High calorie foods ?

[ski_walker]

After counting the calories I'll be taking in with just the basic cheap ramen, pop tarts, energy bars, oat meal, brownie/protein powder coffee morning mix, I'm finding its one about 2500 calories per day when I know for a fact I'll be burning about 4500 doing 15-20 miles a day of hiking. What's some more light weight calorie dense foods I can add ? On a budget of course. No money for expensive freeze dried mountain house




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[rafe]

Noodles, nuts, olive oil, dried fruit, energy bars, cheese, dried meats (jerky, pepperoni, summer sausage, etc.) Honey buns, pop-tarts, M & Ms, whatever floats your boat.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Peanut butter, Peanut butter, Peanut butter

Most long distance hikers run a caloric deficit on trail, it is important to make up for it in town.

And some go overboard:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...ckpacking-Food

[garlic08]

Fats have roughly twice the energy density (Calories per ounce) of carbs. Peanut butter has about 190 Cal/oz, jelly only 100. Noodles are about 100. That's why peanut butter's so popular. Tree nuts are probably better for you, but more expensive. Macadamias are really packed in calories, like 240 I think.

With an average density of about 130 Cal/oz, the two pounds of food per day I carry has over 4000 calories. Lots of nuts, cheese, tortillas.

[Odd Man Out]

I think along these lines. Almost everything in your food bag is either a fat, carb, protein, water, or packaging. Fats have the highest possible calorie density. But you probably don't want to drink vegetable oil. Anything you add other than fats will lower the calorie density. Protein and carbs have a density of about 45 percent of fat. Water and packaging are zero. You can estimate the water content of food by adding the grams of fat, carbs, and protein and subtract from the serving size. Don't forget the weight of packaging. Larger packages tend to have a lower proportion of packaging than small packages.

[mattjv89]

+1 for peanut butter, when you can find sunflower seed butter it's a little higher still. Trail mix is another high calorie favorite of mine. The traditional peanut, raisin, M&M mix runs around 140 calories an ounce and has a good mix of carbs, protein and fat. In my experience if you can get it in the two pound bag the price ends up better than buying ingredients and mixing it yourself. I certainly have been known to take a couple extra swigs of vegetable oil when preparing dinner but second the recommendation to not make it a staple of your diet...

Looking at that picture you posted I see a big time protein deficit unless I'm missing something. Very important for muscle recovery and generally keeping you going. Ramen noodles by themselves are just a block of simple carbs about like eating pop tarts for dinner. Tuna or chicken packets, Spam, summer sausage, and salted meats like pepperoni and salami are good options for adding protein for dinner. I'll never forget my resupply in the second half of the Smokies, got too much of a sweet tooth and loaded up on simple carbs and not much else. Consumed about 11,000 calories in 2.5 days and it hardly kept me going with constant dizzy spells etc. It's very true that not all calories are created equal.

[Dogwood]

Dried coconut
Shelled raw sunflower seeds
Raw pepitas(pumpkin seeds)
Other seeds
Ghee
Nut butters
Nuts

[Turk6177]

Depending on how many days you will be packing food for, cracker barrel cheese lasts for a few days. Also, summer sausage or hard dry salami. I like adding those to my potatoes and noodles. You can bring a small bottle of olive oil and add it to your hot meals. I use it in place of butter when I make Stove Top stuffing on the trail. I don't see that you packed any snickers bars. Those are great at the end of a day for dinner dessert. You will find you will very quickly get sick of cliff bars and instant oatmeal on the trail. When I hike the JMT, I couldn't look at a Cliff Bar or a packet of Almond Butter after 10 days. I also agree that making your own trail mix is the best. I put raisins, dried blueberries, mnm's, honey roasted cashews, salted planters peanuts, and sometimes yogurt covered raisins as well. I try to eat 6 oz a day of trail mix. I really like it sprinkled on a peanut butter covered tortilla and drizzled with honey for lunch. It is delicious!

[garlic08]

...Don't forget the weight of packaging. Larger packages tend to have a lower proportion of packaging than small packages.

Excellent point. Think about repackaging everything in bulk into reusable ziplocks, and measure or proportion out as you eat.

...Tuna or chicken packets, Spam, summer sausage, and salted meats like pepperoni and salami are good options for adding protein for dinner.

So are nuts, legumes, oats and other whole grains. Carry meat if you like it, but one reason I don't very much is the packaging issue noted above (especially in bear country). If you're on a budget, as the OP stated, there are cheaper protein options than packaged meat.

[saltysack]

Fats have roughly twice the energy density (Calories per ounce) of carbs. Peanut butter has about 190 Cal/oz, jelly only 100. Noodles are about 100. That's why peanut butter's so popular. Tree nuts are probably better for you, but more expensive. Macadamias are really packed in calories, like 240 I think.

With an average density of about 130 Cal/oz, the two pounds of food per day I carry has over 4000 calories. Lots of nuts, cheese, tortillas.

I'm wondering what your food bag contains for say..... a 4 day trip?


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[saltysack]

Malto suggested the little Debbie brownies....tried few months ago for my 3.5 day thru of the FHT... They were awesome..didn't fall apart or melt...yummy and cheap...a new trail snack favorite..


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[misterfloyd]

One of the favorite things that I picked up was Fritos.

They are very caloric ally dense and are very salty, very useful in the summer.

I agree with all the things that were mentioned above.

Personally I put many of the above items in small ziplock bags and make certain they are about 200-300 calories each. I eat breakfast, munch on snacks the entire day, and cook dinner at the end. I prefer a slow drip method. I never loose energy, never really get lethargic. Plus I hate cooking!

[One Half]

we used to make our own nut/energy bars. they were great. very calorie dense. tasty. and we knew what ingredients were in them.

[CamelMan]

No money for expensive freeze dried mountain house

If you have a way to eat it, quick oats are almost exactly the same calories per ounce as Clif Bars, but really really cheap. It's best not to cook them if you want to eat a lot of calories.

[Dogwood]

…Carry meat if you like it, but one reason I don't..is if you're on a budget, as the OP stated, there are cheaper protein options than packaged meat.

Good point. We, as U.S. citizens often forget many meat proteins are rather expensive in the big scheme of things, less expensive protein alternatives for sure for those on a strict trail food budget.

[Dogwood]

If you have a way to eat it, quick oats are almost exactly the same calories per ounce as Clif Bars, but really really cheap. It's best not to cook them if you want to eat a lot of calories.

Quick whole, steel cut, and rolled oats are all a super cheap alternative bought in bulk from bins. Cliff Bars contain excessive added amounts of sugar. Oats have protein too. So easy to eat oats cold or warmed and infinitely tweaked for taste and calories rather cheaply with nuts, nut butters(PB or Almond Butter for example, both not usually excessively expensive), dried coconut(CHEAP), pinch of cinnamon and ginger. Adding some apple or fruit there ya go.

There are also grains and seeds like amaranth, millet, and quinoa that are relatively cheap when bought in bulk, can be eaten after soaking cold or warmed as both the base. Doctor it up cheaply as ya want.

[garlic08]

I'm wondering what your food bag contains for say..... a 4 day trip?

Here's a link to an old Trailjournal. Basically a bag of muesli, a stack of tortillas, a block of cheese, a bag of crackers, a bag of nuts, a bag of raisins, a bag of Fig Newtons. For a longer trip I'll bring a jar of peanut butter and more of everything. I pack by the mile, not by the day, so I can't tell you how much it would weight unless I know the distance.

...Oats have protein too....

...From the horse's mouth.... Actually, a horse is one of my arguments for non-meat protein. Horses are large, strong, lean, and fast animals that don't eat meat. I really like my oats.

[Dogwood]

Here's a link to an old Trailjournal. Basically a bag of muesli, a stack of tortillas, a block of cheese, a bag of crackers, a bag of nuts, a bag of raisins, a bag of Fig Newtons. For a longer trip I'll bring a jar of peanut butter and more of everything. I pack by the mile, not by the day, so I can't tell you how much it would weight unless I know the distance...

Uncomplicated, NOT expensive, versatile, can have the tastes and nutrition easily tweaked, serves all the protein one needs as a hiker, easy to find, serves the purpose, lots of fiber, not overly dependent on preservatives, sugar, or unnecessary spices, and BTW NO COOK. Thar ya go! As LW might say, "it's only eatin."

[Malto]

Malto suggested the little Debbie brownies....tried few months ago for my 3.5 day thru of the FHT... They were awesome..didn't fall apart or melt...yummy and cheap...a new trail snack favorite..


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Great, I'm known for Little Debbie's. I have been trying to change my evil ways. Glad you discovered the magic.

To the OP, Little Debbie's are some of the cheapest empty calories you can find. They will definitely fuel you but you will want to scour the hiker boxes for some food with at least some margin value. PNB should definitely play a leading role.

[OkeefenokeeJoe]

I am a beef jerky aficionado ... been eating it for over six decades. If you want EXCELLENT EXCELLENT beef jerky at an affordable price, go here:

http://www.jerkyusa.com/

This is not your grocery store variety of beef jerky which, in my opinion, is made from recycled car tires. Luther's Beef Jerky is the real deal, made from choice cuts of beef.

Try it. It is absolutely addicting!

OkeefenokeeJoe