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mellow
05-24-2004, 13:07
I know a thread about this has to exsist somewhere, or...anyone know of a good website with some cheap meal ideas or anything? I can't afford to stuff my pack full of premade dehydrated food, and I don't want to buy a dehydrator or vacuum sealer for a 2 week hike. Suggestions welcome.

hungryhowie
05-24-2004, 14:45
Not to be too self-promotion oriented, but if you're interested, I have some mountain house freeze dried foods for sale in the 'gear for sale' forum. The thread hasn't been active in a while, but they're still there.

Otherwise, mac 'n' cheese, ramen noodles and other "instant" dishes found at your grocery store are fairly inexpensive, if not always the tastiest...

-Howie

charlottebronte
05-24-2004, 15:31
I've had many marvelous, tasty, healthy, and cheap meals on the trail. Chiefly, I've used Simple Foods for the Pack (book) and neigborhood groceries that sell bulk foods. Once you get the idea behind the recipes, you can improvise your own, using readily-found ingredients. But the key is to buy just as much ingredients as you need and pack by the meal and by the day (instructions in book), so you don't need to dig through your "kitchen" when you're in camp.

Measuring out everything ahead of time and segregating it by meal is very important! I once went on a Sierra Club backpack trip and the cook had organized things on a spreadsheet. Very precisely. We had bad luck with weather. There we were, in the middle of a blizzard, trying to measure out 2.86 cups of flour and 3 and 7/15th's cups of sugar!
The only redeeming feature in all of this was that he had double-bagged all the food....We needed those ziplocs to supplement our clothing! We packed them into our shirts, on our feet,around our legs!

Spirit Walker
05-24-2004, 15:40
Cheap is easy. Keep your eye open for sales. You can still get Ramen 10 (or more) for $1.00 and Liptons for $0.67. Peanut butter and english muffins make a good lunch staple. So does cheese. Summer sausage works too. Gorp is easy for a snack - buy a box of raisins, a bag of chocolate chips and a can of nuts. Buy cereal in the large bags at the grocery and divide up into 1 quart bags. Backpacking food doesn't have to be expensive or time consuming.

Jaybird
05-24-2004, 16:44
I know a thread about this has to exsist somewhere, or...anyone know of a good website with some cheap meal ideas or anything? ................................................Su ggestions welcome.



Yo MELLOW



RAMEN is king on the trail (& all copycat noodle varieties)...in fact, they even come with different flavor sauces now for a little extra spice...

you can also now find 3 oz pouches of tuna, salmon & chicken (need the protein on the trail too!) with some of these also featuring various flavorings.

Ramen has come a long way since "Model-T" (http://www.ModelT.net) ate it for every meal back in 1990 (the story is featured in his book: ("Walkin' on the Happy Side of Misery" (http://www.ModelT.net)) & basically got tired of it & left it for the shelter mice...hehehehehe! :D

eyahiker
05-24-2004, 16:55
I make jerky and chop it up real small for a quick snack, it's pretty cheap, high protein, but can get heavy........

funkyfreddy
05-24-2004, 17:09
I always bring cheddar cheese, sun dried tomatoes, and sausage to mix in with Ramen, otherwise it's hard for me to eat. With melted cheddar and sun dried tomatoes it's delicious, though. I won't give out my trail mix recipes until I hike with you in person and you try some of it. Let's just say that you could live off a bag of my trail mix and it absolutely transforms the morning oatmeal!

Doctari
05-24-2004, 17:39
For a 2 week hike you don't need a dehydrator or a vacume sealer.
Just use: your oven set on super low, prop the door open 2 to 3 inches, place the thinly sliced (whatever) on a cookie sheet & ta-da. Let the dried food cool somewhat, & place in a FREEZER Zip Lock, then place that in a FREEZER Zip lock. Store in the freezer until you leave for the hike. Oh yes, be sure to label EVERYTHING, tuna casserol AND fruit crumble look exactly alike when they are dried.

And / Or use all the other suggestions above.


Doctari. :dance

Peaks
05-24-2004, 18:45
For cheap foods, shop at a grocery store rather than an outfitter. As
Spirit Walker says, Liptons goes on sale, etc. You want to look for food that is has a high calorie per ounce ratio, easy to prepare, and not need refrigeration.

lobstergrrrl
05-24-2004, 19:39
The local surplus stores got in a load of Mexacali Rose dehydrated black beans, and I bought a bunch at 0.75 each. If you keep your eyes open for bargains all the time, you can find them when you least expect it.

Texas Dreamer
05-25-2004, 08:32
Big Lots. Liptonesque stuff at a discount.

mellow
05-25-2004, 13:43
This site is so great. I only have two weeks left until I leave for my trip. This will be my first time going camping/hiking for more than a long weekend. I think I'm just about ready, and my main (read only) source of knowledge has been this site. Thanks to everyone who has taken a second to offer their help. I truley appreciate it.

-mellow (todd)

Pencil Pusher
05-27-2004, 14:14
The secret to going light and eating cheap is to mooch. Having a sad tale to tell helps.

funkyfreddy
05-27-2004, 17:58
The secret to going light and eating cheap is to mooch. Having a sad tale to tell helps.

That only works once or twice, then people will soon tire of your company. So if you want to keep friends around you have to give as well as take.

smokymtnsteve
05-27-2004, 18:00
this thread is about how to eat cheap ..not make friends. :D

Pencil Pusher
05-27-2004, 22:09
That only works once or twice, then people will soon tire of your company. So if you want to keep friends around you have to give as well as take.So long as you stay one step ahead of them, there are plenty of other victims up the trail. Just walk as fast as you talk, lest the hounds catch up. :banana
On topic, you could dumpster dive the local pizza joint or resign yourself to the same food, day in and day out. Or buy a loaf of bread from the store, then visit the local fast food joint and grab handfuls of those condiment packages. Now you have sandwiches for the trail. A mayo, mustard, and relish sandwich... mmmm.