just wanted some ideas on what cold meals people enjoy alot.:banana

just wanted some ideas on what cold meals people enjoy alot.:banana
I hope you get lots of responses because I just read
the trail journal of Bone Pac(2006) thru hiker who went
"cold".Sounded like he lived on junk food.I am going to
ditch the cook pot and go with just the cup and a soda
can stove.Wonder what I could cook in the cup other than
just hot water and what kind of evening meals one could
have other than the store bought dehydrated fare?
All ideas are welcome.
Oldfivetango

Many hot meals could be eaten cold, if you let them take all day to rehydrate. That might negate the weight savings you're talking about though :).

Sodacan stove + cup = the entire world of freezer-bag cooking. Wonderful stuff now that I'm experimenting with it.

While long distance hiking, I don't even enjoy HOT meals "alot" (unless I'm in town:) )...

If I don't cook for the night, it's gonna be beef jerky, tuna packet (add some crackers) cheese-n-crackers, peanut butter and tortillas, trail mix, power bars (of some sort), etc, etc. I've seen cereal before, also. Basic, easy stuff...

My hot meals (when not in town) will be of the freezer bag variety.

See you on the trail,
mt squid

Trying to bite my tongue.......can't help myself, forgive me, here goes.....
Here's a Chuck Norris favorite...Revenge, a dish best served cold.
Of course there's always visschyshois soup or however the heck you spell that. There, I promise not to hijack the thread anymore.

My summer no-stove food bag shopping list includes: Tuna, chicken, and ham packets, pitas or tortillas, mayo, mustard, and salad dressing packs, chunky peanut butter, strawberry preserves, cookies, brownies, bagels, carrots, green peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes, red grapes, raisins, cashews, peanut M&Ms, kool-ade powders, cheese, pepperoni, crackers, & beef jerky.

Snickers bars and a handful of ibuprophren!

My summer no-stove food bag shopping list includes: Tuna, chicken, and ham packets, pitas or tortillas, mayo, mustard, and salad dressing packs, chunky peanut butter, strawberry preserves, cookies, brownies, bagels, carrots, green peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes, red grapes, raisins, cashews, peanut M&Ms, kool-ade powders, cheese, pepperoni, crackers, & beef jerky.That's a pretty good list. Sourdough bread and other hard breads travel well if you like sandwiches that aren't made with crushed bread. I buy cheese in those resealable packs and they last as I'm usually hiking at a high altitude where it's cooler. It doesn't last forever. I got out my pack to use after a few months off and the cheese I had left in there was better than any science project I've ever removed from the refrigerator. Those 59 cent ham packets last and travel well. I buy my trail mix pre-mixed at :eek: (Walmart).

If you live anywhere near a decent deli or place that sells ethnic Jewish food, try Halvah (http://www.halvah.biz/Halvah.php). Some health food stores have it. Perfect hiking food. Also Nanaimo bars (http://www.nanaimo.ca/visitors/index_inside.asp?id=189&parent=7&sub_collection=11) which you'll probably have to make yourself. Hard to beat either of these for taste (sweet and rich) or for calories+protein per ounce.

Spinach and cream cheese in whole wheat tortillas/wraps, though I had those for lunch, and hot Liptons for dinners. There are dozens of variations on the veggy-cheese-tortilla idea, so use your imagination. Black bean burritos, chicken salad sandwich, tuna and lettuce, on and on...

Believe it or not, spinach is pretty light, keeps well when it's not too hot (I went for slightly more keepable stuff like a red pepper in the heat). The veggies are nutritious, and the wraps pack well, if you're careful. I had good luck keeping cheddar or cream cheese good for a few days, too. Add some packets of tuna or ham or chicken, and that could be a filling meal. When in town, you can also grab some packets of your favorite condiments, mustard, ketchup, mayo, etc.

Summer sausage and cheese kept me going for those rare nights when I couldn't cook because it rained too hard, and I was camped away from a shelter.

But if you're trying to go without a stove to save weight, you might want to re-think your strategy. Dehydrated food is so much lighter then food that doesn't require cooking, so you may not save much weight in the long run. Instead, maybe look to some lightweight cooking options, like using a homemade alcohol stove.

I was going to say Tortillas also with anything you want inside. My favs: taboulie, hummous, my own dehydrated back beans (spicy) , then cheese.
or tabouli or hummous on crackers or any heavy bread. (forget white bread, no nutritional value)

My summer no-stove food bag shopping list includes: Tuna, chicken, and ham packets, pitas or tortillas, mayo, mustard, and salad dressing packs, chunky peanut butter, strawberry preserves, cookies, brownies, bagels, carrots, green peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes, red grapes, raisins, cashews, peanut M&Ms, kool-ade powders, cheese, pepperoni, crackers, & beef jerky.

I have the tuna and chicken thing figured out as well as the
veggies BUT how does the ham keep in hot summer
temps?Won't it go bad?Actually I was thinking I could take
some of those Hillshire Farms summer sausages if I ate the whole
thing in 24 hours or so.Lets talk "shelf life" on meats and chesses.
I would like to know.Also,I have the 600ml titanium cup.Most of the
dehydrated food I have bought for my old kithchen set starts with
the instruction-"add so many cups of water and the contents to a TWO
QUART pot.I want to ditch the pot.I am NOT going to make prepared
freezer bag entrees or buy them en route.So I am stuck heating water
or making cup-a-soup or a little rice or potato flakes.Anything else one
can do in the little cup?
Thanks,
OFT

just wanted some ideas on what cold meals people enjoy alot.:banana


Yo swantekkie...

i guess if youre hungry enuff....you'll eat anything cold....

but, my faves are PopTarts & energy bars....everything else i cook or warm.:D


good luck with your hike.

I have the tuna and chicken thing figured out as well as the
veggies BUT how does the ham keep in hot summer
temps?Won't it go bad?Actually I was thinking I could take
some of those Hillshire Farms summer sausages if I ate the whole
thing in 24 hours or so.Lets talk "shelf life" on meats and chesses.
I would like to know.Also,I have the 600ml titanium cup.Most of the
dehydrated food I have bought for my old kithchen set starts with
the instruction-"add so many cups of water and the contents to a TWO
QUART pot.I want to ditch the pot.I am NOT going to make prepared
freezer bag entrees or buy them en route.So I am stuck heating water
or making cup-a-soup or a little rice or potato flakes.Anything else one
can do in the little cup?
Thanks,
OFT

I wonder if you guys are finding ham in the same retortable pouches
that I see in the store for tuna and chicken?The only ham we have here
in Gooberland is in the refrigerated section.Also,do they make a cozy
for the cup?If not,how do you make your own?
Thanks again,
OFT

...But if you're trying to go without a stove to save weight, you might want to re-think your strategy. Dehydrated food is so much lighter then food that doesn't require cooking, so you may not save much weight in the long run. Instead, maybe look to some lightweight cooking options, like using a homemade alcohol stove.

An excellent point. The problem is that most solid food we eat is largely water to begin with, and reasonable rehydration times are dependent on the temperature of the water. Going stoveless, unless one cooks over wood fires, probably ensures an AVERAGE heavier pack in order to carry the same caloric and nutritional value, as it further limits the varieties of foods that can be eaten.

I haven't tried it but it seems to me that salted, precooked or smoked ham would last as long or longer than anything else. But ya' got to read the labels to make sure it's cooked...

Halvah is a Middle East/Mediterranean treat but you can find versions from Pakistan, India, etc. Easy to make, there's dozens of recipes to be found with Google.

FB

Also,I have the 600ml titanium cup.Most of the
dehydrated food I have bought for my old kithchen set starts with
the instruction-"add so many cups of water and the contents to a TWO
QUART pot.I want to ditch the pot.I am NOT going to make prepared
freezer bag entrees or buy them en route.So I am stuck heating water
or making cup-a-soup or a little rice or potato flakes.Anything else one
can do in the little cup?
Thanks,
OFT

Ya know, you can take any FBC recipe and just do it in your cup. You might have to spilit the recipes in half to serve 1, but you don't have to do them in bags ;) The concept is to make life easy ;)

I ate most all of my lunches cold...

Bread and Cheese are good, Some people take nuttela, that chocolate spread, some peanut butter on tortillas.

For breakfast some eat granola with powdered milk..

I enjoyed taking a variety of homade trai mix, beef jerky, and dehydrated fruit. The fruit included dehydrated fresh pinapple, strawberries, pears, figs,blueberries, cantelope, apples,kiwi,peaches and half grapes. My wife also made fruit roll ups with strawberrys and bananas.., Also I bought crasins,apricots and dates... I used a lot of this in a homade oatmeal mix which due to the variety I never got tired of..

The trail mix was made with buttter scotch mix, walnuts, m&ms,
rasins, dates,, The trail mix was varied too... sometimes with white chocolate, macadamia nuts, and coconut...

In the summer sometimes I would carry some gator aid mix and throw that into the water bottle.

I'd probably bite into a live animal just to have a warm meal.
But what about BeenieWeenies and precooked microwavable cans like Mac n Cheese, Ravioli and such?
Mmm now I'm hungry!

Yeah, this whole thread is making me hungry.
Must be because i went out on the AT yesterday and hiked about 6 miles.
(That'll probably be my extent of AT hiking this year. I go back Tuesday.)

Cous-cous! You can get it in a million flavors, or plain and flavor it yourself. It's delicious cold, and takes no time at all to rehydrate. Pour some cold water into a bag of dried cous-cous, squish it around a bit, and you have a nice cold lunch in about 15 miuntes.

My favorite cold meals are:
a pepperoni stick with string cheese and some sort of bread (rye pita is my favorite for this combo)
Hummus and pita
PB - straight from the jar on a spoon with bread

When the weather was cool enough I carried 1.5 lbs. of ham, a squeeze bottle of mustard and a big loaf of bread. The trick is to not goosh the bread.
You can bring zip lock bags and put a Lipton meal and water into the baggy a few hours before you stop to eat. The water will be absorbed when you're ready to eat.