Food grinder

[skeeterfeeder]

Coming from the position of a vegetarian who is trying to figure out the most economical way to cook legumes, rice, etc., to cut down on cook times and save fuel, has anyone ever ground, chopped or otherwise processed food stuffs in field to achieve this? What light weight devices would anyone recommend?

[Pooja Blue]

Soybeans dehydrate and rehydrate pretty well and they're very light when dehydrated.

[ffstenger]

Larger beans would rehydrate faster if "cracked" first. Ground to fine would give you mush. When I'm gonna have beans, I put them in my Nalgene bottle with water at lunch time, or at an earlier break so by the time I'm ready to cook supper they are ready. Also smaller beans and things like lentels work well.
Showme

[Pooja Blue]

There's always hummus, too.

[TrailDawg]

When you think dehydrate, think MEALS!

I would cook whole grain rice (not 5-minute bleached and processed rice) in my crock pot and season it with spices and veggies like I was going to eat it for dinner that night. When fully cooked (not over cooked) I would dehydrate it, portion the meal out by using a kitchen scale, then individually bag the meal in a sandwich bag. On the trail, I would soak the rice for several hours in a zip-lock freezer bag and eat it cold. In fact, I didn't need a stove or fuel the last 1000 miles.

I did not dehydrate beans. First, there are several organic websites that provide dehydrated beans for a reasonable price that are much tastier than I can or would have made. Second, beans cause stinky bowel gas!

Hummus, IMHO, is one of the best all around trail foods. It's easy, tastes good, provides dense nutrition, and can be used or added to virtually any meal.

Email me if you need more suggestions.

TrailDawg

[weary]

There's always hummus, too.
Split dried peas soaked all day, cook up fairly quickly -- at least compared with beans -- and have about the same nutritional value. Hummus is just pureed chick peas mixed with oil and spices, i.e. "mush" similar to doing the same with dried beans.

My basic trail meal is pasta and rice, either separately or together, flavored with bouillon, salt, pepper and a dash of dried basil. For variety I sometimes add a can of tuna, some chipped beef, soup mix, powdered milk, whatever.

An especially good combination is elbow macaroni and quick-cooking brown rice, since both take but 10 minutes. An added advantage to my concoctions is that the basic ingredients are inespensive. Generic rice and pasta can be purchased for 50 to 90 cents a pound, sometimes less. Lipton dinners cost at least five times more. Freeze-dried stuff 10 times more.

Weary

[TrailDawg]

Split dried peas soaked all day, cook up fairly quickly -- at least compared with beans -- and have about the same nutritional value. Hummus is just pureed chick peas mixed with oil and spices, i.e. "mush" similar to doing the same with dried beans.

My basic trail meal is pasta and rice, either separately or together, flavored with bouillon, salt, pepper and a dash of dried basil. For variety I sometimes add a can of tuna, some chipped beef, soup mix, powdered milk, whatever.

An especially good combination is elbow macaroni and quick-cooking brown rice, since both take but 10 minutes. An added advantage to my concoctions is that the basic ingredients are inespensive. Generic rice and pasta can be purchased for 50 to 90 cents a pound, sometimes less. Lipton dinners cost at least five times more. Freeze-dried stuff 10 times more.

Weary
I'd be Weary, Weary...you get what you pay for and cheap is not always better. Many of the ingredients you listed are empty calories, merely something solid to fill the void in your stomach. I know my body would hate me if I fed it the ingredients you listed, no offense.

Don't think Calories, think dense nutrition and energy. Just my take and I could be wrong.

Good Luck!

[TrailDawg]

Actually, I'd be alright with the split peas and hummus.

[weary]

I'd be Weary, Weary...you get what you pay for and cheap is not always better. Many of the ingredients you listed are empty calories, merely something solid to fill the void in your stomach. I know my body would hate me if I fed it the ingredients you listed, no offense. Don't think Calories, think dense nutrition and energy. !
Calories by definition are energy. They are what gets one from Springer to Katahdin. What I listed is essentially what most thru hikers (and incidentally, most of the world's population) eat. Thru hikers just buy it in slightly more convenient forms. Rice, pasta, dried peas (add oil and think hummus), oatmeal, ramen noodles, and the like all supply about 1,700 calories per pound, i.e. dense nutrition and energy.

What is missing from my concoctions are many vitamins. Some hikers take multivitamin pills to provide these. I didn't though I've often thought about doing so. I guess town stops at steak, pizza and salad bars managed to adequately fill the emptiness.

Weary

[rickb]

Weary, You could add some lentils to that dish to get some protien:

http://www.gourmed.gr/recipes/egyptian/show.asp?gid=1&nodeid=23&arid=7144

[TrailDawg]

We all do it our own ways! That's what great about the trail and life. Thanks.

[skeeterfeeder]

Thanks for the responses. I'm trying to prepare options when food sources are limited in resupply centers. (I am not going to do maildrops.) Any and all ideas are welcome.