Food Ideas?

[goindeep]

the mashed potato recipe sounds good, im gonna try that one

[nefariousdeeds]

Weight is ultimately what you want to look at. I typically plan my backpack at 25% to 30% of my body weight. Which makes my pack about 50lbs (on just a normal 3 day ish pack trip) -- In order to accomplish this some things unfortunately are a must.

Breakfast - Oatmeal Packets, Dried cerial, Poptarts. (I don't don't eat a ton for breakfast). I always take one mtn home(freeze dried meal, even tho most of their breakfasts taste like crap). Starbucks VIA packets. (<-- these go on every trip) Its pre packaged, water mixable.

Lunches - Lunchables (anything over 2 days and these start being .. bad, still eatable but not so good). Jerky (places like Thompsons will cut and shrink wrap as much as you need. Fruit Leather (those bad ass thick fruit rollups). Apples.

Dinner - Uncle Bens Rice(orange package mixes with water), Soup (mix with water any kind but I take chicken noodle),A potato or 2, Mtn Home stroganoff (sp)? (OMG its good). Ill mix these up as they are all combine with each other in some form. Last but not least I will usually take one Heavy ass super duper awesome meal for the first day. I will either freeze a steak/chicken. Shrink wrap it whatever. This has to be eaten on the first day because it will thaw and go bad.

Some other things I take. Drink mix packets (hawaiian punch/MIO), One can of soda or a beer or something for that first night.

---- Again this is just the personal stuff I take. Much of it can be subbed out but the more cans and the more things with water weight that you bring, the heavier your pack will get. I have some rather nice backpacking equipment that the beginner might not have, so a lot of the time I find myself with about 6lbs give or take that I can sub out for that can of Raviollies or whatever. Having backpacked over 100 miles last year and 100 miles the year before. This type of setup always seems to work for me ----

P.S. Deep desert trips are different because you have to sub a lot of things out for water. Im sure there is more but im tired :)

[mtthwlw]

Last weekend on our Havasupai trip. Someone had an avocado that they mashed into a package of tuna. Yummmmmm! Think I will do that next time.

I don't know about mashing it up, but every time I bust out an avocado on a hiking trip everyone else is jealous. I don't mash it, I just eat it with a spoon.

If you get a dehydrator, I suggest par-boiling sweet potatoes and drying them in thin banana chip style slices. They are chewy and delicious.

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[goindeep]

I think I may have the tuna w/ avocado for lunch tomorrow. That sounds delicious. What else you guys got?

[scrappybts]

I second Emergency Essentials. Get on their mailing list if you're in Utah and watch for their "Scratch-n-dent" sales. Great deals on dehydrated food and other goods at a fraction of what you could find elsewhere. We recently bought a $120 dehydrator for $50 because the box had a barely noticeable dent in it! Coupled with the Food Saver we got for Christmas, we're in business!

We've been making jerky regularly. So much tastier and more cost-effective than store-bought. If you don't have a dehydrator but you happen to have a box fan, Alton Brown has a good jerky making tutorial you can look up. Thanks for the other links all.

[nhopkin]

I always make my own meals, and for a 3 day trip the weight is usually less than 2.5 pound including snacks. I do not use a dehydrator. I gave meals like Mt. House an honest try but i just can't stomach them one bit. Good thing there are many other options out there. Here is a short list of some of my staples while backpacking.

1. Cheese, hard cheeses like cheddar will last 7 or more days without refrigeration. (Think about it, it's already rotten). I bring it shredded to add to meals.
2. Summer Sausage. These come in small sizes and don't need refrigeration. You can just cut off chucks to eat or fry some up to go with other meals. I like sausage and instant potatoes as one example.
3. Couscous. This was already mentioned but it one of my favorites. You only have to add boiling water and let sit for 5 minutes. I combine it with a foil packet of Salmon.
4. Knorr, they make great rice and pasta mixes that don't require butter and take only 7 minutes to make. http://www.knorr.com/product/category/245879/rice-sides
5. Chicken and Tuna foil packets are great to combine with flat bread or tortillas. This can be nice when you don't feel like breaking out the stove. I like to add cheese to it.
6. Bear Creek Soups, come in large packets but you can easily divide out smaller portions. They take less time to cook in smaller portions but do still take around 8 minutes of constant boiling. Not bad but not the most fuel efficient. For me they are well worth the fuel because they taste great and contain a wide variety of foods in each mix. Here is a picture of the Bear Creak Wild Rice that I added sausage and cheese to. Bear Creek website (can be found in many grocery stores) http://www.bearcreekcountrykitchens.com/soups.php
7. 

All of these meal ideas are one pot meals that i find much tastier and way less expensive than Mt House. Ironically they take up way less room in your pack and weight about the same.

http://trekkertrips.com/

[kd7kmp]

If I'm in an area where I can fish I will eat lots of fish. My fishing setup is only a few ounces. Otherwise I carry Cliff Bars, instant ramen (if I have my stove), nuts, dried fruit, beef jerky, etc. I like to go as simple as possible. I don't need to eat "gourmet" on the trail.

Kevin

[UTJetdog]

Those are good suggestions. I am very much a freezerbagger and I keep things simple. But, I also often like to finish my meal with something sweet. Instant pudding is easy if you are in the mountains with a lake or stream nearby.

Get your favorite flavor and empty into a ziplock bag. Add the recommended amount of powdered milk (I like Nido that you can get at Walmart) and shake it all up. Divide that up into 4 or 5 servings in individual ziploc sandwich bags. Determine how much water per serving based on the milk/pudding recommendations divided by the number of portions.

As you begin to prepare your meal, add water to your pudding bag and shake vigorously. Put it in the nearby stream or lake to cool and set up and it will be ready by the time you finish dinner. I also often add crushed graham crackers to the cheesecake puddings for something a little different. The possibilities are only limited by your pallet and imagination.

Oh yeah, also Bear Creek Chili mix combined with Ramen makes a pretty good chilimac that is easily done as a freezerbag meal.

[Dice]

I am definitely a food camper. I HATE being hungry when camping and backpacking makes it difficult to bring filling foods. I don't eat a lot, but I cannot enjoy the wild if I am hungry!

So a few years ago I set out to find ways of making great food that was lightweight that I could take backpacking. I fell in love with freezer bag cooking! I actually happened upon a booklet that was put out by Utah State Univ that is entirely freezer bag meals. The book has tons of recipes in it to make up in freezer bags ahead of time. Also, I hate doing dishes while camping and the freezer bag idea is perfect for that. I too have, and swear by, a Jet Boil. My first trip after I got this amazing USU booklet (and every trip since), my Jet Boil never saw anything besides water! No cleaning at all. Boil the water, pour it directly into the freezer bags, hide them in a cozy or some clothes, ten minutes later... feast out of the bag! Some of my favorites:

Breakfast:
-Rice pudding - My favorite. Warm and filling, lots of cinnamon/raisin/brown sugary goodness!
-Cheesy potatoes with bacon - Good ol' potato pearls with some cheese powder (like Mac and Cheese) and a pack of pre-cooked bacon. Pre-cooked bacon does not have to be refrigerated before it's open. One pack is a lot for one person, but it's great for two. Open it up, tear it into pieces, throw it in with the potato pearls and add the hot water. Amazing!

Dinner:
Any combination of the following (again, seperate freezer bags, just add hot water!):
Sealed pack of chicken (like others have mentioned)
Mashed potatoes
Stuffing (almost weightless and tastes amazing!)
Gravy.

Add some of these together in the same bag, like stuffing and gravy, or potatoes and gravy. I added my chicken to my stuffing and added the gravy. It was fantastic, but it can get a little bit salty.

For dessert, I have to echo the instant pudding thing. I, however, think one small box is perfect for one big guy! Mix it up with some powdered milk, let it set, cut the tip off one corner of the bag and go to town!

I have also tried cheesy couscous, essentially mac n' cheese but packs smaller.

[mtthwlw]

I actually happened upon a booklet that was put out by Utah State Univ that is entirely freezer bag meals. The book has tons of recipes in it to make up in freezer bags ahead of time. Also, I hate doing dishes while camping and the freezer bag idea is perfect for that. I too have, and swear by, a Jet Boil. My first trip after I got this amazing USU booklet (and every trip since), my Jet Boil never saw anything besides water!

What's the name of the booklet, and who is the author? It sounds like a great book to have... if you can tell, I'll go to check out my local USU extension to see if I can get a copy.


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[Dice]

What's the name of the booklet, and who is the author? It sounds like a great book to have... if you can tell, I'll go to check out my local USU extension to see if I can get a copy.

I'll just give you a copy! :)

I've scanned it and uploaded it to DropBox. Here is the link:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/8289367/Fre...%20Cooking.pdf

Don't worry, the booklet gives permission to copy and redistribute.

The funny thing is, I just noticed on the cover that it says that all the recipes came from freezerbagcooking.com! Ha!

Oh-well, it's nice to have it in a printable format.

The file is about 21 megs, so it's a bit large, but enjoy!

If you would rather contact USU, the booklet is called Freezer Bag Cooking: Outdoor Food Made Simple. It was done by the Juab County extension.

[mtthwlw]

Excellent. Thanks.

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