Anyone know of a good source for freeze dried meat? Also, good low carb recipes. . .

[quilteresq]

I'm pretty much going to have to do all my own prep before hand - just got diagnosed with type II diabetes. (I'm trying to imagine the trail without pizza, and it's hard at this point, even though I don't eat much at home. And forget the 1/2 gallon challenge. . . ) At any rate, I decided that I'm going to go with a wider variety of protein than I otherwise would have so I don't get bored. I can make my own jerky, but I get sick of it pretty easily. Looking for freeze dried chicken, ham, and maybe even some sausage for the powdered eggs in the morning. I know I saw a web site where I can get this stuff, but I can't find it.

For the record, I tried low carb spaghetti, and it was awful - I told my husband that I'd rather go with the zuchinni shaved as "pasta" than eat that stuff. I guess stews it will be.

It's challenging enough to learn low carb cooking all at once - figuring out how I'll be able to handle the trail next year is a whole different challenge. Oh well, off to make my birthday low carb cheesecake! Life is not all about deprivation!

[grayfox]

Go to BePrepared.com Emergency Essentials. Sign up for monthly newsletter. They have pretty good sales on different stuff each month. They have roast beef on this month. FD is expensive but if you need it, you need it. There should be sales on food many places now that summer is winding down. Harmony House foods is another place to get good ingredients for do-it-yourself meals but they only sell tvp for protien. There may be some protien powdered supplements that may work for you as well.

[yellowsirocco]

I have hiked with a few type 2 diabetics and they love hiking because it gives them the freedom to actually eat a snickers bar guilt free. You may have trouble with your blood sugar right now, but hiking all day every day will bring it down a lot. You might not need to worry so much about low carb trail food. Now once you get into town you might want to watch your carbs and gorge on meat. Even if your doctor says to eat low carb on the trail, most docs can't even comprehend long distance hiking so their opinion isn't really valid. This is a completely different world.

[max patch]

I plan on buying a lot of the tuna/salmon/whatever that comes in the foil pouches at supermarkets.

[Drybones]

I've thought about trying to dehydrate canned salmon and use it in paste dishes...anyone tried that?

[jeffmeh]

I bought a bunch of freeze-dried veggies and herbs from amazon, and the Alpine-Aire freeze-dried beef from Vitacost, and made a bunch of meals up for my son this season. That said, it is by no means inexpensive, and you will likely get tired of it eventually. On a thru-hike, you may be able to beat the type 2 by just avoiding the really high-carb stuff and making some good choices. From personal experience, cutting way back on the carbs, basically eliminating grains and sugar (but I will not give up beer , along with vigorous exercise, has made medication unnecessary, but I need to remain vigilant.

[Stir Fry]

Mountain House has freeze dryed, eggs, sausage, hamburger, chicken, and ham all in #10 cans.
Its the only thing I plan to use a mail drop for. I have been buying a can every couple months. By the time I do thru hike I should have enough for the trip. Most things you can get on the trail but not this. Eggs with a hand full of sausage or ham with cheese is a quick easy meal. Hamburger, and chicken are great additions to Romain,or mac-cheese. Ill even take a hand full of hamburger add some taco sause, and cheese and you have lunch. #10 can is about $44. It lasts me 16-20 meals or about 2 weeks. All the meats rehydrate in about 5 min in a ziplock bag. Tasts better hot but cold works, or just eat by the handfull.

[Rasty]

Packitgourmet.com
Incredible selection of freeze dried and dehydrated ingredient. Buy the vegetables and meats there. Get starches at the grocery store.

[T-Rx]

Quilteresq,
I have chosen a low carb diet for several years now for health reasons such as a family history of type 2 diabetes and the overall benefits of cutting processed flour from my diet. Life does not end without carbs. Do some on line research. My wife gets 99% of the credit for learning new recipes and adapting her cooking but I can give you a few suggestions. Try dreamfield brand pasta. It is low carb (5 grams per cup)and taste no different than regular pasta. We buy bread that is low carb (Healthy Life brand) only 5 grams per slice. Take Kraft deli sliced cheese, place it on parchment paper and nuke it in the microwave for about 1 - 1.5 minutes and it makes a great bread substitute (makes great BLTs). We even make low carb pizza using cheese as the crust. We use grated cauliflower as a substitute for potatoes and rice as well. Also, remember that every gram of fiber cancels out a gram of carbohydrate. Just educate yourself on reading labels and learn to do most of your grocery shopping on the perimeter of the store. Go down the interior aisles with caution because that is where the carb laden foods are. Hope this helps if you need more info. I will be glad to help. It is very important to manage your BS or there are many complications that can result. Good luck!

[quilteresq]

Go to BePrepared.com Emergency Essentials. Sign up for monthly newsletter. They have pretty good sales on different stuff each month.

That was perfect - they had a sale on a variety pack of freeze-dried meats, including sausage! I like my eggs in the morning - with cheese & sausage. I'm going to start dehydrating cheese and more veggies probably starting in December - doing some apples now because they're in season. I can only have about 1/2 an apple at a time, though. . . at the moment. It will be fun to increase my carbs on the trail, but the days of pizza and spaghetti are probably over.

[avalonmorn]

I have to watch my carbs, so my favorite lunch while hiking is a stick of pepperoni or Hillshire
farms beef stick, eaten with a half-moon chunk of chedder, sliced with my swiss army knife.....it lasts for days with no fridge.

[Many Moons]

I'm pretty much going to have to do all my own prep before hand - just got diagnosed with type II diabetes. (I'm trying to imagine the trail without pizza, and it's hard at this point, even though I don't eat much at home. And forget the 1/2 gallon challenge. . . ) At any rate, I decided that I'm going to go with a wider variety of protein than I otherwise would have so I don't get bored. I can make my own jerky, but I get sick of it pretty easily. Looking for freeze dried chicken, ham, and maybe even some sausage for the powdered eggs in the morning. I know I saw a web site where I can get this stuff, but I can't find it.

For the record, I tried low carb spaghetti, and it was awful - I told my husband that I'd rather go with the zuchinni shaved as "pasta" than eat that stuff. I guess stews it will be.

It's challenging enough to learn low carb cooking all at once - figuring out how I'll be able to handle the trail next year is a whole different challenge. Oh well, off to make my birthday low carb cheesecake! Life is not all about deprivation!

Yea, I took my own deer meat that I dehydrated, several flavors. This ended up being a great power snack during the day between meals. At large hunting shows they sell all kinds of wild game meat ready to hike with. Hike On!!!

Miller

[RodentWhisperer]

+1 (no, scratch that; +++1) for packitgourmet.com. Awesome selection, great service.

[Rocket Jones]

You could also check out Harmony House foods for TVP (textured vegetable protein). Not everyone can handle it, or have digestive issues in larger amounts, but it is a vegetable based protein source. Comes in beef, taco, chicken and ham flavors - maybe others too. I've tried their dehydrated veggies and it's first rate stuff.

Another protein source to consider is quinoa. It's not a grain, but acts like one when you cook it. Cooking can take a while, but you can cook it at home and it dehydrates well. Very versitile as far as flavorings or sauces too. I combine it with powdered milk, brown sugar and almonds and eat it for breakfast on the trail.

[Another Kevin]

Bring your test kit, and be prepared for frequent medication adjustments. Many Type II's find that the exercuse of long-distance hiking is enough to achieve tight control without any medications or further lifestyle modifications. The blood sugar plummets about the same time the "hiker hunger" sets in.

[Driver8]

I have hiked with a few type 2 diabetics and they love hiking because it gives them the freedom to actually eat a snickers bar guilt free. You may have trouble with your blood sugar right now, but hiking all day every day will bring it down a lot. You might not need to worry so much about low carb trail food. Now once you get into town you might want to watch your carbs and gorge on meat. Even if your doctor says to eat low carb on the trail, most docs can't even comprehend long distance hiking so their opinion isn't really valid. This is a completely different world.

+1 I am Type II and find that I need high carb stuff on a long day's hike. Especially on steep ups, I will bonk if I don't have the carbs. I have been dx'd diabetic for over a decade, so my condition likely is more advanced than the OP's, i.e. worse. I find that as long as I keep my carbs low on routine days and eat sugary stuff as needed, and drink Gatorade or the like while hiking, I'm OK. One problem that's a bit harder to deal with is the leftover cravings for sugar after that hike. That ain't easy to deal with, have to say.

[quilteresq]

+1 I am Type II and find that I need high carb stuff on a long day's hike. Especially on steep ups, I will bonk if I don't have the carbs. I have been dx'd diabetic for over a decade, so my condition likely is more advanced than the OP's, i.e. worse. I find that as long as I keep my carbs low on routine days and eat sugary stuff as needed, and drink Gatorade or the like while hiking, I'm OK. One problem that's a bit harder to deal with is the leftover cravings for sugar after that hike. That ain't easy to deal with, have to say.

THAT is what I'm worried about - if I pack too few carbs, I'll be bonking, too many, and I could also be in trouble. I think I'm going go pack mostly low carb, but keep options open so I can add them from trail towns. I will be dehydrating fruit, so it's not like I'm planning on no carbs.

[Driver8]

THAT is what I'm worried about - if I pack too few carbs, I'll be bonking, too many, and I could also be in trouble. I think I'm going go pack mostly low carb, but keep options open so I can add them from trail towns. I will be dehydrating fruit, so it's not like I'm planning on no carbs.

If you're on a thru-hike, Quilter, I reckon you'll burn off all the carbs on hike days. Just go easy on them on zero and nero days and when in town. If you're already at or near your ideal weight, then you probably will stay diabetic, from what I gather about the condition. If, like me, you have weight to lose, most likely you will on the thru. As I have lost weight this past couple of years of increased exercise and especially a lot of weekend hiking, my diabetes has decreased in severity. If I can manage to get down to my ideal weight, it likely will recede further. I could stand to lose another 50 or 60 lbs.

[Driver8]

PS: To finish the thought, I gather that recession of diabetes with significant weight loss is very common.

[Wise Old Owl]

Yea I was just about to suggest dehydrating fruit.

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