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When I was a kid, the boy scouts taught me that camp food involved hauling a Dutch oven into the woods with several cans of pie filling and pancake batter for making cobbler. Of course now that I'm older the Internet has told me that this is stupid and the only correct thing to eat in the woods is Mountain House. Let's talk about your food system and favorite recipies for instant mashed potatos, one pot meals, mixes, bars, etc. What's your go-to staple for eating on the trail? Gorp is a classic. Here's what I put in: unsalted peanuts, shelled pistachios, shelled sunflower seeds, couple handfuls of dark chocolate coconut pieces, raisins, crasins/dried berries. One thing I do that I don't see a lot of others doing is burritos. I see people pack in tortillas all the time, but my local store has a powdered refried bean mix. Just add water and you've got a burrito. Best part is they weigh next to nothing.
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May 8, 2016 21:18
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Gels and chews seemed really gimmicky to me until I tried them. I've never been into the *ades because I feel like it's just sugar water and even tho lots of pros can be seen drinking some I always just do water. But I was given one of those Gatorade gel packs and I really feel like it gives me a boost when I'm trying to power through a long stretch. It could be a placebo, but even if so I do find the chews to be refreshing and get rid of that lovely dry mouth feeling without having to use up precious water. This boring post brought to you by Gatorade.
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May 8, 2016 23:01
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Getting some carbs for energy is nice, if you ever have a banana and some milk chocolate here's a thing: Make an incision into the banana, insert some chocolate and throw it into the fire to melt and warm it.
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May 9, 2016 08:10
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Garmann posted:Getting some carbs for energy is nice, if you ever have a banana and some milk chocolate here's a thing: This was no doubt brought about by the fevered dream of a madman, but it's also genius. life is a joke posted:Gels and chews seemed really gimmicky to me until I tried them. I've never been into the *ades because I feel like it's just sugar water and even tho lots of pros can be seen drinking some I always just do water. But I was given one of those Gatorade gel packs and I really feel like it gives me a boost when I'm trying to power through a long stretch. It could be a placebo, but even if so I do find the chews to be refreshing and get rid of that lovely dry mouth feeling without having to use up precious water. This boring post brought to you by Gatorade. I felt the same way about them. I avoid gels because the way they gum up my mouth requires a gently caress ton of water to wash down. Electrolyte powders are good, as long as I don't have to mix it into my pack. Chews are legit though. I started seeing their value as I did longer and longer outings. I did a century bike tour and decided to bring Swedish fish instead of chews just to give it a shot, and I found them to work as good or better. I still use electrolyte powder, but now I swear by them. This boring post brought to you by Swedish fish - race fuel of champions.
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May 9, 2016 12:23
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If you've got a group just doing a few days, I always like to do a big communal meal. Eg thanksgiving dinner casserole with a box of stuffing, a few of the instant 1$ mashed potato packets, pouched chicken, pouched veggies and corn, topped off with cranberry garnish. Simple, cheap, and delicious. Another favorite is using tasty bites Madras Lentils as a chili bean base with pouched chicken, pouched corn, fried onions, cheese, served with Hawaiian rolls. For breakfast, we've done everything from breakfast burritos (southwest scramblers carton with a pack of bacon, salsa (or taco bell hot sauce packets), cheese, and burrito shells. This is excellent for winter camping since the ingredients stay refrigerated. Another breakfast favorite are reeses pancakes--just bring some oil, a skillet, pancake mix in a gallon ziplock bag to add water to and mix in, and reeses cups to break up inside the pancake batter. Even better when you cook them in bacon grease after you make the bacon. My favorite dehydrated diy meal is Thai noodles. Get some rice noodles, dehydrated chicken, PB2 peanut butter concentrate, a one ounce nalgene jar with sriracha, and dehydrated veggies. Mix everything together (minus the sriracha) add water and let sit, then add sriracha to taste when done. Holy cow freaking fantastic. I've been trying to do a lot more ziploc baggie type meals since doing dishes sucks. Also, for breakfast, Nestle taster's choice are where it's at for coffee. Those oatmeal cups are also great for breakfast too. I boil water for coffee, so a bit more for oatmeal isn't a stretch. Breakfast bars and easy stuff are perfect too. Fresh fruit, and PB&J sammiches are great too. Jason's peanut butter has little packets of peanut butter, and Chik-Fil-A has packets of smuckers jelly for free, so you can make it all on the trail. Snacketizers like blocks of cheese and crackers, or sardines in mustard sauce (yes, seriously), hit the spot too. It's difficult to go wrong with anything you bring with you, food always tastes ten times better in the backcountry, especially after you've earned it with a day of hiking
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May 9, 2016 14:16
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Lightweight foods with minimal fuel requirements are my favourite for general hiking/canoeing foods: -dried hummus: just mix with cold water and some oil and lemon juice (if you like carrying a few lemons around; remainders are used in drinks of course) -couscous: just add to boiling water, and rest until hydrated; no simmering required. So much more efficient than rice or pasta; easy to make flavourful with a stock cube and dehydrated veg or some curry and raisins if you're feeling middle easternish. -falafel: mix with cold water an hour before dinner in a nalgene to rehydrate; needs a fair bit of oil for frying is the downside; upside is protein and fat! -italian shepherds cheeses and meats; go to a good italian deli and get some hard asiago and dry cured calabrese. So good; lasts many days until other sausage and cheese. If it's a bigger trip, and there is no fire restriction in effect I bring a folding grill and a fire pot (and a fire pan, particularly if we're canoeing and fishing). Day one dinner of pretty much every trip I do includes steak or tofu; marinate a day beforehand then freeze rock solid; wrap in some bubble wrap and zip locked it's just thawed by the end of the day. Sometime hard vegetables for day one dinner too, if the weight penalty is not too terrible. It's a nice recovery meal, and with that wine you don't want to carry the whole trip makes a pretty great dinner. Sometimes bring smoked fish for day one/two; it lasts pretty well. If canoeing I bring a rod and extra oil and a bag of flour and spice mix for frying fish; sometime I include the fish into the food plan, but when the weather sucks and you get no bites, it gets kinda grim eating nothing but sides for a few days in a row! -dried cheese tortellini - bulk food places seem to sell this and it's incredibly light; it does take a lot of simmering and water so it's pretty much dependent on having a fire and lots of available water. Pair with the most calorie dense sauce you can put in a small nalgene; I usually go with the fattiest alfredo because I detest carrying watery red sauce around. -bannok - measure out beforehand into mixed batches in a ziplock; add water and a handful of dried fruit (or not) into the bag and fry up over the fire; grilling is possible if you're skilled, and also you can just wrap it on sticks and roast directly on the fire. -dehydrated chilli mix and spanish rice; there are a few different sources for decent dehydrated chilli; can usually be found in bulk food stores. There is a pre-seasoned uncle ben's spanish rice mix that doesn't require a lot of simmer time that works out pretty decently with the chilli, yum. I can't understand bringing canned anything though; packing out garbage is my least favourite thing, and it's a much bigger critter attractant than sealed foodstuffs.
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May 9, 2016 15:33
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quote:I can't understand bringing canned anything though; packing out garbage is my least favourite thing, and it's a much bigger critter attractant than sealed foodstuffs. This, definitely. These days I try to avoid anything with any water weight in general. The exception mostly being pouches of tuna or chicken. I went on a quick 3 day with a couple friends last year and one of them wanted to pack in those bags of soup. Campbell's Go Soup or something like that. It was about 2000 cal and 4 lbs total for the entire three days. Same amount in manischewiz soup tubes is about 1.5lbs. I get that they dont aeem as convenient, but I'll pour it into a hydro flask or something with boiling water before I set out in the morning and by the time I stop the food is done and it's still hot. Pretty much what I do these days is bring the one pot but it's really just for boiling water. This year I plan on trying out some powdered peanut butter. It looks like a good trade off for the weight, but I tested some out and it also seems to be pretty bland. Anyone else use this? Usually the only seasonings I bring are slat and sugar.
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May 9, 2016 18:08
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mountain house stuff seems overpriced to me. last time I went on an overnight we made curry. Uncle ben's rice you can cook in a gallon sized zip lock bag, just pour the boiling water in it and set aside. Then get your stove going and throw in pouch of curry such, some pouched chicken, peanuts, whatever. Once it's hot the rice is done and spoon it into mugs or bowls, it's great. Tastes better than it would at home after hiking all day and way cheaper than mountain house.
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May 10, 2016 01:16
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i just eat beaver or ptarmigan or w/e i can find
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May 10, 2016 04:45
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Dehydrate the poo poo out of everything and make it into a meal you can dump in a pot of boiling water, cover and take off the heat for 10 minutes and eat I like doing spaghetti and meatballs
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May 10, 2016 05:05
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Levitate posted:Dehydrate the poo poo out of everything and make it into a meal you can dump in a pot of boiling water, cover and take off the heat for 10 minutes and eat This. I buy those Sidekicks for like $1, dump it in a ziplock bag with a bunch of veggies I dehydrated like corn, carrots, peas, beans, spinach, and kale. Dump it all in some boiling glacier water I got from wherever it is I'm camping because everywhere I camp is awesome, and I am fuckin set. Glacier water gives you extra minerals. It's good stuff.
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May 10, 2016 08:09
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I had an instructor who had immense shits from glacier/snow water. I was once doing a crevasse rescue, and there he was, just staring, doing a glacier water poo poo 
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May 14, 2016 23:27
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joke_explainer posted:mountain house stuff seems overpriced to me. last time I went on an overnight we made curry. Uncle ben's rice you can cook in a gallon sized zip lock bag, just pour the boiling water in it and set aside. Then get your stove going and throw in pouch of curry such, some pouched chicken, peanuts, whatever. Once it's hot the rice is done and spoon it into mugs or bowls, it's great. Tastes better than it would at home after hiking all day and way cheaper than mountain house. Hugely expensive but thats the price you pay for saving water weight. I have a bunch of their Long Range Patrol special forces meals and other stuff from them and it's nice to be able to carry more food and gear without an extra 5lbs of water and cans and poo poo, but i make it all up with snacks like clif bars. I like the camelbak elixir tabs for making sure people drink enough; people like flavored water and down more willingly than plain filtered stuff. http://www.camelbak.com/elixir If you can dehydrate your stuff (it's easy) then you'll be pro-tier for tasty food when it comes to camping.
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May 15, 2016 02:10
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I get sick of just drinking water so I often bring a small empty Gatorade bottle for mixed drinks and leave my bladder for water only. I bring powdered drink mixes like Gatorade, lemonade and iced tea just to change things up. Gatorade helps a lot when you've been hiking a while and start running out of steam. Also, Mexican hot chocolate ... instant trip booster on a chilly night or a great way to wake up in the morning for us non-coffee drinkers. It is really hard and doesn't really melt. If tortillas weren't invented for the sole reason of backpacking in 2016 then I would be mistaken. They are perfect. They last a long time, are flat and round (accommodating the shape of a bear bin perfectly) and can be eaten with anything from peanut butter to cheese. Burritos will be on my list this year. Beans, cheese and hot sauce ... done. I'm getting away from pre-made dehydrated meals for the most part but I have a few from past experience that I will still buy because they actually taste good and are incredibly easy to make. I don't know how mountain house makes dehydrated beef stroganoff so well but they do. Also mac and cheese is really easy and tastes good. Some of those desserts too... crazy good. Oh yeah and packets of olive oil. Crazy amounts of calories per serving and you can put it in anything to quickly increase the calories. But nothing will beat a snickers ice cream bar when you come across the first gas station out of the backcountry. Maybe sex but honestly post trip I would prefer the snickers. Verman fucked around with this message at 03:14 on May 16, 2016 |
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May 16, 2016 03:12
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Verman posted:But nothing will beat a snickers ice cream bar when you come across the first gas station out of the backcountry. Maybe sex but honestly post trip I would prefer the snickers. Maybe an ice cream bar and a beer...
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May 16, 2016 22:56
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Having a spouse in the backcountry means all I look forward to afterwards is beer and a big-rear end burger.
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May 17, 2016 01:35
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Verman posted:I get sick of just drinking water so I often bring a small empty Gatorade bottle for mixed drinks and leave my bladder for water only. I bring powdered drink mixes like Gatorade, lemonade and iced tea just to change things up. Gatorade helps a lot when you've been hiking a while and start running out of steam. Forget the sugary powdered drink mixes, and give this stuff a shot. It's amazing, it's basically a crystallized lime wedge in a packet. One per nalgene makes even the most meh filtered water taste great.
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May 19, 2016 12:14
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If you can get some eggs, you can boil them in Ziploc bags for a oil less omelette.
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May 21, 2016 01:58
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Retarded Pimp posted:If you can get some eggs, you can boil them in Ziploc bags for a oil less omelette. Every time I have tried this the bag ends up melting. As delicious as omelet du ziploc is, what is the trick to this? Maybe my pot is too small or something.
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May 22, 2016 01:04
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whiskey in a flask that won't break lembas bread i made a recipe for (not kidding, fight me) black caps and other berries i find long the way i really want to try pine needle tea and see if ray mears is full of poo poo about that being delicious or not
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May 24, 2016 04:21
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extra stout posted:whiskey in a flask that won't break I've had pine needle tea when I was a scout. Can confirm it is good. Also smoked pine needles when I was a scout. Can confirm it is bad.
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May 24, 2016 17:07
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Killing Flies posted:Every time I have tried this the bag ends up melting. As delicious as omelet du ziploc is, what is the trick to this? Maybe my pot is too small or something. I bet it is and the bag touches the sides.
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May 24, 2016 17:17
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it's more cleanup but it's really not hard to take some powdered eggs and a bit of olive oil and make scrambled eggs in a pot vs boiling them in a bag. Like, olive oil in your pot, medium heat, water in the bag of powdered eggs then dump it into the pot and stir and you're done  Bigger problem is eggs don't have many calories in them so you need some more poo poo to go with them
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May 24, 2016 18:40
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An informal survey of my backpacking friends has confirmed that Tabasco sauce is an essential part of every mess kit. I remember they used to throw a bottle in with MREs but I can't say I've ever really used the stuff.
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May 25, 2016 19:13
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i always bring at least one can of Coke because when your blood sugar is low, coca cola is literally better than sex as a fun bonus you are basically irl trolling everyone who brought gels
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Jun 2, 2016 21:19
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OMGVBFLOL posted:i always bring at least one can of Coke because when your blood sugar is low, coca cola is literally better than sex the idea of inventing a hybrid nutritional gel to 'enable' people to do a thing that half of every human ever born used to do with ease amuses me hiking...long distances if only we had some kind of a substance that had carbs and fat and protein in it maybe some vitamins and minerals *walks past a deer, a turtle, a fish, mushrooms, some berries and snaps a pic of a river w/ my cell phone*
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Jun 4, 2016 01:14
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extra stout posted:the idea of inventing a hybrid nutritional gel to 'enable' people to do a thing that half of every human ever born used to do with ease amuses me It seems a bit prissy, yeah. But if you've experienced full on hypoglycemia, (not just being hungry, the headaches, nausea, and generally addled brain) easily accessible sugar that you can pour down your throat is a godsend. We went on a deathmarch in the middle of July in Kentucky. I ate and drank the exact same amount as the rest of the group, but by the end I felt drunk and awful. And I am eternally thankful for my friends making me drink a can of mountain dew that had been sitting in the car for 9 hours. It was the best thing ever, life was shot right back into my body.
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Jun 7, 2016 15:02
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type 1 diabetic here and I've found a bottle or can of grape soda is the easiest way to up my sugar when needed, a lot less carbonation than coke but i will echo the poster who said a coke to restore blood sugar is amazing. i usually carry cashews and fruit snacks for snacks and peanut butter and honey sandwiches for meals but for short trips i'll bring one or two cans of soup because you don't need a pot, just a spoon.
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Jun 7, 2016 16:38
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Luvcow posted:type 1 diabetic here and I've found a bottle or can of grape soda is the easiest way to up my sugar when needed, a lot less carbonation than coke but i will echo the poster who said a coke to restore blood sugar is amazing. have you considered tapping a maple tree with a knife, stick, and a can hanging off the wedge you cut into the stick, or even a black birch the next time you almost die from this disease
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Jun 9, 2016 02:39
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extra stout posted:have you considered tapping a maple tree with a knife, stick, and a can hanging off the wedge you cut into the stick, or even a black birch the next time you almost die from this disease no but I walked up the wrong mountain to "sneak into" a concert while on mushrooms one time and then got a sugar low so my friend was picking me wild strawberries to try and bring my sugar up as we hastily made our way down
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Jun 9, 2016 12:42
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Killing Flies posted:An informal survey of my backpacking friends has confirmed that Tabasco sauce is an essential part of every mess kit. I remember they used to throw a bottle in with MREs but I can't say I've ever really used the stuff. They still throw Tabasco into MREs, just as a sachet now instead of a mini bottle. Even if you don't normally use hot sauce, you'll be drenching your food in it after the first day if you don't bring a spice rack. chitoryu12 fucked around with this message at 21:26 on Jun 11, 2016 |
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Jun 11, 2016 07:29
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One of the things that really sucks meal wise for me is I cannot eat apples, and they're such a great backcountry food. They give me sever stomach pain with just a single bite. It used to just be apple juice as as kid but as an adult I've gotten much worse. I miss apples. You could cool them in a glacier stream and they were so amazingly refreshing. Stupid body.
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Jun 12, 2016 02:42
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When I eat apples they make me feel more hungry. It's a really weird feeling. I eat an apple and feel like my stomach is completely empty after. Google told me that there are others like me out there so I'm not alone. Severe stomach pain is pretty bad though.
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Jun 12, 2016 05:27
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Bring everything in tubes, Good dried sausage 1 lb of cheese a baguette tube of peanut butter and jelly. Life is good for at least 24 hours. I'm the guy at 4 am with the water boiling making a french press, because gently caress that noise if I'm going to suffer, I'll sacrifice my sleeping pad before I give up coffee. I'll bring a couple Mtn Houses on a 2 day+ but if it's 2 days or less I'll just wing it, I'm a big dude and an extra few pounds of weight is not going to kill me, especially if I can make the rest of the not hiking trip not suck.
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Jun 13, 2016 02:37
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BlueBlazer posted:Bring everything in tubes, This is coming from a guy that roasts his own beans and french presses every morning, but Nestle's tasters choice instant coffee hits the spot quite nicely while on the trail. Two packets per mug and I'm a happy camper.
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Jun 13, 2016 04:49
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OSU_Matthew posted:This is coming from a guy that roasts his own beans and french presses every morning, but Nestle's tasters choice instant coffee hits the spot quite nicely while on the trail. Two packets per mug and I'm a happy camper. Add a package of hot chocolate for me. I like my bitch rear end chocolate coffee in the morning.
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Jun 16, 2016 01:07
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After reading this thread I tried out zip lock bag cooking over the weekend and I am now a convert. Not having to scrub my pots is fantastic. Over a three night hike I had instant mashed potatoes, ramen and macaroni for my dinners. All with copious amounts of cheese, salami and chilli flakes thrown in.
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Jun 16, 2016 16:50
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Luvcow posted:no but I walked up the wrong mountain to "sneak into" a concert while on mushrooms one time and then got a sugar low so my friend was picking me wild strawberries to try and bring my sugar up as we hastily made our way down i think that exact scenario was the premise for the bergman film 'wild strawberries'
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Jun 16, 2016 17:02
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