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brack
02-09-2004, 12:31
getting ready for a trip and starting to try out trail meals to see how they taste for the trip. they taste just about as good as the meals i am cooking out of my dorm room anyway. just wondering if everyone had any creative ideas besides oatmeal, lipton noodles, or instant spuds. also wanted to know everyones opinion on the "enriched" flour, rice etc... compared to the whole grain products that you can buy at health food places. any experiences on the actual whole grain making a difference? thanks....

weary
02-09-2004, 12:57
getting ready for a trip and starting to try out trail meals to see how they taste for the trip. they taste just about as good as the meals i am cooking out of my dorm room anyway. just wondering if everyone had any creative ideas besides oatmeal, lipton noodles, or instant spuds. also wanted to know everyones opinion on the "enriched" flour, rice etc... compared to the whole grain products that you can buy at health food places. any experiences on the actual whole grain making a difference? thanks....

Complex carbohydrates as found in whole grains are better for you than "enriched" prepared stuff. But when purchased in health food stores are also quite expensive.

My basic meal, however, was a mixture of quick cooking brown rice and macaroni, flavored with salt, pepper, dried onions, a dash of basil, and a couple of bouillon cubes.

I assembled it at home, one meal per sandwich bag and put a week's supply in a zip lock freezer bag. On the trail I added twice as much water as dry ingredients, brought it to a boil, and simmered for 5 or 6 minutes, and then let it sit another 4 or 5 minutes, to allow the liquid to be absorbed. I used quick cooking brown rice, because like the macaroni it cooked in 10 minutes.

My concoction is basically a homemade, and considerably cheaper, Lipton dinner.

For variety and added protein, I often added a can of tuna, chipped beef, cheese, powdered milk, peanuts, instant tomato soup, basically whatever struck my fancy.

Breakfasts were mostly quick cooking oatmeal (not instant) mixed with raisins, dried fruit of any kind, brown sugar, salt, and powdered milk. Again, the basic rule for dried stuff is one part dried to two parts liquid.

By watching the sales and buying generic and store brands, I found I could eat for about $3 a day, including mail drop postage. Generic pasta can be purchased for 3# for a dollar. Oatmeal and rice for a buck a pound, sometimes less. With planning and imagination, there is no need for food to be a major trail expense. About half my food was from mail drops. The rest came from trailside stores and pizza, steak and, especially, all you can eat salad bars in towns.

In the south the law says you can't take a dirty plate back to a salad bar. One waitress smelled us, concluded we were hikers, and brought us four plates each. We used them all.

Weary

chris
02-09-2004, 13:22
Couscous packs a good punch and takes less than 2 cups of water for a big meal. Also, don't overlook cornmeal mush. Get your favorite soup packet (cream of brocoli, for example). Boil 2 cups, add the soup, then about 3/4 cup of corn meal. Stir well and take off the heat. Add olive oil. For a bigger meal, increase the water to 3 cups and the corn meal to 1.25 cups. Corn meal is uber-cheap also.

Hydromagnt
02-09-2004, 17:50
I bought some dehydrated Enertia Trail Food. www.trailfoods.com They come in their own cook/service heavy duty plastic pouches. Boil 2 cups water, add to plastic pouch, seal for 10 minutes, ready to eat. They were very tasty. I usually added chicken or tuna. No clean up, just carry empty plastic bags as trash. Inexpensive, and good varity. I'm sure I wouldn't want to eat these for 6 months, but a good base.

Hydromagnt

2XL
02-09-2004, 19:51
I like to add a can of chicken and some dehydrated peas to instant stuffing mix. Makes a filling meal.