Calories per Ounce: what's the highest you've found?

[Abi]

What is the highest calorie-per-ounce food that you've found? Not really "ingredient", but an actually food item you could happily eat alone.

I found Justin's peanut butter pouches on sale for $0.50 they are 1.15oz and 190calories, for 165.2 cal/oz.

Pretty tasty too, no added sugar or hydrogenated oil.

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[Connie]

I like their almond butter with hazelnuts.

For cold weather, I used to make Logan Bread recipe or a Fruit Cake recipe. Now, I have taken somewhat dried bars of mincemeat.

I like the vacuum-pak alder-smoked salmon, available at some grocery stores. If I can, I take one for the last day hiking. That way, I am not too "needy" at the restaurant.

I had Thai iced coffee once. I add coconut water and coconut creme to coffee, now, when I can find the ingredients. I think I will order dried coconut milk online.

I have heard some people are deliberately adding coconut oil to food.

I might try it with my oatmeal.

[Malto]

Macadamia nuts at 210-220. But, if you are looking at this in the quest for a lighter pack this is likely a counter productive activity. Why?
1) you have to eat the food, spreadsheets don't.
2) unless you are doing an extended hike, think multiple weeks or you have single digit body fat, you are better off from a weight perspective, cutting the fat out and just taking the carb and protein portion from a macronutritional standpoint. Your body has ample fat reserves to handle all but the longest hikes.

i share this with you because I went down this path many years ago and ended up carrying a bunch of macadiamian nuts and other high fat foods for the entire JMT because I could eat them. Contrast that with an AT section last month where I hiking 180 miles in 4.5 days while losing 6 lbs as fuel. I had a much lighter food carry on the latter trip.

There red has been a lot written, including by Dr Brataan, about high fat ratios for hiking. Her article was about LONG distance hiking. If you are doing long distance hiking then see point 1.

off the soap box. olive oil is also commonly used to jack up calories for dinner and most PNB is in the 190 calories per ounce range.

[russb]

I see peanut butter as an ingredient, ymmv. But pb with belvita breakfast cookies... Wow! The Belvita cookies are 130 cal/oz alone. Use them with peanut butter (1 pkg plus 2.25 oz of pb) and that is a wollop of calories, tastes great, good fiber content. Perhaps not the "best" cal/oz ratio, but it is a go to morning snack for me. One can even save the pb for something else and just eat the belvita (230 calories, 1.76 oz).

[rocketsocks]

I feel fat

[MuddyWaters]

Pb averages about 170 or so cal/oz
Some nuts are higher, 160-200 or so.
Straight oil is 240 and some add it to dinners

One thruhiker confessed to eating squeeze parkay and peanutbutter in his well known book.

I eat a lot of trailmix and peanut butter, because I like them and they are high cal.
I really dont like adding olive oil, not 1oz of it to dinner. Much less drink it.

Overall, if you average 130-140 cal/oz your doing good. Protein sources may run 70-80, and some simple carbs @100-125 cal/oz will really pull the average down.

If you concern yourself with sugar or hydrogenated oil on the trail, youll starve. Might as well concernn yourself with refined flour products its as bad or worse for you.

[Gnomad]

I've been playing with powdered butter mixed with via coffee drunk cold. It is pretty good and the powdered butter is around 200 kcal/oz

[Abi]

Nuts, nuts, and more nuts! The convenience of the Justin's pouches is what caught my eye. No tubs to carry, minimal trash, squeeze straight in your mouth to be lazy. Banana chips are right at 160cal/oz and it looks like powdered whole milk is about 150.

Ok squeeze parkay is out of my league...

really I am just looking to maximize calories in the weight I am carrying with real edible food (not eating squeeze mayonnaise or such) As an official Bean Pole I do not have the fat reserve- my metabolism is high just sitting around. I start craving bacon cheeseburgers and hour into the hike

[Venchka]

Boone Barrs. Taste great. Decent ingredients. Up to 130 calories/ounce.
Find them online and at regional stores like Earth Fare.

Wayne


Sent from somewhere around here.

[Connie]

I've been playing with powdered butter mixed with via coffee drunk cold. It is pretty good and the powdered butter is around 200 kcal/oz

I had powdered barley "tea" with butter once, served by a Lama.

I fon't think it was spiced, but it was really good.

I do think there was tea.

I actually saw a slender-build hiker squirt squeeze Parkay directly into his mouth. No thanks!

[Dogwood]

What is the highest calorie-per-ounce food that you've found? Not really "ingredient", but an actually food item you could happily eat alone.

I found Justin's peanut butter pouches on sale for $0.50 they are 1.15oz and 190calories, for 165.2 cal/oz.

Pretty tasty too, no added sugar or hydrogenated oil.

image.jpg

Yeah, that's a decent buy offering much convenience. I'll use squeeze packets of nut butters in the same way of often higher priced lower cal/oz ratio gels which are often mainly sugars. I'm starting to notice more nut butter combinations offered in squeezable packages perhaps even with a screw cap at various locations.

Tip: store your nut/seed butter packets in a Ziploc. They can leak even without exploding!

Of course various nuts have high fat contents. Below Macadamias, which BTW are sometimes roasted in some kind of oil that contributes slightly to raising the cal/oz ratio( I grow them in HI), and I wouldn't obsess on mass consuming raw macs(some possible issues there), look for almond, brazil, cashew, pecan, pine, pistachio, walnuts, etc. Nut butters beyond peanut butter are becoming widely available too. http://www.health-alternatives.com/n...ion-chart.html Justin's has just released their vanilla almond butter packets for example. YUMMY.

Many folks ignore seeds and seed butters. Consider that nutrition, whether on trail or not, encompasses a greater perspective than simply cal/oz. That's why one should consider things like chia(SABA), flax(van be found in a shelled form too as flax meal just as there is an almond meal), shelled hemp(super nutritious with a very good cal/oz ratio), pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, etc. For an even greater nutritional profile that goes above and beyond ingredient labels consider sprouted seeds…and nuts. As an alternative try Tahini which is sesame paste. I take it on trail in GoToobs. http://www.humangear.com/gear/gotoob

It should be noted these high natural fat content foods such as nuts, seeds, coconut flake and especially sprouted varieties should be stored well and consumed in a reasonable amount of time.

Coconut products have high cal/oz ratios too. It's naturally sweet so don't reduce the cal/oz ratio buying sweetened coconut. Remember adding sugar to anything decreases the cal/oz ratio if you're starting out with high fat foods/ingredients. It's cheap when bought in bulk too. Comes in different grades or cuts from chips(large flakes) to sawdust size.

Commonly available are various granola mixes well in excess of 160 cal/oz ranges which I always buy from bulk bins at locations that consistently move large quantities of product. Read labels for added sugars that again lower cal/oz ratios comparatively to better fats. Many already consume entirely too much added sugar. I'm not keen on carrying, in the context of LD hiking, nutritionally lacking simple carbs in the form of nutritionally dismal simple highly refined sugars. This applies to added artificial sweeteners as well! Applying the same principle to unnecessarily carrying added spices/"flavorings", especially ubiquitous toxic salts, can not only raise your cal/oz ratios but contribute to lower food wt for the same amount of daily caloric intake and contribute to optimized trail nutrition for the LD hiker.

I tend to focus on bars that have 130+ cal/oz ratios. I have found several in the 165+ cal/oz range. Unsurprisingly, they are low in sugar content and are mostly nuts, seeds, coconut, nut butter, oils, etc. However, these are often harder to find and are definitely not always cheap.

When it comes to added fats or oils you are aware there are better fats, or "good fats", and "bad fats." Not all high cal/oz ratio foods are all that great nutritionally. MANY are not! AGAIN, food even in the context of LD hiking, a broader perhaps more balanced spectrum of nutrition should be considered beyond just cal/oz ratios or what's commonly listed on labels.

I'm currently preparing food resupply boxes for some resupplying. Here's one tasty Non-GMO item just found on sale at 3 @ 1.18 oz @ $2 that offers a lot of convenience and versatility of consuming. At another location I found them reduced to 50 cts a package. I bought them all. I'm going to consume them within the next couple of months within their expiration dates. All are stored in a large Ziploc. It is 170 cal/oz and isn't loaded with sugar but is still darn tasty with the cocoa, coconut, vanilla, nuts, seeds, etc. Taste sensations don't have to be focused on sugar or salt or artificial flavorings or "bad fats!" Lara Bar brand RENOLA. https://www.larabar.com/our-products.../cocoa-coconut

[Dogwood]

Not as inexpensive but with some high quality high % cocoa content low sugar content bar chocolates such as with added nuts, coconut, etc it's easy to find these at 170 cal/oz ratios. Nice as an added occasional treat in cooler wether. NO, high quality chocolate is not an Almond Joy or Snickers!

[Abi]

Thanks Dogwood- I think you know what I'm after.

I'll look into the Tahini in the GoToob, and maybe I need to learn to like coconut. I'm weary of carrying anything chocolate though, it even melts in winter in the South.

[Dogwood]

Couple more points to consider. It's doesn't have to be focused on always opting for the highest cal/oz ratio of an entire food or ingredient. Sometimes, just going to a higher cal/oz option gives one greater caloric content at comparable food wt. For example, opting for tuna such as Starkist Yellowfin Tuna, in a 2.6 oz foil package packed in EVOO at 190 total cals or 73 cal/oz sounds dismal in regards to cal/oz ratio. But, consider commonly found tuna in a 2.6 oz foil package packed in water only provides 70 total cals or 27 cal/oz. Doesn't sound so earth shattering but little things like this add up over a 5+ day resupply in regard to total caloric intake, nutrition, and food wt hauled.

You might try Artisana and Wild Friends nut/seed butters also.

http://www.artisanaorganics.com/squeeze-packs/

https://wildfriendsfoods.com/almond-butter/ Cool American biz success story. Now, if I could get them to add more caffeine to their Vanilla Espresso Almond Butter the backpacking world would be a better place.


I bought a 40 ct box of these on sale at a health food Store for $28…about 70 cts each. Not the cheapest but convenient for adding taste and fat cals. .25 oz at 60 calls or a 240 cal/oz ratio

http://www.amazon.com/Vita-Coco-Orga.../dp/B00YNJPUYK

[Abi]

Couple more points to consider. It's doesn't have to be focused on always opting for the highest cal/oz ratio of an entire food or ingredient. Sometimes, just going to a higher cal/oz option gives one greater caloric content at comparable food wt. For example, opting for tuna such as Starkist Yellowfin Tuna, in a 2.6 oz foil package packed in EVOO at 190 total cals or 73 cal/oz sounds dismal in regards to cal/oz ratio. But, consider commonly found tuna in a 2.6 oz foil package packed in water only provides 70 total cals or 27 cal/oz. Doesn't sound so earth shattering but little things like this add up over a 5+ day resupply in regard to total caloric intake, nutrition, and food wt hauled.

exactly!

For instance, a peanut butter Powerbar has 240 calories, but its a brick at 2.5oz (only 96 cal/oz)...not a good choice in regards to food bars. So why carry "food bar A" when you can carry "food bar B". It's a food bar, you shove it in your mouth while hiking, it might as well be more efficient.

I wish I could find chicken in the same style pouches as tuna (I know Tyson has a 7oz pouch, but that is bigger than I am seeking).

Boar's Head makes really good beef jerky that is thick cut like eating roast beef. Comes in a nice little 2oz package for about 70cal/oz. Nice to have something to gnaw on and more efficient than carrying a can of chicken, where you carry both the can and the water its packed in.

[Venchka]

Despite all of the laboratory statistics previously mentioned, ya gotta be able to eat the stuff first.
It doesn't matter if you find the Super Widget bar with a bazillion calories per ounce. If it tastes like cow poop you won't eat it.
Case in point:
Bear Creek Meal Pack. 106 calories/ounce. Not great calorie content. Dense. Dry. Tasteless. Not going in my food bag.
For my palette, I stick to Boone Barrs (loading up next month), Kind Plus bars, Lara Bars and Krave Jerky. I haven't found anything bad from any of those brands.

Wayne


Sent from somewhere around here.

[Dogwood]

…I wish I could find chicken in the same style pouches as tuna (I know Tyson has a 7oz pouch, but that is bigger than I am seeking).

Boar's Head makes really good beef jerky that is thick cut like eating roast beef. Comes in a nice little 2oz package for about 70cal/oz. Nice to have something to gnaw on and more efficient than carrying a can of chicken, where you carry both the can and the water its packed in.

Ahh, I understand. You're taking a cal/oz and food wt hit with chicken in broth/water to begin. That's compounded when you assume you have to go with a 7 oz size chicken in broth/water pouch. The three brands of chicken I commonly find in pouches is Tyson, Sweet Sue, and Valley Fresh all at 7 oz. However, on rare occasions I have found 3 oz chicken pouches of the Sweet Sue brand. http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Sue-Chic.../dp/B00BX4582W Now if you're seeking to up the dismal cal/oz ratio of this 3 oz pouch you have to add something more fatty to it. i.e.; cashews or other nuts, seeds(sesame usually works), coconut/coconut oil, flax or Borage oil, dried milks(coconut, cow, goat, soy, etc), cheese, ghee, EVOO, etc. You're playing a cal/oz catch up game.

Perhaps a better cal/oz bet is using chicken or turkey jerky rather the chicken in a pouch. I get around taking a big cal/oz hit with the 7 oz chicken in a pouch by turning to tasty paleo EPIC Turkey bars at 1.5 oz which at least gives a 100 cal/oz ratio so less to make up for in terms of calories/oz. https://epicbar.com/bar-detail/5 It's my goal to eat meat or animal protein in small servings, much smaller than the typical U.S. citizen, so 2 oz is about fine as the meat is an afterthought NOT the central focus of the meal.

[Dogwood]

…I wish I could find chicken in the same style pouches as tuna (I know Tyson has a 7oz pouch, but that is bigger than I am seeking).

Boar's Head makes really good beef jerky that is thick cut like eating roast beef. Comes in a nice little 2oz package for about 70cal/oz. Nice to have something to gnaw on and more efficient than carrying a can of chicken, where you carry both the can and the water its packed in.

Ahh, I understand. You're taking a cal/oz and food wt hit with chicken in broth/water to begin. That's compounded when you assume you have to go with a 7 oz size chicken in broth/water pouch. The three brands of chicken I commonly find in pouches is Tyson, Sweet Sue, and Valley Fresh all at 7 oz. However, on rare occasions I have found 3 oz chicken pouches of the Sweet Sue brand. http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Sue-Chic.../dp/B00BX4582W Now if you're seeking to up the dismal cal/oz ratio of this 3 oz pouch you have to add something more fatty to it. i.e.; cashews or other nuts, seeds(sesame usually works), coconut/coconut oil, flax or Borage oil, dried milks(coconut, cow, goat, soy, etc), cheese, ghee, EVOO, etc. You're playing a cal/oz catch up game.

Perhaps a better cal/oz bet is using chicken or turkey jerky rather the chicken in a pouch. I get around taking a big cal/oz hit with the 7 oz chicken in a pouch by turning to tasty paleo EPIC Turkey bars at 1.5 oz which at least gives a 100 cal/oz ratio so less to make up for in terms of calories/oz. https://epicbar.com/bar-detail/5 It's my goal to eat meat or animal protein in small servings, much smaller than the typical U.S. citizen, so 2 oz is about fine as the meat is an afterthought NOT the central focus of the meal.

[RockDoc]

The remark below by Malto is completely wrong. You need to so some reading... Fat follows a different metabolic pathway than carbs, which spike your insulin (the fat storage hormone) and prevent you from burning fat. Read Taubes "Why we get fat and what to do about it", Teicholz "The big fat surprise", for starters. Why do you think there is an obesity epidemic starting in 1977 when we were all advised to shun fat and eat carbs and the low-fat craze began?

Our bloodstream only holds 5 grams of glucose. What do you think happens to the other hundreds of grams of carbs/sugar when you pig out on cereal or bread? It is stored as fat cells, including those in your liver.

Reality is that fat from real food is an excellent for you, and there is no real need to eat a high-carb diet. Protein can stay low to moderate.
Man, I thought the word was out about this, but it appears that people have had their heads in the sand. They probably weigh 300 lbs by now if they are carb loading.

you have single digit body fat, you are better off from a weight perspective, cutting the fat out and just taking the carb and protein portion

[egilbe]

Pfft...most hikers are at a 2 to 3 thousand calorie deficit while hiking. I don't think any carbs are going to be stored as fat.