View Full Version : Gluten-Free Backpacking?
jburgasser
06-08-2011, 11:14
I have celiac disease which means I can not eat foods with any sort of wheat, barley, malt, or oats because of Gluten found in those grains. I have been able to find a store online that sells the "Mountain House" style of pre-packaged meals that are certified gluten-free but I would like to move away from that type of dinner if poosible. Any gluten-free hikers out there?
Thanks!
JB
I met a gluten-free thru hiker a few years ago. His trail name? The Breadless Horseman. I'm sure he could help you out.
Blissful
06-08-2011, 13:01
saw this online. Don't know if it will help. This is the hiker's blog
http://gmjhiker.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html
instant mashed potatoes are money in the bank. i'm not allergic, so i'm not sure of many other dinner items to eat, but potatoes are safe. there are 2 mountain house meals that are supposed to be put on wraps but are great out of the bag. buffalo chicken and a bbq beef. both have a ton of protein as well.
Blissful
06-08-2011, 13:04
Also this
http://www.glutenfreeforgood.com/blog/tag/hiking
Terraducky
06-08-2011, 14:59
Well, lemme tell ya...my husband is also celiac and we section hike with no problem. I have converted many recipes easily to GF for the past 15 years. When you get used to cooking your own food from fresh, simple ingredients GF is no big deal.
There are some GF bars out there- Lara Bars are excellent. And GORP is easy, of course (YOUR GORP, not someone elses! We dont trust anyones food, sadly, but celiacs get used to this!). There are some Cup-A-Soups that are GF, or you can take rice noodles and GF dried broth, dried veggies,etc to make a nice snack
The Meals-In-A-Bag are limiting, needless to say, althought there are a few out there that are acceptable and make it a little easier to pack the food bag. Decided to make our own stuff when the ready made stuff lost it's charm so I bought a food dehydrator. Anything I make for dinner (practically) can go on a dehydrator tray and bagged for a hike. I dry chili, spaghetti and (GF) noodles, rice and meat casseroles...I even dried out a tray of Lebonese Lamb and Rice that I get every year from a local jazz festival! OMG- was that good (we had it last week!).
The spuds idea is a good one- here's my recipe:
3/4 cup instant mashed potatoes
1/2 cup freeze-dried eggs (a little protein is a good thing!)
1 TBL dried milk
salt, pepper,bacon bits,etc.
Throw in a zip bag and rehydrate with some boiling water. Mush it around till it makes an appetizing consistancy. *Start out a little water and add more till you get it where you like it
If you want to hear more let me know...I can scan and send some more recipes!
Daydream Believer
06-08-2011, 17:48
I'm gluten free...grain and dairy free also. I find my autoimmune issues disappear if I avoid all grains and all dairy and I easily maintain a good weight. Not easy but it's doable and worth it in how much better I feel.
I try to stick to potatoes also for starch or sweet potatoes. I bought a lot of the dehydrated gluten free hiking meals in the past but will be carrying more fresh foods as well as dehydrated foods and doing more cooking. Right now I only section hike. If I ever did a through hike...and I hope to one day...it will not be easy for resupply at all.
I will check out those blogs and hope to get some more ideas!
I'm also gluten free. On our last section hike, I made alot of my own freezer bag meals from Sarbar's Freezer Bag Cooking book. This helped quite a bit as my hubby likes the Mountain House meals but I'd rather make my own. Not too hard, just takes a little planning and preparation.
Daydream Believer
06-08-2011, 17:54
I wanted to add a book recommendation for anyone with gluten issues. "The Gluten Free Almond Flour cookbook." All I can say is wow...the recipes are incredible and super easy to do. I've made Zucchini bread, sandwich bread and chocolate cookies and I'll never monkey around with gluten free grains again. Almond flour is way easier and more nutritious. They are way better than the pre-made gluten free stuff and no preservatives and garbage in it.
I did substitute raw honey for the Agave Nectar (which is like high fructose corn syrup in how it's metabolized) and use Olive oil instead of grapeseed oil since the later is very high in Omega Six fatty acids.
I cannot see why one could not cook up some almond snack products for a section hike either.
Just to note though, I did skip the couscous recipes and stuck with the rice based ones. everything I had was great! Look at some of the Thai food ready made meals at the grocery store. I've done some of those as a freezer bag meal.
If you all haven't seen it Lunderberg Farms makes a brown rice "couscous" which yes, does need to be cooked but you can precook and dehydrate it. Ta-da!
karoberts
06-08-2011, 19:44
I have celiac sprue. Plus I am a strict vegetarian and intolerant of dairy (as many people with celiac are). Although I can have about one serving of dairy a day.
Not to offend, but I think using Mountain House meals is just silly. I have no problem with having a full array of foods without relying on those expensive prefab meals. Here are a few of my choice meals and snacks, but I have many more than this.
Primal strips - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B7NO3Q
Fantastic refried beans (they also make other GF foods) - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GZSCW2
Envirokidz - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001HTGAQQ
Peanut butter - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LKTUOG
Risotto - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000G7X0OK
Oatmeal - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002AUF0Q2
Mac and Cheese - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CQ01NS
Thai Kitchen (many options) - http://www.amazon.com/Thai-Kitchen-Peanut-Noodles-5-5-Ounce/dp/B000GZW9RQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1307576530&sr=8-2
Terraducky
06-08-2011, 20:07
I agree,karoberts- there is a world of food out there besides Mountain House. Someone with gluten, or other dietary concerns has to be prepared to read labels and do some research.
We never worry about starving on the trail! I find loads of options in the "natural food" and international sections of my grocery store.
Thru hikers can eat pretty good if they plan their mail-drops accordingly. Might not satisfy the quick pizza fix in those small towns.... however there are pizza shells that are packaged for a lengthy shelf life so I bet you could improvise out in the woods!
Cookerhiker
06-08-2011, 20:47
During my many AT section hikes in '05 (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=103302), I met a long-distance hiker named Shadow. Very fit and affable middle-aged guy who was celiac. I met him in NY at Telephone Pioneers Shelter. He had hiked Springer-to-Pawling in '04 and was on his first day of resuming his hike to Katahdin. He said the major problem with resupplying was reading all the ingredients on packaged stuff although he had a pretty good idea of what products included gluten. He said he ate a lot of rice & grits.
Unfortunately I don't have a contact for him; I don't think he was on TJ.
Jim Adams
06-09-2011, 00:13
In 2010 Megladon aka "crime scene" thru hiked w/o any problems and he hiked glutin free.
geek
Daydream Believer
06-09-2011, 07:49
I have read many of the prepackaged hiking food bags and they almost all contain gluten in some form or another or they are full of heavily processed soy which I really try to avoid. I haven't found a Mountain House entree meal yet that does not have gluten in it. Some of the organic trail meals do not but they are frighteningly pricey and your average outfitter does not carry them. Not sure I could afford them over that long of a period.
My comment about resupply being harder on a thru hike is if you really can't buy the stuff found in towns easily and have to depend on your own meals that you have made in advance and are resupplying with a bounce box or shipments from home. That could make for some long stretches carrying a heck of a lot of food.
I'm sure you could eat nothing but tuna, rice, instant potatoes for months that you can buy in a local grocery store but I shudder at the nutrition you would not be getting with such a limited fare. Dehydrated fruits can usually be found in most groceries but not often veggies. It's tough. Even beef jerky often has wheat or MSG (another thing I avoid as I am sensitive to) in it.
Even many of the prepackaged potato meals in the grocery have wheat in them. I once stood and read all the Betty Crocker and other boxes in the dried potato area and every single one was contaminated with gluten. I don't suppose it's any surprise more and more gluten sensitivity is being found as your average person eats wheat with every mouthful practically...that is unless you cook for yourself and avoid processed foods.
I'm not gluten free but my father is... try quinoa. It's a grass that's a great replacement for rice, and they even make pasta out of it. It's delicious, and it's really easy to cook... 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water, bring to a boil, and then simmer 15 minutes (and for hikers, simmer until the fuel in your alcohol stove runs out and then let it sit for a bit).
jburgasser
06-09-2011, 08:05
"Not to offend, but I think using Mountain House meals is just silly. I have no problem with having a full array of foods without relying on those expensive prefab meals. Here are a few of my choice meals and snacks, but I have many more than this."
No offense taken! I used to do a ton of hiking with my dad and scouts as a kid, but now have just returned (I did only my 2nd week long section this past May). So the Mountain Hose meals are just an easy thing for me, but they are expensive; and heavy!!
Thanks for the input!
Jb
jburgasser
06-09-2011, 08:22
Well, lemme tell ya...my husband is also celiac and we section hike with no problem. I have converted many recipes easily to GF for the past 15 years. When you get used to cooking your own food from fresh, simple ingredients GF is no big deal.
There are some GF bars out there- Lara Bars are excellent. And GORP is easy, of course (YOUR GORP, not someone elses! We dont trust anyones food, sadly, but celiacs get used to this!). There are some Cup-A-Soups that are GF, or you can take rice noodles and GF dried broth, dried veggies,etc to make a nice snack
The Meals-In-A-Bag are limiting, needless to say, althought there are a few out there that are acceptable and make it a little easier to pack the food bag. Decided to make our own stuff when the ready made stuff lost it's charm so I bought a food dehydrator. Anything I make for dinner (practically) can go on a dehydrator tray and bagged for a hike. I dry chili, spaghetti and (GF) noodles, rice and meat casseroles...I even dried out a tray of Lebonese Lamb and Rice that I get every year from a local jazz festival! OMG- was that good (we had it last week!).
The spuds idea is a good one- here's my recipe:
3/4 cup instant mashed potatoes
1/2 cup freeze-dried eggs (a little protein is a good thing!)
1 TBL dried milk
salt, pepper,bacon bits,etc.
Throw in a zip bag and rehydrate with some boiling water. Mush it around till it makes an appetizing consistancy. *Start out a little water and add more till you get it where you like it
If you want to hear more let me know...I can scan and send some more recipes!
Thanks TerraDucky! Recipes are what I need! I like the idea of moving away from the pre-packaged meals. My local outdoor shop sells Mountain House and all but 1 dinner contain gluten. I did find a store online that sells certified gluten-free pre-packaged meals but that brand as well as Mountain House (and probably all the pre-packaged, just add water brands) are heavy, bulky, and costly.
I don't eat GF exclusively but I can say that my personal diet has much in common - and for health reasons (to control cholesterol/etc)
We eat nearly vegan, many times raw foods. We eat nothing with trans fats, partially hydrogenated oils, HFCS and we now as well eat a lot less wheat. And to add to that our food is lower sodium and free of artificial coloring and flavoring and preservatives. So where am I going with this?
I read EVERYTHING I buy. I can but very little processed foods now. But because I plan out how we eat it isn't much of a bother. So eating GF while hiking? Just think "What do I eat at home?" and then translate that to hiking friendly. It will seem daunting at first but gets easier over the months.
And yes, question commercially prepared foods (anything that screams convenience foods). There is often stuff in there to be scared of.