeds on my salads as a crunchy topping. I find them tasty and an interesting addition to my diet.I like to add fresh cream, milk, coconut milk, or nut milk to a 1/2 cup of raw chia seeds and let it sit for several hours. After the mixture gets firm like pudding, I will add a light sweetener like maple syrup or rapadura sugar. The mixture reminds me of tapioca pudding. When you add fresh or frozen fruits, the taste is off the hook!

Dried black beans. I have never been on a camping trip where I did not pack dried beans. My boys insist that we make honest to God cowboy chili on every camping trip. Cooking beans is an easy task for us since we travel with a pressure cooker.

A block of Romano cheese. The benefit of using a hard cheese like Parmesan is that it will remain fresh without being refrigerated. It's one of the best cheeses to take with on a back packing trip.

Parmesan cheese will melt just like a soft cheese if you finely grate it and sprinkle it over hot pasta or hot chili.

Whole wheat pasta. Pasta is probably the easiest meal to meal to make on camping trips. Simply boil the water and add your favorite pasta. I like to serve my pasta with an organic red marinara sauce and grate Parmesan cheese. Fresh pasta tastes great and is easy to prepare at your campsite. I am not fond of the typical grocery store variety pasta sauces.

I will buy a decent marinara sauce from Trader Joes or Costco when we are near any of these stores.

Canned chicken.

Having a checklist for all your food items will save you a lot of time and money. A check lists prevents you from over buying and over packing. We do a majority of shopping on the road since we tend to enjoy fresh food as opposed to pre-packaged camping foods sold by REI. I must admit that the freeze dried dinners produced today taste as close to