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KillEmAll
07-07-2006, 12:26 PM
Some of us here on the forum will be doing a 5-6 day backpacking trip into the Wind Rivers at the end of July. I've got everything pretty much lined up as far as what I'm packing, except for the food. This is the one spot that always gets me. Who has some good suggestions for food? Eggs are a question. Personally, I don't dare. Has anyone taken them? I plan on eating LOTS of fish, but I don't want to starve if they aren't biting.

stefan
07-07-2006, 12:32 PM
Who has some good suggestions for food? Eggs are a question. Personally, I don't dare. Has anyone taken them? I plan on eating LOTS of fish, but I don't want to starve if they aren't biting.

powerbars :fakelaugh:

eggs work. if they stay relatively cool and unbroken they're fine. you could buy one of those plastic egg containers to protect them. refrigeration is really only necessary if you will eat the eggs in raw form or if you want to prolong their life. in europe most eggs in the stores aren't refrigerated.

Iceaxe
07-07-2006, 12:37 PM
powerbars

:toofunny: :toofunny: :toofunny: :toofunny: :toofunny:

Alex
07-07-2006, 12:42 PM
I am surprised you guys are not mentioning dehydrated foods?

Link here (http://www.rei.com/online/store/Search?noalias=1&brand=Mountain+House&stat=7889&langId=-1&y=0&x=0&orig=mountain+house&storeId=8000&vcat=REI_SEARCH)

I much prefer Mountain House over other brands, but the dinners are quite tasty and they don't weight anything. Just add water and you are good to go!

Alex
07-07-2006, 12:43 PM
I also like to take Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches, you don't need to keep them cool and they are quite filling for lunch. For breakfast I usually bring a bagel with cream cheese and a power bar.

Are you backpacking or camping for 5-6 days?

Sombeech
07-07-2006, 12:57 PM
We'll just be camping, but packing in @8 miles.

I've brought eggs on the King's Peak trip. I am really, really, really going to watch my pack weight this time though. I ALWAYS end up burning my extra food on the last night of camp.

I think I'm going to count on eating fish for at least a couple of meals, so I can pack a little lighter.

How about MREs?

Alex
07-07-2006, 01:01 PM
MREs are good if you don't have anything else, but they taste kinda crappy. The retailed dehydrated food is a lot better in taste, it's actually like home made dinners. I like the chicken stuff (Like Oriental Chicken, Chicken with Rice) and Beef Stew and Strgonoff. Some dinners are kinda nasty, so I stick to what I know tastes good.

You can pick up the dehydrated food at any sports store, including Walmart

DickHead
07-07-2006, 02:10 PM
MRE's
At over 2,000 calories a meal you can survive off one a day, if necessary.
A packing hint for MRE's:
Open the outer packaging, take out what you want to keep, and repack into a ziploc, let the air out, seal. This will save about 40% of the space an MRE takes up, and you're not carrying the stuff you don't want from it.

KillEmAll
07-07-2006, 03:23 PM
I also like to take Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches, you don't need to keep them cool and they are quite filling for lunch.


Peanut butter sandwiches huh. Can't believe I haven't thought of that one. That would make for a pretty decent lunch. I usually did the tuna fish and pita thing, but I just can't choke it down anymore.



For breakfast I usually bring a bagel with cream cheese and a power bar
I always thought you had to refridge cream cheese. How long would it last?

KillEmAll
07-07-2006, 03:31 PM
I am really, really, really going to watch my pack weight this time though. I ALWAYS end up burning my extra food on the last night of camp.

That's my goal too. Usually I just grab a can of $.99 chili and throw it in the pack. You get 5 of those and that's a lot of weight though. I have a smaller golight pack I'm taking and it's forcing me to pack light since there's not much room.


A side topic... has anyone cooked their fish with tinfoil before? I'd really love to leave the pan behind, but I've never done it so I really don't want to experiment without a backup plan. What's the best way to do it? Cook it over the coals like a hobo dinner?

shagster
07-07-2006, 03:57 PM
Tin foil works great, in fact I think that is the only way I have ever cooked fish when backpacking. I always season the fish, wrap it in tin foil and throw it in the fire. It always comes out great.

marc olivares
07-07-2006, 04:23 PM
powerbars

:toofunny: :toofunny: :toofunny: :toofunny: :toofunny:




yeah i've been out w/ you, hard to think you keep that girlish figure w/ all that beef jerky and gateraid you consume.

as KAZAK mentioned, i like Mountain House, but then you need a stove and water.

Alex
07-07-2006, 04:24 PM
Yes you "should" refrigirate a lot of food, but if it doesn't smell bad it's ok :2thumbs:

Another breakfast option I do is the hot cereal like oatmeal. Just bring a few packets of that and hot water, breakfast served. Don't forget about dehydrated fruits. Fresh fruit are way too heavy for backpacking.

If you guys don't have one of these http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=47792053&parent_category_rn=4500453&vcat=REI_SEARCH
you really should look into getting it. It beats all camping stoves out of the water. I had a whisper stove before Jetboil and will not go back now. I use it backpacking as well as backpacking.

Alex
07-07-2006, 04:26 PM
powerbars

:toofunny: :toofunny: :toofunny: :toofunny: :toofunny:




yeah i've been out w/ you, hard to think you keep that girlish figure w/ all that beef jerky and gateraid you consume.

as KAZAK mentioned, i like Mountain House, but then you need a stove and water.

You don't need a stove. Mountain House package is the cooking ware. All you need is hot water (I guess you'd need a stove to heat the water... sorry) . I usually just pack my jetboil with me for some hot coffee and a hot meal at night. There are also Mountain House scrambled eggs with bacon, but those are kinda nasty.

Alex
07-07-2006, 04:28 PM
A side topic... has anyone cooked their fish with tinfoil before? I'd really love to leave the pan behind, but I've never done it so I really don't want to experiment without a backup plan. What's the best way to do it? Cook it over the coals like a hobo dinner?

My tint fish always turned out too moist and watery. I like it more crisp taste you get from the pan. So just keep that in mind about tint, unless I am doing something wrong?

KillEmAll
07-07-2006, 04:32 PM
There are also Mountain House scrambled eggs with bacon, but those are kinda nasty.

Glad to hear you think they are nasty. It's the only thing I've ever tried and it was pretty awful. Thanks for the info.

Alex
07-07-2006, 05:12 PM
There are also Mountain House scrambled eggs with bacon, but those are kinda nasty.

Glad to hear you think they are nasty. It's the only thing I've ever tried and it was pretty awful. Thanks for the info.

LOL sorry to hear that man, ya I can see how those can turn you off on dehydrated foods. Try the Strogonoff one, my wife loves them, she had a craving for them when she was prego and never got over it. I like the chicken ones as well.

These are my favorite:

Link Here (http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?productId=1399&storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&langId=-1&addon=610183-510134&ext_cat=REI_RELATED_ITEMS_PRODUCT_PAGE&vcat=REI_SEARCH)
Link Here (http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=30021&parent_category_rn=4500526&vcat=REI_SEARCH)
Link Here (http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=50886&parent_category_rn=4500527&vcat=REI_SEARCH)

I've tried these and liked them quite a bit. Even though it says for TWO people, I (so the rest of my gang) ate one of those packs each night. So plan ahead.

James_B_Wads2000
07-07-2006, 05:33 PM
I also like to take Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches, you don't need to keep them cool and they are quite filling for lunch. For breakfast I usually bring a bagel with cream cheese and a power bar.

I second PB&J

Reedus
07-07-2006, 05:46 PM
There is only one way to cook trout when you are backpacking or camping IMO. You clean the fish, but leave the head still attached. Build a fire and let it burn down to just hot coals, no flame. Lay the trout with the head attached on the hot coals for about 5 to 7 minutes on a side. Remove the fish with a stick through the mouth. The blackened skin comes right off leaving nothing but juicy meat. Season with lemon pepper and hot damn if they aren't the best tasting trout I have ever had. No pans and no tin foil= no mess and no weight.

Reedus
07-07-2006, 05:48 PM
On another note after reading James reply. Sams club sells cooked BBQ pork ribs in the freezer section. The come in a sealed pouch with BBQ sauce and you boil them in the bag for ten minutes and they are good to go. Damn good eats too

stefan
07-07-2006, 05:50 PM
They have these things called Tasty Bites


tasty bites are great, but they are a little heavy, so on extended backpacking trips i either take them only for the first 1-2 nights or not at all, depending on how demanding the hiking is.

KillEmAll
07-07-2006, 06:57 PM
Went to REI today and picked up some chili by Backpackers Pantry. It was fairly cheap so I thought I would give it a taste test. The consistency was more like a soup than the Nally's chili I'm used to, but it was surprisingly good. It will make an excellent side to my fish. :nod:

Alex
07-07-2006, 07:29 PM
About the PB&J, I like to make them a night before and put them in seperate sandwich zip lock bags, then you don't get any mess around. I agree with the bagel idea, I have done that in the past and found it gave me more calories than regular bread (which I want on my bping adventures).

Another cool idea one of my buddies did was to smoke the salmon before the trip. It was a perfect snack that day, even though we smelled like smoked salmon the rest of the trip it was sure tasty!

Mtnman1830
07-07-2006, 08:35 PM
I have been tasting the Mountain House foods for a trip, (I don't want to get suck with a nasty meal -beef and potatoes with onions- on a trip. Link: http://uutah.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2304

I favor the Chicken a la King with noodles (my fav). And my way of cooking fish, is after they are cleaned, put a sapling thru the mouth and firmly into the tail meat, and cook like a hot dog.

Glockguy
07-07-2006, 10:47 PM
When are you guys going up?

Sombeech
07-07-2006, 11:11 PM
When are you guys going up?

The week of the 24th.

Shan
07-10-2006, 08:25 AM
The food packing is my task when ever hubs and I go backpacking. (Though he helps plan, because I'm not going to hear complaining 10 mi. because there's no candy!)

Here are some links I found:

http://www.isu.edu/outdoor/bkrecipe.htm
http://www.ziplink.net/~24601/recipes/bprecipe.htm
http://www.wta.org/~wta/magazine/1174.pdf
http://mattfischer.com/ramen/ (Official Ramen Homepage)


What we usually have:
Breakfast
-oatmeal packets topped w/brown sugar, raisins, walnuts
-coffee
-dried fruit
-flapjacks (get that pancake mix in a jar stuff, or even a packet of Jiffy's fruity muffins and have fruity flapjacks - just omit the egg)

Lunch/Snacks
-bagels
-turkey pepporni (by Hormel) keeps well w/o fridge and very tasty!
-peanut butter and jelly in those tubes
-store bought hummus, does well without fridge.
-cheese
-gorp
-jerkey
-granola bars
-powdered drink mixes (cocoa, gatorade, koolaid)

Dinner
-burritos. I dehydrate a can of refried beans at home, bring along a rice packet that has corn and beans, and some tortillas.
-chili and corncakes. I make up a pot of chili at home and dehydrate it. corncakes are a packet of jiffy corn muffin mix, mixed with water, and fried in a pan.
-spaghetti and meat sauce. Again dehydrate the sauce at home. smaller pasta cooks faster. Angel hair only 4 minutes.
-chicken and noodles. packet of Lipton noodles of your choice, foil pouch of chicken. Dehydrate some mixed veggies at home to add in.

Really any one pot dish you eat at home can be dehydrated. I bet even beef stew as long as the pieces weren't too big. I can't have cheese or milk so that's why there are all dairy free.

Cooked ground beef dries really well into beef "gravel" and can be added to lots of things.

I tried dehydrating scrambled eggs using a recipe and that wasn't good.


Lipsmackin' Backpackin': Lightweight Trail-tested Recipes for Backcountry Trips by Tim and Christine Connors is a good book. It was at my library.

Shan
07-10-2006, 08:29 AM
The best way I ever had trout:

cut off heads and tails, I think he took the guts out too, steam in a cast iron skillet with water with skins still on.

After meat seems cooked, peel off skin and debone.

Fry up some butter (lots!) and onions, add the steamed trout (that is bone and skin free).

Eat it up - yum!

(this was on a canoe camp trip - hence the cast iron skillet)

Shan
07-10-2006, 09:54 AM
Hmm, I found this about eggs:

http://outside.away.com/outside/gear/gearguy/200209/20020930.html

Q: I have a weakness for eggs. Love 'em. Don't care what they'll do to me, I have to have them. In the Navy, eggs are coated with a thin wax layer that will keep them fresh for about a month. Can I get these eggs somewhere, or can I do this myself? Also how long will a raw egg stay good when unrefrigerated? I would love to enjoy my eggs no matter how long I may be on the trail.

A: I like eggs, too, and often take them backpacking. Eggs are extremely long lasting, and I am hard put to imagine a scenario in which they would not stay good for as long as you care to lug them. Two weeks, easy. Fresh eggs, in fact, have natural bacteria-killing agents and actually will last longer than unrefrigerated hard-boiled eggs. In short, you can pack in as many eggs as you think you'll want to eat (or carry

KillEmAll
07-10-2006, 11:52 AM
Shan, thanks for the info on the eggs and all of the suggestions on meals! If only my wife would take care of the food. :haha: I heard fresh eggs are the best to take, but was never sure why. Now I know. Also, you have great suggestions for dehydrating. My dad gave me an old dehydrator. Maybe I should test it out. Those store bought meals are so expensive, but I also don't trust my own food yet.

Shan
07-10-2006, 12:03 PM
Ha! I only do the food if I'm actually going on the trip! Otherwise he's on his own. :mrgreen:

Alex
07-10-2006, 12:25 PM
Those store bought meals are so expensive, but I also don't trust my own food yet.

$5 per meal practically.... that ain't expensive is it? No mess to clean up, dishes to do, just add water, eat and go have fun.... I'd pay for $5 for that.

Now when my wife is going camping with me, that's another story, cause she'd setup the table (with table cloth!), she'd get the veggies lined up, take care of the kid, get the drinks ready and clean EVERYTHING up after food. So all I have to do is grill the steaks. Now thats camping!

stefan
07-10-2006, 12:29 PM
Ha! I only do the food if I'm actually going on the trip! Otherwise he's on his own. :mrgreen:

:lol8:

but now i assume that's because you have a higher standard and you're ensuring it.

Shan
07-10-2006, 12:46 PM
Those store bought meals are so expensive, but I also don't trust my own food yet.

$5 per meal practically.... that ain't expensive is it? No mess to clean up, dishes to do, just add water, eat and go have fun.... I'd pay for $5 for that.

Now when my wife is going camping with me, that's another story, cause she'd setup the table (with table cloth!), she'd get the veggies lined up, take care of the kid, get the drinks ready and clean EVERYTHING up after food. So all I have to do is grill the steaks. Now thats camping!

Ah see now, whoever does the cooking, the other has dish duty. We make it pretty 50/50. Lunch is a free for all.

Are you not taking care of the kid too?

$5-6 isn't bad when you consider the convenience of it all really. Sure you could make your own for less if you're good about it, but not scrubbing out a burnt pot is priceless!

However lots have milk/cheese/sodium, so I make my own.

Alex
07-10-2006, 01:03 PM
However lots have milk/cheese/sodium, so I make my own.

Ya I have to agree with you there, lots of sodium.

But frankly, I wouldn't even know where to start how to dehydrate the food and pack it. It's much easier for me to walk over to REI and buy 2-3 bags of Mountain Houses. Also, if you catch a sale there you can get it for 20% off :)

mroy
07-11-2006, 11:21 AM
For breakfast I usually buy a pack of granola from the cereal section, dried blueberries from the baking section, and add some deyhdrated milk to that stuff in a ziplock bag, then in camp you add a couple tablespoons of water and that's pretty good.

My other breakfast consists of dehydrated milk, 2 scoops of chocolate whey protein, and a couple packets of carnation instant breakfast that I keep in a ziplock and dump into a nalgene that I fill up with water and shake up.

I have to eat on the trail while backpacking to get enough energy so I use the mountain house pro-packs for lunches.

In general the dehydrated backpacking foods call for too much water. The higher you go up, the less I put in. At normal elevations that means 1-2 oz less than what they call for and it comes out perfect. 1-2 less for every 5000 ft is what I always do. I'd rather have slightly crunchy than soupy any day so I go for less.

For Mountain House Brands:
Noodles & Chicken (and tuna) good if you don't mind the tuna, at least it was in there last time I tried it
Rice & Chicken, good, but bring some chicken bouillon powder to add to it cause it's kind of bland otherwise
Mexican-Style Chicken w/Rice - Good+
Grilled Chicken Breast w/ Mashed Potatoes - Good, but they want you to cook the meat and potatoes separately, I just let the breasts sit in the boiling water for the prescribed time and then dump the potatoes in, break the chicken up w/ a fork and call it good.
Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce - Kind of on the sweeter side, and okay
Beef Stroganoff - Really good
Lasagna w/ Meat Sauce - Really good
Pasta Primavera - Never liked it
Wild Rice & Mushroom Pilaf - Good, but would be better if you added some dehydrated meat to it.
Granola w/Blueberries & Milk - Excellent, but easy enough to make your own.
Raspberry Crumble - More like hot raspberry goo, but damn if it's still not good
Ice Cream Bars - Kind of like a crispy meringue

Alpine Aire's Beef Stroganoff is by far the best I've ever had. I'm going to be trying more of their different meals later this summer. They're going to be at the next Outdoor Retailer, so I'm hoping to get a bunch of samples from them to try out. They're expensive but after trying their Stroganoff, I think they're worth it.

Richmoor's Beef Stroganoff was bland, and the food never absorbed water very well, so it was a nasty crunchy soup.

Backpacker's Pantry is an okay brand, not as good as mountain house, but they make up for it with variety. I'm not a fan of their packaging, cause it's way too tall for comfortable eating, unless you have an 18" fork, but even then. I'd stay away from their Thai Satay w/ Beef. If I can't finish something after a long day of backpacking, it's gotta be terrible, and this stuff really is.

I have large bags of dehydrated beef & chicken I'll use to supplement the protein in all those foods. Adding half a cup doesn't have too much of an impact on how much water you need to put in.

If you're into making your own stuff, which you can, but you absolutely have to try things out at home before you put your trust in your own creations, here's a site to help out: http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/dinnerricedishes.htm

MRE's are always an option, but they do weigh more than the standard dehydrated meals, and they cost more depending where you go.

Gourmet jelly beans, powerbar powergels, and those mini cookie packs are my snacks of choice. Goldfish hold up pretty well too.

Remember to read the prep directions on the package before you buy it, cause my goal in the backcountry is to never have to wash a single dish, so everything has to be boiling water or nothing at all, and there are some meals, especially breakfasts where they want you to cook stuff outside the pouch.

They are loaded with sodium, but looking at my shirts after trips, and seeing my white salt streaks, I know I need all I can get.

Alex
07-11-2006, 11:40 AM
mroy great post! I have been buying Mountain House for about 7-8 years now. Started with their lame packaging where you had to pull the see through bag out and put the round paper on top, remember those?

I didn't try everything on your list, but I tend to agree with your taste. I have never tried Alpine brand, that will be my next choice (thanks! :five: )

accadacca
07-11-2006, 12:51 PM
Yes...this is great info mroy. Thanks for the love... :five:

mroy
07-11-2006, 02:31 PM
I do remember those old school bags from Mountain House. Those were a pain.

I'm glad to share what I've learned, tried out and what works for me. I can't wait to plunder the sample racks at the Outdoor Retailer show again in a month for more food to try out. Just gives me more reasons to go backpacking :haha:

Alex
07-11-2006, 04:56 PM
Outdoor Retailer show again in a month for more food to try out. Just gives me more reasons to go backpacking :haha:

How do you get in? Or get a pass?

mroy
07-11-2006, 11:56 PM
You have to be in the outdoor retail industry, either a seller or a buyer. You could probably get in if you work for a company even remotely related to outdoor retail stuff. It's too late to get the free passes, but you could get passes with a business card or a paycheck stub for $30 each at the show.

Alex
07-12-2006, 05:35 AM
Ya that's what I meant, do you work for the industry then? I have been through the show multiple times in the past with my friend's dad's rafting company. But he has retired since then.

mroy
07-12-2006, 08:22 AM
Lol, I see now, how do "I" get in? I'm the web developer/so many other job titles it makes my head spin for an ecommerce company that has two sites I manage, one focuses on outdoor gear, and another on loads of socks.

Sombeech
07-14-2006, 08:42 AM
mroy, nice post on the Mtn house dinners! Thanks. I've got a question for you though, are you eating the 1 serving bags, or 2 servings? Most of what I see are the 2 servings, and I'm wondering if that's too much.

It would be nice to have ONLY a Mountain house dinner for a meal to fill me up.

stefan
07-14-2006, 08:49 AM
mroy, nice post on the Mtn house dinners! Thanks. I've got a question for you though, are you eating the 1 serving bags, or 2 servings? Most of what I see are the 2 servings, and I'm wondering if that's too much.

It would be nice to have ONLY a Mountain house dinner for a meal to fill me up.

i think sasqueech needs 2 servings :haha:, i think i would too.

this is what the website says:

What is the difference between the 16oz., 20oz. and 40oz. entrees?
The 16oz. entree is considered a Single-Serve entree and makes 2 cups of food by volume.
The 20oz. entree is considered a Double-Serve entree and makes approximately 2 1/2 cups
of food by volume. However many people eat this as a single serve item, depending on the
necessary caloric intake. The 40oz. entree is considered a Four-Serve entree and makes
approximately 5 cups of food by volume. This larger size pouch has two inner preparation pouches
inside and can be evenly split between two people.

mroy
07-14-2006, 09:02 AM
Let's put it this way -- on some trips I'll down two two person bags a night, a couple hours apart. A two person bag is usually enough for dinner most of the time though. I eat the one persons for lunch on the trail.

Sombeech
07-14-2006, 09:08 AM
two-2 serving bags on a single night, huh? Well, I guess that answers my question. :lol8:

Now, I forgot, you pour the water right into the bag, right? That's what I like, no mess to clean up.