Options for lunch?

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Options for lunch?

Postby Mr Bean » Fri 18 Oct, 2019 10:01 pm

For walks, 7-8 days, we have been using pitta bread with tuna (in the foil packs). Has been fine for that length of trip. But we are wondering how the pitta bread will store for a few weeks (in a food drop situation), or, what are others using for lunch and storing in food drops?

We are looking at longer sections of the AAWT for the walks.
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Re: Options for lunch?

Postby Mark F » Sat 19 Oct, 2019 9:21 am

While pita bread doesn't have a high moisture content, it does have some and will go mouldy just as it would if kept in your cupboard or fridge for a couple of weeks. I used just to eat biscuits and cheese/tuna etc but now mix that up with instant noodles with a foil pack of tuna/salmon on cooler days.
"Perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove".
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Re: Options for lunch?

Postby Tortoise » Sat 19 Oct, 2019 9:31 am

Many folks use crackers - lighter and easy for food drops. E.g. vita-weats, but there's a huge range now.

We used to use normal blocks of cheese, and long-life salami/pepperoni (the ones not sold from the fridge) in food drops for the AAWT in summer. We insulated them in the middle of the food drop box. Then after opening, we wrapped the cheese in cheese cloth, then in a plastic bag. Worked well for 3 weeks. Might be dodgy after that. Maybe we used plastic cheese off the shelf sometimes. 'Twas a good while ago...

We also had dried tomatoes (not semi-dried in oil), which you can buy. Vegemite is also good taste-for-weight value. Jam and honey keep well.

Now I go a lot lighter, and use dehydrated hommus. Best to make your own, I think, as a lot of commercial ones use a lot of oil.
And cheese triangles off the shelf (e.g. laughing cow). I use a very small container for the day's hommus, and add water at brekky if I'm organised. Otherwise I just add the water when I get to lunch, shake it around, and it's fine to eat in a couple of minutes.

While I'm dehydrating, I do wasabi dots for a punch of flavour in a tiny volume.

I thought of trying to sprout mung beans or alfalfa along the way, but never got organised enough.

And while it's probably not lunch, fresh oranges and pizza ingredients were favourite food drop treats! And if we could have a fire, we'd add chocolate cake mix and foil, to make cake in the orange skin after we'd eaten the orange. (Cut off the top of the orange, and eat with a spoon.) We did aim to have rest days at food drops if we could. :D
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Re: Options for lunch?

Postby Aardvark » Sat 19 Oct, 2019 12:45 pm

Mountain bread, wraps, tortillas and crackers are all bread type options which have minimal moisture content.
You can dehydrate salsa, refried beans.
We have some freeze dried cheese but that isn't a patch on regular cheese.
I dehydrate fruit yoghurt and make rollups as i do stewed fruit such as apple mango, apple kiwi, apple and frozen berries. Even custard works.
Jerky is always good. Needs to be lean though. Coles sometimes has sharing steak which usually has minimal fat and cuts up easily.
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Re: Options for lunch?

Postby Tortoise » Sat 19 Oct, 2019 1:08 pm

Aardvark wrote:Jerky is always good. Needs to be lean though. Coles sometimes has sharing steak which usually has minimal fat and cuts up easily.
I forgot about the jerky. Excellent lunch food. There's a lot around now commercially as well. Generally the more expensive, the more tender it is.

I also use protein powder to boost some light-weight lunches. Buy on special.
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Re: Options for lunch?

Postby ChrisJHC » Sat 19 Oct, 2019 3:09 pm

Mountain bread lasts for ages.

I mix it up with BBQ shapes as I’m usually craving some different tastes after a few days.

The flavoured tuna pouches are also good for variety.
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Re: Options for lunch?

Postby andrewa » Sat 19 Oct, 2019 8:21 pm

And while it's probably not lunch, fresh oranges and pizza ingredients were favourite food drop treats! And if we could have a fire, we'd add chocolate cake mix and foil, to make cake in the orange skin after we'd eaten the orange. (Cut off the top of the orange, and eat with a spoon.)

I’d love some more info about the orange skin “cake” - never heard of this idea.

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Re: Options for lunch?

Postby Warin » Sat 19 Oct, 2019 8:39 pm

andrewa wrote:I’d love some more info about the orange skin “cake” - never heard of this idea.


Me neither ... google got
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QO1-qW8K4Q

Looks like the orange skin is only used as a container/pot. At least in this version. I had hoped that the skin got eaten .. so you'd not have to carry it out. :D
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Re: Options for lunch?

Postby Aardvark » Sat 19 Oct, 2019 8:46 pm

The video confirms my take on the cake. Wonderful idea.
I have no problem with carrying out the skin. After all, you carried it in.
The problem as i see it is the need for a campfire. We don't ever do that. Fuel stove only. Leave no trace and all that.
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Re: Options for lunch?

Postby flingebunt » Tue 22 Oct, 2019 5:48 pm

You can try chapatis and tortillas which come in vacuum sealed containers. I think that the Old El Paso tortillas last for 3 weeks unopened.

As people have said, you can buy crackers. A standard cracker is between 350 and 450 calories per gram. I love wheat biscuits. There are a little softer than other crackers, go well with savoury and sweet, and they seem to fill me up more than other crackers. But you are not limited to those, there are paleo crackers which are made from vegetables and also in the health food section of your supermarket, crackers fortified with nuts which top out at 550 calories per gram. Lets not forget classic highland oat biscuits available from David Jones.

For toppings for your bread and crackers
- Peanut or nut butter is nice
- Jams keep easily, and you can buy those little jam packets, or take them from a hotel buffet. I just put jam into plastic containers to carry with me. Also quince paste often comes in little plastic tubs from the deli.
- Nuttella is great too to make a nice desert (think wheat biscuit, blueberry jam and nutella for dessert)
- Pates are a nice change from Tuna. I can only find them in cans, not foil packs (though they do sell them in foil packs in Europe so look in your import deli). Liver pate is rich in nutrients are so is great on longer hikes.
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Re: Options for lunch?

Postby peregrinator » Tue 22 Oct, 2019 6:23 pm

ChrisJHC wrote:Mountain bread lasts for ages . . .


How many days, roughly, do you reckon? Are you referring to unopened or opened packets?
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Re: Options for lunch?

Postby Tino B » Tue 22 Oct, 2019 7:02 pm

I have a packet of rye mountain bread that I bought last Friday - it has a use by date of 30-12-2019.
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Re: Options for lunch?

Postby Chris » Wed 23 Oct, 2019 6:50 pm

+1 for the rye mountain bread, which is my standard lunch for day walks. It lasts well after the expiry date.
The only other variety of MB I've tried is quinoa, but only once as it was soggy by lunctime after prep at breakfast.

Favourite fillings at least for day walks are mashed avocado, or a mixture of tahini and mashed sweet potato or pumpkin. It's extra good with hazelnut spread instead of tahini. Some chopped celery or red capsicum is a good addition too.
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Re: Options for lunch?

Postby Mr Bean » Fri 25 Oct, 2019 6:27 am

Thanks for the feedback folks. I'll experiment with a few options. One being mountain bread (or similar) for the first 3 weeks (of a 6 week walk), and then have dried biscuits for the other 3 weeks. Between my partner and I, we can probably carry the first 3 weeks.

I'm curious about use by dates on food. Once a packet is opened, I would imagine that the "use by" timeframe is greatly reduced, as air and mould/bacteria are more readily available. And other than seeing the mould on the food, how would I know if the food is 1 day away from being off? Perhaps I'm overthinking it (my partner is an infection control specialist :) ).

Thanks again for the ideas.
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Re: Options for lunch?

Postby Mr Bean » Fri 25 Oct, 2019 6:29 am

flingebunt wrote: Lets not forget classic highland oat biscuits available from David Jones.


Ah yes, they are a beaut treat :)
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Re: Options for lunch?

Postby Son of a Beach » Fri 25 Oct, 2019 7:37 am

I used to use mountain bread, but it if very thin and flimsy. This means that it tears easily (eg, while spreading cold butter or cream cheese on it) and that I need several pieces to fill me up.

I now use mexican wraps instead (eg, "Mission" wraps). They also last a very long time before they go off with their little sachets of oxygen absorbing stuff in the resealable packets. They are thicker/stronger than mountain bread and I reckon they taste better. There are several varieties but I usually just get the whole grain version.

(I don't dare look at what preservatives are in these things... it amazes me how long they last!)
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