What are good food options on the trail?

[featherhiker]

I just went on a weekend hiking trip and had a total weight of 13 pounds with food and water and a 10.6 pound base weight. I ate ramen noodles, tasty cake apple pie and some packs of breakfast biscuits but I don't think I got enough calories. what are some better light options to get more calories.

[Sirsnappy09]

Buy a cheap dehydrator and the possibilities are nearly endless.

[CalebJ]

You'll want a relatively high fat diet to get caloric density (fat is about 240 calories per ounce). Instant mashed potatoes with oil mixed in are one good option. If you do a search around here you'll find various recipes people have posted. Sticks and Matt Kirk have each offered some ideas in the past online (peanut pad thai ramen comes to mind as an easy high cal option). Lots of good resources out there.

[QiWiz]

I just went on a weekend hiking trip and had a total weight of 13 pounds with food and water and a 10.6 pound base weight. I ate ramen noodles, tasty cake apple pie and some packs of breakfast biscuits but I don't think I got enough calories. what are some better light options to get more calories.

Fats and oils have the most calories per ounce. Your menu was mostly carbs. Add olive oil to dinners; peanut butter to lunches, etc.

[brancher]

Fats and oils have the most calories per ounce. Your menu was mostly carbs. Add olive oil to dinners; peanut butter to lunches, etc.

Bingo! ..... what he said. Bring a squirt bottle of olive oil and put a squirt or two in dinners and breakfasts.

Also - dehydration can be fun, but since I tried it and found it to be too much work and science for me, I tried Harmony House foods, and got outstanding results. Mixable packets, veggies, TVP, soups, seasoned or unseasoned, create your own meals, etc, etc.

hope this helps.

[Starchild]

Cheese is also a good hiking food.

[brianb2]

+1 on the dehydrator. Last trip out I had Beef Gulash one night and Pot Pie the next. Dried fruit leather in oatmeal is awesome.

Almond butter on fig newtons.
Salmon or tuna packs

Good luck, Brian


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Walkintom]

I love making jerky and taking it on trail. +1 for dehydrator

Also, if you don't mind paying more for meals, the freeze dried options available are pretty tasty these days.

Alpine Aire:

Black Bart's Chili, Colonel's Corn Chowder, Pineapple Orange Chicken, Santa Fe Black Beans and Rice, and Forever young Mac and Cheese are all pretty tasty.

Mountain House:

Beef Stroganoff, Breakfast Scramble, Beef Stew, and the Chicken Fajita Fillings are all very good.

Other things I'll jam in my pack for added calories:

summer sausage
cheddar cheese
nutella or peanut butter along with tortillas
tuna or chicken in foil pack
Nuts - pecans, peanuts, almonds, walnuts

[shelb]

You need a balance of PROTEIN and carbs.

If you only eat carbs, you will have to eat a ton to feel full.

Put it this way - my 6'4" husband was on a pre-surgery diet of ONLY 900 calories - and was FULL because he was ingesting between 70-90 grams of protein a day. (Note: he was not hiking, but he does work a job that requires basic physical labor - not a desk job). Make sure you have PROTEIN!!!

[MuddyWaters]

There arent any really good hiking foods.

My staples are trail mix, beef sticks, bacon jerky, peanut mms, peanut butter, tortillas. Chocolate in cool weather.

[Trailweaver]

Check out the food items from packitgourmet.com. They have great selections on light weight backpacking food. Cruise the aisles at your grocery store and really, really look at some items in "quick cooking" areas. There are all kinds of things that can be cooked with just adding boiling water (and as mentioned above, a little olive oil to add flavor and fat). You can dehydrate your own stuff, or buy dehydrated food from companies you find online. Google "backpacking food" and you will find websites of places that sell the food, recipies to use, and videos too. My husband laughs and says I can cook anything outside!

[Connie]

+1 protein

I choose protein entrees and snacks every time.

On a long hike, I didn't get enough protein.

I got enough calories, but adding fats doesn't add protein.

I asked about protein powders, in another thread. Someone there said products sold do not contain what is on the label: no protein or very little protein.

I talked to my MD about it. No, I am not borderline diabetic: my numbers are excellent. The "bonk" is sugars and carbohydrates that immediately become sugars in digestion.

Yes, complex carbohydrates are better than, say, liquid corn syrup. Not better enough: we need protein.

I used to carry a steak for backpacking overnight.

How did I solve this problem: not enough protein?

I don't know I have solved it.

I will continue to choose meat entrees (cheese isn't enough for a non-dairy ethnicity). I will be sure to carry sausage, plus meat sticks. I will add home-made jerky. I like it better than meat sticks.

I will carry nuts: I especially like Black Walnuts. I like skinless almonds. I have had my "lifetime supply" of peanut butter. I can't "handle" more. Sunbutter is very palatable. I like Sunbutter.

To that list of proteins, I am adding Whey.

I found it at the grocery store near the energy bars.

Whey is protein.

I am a non North European "non-dairy ethnicity" but adding Whey feels helpful. I feel more energy.

I suggest adding Whey, to fruit drinks.

Is it okay to sprinkle Whey on an entree?

Does heat destroy powdered Whey?

[CalebJ]

You can buy unflavored and unsweetened whey from a couple of sources. It is almost entirely tasteless and works great to increase protein intake without odd flavors, artificial sweeteners, etc. Mix it in with oatmeal or any other meal you like. Here's one option:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013OVWHM/

Just Bill has a thread devoted to slab beef jerky from Held's Meat Market. I carried some on the BMT last May and it is wonderful. Per pound it's about the same as buying crap jerky from the local store, but it's a thousand times better. Great trail snack.

[Malto]

If you want to take the lowest possible food weight without lose of energy then make it heavy carbs. FOR A SHORT DURATION hike you, in all likelihood, have plenty of body fat to supply the fat needed. Taking extra fat does little to help your energy supply. Your body primarily burns carbs as energy, supply enough of those, supplement with body fat and you're good to go. (I will leave protein alone since it is not a good source of energy.)

There has been a huge disservice to the hiking community by diet plans targeted for thru hikers that have high fat. While that is a great approach for thru hikers it is not for short duration hikes. Unfortunately the UL community in their zeal for cutting weight have further perpetuated this idea. I went through this phase only to be saved by those with a background in ultra running. I quickly learned that high calorie per ounce is an extremely poor measure of food fuel efficiency.

For thru hikers, they need to balance two competing priorities. First they have to supply enough calories for a given day just like short duration hikers. Additionally they will have to consume, on average about the same calories as they are burning once they hit ideal weight. this is where the high fat becomes helpful, it allows the body to use fat in food rather than body fat. But the total calories eaten by a typical thru allows an abundance of carbs to satisfy the first requirement.

[Connie]

Maybe I feel more "nourished"?

Some food, I feel nothing.

Even on a short hike in the mountains, my experience is "carbs" aren't enough: I hit the "bonk".

[Malto]

Maybe I feel more "nourished"?

Some food, I feel nothing.

Even on a short hike in the mountains, my experience is "carbs" aren't enough: I hit the "bonk".

Either you aren't human or you aren't metering in properly. With the proper intake of carbs I'm not sure it is possible to bonk while hiking. For my weight, 250-300 calories per hour, every hour and no bonking taken out to a 57 mile day. Last time I bonked was on the PCT at when I was running out of food and couldn't maintain the proper intake.

[Connie]

I don't know the answer.

Maybe you mountains aren't steep like the mountains in Montana.

I thought the AT had steep places, but maybe "not at all" like the mountains here.

[Malto]

I don't know the answer.

Maybe you mountains aren't steep like the mountains in Montana.

I thought the AT had steep places, but maybe "not at all" like the mountains here.

The 57 miles had almost 16k elevation gain which is a bit more per mile than average Montana which I have also hiked.