Best hiking food finds from the supermarkets

[Kott]

Hi, I thought it would be a great to start sharing hiking food finds from the supermarkets that are nutritionally good and taste nice.

I usually buy these when they are on special...
John West Protein + Iron Tuna Roasted Capsicum & Three Bean Mix or John West Protein + Vitamin B12 Tuna Capsicum Sweetcorn Chilli & Red Kidney Bean Mix
220g packet for $4. They tend to half price every now and then making it a great deal.
Great to mix with a half a cup of cous cous.

[Eremophila]

I’ve had a couple of those and they were way better than expected.

Safcol Salmon Ready Meals aren’t too bad.

Always Fresh Snack Olives in a 50g pouch, haven’t tried yet.

[ribuck]

Freeze-dried Miso soup. Only 9 grams, delicious, and rehydrates quickly in hot or cold water.

[Kott]

I know they taste good but what nutrients do those miso soups have besides heaps of salt?

[Tino B]

Pandaroo egg noodles - per 100g 1520kj, 14.13g protein, 4 min cook for best result rather than cold soak and heat.

Ayam coconut milk powder - good source of fat.

I freeze laksa paste in ice cube trays and then make small vacuum bags and vac pack them.

To make a laksa, add dehydrated veg of your choice and a sachet of Safcol tuna Oil Blend. Sometimes I’ll add some veggie stock powder to the coconut milk powder for extra flavour and finish with the semi-dried coriander. This makes a protein and fat rich, tasty and easy to prepare meal.

Last trip to Tassie, days before lockdown, I packed these meals with each component portioned in small cellophane bags I bought from https://thecelloking.com/ and then vac sealed in sous vide bags to make compact meals. I could use the sous vide bags to cold soak the dehydrated veg and really only needed to boil the noodles in my Ti pot.

[Tortoise]

Pandaroo egg noodles - per 100g 1520kj, 14.13g protein, 4 min cook for best result rather than cold soak and heat.

Have you tried boil then stand? That works for some things, like my rehydrating my own meals.

[ribuck]

I know they taste good but what nutrients do those miso soups have besides heaps of salt?

The Pandaroo brand miso soups have lots of vegetables. There are different varieties including various combinations of mushrooms, broccoli, spinach, seaweed, etc. Plus heaps of salt.

The veggies from the Pandaroo miso soups have a good texture when rehydrated. If the makers of freeze-dried meals would use whatever process is used by Pandaroo, some great meals would result.

[Tino B]

Hey Tortoise, I do leave most of the meals I concoct in a cozy to finish hydrating and cooking but find that noodles go soggy if left too long. I have had success starting them in cold water and bringing to the boil.

[Kott]

great...Seems pandaroo as a brand is doing great products

[Huntsman247]

I know they taste good but what nutrients do those miso soups have besides heaps of salt?

Msg

[Orion]

Never seen miso with MSG.

But miso has nutrients. Sodium is a nutrient!

Also some iron and calcium and a bit of vitamin A, if I remember. It's such a tiny serving that it's contribution to your nutrition is going to be small. So, whatever.

[Huntsman247]

Never seen miso with MSG.

But miso has nutrients. Sodium is a nutrient!

Also some iron and calcium and a bit of vitamin A, if I remember. It's such a tiny serving that it's contribution to your nutrition is going to be small. So, whatever.

The moist miso doesn't. But all the dried stuff seems to have it. I've been trying to source some without msg and have been unsuccessful...

[Casparvitch]

I used to be 'against' MSG but recently a friend showed me some articles that changed my mind, e.g. link.

Some people are of course allergic, but for most of us it's in the same boat as salt - a little bit can make something go from dull to delish, without much harm.

Sorry, that's a little off-topic, but hopefully interesting to some readers.

[ofuros]

Apparently, Flavour enhancer 621 = Msg

Local supermarket in the Asian section...freeze dried sachets

Pandaroo
Miso + spinach & mushroom (no msg) ✓
Miso + fried tofu (no msg) ✓

Ajishima
Miso + bean curd (no msg) ✓
Miso with fungi (no msg) ✓

S&B
Aka Miso + Japanese croutons, seaweed + green onion (does have msg) X

[Lamont]

Onya Offy. I shall be trying the non msg options you listed.

[Heremeahappy1]

All three synergistic savoury or umami compounds Monosodium glutamate, inosine monophosphate and guanosine monophosphate are naturally found in Kombu, skipjack tuna (cured used as Dashi) and poo... mushrooms respectively. Hence why they taste good. Add another umami element and it ratchets up flavour or miso soup or mushrooms on steak. Mass produced synthesized ingredients are used as artificial substitutes in cheap products that are pale comparisons to the real deal and now these compounds, that have been used and developed by cooks over centuries to elevate a cuisine are given a bad rap.

[Eremophila]

I've seen MSG-free misos, in IGA I reckon. They were almost $10 a pack but I guess you get quite a few servings.

I don't tolerate MSG well at all. Racing heart and a really boiling hot bright RED face. The cheaper miso soups have an instant effect.

[Heremeahappy1]

*Shiitake - damn auto correct

[Orion]

The moist miso doesn't. But all the dried stuff seems to have it. I've been trying to source some without msg and have been unsuccessful...

I see. Maybe that helps explain why I always take the moist versions. Not that MSG is so horrible. But that they feel the need to add it. I long ago determined that the minor weight savings wasn't worth the poorer quality. Miso is just so warming, rehydrating, wonderful. Pretty much every night for me.

[flingebunt]

Coles sells dehydrated eggs, which you can make (not that good) scrambled eggs with, or add to other things, such as making potato cakes from the dried instant mashed potato. Add in a bit of egg and it comes out golden brown when friend.

Don't forget the mini-toasts. This is basically pre-toasted bread. But it keeps, and you can have passable scrambled eggs and toast in the morning.

Some people buy powdered coconut milk from Woolies, but I can't find it in my local one.

Woolworths is great now for packets, not cans, of salmon, tuna and beans.

Look in the organics/health section. There is a trend now to fortify foods. Basically they dump in calories, call it nutrition, and while this is bad for healthy eaters it is good for hikers. You can find fortified biscuits with high calories per 100 grams. But don't forget the paleo crackers, which are good for people who want something different in their crackers. But there are lots of additives to add to things, like almond, help seed or LSA mix. You add these to your oatmeal or breakfast cereal in the morning.

I can find some good stuff in my local Asian grocery store. One Korean grocery store near me sells non-fried instant noodles. But I tend to buy the retort pouches of things like meatballs, sweet chilli chicken and teriyaki chicken. These weigh 150 grams each, a bit more than a packet of tuna, but much more delicious.

They have lots of dried foods, includes tofu, fish, beef, squid and so on. These make good savoury snacks.

Also, sometimes you can find the Chinese/Korean shelf stable sausages. Don't ask what is in them, you probably don't want to know, but they are not bad.

I also like some of the rice cakes. A few of those really fill you up as a snack. I haven't seen my favourite brand for a while.

[commando]

A Stick of Danish Salami from Aldi $4 and BBQ Pringles $1.75 from NQR

[Staceykate]

But I tend to buy the retort pouches of things like meatballs, sweet chilli chicken and teriyaki chicken. These weigh 150 grams each, a bit more than a packet of tuna, but much more delicious.

Where do you get these from?

Would love to hear some more supermarket finds from anyone who has them that don't involve long cooking or a dehydrator...

[johnw]

A Stick of Danish Salami from Aldi $4 and BBQ Pringles $1.75 from NQR

From time to time Woolies supermarket has the half size Pringles on special for $1, BBQ and Sour Cream/Chives.

[matagi]

Hart and Soul couscous - comes with all flavouring added, just add boiling water. 150g pack serves 2.

2 flavour options - Moroccan or Mediterranean (both are vegan). I prefer the Moroccan and add some chopped cashews and dried apricot.

[flingebunt]

But I tend to buy the retort pouches of things like meatballs, sweet chilli chicken and teriyaki chicken. These weigh 150 grams each, a bit more than a packet of tuna, but much more delicious.

Where do you get these from?

Would love to hear some more supermarket finds from anyone who has them that don't involve long cooking or a dehydrator...

Sorry, I didn't see your post before. But, you can find these in any Korean Grocery Store, and often in Chinese grocery stores as well if they have Korean products. I have found chili pork and vegetables recently.

[daevid63]

https://tastybite.com/products/ make a range of Indian style foods that can be boiled in the bag. about $3.00 a 100g gram sachet.

Cheers

[Dexter]

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best type/brand of dried noodles to buy? I'm thinking of buying some to add to some miso soup. I'm guessing there are better options to find at Asian grocers?

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[Snooze]

I asked a Japanese ramen expert for you. The answer I got was Nissin lao ramen or Myojo chukazanmai ramen (from Japanese supermarkets). Edit: Sapporo ichiban (salt or miso flavour) is also good. Also if you want your ramen spicy or chili, get Nongshin shin ramen from Korean supermarkets.

[CraigVIC]

You can get some Nissin varieties at Coles and Nongshin shin from Woolworths in their respective Asian sections.

[Trundlers]

Some of our track meals:

Rice, veggies and Tuna: Continental rice sachet, additional freeze dried veggies from Campers Pantry and regular dried peas from a little packet at Coles, allow to rehydrate with additional water (pot cosy) about 15 mins, then stir in 100g tuna sachet.

Mash, veggies, gravy: A sachet of instant mashed potato, with some milk powder, pepper. Allow to rehydrate, covered with pot cosy. We usually add another heap of freeze dried veggies at the same time. And, cunningly, when you boil the water for the potato, ensure you boil enough to decant into a mug to add a sachet of instant gravy (pepper or mushroom are our faves). We eat with additional cheese or tuna for more protein. You could add salami.

Continental used to do really nice cupasoup in a plastic sachet. These have disappointingly morphed into a paper sachet and some flavour changes. We expect to have to make small vacuum seal pouches to transfer the dry soup contents into for furure walks. We enjoy a warm cupofsoup at the end of a cold days walk when we have set up camp.

Cheds and Country cheese biscuits are awesome. Cheese sticks are mega processed but I like the weird saltiness if them when I have sweated my way up a steep climb.

Bog standard dried fruit is okay, but Tropical Harvest in Tully do great Australian dried fruit. We love the mango, pineapple and banana.

We aren't big eaters on the track, and have to work on eating enough calories.

Cheers

Trundlers