hiking food

[simmo]

Hi hikers and walkers, i was just wondering if anyone has a list of foods they would take
on a 2 or 3 day hike . i know the lighter the better but im just intrested in others
thoughts .
Cheers Simmo

[Lizzy]

Well I usually go for lightweight things without much water
Breakfast: usually instant porridges
Lunch: dry biscuits with cheese & spreads (jam/ PB)/ flat bread
Dinner: freeze dried meal/ 2 minute noodles in cup of soup / instant pasta/
Snacks: Chocolate/ muslie bars/ dried fruit /nuts / milo,sustagen/ lollies/ custard
Not very creative but is ok
Now if it is canoe camping the meal gets a whole lot yummier and more courses- maybe a fresh strifry with asian veges, custard, chips & dips, poppers, breadrolls, puddings, ceral with UHT milk. Ah the joys of taking the esky & not having to carry it far

[dee_legg]

I am forever trying to improve my bushwalking menu!

If it's an easier short first day then the options are limitless, in the past i've been known to freeze marinated chicken, take some pre cut vegies and have a chicken and noodle stir fry.
Now days dinners are usually commercially dehydrated (try a few and you'll soon work out which ones you like) or home dehydrated meals (dahl and mexican bean stew are popular with dehydrated rice or deb). If you can buy pesto sachets in your area (they have disappeared from our supermarket ) then you can do some nice things with pesto, salami, parmesan cheese and a few vegies mixed through pasta.
My partner also makes a nice mushroom curry (use fresh mushrooms if eating in the first few nights in a cold area). He uses a Rogan Josh curry paste, adds mushrooms, water and tomato paste and cooks then adds sultanas and rice to serve.
If you can find a wholefoods shop that sells coconut milk powder then that opens up heaps of options for curries… a sachet of paste or some curry powder with coconut milk and vegies is pretty good!

I find breakfast hard to eat when walking so will often take a protein shake type thing (Endura Optimiser is goodness in a powder!). Otherwise porridge with dried fruits is tasty and pretty weight efficient.

I find it hard to have a lot of variation in my lunches... I often just take cheese and vita wheats (Ashgrove vintage cheese or wasabi in the vacuum packs will keep forever until they are opened so the mini serves are good (albeit expensive) for long walks.

I take heaps of snacks; muesli bars, those apricot and coconut squares, chocolate, cup of soups, scroggin and energy gels or GU chomps. I tend to supplement a boring lunch with tasty snack foods.

I think it's really important to pay close attention to how much food you are taking! I find that it's quite easy to end up carrying way more food than you need. Most people tend to say they eat more when they are walking, but I am the complete opposite! Think about how much rice you will actually eat, how many biscuits or wraps you will eat at lunch... planning a bit to begin with can save the weight of your pack and limits how much food you end up carrying out!

[rowan]

My main foods I take are two minute noodles, nuts and 'Nana Divers food bars'.
Been going to try this canned bread for a laugh http://mybrands.com/Product.aspx?pid=141 Seriously, there are some things that don't belong in cans.

[roba9988]

Lol the canned bread sounds delicious. make sure you let us know how it goes!

[Cocksy_86]

I find vegemite sandwiches will last two days. So I pack some for lunches on day 1 and 2. It's such a morale boost, easy to prepare (before the trip and while out on the trip), and quick and easy to consume. Yum!!

For me I like quick and simple meals for breakfast to afternoon tea. Then dinner I don't mind getting a bit fancy with a dehydrated meal and a cup of tea. I just get sick of boiling water, cooking the food, letting it cool, cleaning up, packing up, three times a day.

My friend, who is a bit of an idealist and gets funny ideas sometimes, only took flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and rice on a 5 day hike. His plan was to catch fish for extra food. He caught one small whiting the whole time. He was lucky though, that I hadn't planned some variety in my food and couldn't stand the sight of my trail mix. So he quickly devoured it each morning. Some lessons learnt there.

[vagrom]

2-3 days is less of a weight issue than an extended walk (5-12 days). So you can really bring luxuries: Meusli instead of Oats, plunger coffee instead of teabags and obscene amounts of Scroggin.
You're less obliged to rely on dried muck for dinners, but Ainslie Harriot packs of Couscous are quick, easy and fuel saving; an entre with mains or a main with a soup, followed by dessert. Ainslie's Moroccan Medley is good. Bring your own dukkah to spice it up a bit. Blend a clove of garlic in too. One of those little, square s/steel graters is good for this. And if you know how to carry a little e.v olive oil safely as well, you're laughing. (The Continental and San Remo range of Rice and Pasta dishes are all a bit ordinary, but San Remo Pasta Carbonara is a stand-out.)

Dessert is excellent as a packet of Foster Clarks custard. Nothing to add except a sprinkling of nutmeg.
Lunch: a box of Vitawheat (not the biggies), contains 40 slices. Some Bega Tangy cheese slices with a tube of Vegemite- not the whole lot, unless you're exceptional and some Cos lettuce leaves.

PS: Fish "flatpacks": Safcol Premium Salmon- Mediterranean Style. No "Use by", 100gms, about $2.30 ea. The oil can be a bit heavy (Chilli's good too); the Springwater alternative, particularly with the Tunas (cheaper), a bit dry.
Packet soups, Continental etc: all pretty ordinary but Dutch Curry is a stand-out. Better than just being hungry, it's good to be hungry for something in particular at the end of the day. Granted: "Hunger is the best sauce"-French
Small packs of Home Brand Parmesan Cheese: off the shelf so don't need fridgeing;
Oats: try to get Four Leaf at a health food shop. Really good flavour- don't need milk or sugar (or salt, for a Scot)
Tea: try to get Assam teabags; best for kicking off the morning. Again, quality needs no milk or sugar;
Pasta: Guacci Rigatoni #24, cheap, good mouth size and Rigatoni's the king of pasta. Bit longer to cook but parboiled (Pasta Pronto) is not nice.
Fountain Tomato Puree: 4 little packs to a box;
Sweets: Kopikos, Dutch Coins and King Peppermints,Werther Butter Candy.

[simmo]

Well thankyou everyone i appreciate your input on this thread
I have an insight into what i can take i dont know what the food
weight should be but i have a 75 lt backpack and at this moment in
time i am up to 8.4 kg food weighing 2.3 kg is that to much weight
for food.

As for the idea of a can of bread im intrested to know what it taste
like so when you try it let me know.
Cheers Simmo

[Wolfix]

On my last hike I took a bunch of Biltong and consumed while walking, meaning I wasn't really hungry when we'd stop for lunch. The protein gave me plenty of energy but I was very thirsty because of the salt and lack of water content. I would take it again but really ration it and ensure it was a well-watered route.

[MartyGwynne]

Thanks for ideas I am always looking for some.
My breakfast is boil water for cuppa tip the rest of hot water in my meusli/porridge mix with powdered milk. I measure out 1.5 - 2 handfulls of oats/meusli and small ziplock bag it premixed up. Use empty bag for spare or small rubbish bag.
Lunch is as mentioned before vitawheat pack with the end of the box ripped out (weight and space saver) the box sort of protects them a bit. Salami sliced off the stick, parmesan cheese (block of it from your favourite supplier) and continental cucumber sliced off as required (plastic wrap keeps it protected).
Dinner - could be anything I have dehydrated, meat (chook or beef - lean and thinly sliced) precooked, veggies sliced about 6-8 mm thick and blanched then dried. Any of the asian style 2 min noodle packs as they come with seasoning, oil and soy sauce. Rehydrate the meat first in hot/boiling water then add the veggies (carrot and corn take the most re-hydrating time) (supermarket dried mushrooms) fresh garlic and ginger, then add nooodles and flavourings.
Other dinner can be tomato paste garlic salami dried herbs water dried mushrooms and the thinnest spagetti you can buy (quickest cooking time) keep adding water to allow pasta to cook through while giving the sauce enough liquid (about 8-10 mins all up).
Next can be using more of the dehydrated veggies, ginger, garlic, curry paste or powder, dried coconut powder (milk or cream or what ever you can get) add water and heat till cooked through (hint cut veggies thinly before dehydrating them they cook quicker) let it sit while cooking up some basmati rice (8 mins) or if you want to cook the basmati rice and then dehydrate it as it does not take long to rehydrate as it does cooking from scratch.
I have also taken foil wrapped meat which has veggies inside which is a complete meal for a first night if it is kept relatively cool and fresh (you could freeze the meat wrapped and cook veggies seperate). This is good for cooking on the coals of a small fire.
After I had done that a few times (foil wrapped meat) I went silly and boned a leg of lamb, marinated it, wrapped it in 7 layers of foil and cooked it slowly over the coal of a small fire along with potato and pumpkin wrapped in foil with fresh cabbage. This was done on the second day of a five day hike! The guy I was sharing with loved it (he carried the wine) the other 3 guys near killed us....
That was worth getting blisters on my feet for I can tell you, my pack felt so much lighter the next day.

Enjoy eating great food while walking.

Marty.

[ULWalkingPhil]

I love my breakfast cereals. Before every hike I measure out the cereal I need for each day and put them in ziplock bags premixed with powdered milk for each day. All I do each morning is heat up some water and mix the cereal and powdered milk mix together. Lunch I normally take sandwich, fruit, energy bars. At night, dehydrated meals, mainly rice and or pasta.

[cjhfield]

3 days I agree weight is not such an issue. My rule of thumb is about 1kg per day or a little less. You can get it quite a lot less if you are prepared to eat dried dog food but IMHO food should be a highpoint of the trip. Day 1 fresh pre-cooked meal - traditionally beef strog with sour cream and mushrooms. Day 2 frozen precooked meal - either a chicken curry with fresh spices or a lamb tagine. Day 3 stir fry chinese pork sausage (lup chong) in onion garlic and ginger then add some vegies and soy - sugar snap peas broccolini etc. All with rice. Lunch - really good cheeses - salami , biltong. I always take some fruit - mandarins usually. Breakfast - often bacon for 1 day, oats for another or oats sultanas and coconut powder and brown sugar.

On a weeks walk recently I was astounded to see most hut residents heating up foil packets on the first night. OK - night 6 or 7 but day 1? Maybe the world has forgotten how to cook. But Marty's comments above give me some hope. I have done a leg of lamb in foil with oven potatoes but only car camping I'm afraid. But I have seen sushi for lunch on day 4 and a 2 week trip down the Fraklin without a foil packet in sight.

Chris

[vagrom]

Memo: best place for food when you're tenting overnight, is deep within your pack. Never had any problems but have seen some classic tent remodellings. A little spray of Bushmans might help. The spray won't hurt the pack.

[cdg]

Ive taken half a dozen sticks of Kabana with me on long multi week walks. It keeps very well and is fairly light. lots of salamis etc dont require refrigeration, and a long as they are kept dry and sealed well, you can cut a piece off and seal it back in the bag.

I also like to carry spices with me. Some boiled brown rice, a bit of oil, dried onion and some spice makes a nice meal.

Ive never considered freezing a meal for day two, might give that a try.

Wandering the aisle of indian and chinese grocers gives me ideas and provides different foods. Thats where i came across chinese fried and dried onion. very light, very tasty. sometimes you surprise yourself though. i bought some dried plums and when i tried them out they were so sour my lips puckered so much i was about to turn inside out!

[rogo]

i bought some dried plums and when i tried them out they were so sour my lips puckered so much i was about to turn inside out!

yes maybe try out new foods before you go, saves carrying unwanted foods back with you and makes sure you have enough food to last.
hard cheese last as well on a cool track. I just wrap in greaseproof paper. I also make steamed cakes and chapattis as I love the textures.

ro

[MartyGwynne]

OH thanks cdg I had forgotten about dried plums.
I dried some off my tree (very ripe blood plums) with some lemon juice, sugar and vanilla bean boiled, then when cool poured over the plums cut in half.
Popped them into the food drier, some time later then some more time later they were dry but slightly flexible still not crispy dry.
The lemon and sugar mix gives them a palatable flavour not tart nor sour (if you use yellow fleshed plums then they may be too tart).
I called them my "vegetarian plum jerky".
Very nice if you want to re-hydrate them with some apricots and serve with custard, for sweets served with a small nip of cointreau very nice.
Martin.

OH by the way not so very seriously a slab only weighs 9.5 kg...... that should feed you for a week!

[cdg]

Let me caution about a solo dried fruit diet. i mused about the weight implications and nutritional value for a particularly long multi day trip so decided to just take dried fruit. after two days of nothing but dried fruit and water, i had several days of unplanned toilet breaks. and normally im as regular as clockwork. now im much older i think about that and think 'what an idiot'.

[MartyGwynne]

Ha yes the multi step flatulance of having eaten too much dried fuit on the track.
I have fond memories of an older gentleman who spoke of a 40 step effort after eating too many dried apricots.
But then He was one to take "fresh meat" for the first night, method to cook it was dangle it over a naked flame and bite the cooked parts off the nanky looking lamb chop.....
You can eat and survive fairly roughly if you want to but there are so many varied foods out there now we are really spoilt for choice. I think it is up to individuals tastes and preferences for food as to what you take with you. I have found that by sharing the cooking and seeing what others take or cook has been the best way of working out what I take for food. I generally take too much by at least 2 days worth, so am now being very consious as to how much I take with me. I try to replicate what I would eat at home and then try to reduce the ammount and set everything out in days/meals/snacks and then see what I can do without. I aslo add a days emergency main meal ration if I get stuck or loose a meal to spillage breakage or sneaky rodents/possums or someone has had the misfortune to loose a meal.
Marty.

[damon_james]

Hi,

Just found this guy - Tim from Strive food in Tassie http://www.strivefood.com.au

His food gets really good reviews and he's putting together ration packs - all food, per person, per day, under 900g.

I have just ordered a bunch of sample meals from him. Will give it a try.

[JohnM]

Those Ainslie Harriet (sp?) cous-cous packs you get at the supermarket for a couple of dollars are a pretty good base for a decent meal. Being cous-cous, you don't need to cook it: just add some boiling water and let it sit for a few minutes and it's done.

I often bring a hunk of salami and a green capsicum. Dice a bit of the salami, and cook it up with a bit of diced capsicum (you don't need oil because the fat from the salami does the job) then chuck in the cous-cous at the end. A good, big meal. I find bringing along a few fresh green bits can really help break up the monotony. Packet/dehydes all have the same soft texture, and a bit of crunch and bite goes a long way. I often carry a couple of mushrooms too, because they weigh nothing, but fry them up in a little butter and they can turn a commercial pack of Mac Cheese into something genuinely worth eating.

Love the porridge in freezer-bag idea. Best, easiest hot breakfast. Genius in fact.

To be honest though, if it's only an overnighter in cool weather and I know I'm going to be near a hut with a fireplace, I've been known to carry a nice porterhouse steak and a small fish-griller. Best meal I've ever had was a coal-grilled steak in between two pieces of thick bread, up at Fed hut watching the evening sun hit Feathertop.

[nakedape]

We do not compromise on dinners: Chorizo minestrone, Satay rice, Fried rice with Tuna, Chorizo (or biltang, tuna, twiggy stick) pasta, Veg minestrone. All cooked from scratch & consumed with a cup of Red.

Breakfast is either cereal, porridge, crackers or 2-minute noodles.

Lunch however, annoys the living s**t out of me. There is a serious philosophical conflict between me and the boss here. I like to graze all day, stopping only when a significant goal (a summit, high point etc) is reached and then only briefly. The other half needs to stop no later than 1pm lest she completely run out of energy & then its gourmet all the way: wraps, cheese, salami, homus, carrot, cucumber etc, all freshly prepared & consumed whilst taking in the view. Her preference is by no means wrong; its just not my style. I guess we'll find a compromise some day

[Genesis]

I AM ALLERGIC TO WASHING UP

I find washing up is a hassle and also detergents are damaging to the environment if used. I am one for simple pre-packaged meals for mains and simple to prepare and clean breakfasts and lunches. I am sold on the porridge in a ziplock and use this a lot, I throw in a bit of dried fruit and sugar for taste and it makes a great breakfast and hearty and warm on the often cold tassie mornings this with a tea or coffee and that is me.

As for lunches I am normally on the go so trail mix grazing or other simplistic munchie cruncie food like crackers and vegemite and cheese or prepared sandwhiches or even muslei/nut bars an shorter trips is the go. Dinners I don't mind the freeze dried meals wether purchased or home made I like the fast conveniance of them and the bags can also be used as rubbish bags as they are zip lock not to mention the weight saving. Desserts are a must for me I love a sweet treat at night, custard and dried fruit is the go here or even creme cous cous sorta like creme rice but without the rice, cous cous as mentioned earlier is heaps easier to cook and still has the carb content and still makes a great dessert.

I try to carry little in the way of cooking gear, a steel army cup and my stove this seems to work for me for others maybe not. I normally wash up with a scourer or sand and little hot water (if needed) otherwise cold water suffices for most non greasy meals (breakfasts). Most of the greasy meals are the freeze dried and all the "cooking" is done in the bag thus no cleaning just boiling water and all the other meals such as the porridge I clean up with cold water sometimes warm or hot if I have remembered to keep a little after making my tea.

So my philosophy is to try to keep the cooking and cleaning to a minimum while still getting hot palatable meals while keeping the weight to a minimum.

Genesis.

[happycamper78]

I don't tend to go light and plain on my trips either. Variety is the spice of life! I really dislike the premade camping meals and they are costly. Occasionally I'll buy the supermarket versions whether it be Continental pasta meals or an Indian meal. I love my vegies too much to skip out on them. Carrots are easy to slide down any gaps once your pack is packed. I love to dice raw pumpkin in tiny pieces and use it in wraps. Raw beetroot is good too. Trust me! My hiking buddies liked it. I'm rather over tuna and try to steer away from meat. Bringing a dip for your wraps makes it more yummy.

Also, as a half Indonesian I love introducing people to this satay powder that comes in a block. In Melbourne you'll find it in the Indonesian grocery stores. I'm not sure if other asian stores will have it. It can be put on anything. You just scrape at it and it crumbles away. You can add as much or little water as you like to make a sauce or you don't have to add water at all. It's a million times better then making satay sauce with peanut butter!!! When water is more plentiful I love to make a noodle soup by just adding a little soy sauce or whatever into the water with noodles and vegies. It's an easy way to rehydrate yourself. You can throw in some of that satay powder to change the flavour too. Enjoy!

[Stibb]

Also, as a half Indonesian I love introducing people to this satay powder that comes in a block.

More details please. What brand is it? Got a picture of a pack?
*drool*

[Mat Mason]

Here's a simple one. A cup of rice in a ziplock with teaspoon or two of curry paste or similar. Bang for buck, both from a cost and weight perspective, it's hard to beat. It easy and quick to cook and easy to clean up. I make the curry paste with a mortar and pestle and freeze it in table spoon sized bubbles of freezer bags tied in a knot. The rice helps to protect the bubble in the pack which you sqeeze into the rice once cooked (mix with a cup cold of water and put it on the stove/fire until water is gone).

You wouldn't want it every meal but it could free up some space and weight in your pack for a lovely tin of bread.

Mat Mason

[John Sheridan]

What Cereal would you recommend to take, I like muesli, but that's pretty heavy, I do want something that's tasty but provides plenty of energy, but is pretty light.

Thanks for any suggestions.


Cheers.

[Son of a Beach]

What Cereal would you recommend to take, I like muesli, but that's pretty heavy, I do want something that's tasty but provides plenty of energy, but is pretty light.

I usually take rolled oats to make proper porridge.

But for cold breakfasts I sometimes take Weetbix. Most standard prepared breakfast cereals are dried and therefore very light, but the advantage of Weebix (or similar) is that it's quite well compressed so doesn't take up much space when packed. Of course you do have to pack it carefully if you want it to remain in its intended shape, but that may not be important.

[John Sheridan]

I do like weebix, but I like it hot, I put powdered milk on it and plenty of sugar and pour hot water over it and then mix then eat ]

SUPER YUMMY

Don't think I have ever had it cold, that just Disgusting

[Mat Mason]

Not ideal for longer hikes but great if you can handle the weight is the quintessential can of baked beans. In the army, they taught us to dent the can on your knee, put the can on your hexe stove for a few minutes and when the dent pops out, voila – it’s done. I have been using this method for years but often transferred to a camp fire rather than burn the hexamine. While the modern cans with the ring-pull tops are very convenient, I have been weary of recent years when putting these cans anywhere near the heat of a camp fire due to the fear of the weakened top popping. My concerns were answered on the weekend…
My dinner was to be a can of ravioli bolognaise that I had been looking forward to since lunchtime. I rested my dinner on two logs over the fire (with the ring-pull top facing away) and decided to give it 90 seconds before removing it, ready or not. I was distracted at the 90 second mark looking for the ‘tong’ sticks to remove it. I was reaching for it at the 105 second mark when the top popped off before the dent popped out. Had anybody been in the firing-line, they would have copped a face full of hot beans.
The lesson cost me my dinner and even though the Rivita back up failed to console my disappointment, I suspect the lesson was worth the loss.
Mat Mason

[Macca81]

Herbalife nutritional shakes for me. Weighs bugger all and gives me all I need to last until lunch!

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