View Full Version : 30 days of trail food: at home trials
takethisbread
12-30-2009, 20:18
By request I am posting this thread.
In preparation for my hike I am eating trail food at home for all my meals.
Day 1:
Today: breakfast: I had a small cupful of of granola with dehydrated Milk
Lunch: Nile Spices Red Beans and Rice Soup. 200 calories. 4 oz weight. Very nice flavor, and easy, just add water to cup and let sit for a few minutes. Grade A. Price $1.25
Dinner: Nissin Spicy Chicken Chow Mein Noodles. Comes in a microwaeable tray. I just added water and prepacked spice packets. 560 calories. 4oz weight.
Very tasty and spicy. Lots of calories per ounce. Grade A++. Price $1.09
I will definately look for the latter two items on the trail, and am rethinking my relationship with dehydrated milk. Looking for easier and lighter breakfast items as I mostly favor bagels.
Lone Wolf
12-30-2009, 20:42
prep for what hike? why eat crap food for 30 days at home? i don't get it
I presume to test out and see what tastes good, is easy to prepare and eat, etc in order to prepare resupply boxes (for thru-hiking).
I think the best thing about this thread will be if you (O.P.) post a follow-up during and/or after the trip to see if and how much this was worth while. For my part, I'm taking the opposite tack --- if it's something I consume or use on the trail, I'm staying away from it at home! So not too many rice- or noodle-based meals, not a lot of tuna, no gorp or trail bars, etc etc. I'm also staying away from my MP3 player.
The hope being that it will take a lot longer to get tired of those things when they're part of everyday life next year (I guess I can only say "next year" now for one more day!).
I don't mean any of the above as disparaging or argumentative, takethisbread, just another approach --- good luck with your experiment and do keep reporting your results!
Trailweaver
12-30-2009, 21:37
I always try to eat something at home before I take it on a hike. . . I don't want to be hungry on the trail and have no other alternative for something to eat. I fix it at home, eat it, and if I like it, it goes with me on the next hike. If not, thank God I'm not stuck at a shelter with nothing else to eat. ; - )
Keep us posted with good ideas and let us know how your resolve is going re: eating trail food a whole month at home. That should be interesting.
wcgornto
12-30-2009, 21:37
I suggest Nido ... Dehydrated whole milk ... in favor of anything broadly available in the US. Most powdered milk sold in this country is low fat milk, which is counterproductive for a long distance hike.
a couple thoughts:
As long as you're testing, why not take it all the way and do lots of exercise while you're doing this, to see if the foods sustain you well. Doesn't look like you have enough calories to keep you going.
If you usually eat bagels for breakfast, why stop? They keep well on the trail.
mountain squid
12-30-2009, 21:56
:-?hmmmm...I don't get it either.
I could see trying some recipes or different types of food, but for every meal for 30 days?!? Why start off the trail already hating the food that you will be eating for the next 6 months? (It doesn't take long to get tired of eating the same stuff every day.)
What do you hope to discover by doing this and in what way will it help to prepare? Are you still going to eat other food as well? On the trail, when you get into town every 3-4 days you will eat and eat and eat...
I'm not one to advise anyone to 'fatten' up for a long distance hike, but you will likely lose weight if you only eat noodles, etc for 30 days prior to your hike. That would not be good.
http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-eatdrink063.gif
See you on the trail,
mt squid
Toolshed
12-30-2009, 22:12
1,000 calories right there in all 3 meals. Not enough Sustenence.... eat more calories...
Toolshed is right. You need more caloies. And I doubt that you are getting 1000 cal. from what you have listed. 4 oz. of noodles will not get you over 400 calories unless you add some olive oil or peanuts or something else that has a high calorie count.
The same food, day after day, is not good: the body builds up an intolerance so you start not getting the nutrition out of that food you would if having variety.
Our pancreas makes hundreds, if not thousands of digestive enzymes. If you give your body limited choices, the pancreas kinda shuts down. By this means, it is possible to suffer starvation while eating food. Like POW's in WWII. reference: The Biology of Human Starvation.
Our bodies need variety.
I do think it is a good idea to try backpacking food ideas, at home, to see if preparation is easy and quick, or, messy and complicated. Importantly, if it tastes simply awful, it is better to find out now.
Try out different "lightweight" stuff and see if it suits you and your hike.
However, on the hike, your appetite will increase and your body will need healthy fats to sustain any strenuous effort. Find out easy to pack healthy fats before the hike.
The amount of "lightweight food" runs about 2.5 lbs. a day on a "hike".
The appetite at home, and sedentary, is just not the same.
Strenuous level activity easily runs 3,500-4,500 calories a day, especially in cold weather.
Add nuts, nutbutters, add oil, add salad dressings, add "stuffing" to the recipes and add a side dish to an entree. Add ground toasted sesame salt (gomasio) because it is warming. Take foil packets of healthy protein. Add BabyBel BonBel cheese or individual serving size string cheese. Add small tins of potted meat. Choose calorie dense foods.
To be more specific. A 4 oz serving of Nissin Spicy Chicken Chow Mein Noodles is 260 calories.
. . . Dinner: Nissin Spicy Chicken Chow Mein Noodles. Comes in a microwaeable tray. I just added water and prepacked spice packets. 560 calories. 4oz weight.
Very tasty and spicy. Lots of calories per ounce. Grade A++. Price $1.09 . . .
Definitely go for this one. Will come in handy at the microwave at the Gooch Gap Shelter. :banana
I'm also staying away from my MP3 player.
Good for you. Play those things too loud, they'll ruin your hearing before you get old.
Birds and the wind in the trees don't require batteries.:)
Many "microwave" products are just add-hot-water.
Jester2000
12-30-2009, 23:29
:-?hmmmm...I don't get it either.
I could see trying some recipes or different types of food, but for every meal for 30 days?!? Why start off the trail already hating the food that you will be eating for the next 6 months? (It doesn't take long to get tired of eating the same stuff every day.)
What do you hope to discover by doing this and in what way will it help to prepare? Are you still going to eat other food as well? On the trail, when you get into town every 3-4 days you will eat and eat and eat...
I'm not one to advise anyone to 'fatten' up for a long distance hike, but you will likely lose weight if you only eat noodles, etc for 30 days prior to your hike. That would not be good.
http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-eatdrink063.gif
See you on the trail,
mt squid
A couple of things here. I was the one that suggested that if takethisbread were going to do this anyway, it should be its own thread. So if the thought of this thread existing irks anyone, take it out on me.
Now, I don't know for sure, but I think it's kind of amusing that so many people think it's a terrible idea to eat trail food at home. My God! Every day for 30 days?!? You'll be sick of your food before you get on the trail!!!
Is there anything that suggests that people who take five months to hike the trail are any more or less sick of their food by the time they finish that people who take 6? I suspect not. Then why would it matter if someone took an extra month eating the same food at home? How about if he promises to finish the trail in 4 months? Will that lessen everyone's concern about getting sick of trail food?
As to what might be learned:
One might learn what one really doesn't like, which would be nice before getting on the trail. By posting it here, one might learn from other hikers that the number of calories with the current meals is just not enough. Maybe, just maybe, with a kitchen and time to experiment, one might learn to craft enough different meals that one is not, in fact, "eating the same stuff every day." You might figure out that food that you hate after 30 days probably aren't good to plan on eating for a 6 month hike.
Would I do what the thread starter is doing? Probably not. Will it make him more or less likely to complete his hike? Who knows? But I think it's definitely a good idea to do a fair amount of experimentation with food before starting a hike. It's the kind of thing that leads to one not dumping large quantities of oatmeal into hiker boxes and spending more money on food.
And it might just lead to a happier takethisbread on the trail. If nothing else, the thread starter has learned that whatever you personally decide to do, if you post about it on whiteblaze there will be many voices that will decide to criticize it regardless of how little it has to do with the owners of those voices.
The same food, day after day, is not good: the body builds up an intolerance so you start not getting the nutrition out of that food you would if having variety.
Our pancreas makes hundreds, if not thousands of digestive enzymes. If you give your body limited choices, the pancreas kinda shuts down. By this means, it is possible to suffer starvation while eating food. Like POW's in WWII. reference: The Biology of Human Starvation.
Our bodies need variety.
I do think it is a good idea to try backpacking food ideas, at home, to see if preparation is easy and quick, or, messy and complicated. Importantly, if it tastes simply awful, it is better to find out now.
Try out different "lightweight" stuff and see if it suits you and your hike.
However, on the hike, your appetite will increase and your body will need healthy fats to sustain any strenuous effort. Find out easy to pack healthy fats before the hike.
The amount of "lightweight food" runs about 2.5 lbs. a day on a "hike".
The appetite at home, and sedentary, is just not the same.
Strenuous level activity easily runs 3,500-4,500 calories a day, especially in cold weather.
Add nuts, nutbutters, add oil, add salad dressings, add "stuffing" to the recipes and add a side dish to an entree. Add ground toasted sesame salt (gomasio) because it is warming. Take foil packets of healthy protein. Add BabyBel BonBel cheese or individual serving size string cheese. Add small tins of potted meat. Choose calorie dense foods.
Nothing personal, but a large portion of this post is new-age gibberish:
1. The body does NOT build up an intolerance to foods. Your pancreas does not have taste buds; it is a collection of cells the squirt out enzymes in response to either/and a change in acidity in your duodenum or/and hormones produced by the stomach. While it'd bore the hell out of you, you could eat the same exact balanced diet your entire life and be just fine.
2. Your pancreas does not secrete thousands of digestive enzymes, and, if it did, it wouldn't take it personally that most of them were unused and you simply crapped them out. It makes roughly ten: 4 or 5 enzymes that break the (relatively few types of) bonds between amino acids that make up protein, one enzyme that breaks down sugars, one enzyme that breaks down fat, and a few other more esoteric enzymes. There ARE an additional amount of digestive enzymes in the stomach, small intestine, and colon as well roughly 30 transport proteins that conduct your digested meal from the GI tract to the bloodstream. The fact is, most edible things are overwhelmingly made up out of 4 elements and they can only form so many different types of chemical bonds, so your body doesn't need (or have) thousands of digestive enzymes.
Furthermore, while I have not read "The Biology of Human Starvation," I suspect that it mostly delineates the difference between marasmus and kwashiorkor (the former is a general deficit in caloric intake while the latter refers to a medical condition due to adequate caloric intake but a lack of protein...it is an African word that describes the plight of "primitive" peoples whose diet consists almost exclusively of calorie-rich but protein-deficient starches).
3. "Add ground toasted sesame salt (gomasio) because it is warming." I can't possibly guess what this means, but I'll do my best to describe why this may be remotely true. While digesting different types of nutrients (i.e. sugars, fats, and protein) a certain amount of energy between the bonds holding these nutrients together is lost as heat. Proteins "lose" the most energy during the process of digestion for reasons that I no longer remember and would be too obscure to waste time on here. The upshot of this "lost" energy is that increases body heat...google "the meat sweats" if you don't believe me. Anyway, I suppose sesame seeds are high in protein and could be "warming," though I have no idea how or why it is a good idea to combine sesame seeds and salt.
4. At the risk of sounding condescending, I tolerate amateur nutritionists because they generally eat a really healthy and balanced diet and are of no risks to themselves or others. I'm happy to let them enjoy their obscure foodstuffs and sleep peacefully with the knowledge that their pancreas is not bored. I wrote this mostly to 1) prevent those with less knowledge in this particular field from being intimidated into the cost and inconvenience of searching out the magical "gomasio," 2) indulge my desire to argue, 3) indulge my desire to promote sound science, and, mostly, 4) indulge my desire to hear (see) my own voice (words).
Discuss.
Petr,
You sound as if nutrition is your primary field. Are there any suggestions you could make as to what might be considered "healty" trail food? Not trying to belittle anything you said just wondering if you could offer any alternatives that we might not have considered. I'm always looking for something new to learn.
I don't get it? Why flame me?
This is a subject I know.
I know provisioning. Season Champion Division R Yacht Racing Association.
Mountain Rescue trained, every rescue I have been on has been a live-rescue. I rescue idiots and it is getting "old".
I put up a website, at my own trouble and expense as "preventative" rescue.
I don't accept ads. I don't sell anything.
I probably have more nights outdoors in the wilderness, than anyone in the forum.
I mentioned gomasio as something different to consider. It is tasty. It adds flavor to otherwise bland food. It isn't loading up salt.
I mentioned food variety is important, more important than is common knowledge.
I said POW's in WWII had food, but practically the same food every day and they suffered starvation while having food.
I gave the reference: Biology of Human Starvation: 2 volumes.
In starvation, people lose digestive enzymes and re-nutrition is not at all the simple "eat more food".
If you don't know that, you don't know that.
If I seem "authoritative" maybe it is because I only post in the forum if I have a contribution to the topic. No, I do ask questions.
What's your problem?
If you think you already know everything, or something, then make a contribution to the OP.
drifters quest
12-31-2009, 02:27
I think trying out the trail foods at home is a great idea. I have a bad tendency to eat the same foods day after day just because its simple, cheap (on a college age budget) and easy, and although I don't ever get bored of granola fruit and nut chewys and peanut butter, I think exploring the foods now while I can risk disaster is better than eating the same thing every night on my hike just because I don't want to risk disaster on the trail. I do find with my repetitive eating as well that after a while the food doesn't fill me up like it used to and doesn't seem to make a difference how much of it I eat. I find if I eat variety my hunger is much more satisfied. Hmm.. hope that made sense?
It is fact.
My brother is in Who's Who in America in Biochemistry.
I acquired this knowledge, especially so, starting during college as Special Diet Cook, Children's Orthopedic Hospital, Seattle, WA. Next, Mountain Rescue trained I was a consultant to International Outward Bound. Just one Registered Dietician Professional Nutritional Consultant, I consulted, went on to NIH-National Institute of Health.
The pancreas isn't bored; the pancreas is starved.
drifters quest,
Experienced hikers know what you said is what they experience.
yea, Petr. I especially like what you say about marasmus and kwashiorkor.
Lone Wolf
12-31-2009, 08:42
y'all are complicating something so simple. and eating trail food at home while fat and out of shape ain't gonna be as appealing as eating it 3 weeks into a long distance hike
y'all are complicating something so simple. and eating trail food at home while fat and out of shape ain't gonna be as appealing as eating it 3 weeks into a long distance hike
Agree 100%.
off-pher
12-31-2009, 16:40
WOW that's hardcore! I've always tested a meal before a hike but 30 days WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mweinstone
12-31-2009, 17:07
hi everyone. im god. i made all of you.
and yes, this thread is angering me.
i made good food so you wouldnt have to eat devil rations.
so why must you bring crappy foods up? everything in your foodbag sucks.
you cant cook.
you do not like being told.
if you continue eating hiker foods you will die forever.
welcome, to your food nightmare. we will attack you for fun.
and your dog cant cook either.
Jester2000
12-31-2009, 17:20
hi everyone. im god. i made all of you.
and yes, this thread is angering me.
i made good food so you wouldnt have to eat devil rations.
so why must you bring crappy foods up? everything in your foodbag sucks.
you cant cook.
you do not like being told.
if you continue eating hiker foods you will die forever.
welcome, to your food nightmare. we will attack you for fun.
and your dog cant cook either.
I've been to Matty's place. He eats hiker food year round.
takethisbread
12-31-2009, 18:37
prep for what hike? why eat crap food for 30 days at home? i don't get it
I don't know why a 50 yr old man would want to be an message board troll, but here is my meals today anyway.
Breakfast Bon Appetite Nut Muffin
Weight: 5.5. Oz 600 calories very tasty, but would have a hard time holding up in my pack.
Grade C
Lunch- Knorr Pasta Sides Rotini with Spinach and Broccoli
Weight: 4.9 oz calories 640
Very filling, pretty common hiker food. Good turn weight to calorie. I I didn't care for the flavor. The veggies tasted like chemicals. Grade C+
would not buy again.
Dinner: Lipton Ring-O-Noodle soup
Weight 2.0 oz calories 240
We've all had it. Holy sodium I would buy this on trail in cold especially.
Grade B
Lone Wolf
12-31-2009, 18:48
I don't know why a 50 yr old man would want to be an message board troll, but here is my meals today anyway.
Breakfast Bon Appetite Nut Muffin
Weight: 5.5. Oz 600 calories very tasty, but would have a hard time holding up in my pack.
Grade C
Lunch- Knorr Pasta Sides Rotini with Spinach and Broccoli
Weight: 4.9 oz calories 640
Very filling, pretty common hiker food. Good turn weight to calorie. I I didn't care for the flavor. The veggies tasted like chemicals. Grade C+
would not buy again.
Dinner: Lipton Ring-O-Noodle soup
Weight 2.0 oz calories 240
We've all had it. Holy sodium I would buy this on trail in cold especially.
Grade B
ain't trollin' kid, just askin' a valid question.
Jester2000
12-31-2009, 18:49
Holy cow, that is a caloriffic muffin. That sounds good for a trail breakfast. If inside a ziplock, it wouldn't really matter if it fell apart.
As for lunch, good calories again, I think, but you may fall out of love with the idea of cooking lunch, particularly when it gets warmer (or maybe not. Who knows?)
Dinner needs more calories, definitely. I think you'll also want to give a thought to what else you'll be eating besides the entrees of meals. Even if you don't actually do it at home every day, think about what snacks you'll eat separate from the meals and with the meals. It'll give you an idea of the kind of caloric intake you'll be dealing with, and how much more weight you'll be carrying beyond the meals.
At least you've discovered that you don't like that particular Knorr side.
Biggie Master
12-31-2009, 19:27
hi everyone. im god. i made all of you.
and yes, this thread is angering me.
i made good food so you wouldnt have to eat devil rations.
so why must you bring crappy foods up? everything in your foodbag sucks.
you cant cook.
you do not like being told.
if you continue eating hiker foods you will die forever.
welcome, to your food nightmare. we will attack you for fun.
and your dog cant cook either.
easy on my dog, she's a great cook... excellent post!
A good trail food is good to eat at home.
There are plenty of lightweight foods that taste good and are healthy to eat for long periods.
I "practice" cooking trail foods at home to try to improve my cooking skills.
30 days is a long time but its not a bad idea to test how healthy your intended trail food diet is. Its good to avoid provisioning mistakes at home when you can just grab something else when your first meal turns out bad.
It is great you are finding out backpacker food.
I trust you know, at home, your level of activity may be sedentary, light activity, or moderate activity, but strenuous activity outdoors will demand more, much more, quantity and quality.
If I were starting out, again, with what I have learned I would look for the "add-on's" you can carry you are going to "add on" to the entree.
I suggested a number of "add on's".
Find out what "add-on's" you come up with.
takethisbread
01-01-2010, 07:43
Yes I know but it was new years eve and I filledup on beverages:sun
Holy cow, that is a caloriffic muffin. That sounds good for a trail breakfast. If inside a ziplock, it wouldn't really matter if it fell apart.
As for lunch, good calories again, I think, but you may fall out of love with the idea of cooking lunch, particularly when it gets warmer (or maybe not. Who knows?)
Dinner needs more calories, definitely. I think you'll also want to give a thought to what else you'll be eating besides the entrees of meals. Even if you don't actually do it at home every day, think about what snacks you'll eat separate from the meals and with the meals. It'll give you an idea of the kind of caloric intake you'll be dealing with, and how much more weight you'll be carrying beyond the meals.
At least you've discovered that you don't like that particular Knorr side.
sailsman
01-07-2010, 08:18
How about freezer bag cooking - lots of good recipes. freezerbagcooking.com
takethisbread
01-07-2010, 10:37
I am compiling a list of meals, but would rather deliver it at once, it's going well. I'm trying to stick with easily available commercial meals, and pouches available in outfitters.
I will post the results at some point. It has been going well so far.
Favorite meal so far: Seabear wild sockeye salmon in pouch.
I don't get it? Why flame me?
Connie, I don't think he was flaming you. I found both your original post, AND Petr's posts very useful. In fact, I copy/pasted the last paragraph of your post ("Add nuts, nutbutters....") and put it in my "food ideas" text file that I keep on my pc.
I don't think he actually disagreed with anything you said. He just disagreed with your explanation of the science behind it. You obviously know what works for you, and for other people. Maybe your explanation of the specific scientific reasoning for it isn't 100% accurate, but I don't think Petr disagreed with any of the advice you gave.
You write that variety is important, and it is. Petr wrote, "While it'd bore the hell out of you, you could eat the same exact balanced diet your entire life and be just fine." While this is probably true in theory, we must keep in mind that on the trail it's very difficult to eat a balanced diet. Eating a variety of foods is a good way to ensure that our bodies are getting everything they need (or alternatively you could pre-plan a consistent diet and maildrop for all your meals, not a pleasant thought).
Petr was just clarifying some of the science in your post, and I'm glad he did. I feel like I learned something, from both of you. He could have done it in a less condescending manner, but I guess that's just not his style.