Trail food

[chiefjason]

Ok I’ve said a few times that I hate dehydrated backpacking meals. So figured I would post my food for our upcoming trip. I’m being a little lazy on my dinners. Just don’t feel like spending a lot of time cooking for one.

3 breakfasts
4 lunches, might only take 3 if we eat on the road.
3 dinners. Might be 4 in pic. I over bought.
Snacks.

Breakfast is grits and cheese or oatmeal with brown sugar and granola. Coffee with sugar and protein powder.

Lunches are tuna on bagel and protein bar. Granola and deer jerky snacks.

Dinner first night is shrimp and grits. Gotta show off a little. I’ll freeze the shrimp and crumbled bacon the night before. The rest are rice and chicken. Really interested in how the pre cooked rice works. Gatorade to drink.

This will will be going in my pack. Minus one bagel and possibly a lunch and dinner. I’ll bring a smaller container of relish.

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[backwoodsshooter]

You know, as dumb as this is gonna sound, trail food is one of the biggest reasons I’m getting a freeze dryer.

 

[chiefjason]

You know, as dumb as this is gonna sound, trail food is one of the biggest reasons I’m getting a freeze dryer.

When we were doing more I would make trips to Earth Fare in Asheville to get dried stuff. They had a really good section of bulk dried food.

 

[backwoodsshooter]

When we were doing more I would make trips to Earth Fare in Asheville to get dried stuff. They had a really good section of bulk dried food.

Reasonable prices?

Good to know that though.

 

[bigfelipe]

Sounds fine to me. If it's just you and you don't care do what's easy and packs well.

I like the modern freeze dried stuff. Some tasty stuff out there and it's stupid light. If you can carry the extra weight, I prefer packaged chicken/tuna/salmon/smeat to rehydrated for taste and texture.

Cheap and easy is Lipton pasta/rice packs and packs of chicken/tuna...

That precooked rice is easy and not bad at all though.

 

[chiefjason]

Reasonable prices?

Good to know that though.

It's only "reasonable" because it was hard to find back then. With the net and Amazon it's probably a lot easier to get these days. And probably cheaper than brick and mortar, since they are notoriously high at EF and Whole Foods. But it's easier than doing it yourself. And if you just want smaller amounts it might be cheaper in the end. But remember, this was 15-20 years ago. Not sure if they still do bulk like that or not.

 

[bigfelipe]

Onions, tomato, avacado, precooked bacon, tortillas and naan all travel well too. Seasoned cooked pork is good for a couple days too if packaged well. Add some sauce packets from fast food joints too. Individual mayo/mustard/ketchup and dressings that are shelf stable work great for making dryer or blander things palatable..

Oh, and eggs... Get eggs from locals that don't refrigerate them and they're good for months

 

[Ferrisfan]

We’ve tried that pre-cooked rice in Spanish Rice. It was ok but bland. As mentioned, some Taco Bell sauce packets, powdered soy sauce, Old Bay would make it better.

 

[Took]

I always pack some Fig Newtons. Why? I like them and they make a nice surprise to myself and totally worth it.
Otherwise - great job.

 

[chiefjason]

Lessons learned.

I'll be getting a new stove. Mine works fine but it's just so slow. Not bad for light days, sucks when you put in 10+ miles and have to cook.

I got my portions dead on. Only brought back a few pieces of jerky, my extra quart serving of gatorade, 2 instant coffees, and the protein powder. Protein powder does not mix in coffee with a spoon. Next time I will just take sugar, maybe creamer. I cut my grits portion back to 3/4 cup. I also only took enough cheese for the meals that needed it instead of the block.

Relish will keep for 4 days in a ziplock bag.

The rice was fine if you used a lot more water and actually cooked it for a few minutes. Faster than dry, but not instant by any means. It's not completely pre cooked. Salt, pepper, and soy sauce helped too.

The pre packed lunches worked fantastically. After breakfast I dug one out and tossed it into my top pocket with my spoon and bowl. Then stuffed my food bag in my pack.