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JoshAuerbach
05-18-2012, 12:25
Just wondering what some of you have done to try to eat a little healthier while on the trail? I know I'm going to be at the whim of the stores as I go but I'm going to take Spirulina and Chlorella tablets with me to make sure I get all the vitamins and plant energy that I need. Does anyone take any supplements or have any suggestions on what to buy at stores that isn't as bad?

max patch
05-18-2012, 12:35
I take a multivitamin. Females should consider additional calcium.

As far as eating healthier, I've added tuna in the foil packs and protein powder to what I used to eat back in the day.

WIAPilot
05-18-2012, 13:09
From what I've read, it was Snickers and Pizza all the way...

JoshAuerbach
05-18-2012, 13:30
Exactly what I'm trying to avoid haha I know you can burn all of the calories off but having that much unnatural sugar in my diet isn't something I want to do. I try not to eat any at all which is difficult even with the selection of food at a few different stores and markets around where I live, so I know it's going to be very difficult to try to avoid it.

Odd Man Out
05-18-2012, 13:52
But sugar IS natural.

JoshAuerbach
05-18-2012, 14:09
Natural sugar only comes from fruit. Sugar cane sugar is processed and anything else is man made.

JoshAuerbach
05-18-2012, 14:11
It seems like it's just going to have to be something I make decisions about as I go from store to store and restaurants. I will most likely have to sacrifice a certain level of food critique in this situation unless I want to do all mail drops (which I don't!).

turtle fast
05-18-2012, 14:22
Your caloric requirements will skyrocket apart from your daily home life (unless you are a professional bodybuilder or marathon runner). Eating calorie dense foods will be the norm...your pastas with cheese, or a greasy burger is the calories your body needs as fuel to hike...yes its fats and oils here. Thats why you hear of people dunking cookies in butter, or eating 3 BigMacs at a sitting, or the constant chatter of AYCE dining places is due to caloric deficits you will begin to run and your body telling you...HEY more fuel please! I do suggest as others have to take a multivitamin to supplement needed vitamins and probably no a bad thing too to get a good one with 100 percent of calcium, and glucosimine and condroiten for joints.

leaftye
05-18-2012, 14:43
I mail drop all of my trail food. Most of it is a powdered drink that I came up with. It doesn't have any simple sugars. It doesn't even have maltodextrin, which is a complex sugar, but acts like a simple sugar. That means it has a very low glycemic index that still results in a low glycemic load even with the huge quantities that I consume on long hikes. That's important if you have type II diabetes or hope to avoid getting it. It also keeps my energy levels balanced instead of spiking and dipping like it would with simple sugars.

The rest of my food is trail mix, which admittedly have a higher glycemic index, but is still as good or better than most of the food hikers eat. I'd like to do better, but I find that I can eat this, and bringing food that I'm willing to eat is a very important factor. The healthiest food is worthless or worse if I can't force myself to eat enough of it.

I'd like to analyze my food further to check the quantities of amino acids, minerals and vitamins. For those that I'm deficient in, I'd then research how often those need to be consumed and if the body stores excess. That would tell me if I need to supplement my daily diet, or if and how I should eat in trail towns to make up for the deficit. That's a LOT of work, and is only worth doing with an extremely strict and restricted diet as it would take far too long to compile and use all that data for a diverse diet. I used to have a web page that I made that did half of this, but I lost it many years ago. I'll recreate it someday, maybe sooner if others are interested and can settle for a smaller database of foods or do the research to add new foods to the database.

I take the same vitamins I take at home, except D...the sun provides enough of that.

garlic08
05-18-2012, 15:00
Good question. The staples in my trail diet are rolled oats (good) and tortillas (not so good). I try to eat as much unprocessed whole food as I can find in stores on the way. I didn't do any food drops on the AT. Muesli, made with oats, tree nuts, and raisins is all real food. Cheese and peanut butter are somewhat processed, but still real food. Most snacks are cashews and more dried fruit, real food. Fig Newtons are partly processed, partly good stuff. I carry one fresh piece of fruit or veg for every day, if just a stick of celery or carrot. I like to kid myself that's providing some nutrition, but I guess it's better than going negative. The junk food items I buy are Wheat Thins, the occasional Little Debbie brownies or Poptarts, and usually the first thing I buy in town is a pint of Ben & Jerry's. Well, OK, sometimes two. I often spend more money in restaurants on salads than on greasy entrees, but also indulge in fat-laden AYCE buffets when possible. On my AT hike, I started in good shape, lost a few pounds in the southern mountains, gained it back again in the mid-Atlantic (the "deli-a-day tour"), and lost it again in New England for a net loss of just a couple of pounds, so I got enough calories. I never take supplements, and spend that money on good food.

Odd Man Out
05-18-2012, 17:11
Natural sugar only comes from fruit. Sugar cane sugar is processed and anything else is man made.

Some artificial sweeteners are man made, but they are not sugars (except sucralose/Splenda which is a chlorinated sucrose -yuk!). Sugar is naturally found in lots of foods (fruits, vegetables, honey, etc...). By processed do you mean chemically altered or just purified. Sucrose is purified from a variety of sources (sugar beets, sugar cane, maple tree sap), but is not chemically altered. Other sugars (malt, corn sugar, high fructose corn syrup) may be processed in that they are chemical modified from natural substances , but the resulting products chemically identical to the sugars that occur naturally in fruits and vegetables. Beer is made by chemically altering one of these "processed" sugars. I don't know of any foods containing sugars that are completely synthetic.

BTW, I think eating less sugar is a great idea. I just don't think it is accurate to call sugar "unnatural" or "man made".

Rasty
05-18-2012, 17:44
Natural sugar only comes from fruit. Sugar cane sugar is processed and anything else is man made.

Some artificial sweeteners are man made, but they are not sugars (except sucralose/Splenda which is a chlorinated sucrose -yuk!). Sugar is naturally found in lots of foods (fruits, vegetables, honey, etc...). By processed do you mean chemically altered or just purified. Sucrose is purified from a variety of sources (sugar beets, sugar cane, maple tree sap), but is not chemically altered. Other sugars (malt, corn sugar, high fructose corn syrup) may be processed in that they are chemical modified from natural substances , but the resulting products chemically identical to the sugars that occur naturally in fruits and vegetables. Beer is made by chemically altering one of these "processed" sugars. I don't know of any foods containing sugars that are completely synthetic.

BTW, I think eating less sugar is a great idea. I just don't think it is accurate to call sugar "unnatural" or "man made".

The granulated sugar is as natural as any fruit in a store. Both have had a scientist alter the product. Sucrose dextrose lactose fructose are just sugar from a different source.

garlic08
05-18-2012, 17:45
My own take on processed sugar is not that it's bad for you, just that there's nothing in there that's good for you. Much of the good stuff, as in processed white flour or white rice, has been removed. Sugar tastes good but in my opinion, it's not a good trail food choice. Fats, as in nuts and cheese, have twice the calorie density of sugar, have some nutritional goodness, and taste pretty good too.

Odd Man Out
05-18-2012, 23:07
My own take on processed sugar is not that it's bad for you, just that there's nothing in there that's good for you. Much of the good stuff, as in processed white flour or white rice, has been removed. Sugar tastes good but in my opinion, it's not a good trail food choice. Fats, as in nuts and cheese, have twice the calorie density of sugar, have some nutritional goodness, and taste pretty good too.

I agree completely. Fat also gets a bad rap, but when hiking you need energy and fat is the best way to get it. But you can't live on fat alone. You must have sugar too (in one form or another), or something can can be made into sugar (protein), as fat can not be made into sugar (much). I just don't like it when one food gets all the attention (as being either the source or the solution to all nutrition problems). There is not magic bullet. Just eat a little of everything and not too much of anything. Like my favorite trail breakfast: Quick oats with a spoonful each of powdered milk, butter, and maple syrup (or brown sugar), along with a dash of salt and cinnamon. Add boiling water to your favorite consistency and eat.

Rasty
05-19-2012, 00:12
My own take on processed sugar is not that it's bad for you, just that there's nothing in there that's good for you. Much of the good stuff, as in processed white flour or white rice, has been removed. Sugar tastes good but in my opinion, it's not a good trail food choice. Fats, as in nuts and cheese, have twice the calorie density of sugar, have some nutritional goodness, and taste pretty good too.

I agree completely. Fat also gets a bad rap, but when hiking you need energy and fat is the best way to get it. But you can't live on fat alone. You must have sugar too (in one form or another), or something can can be made into sugar (protein), as fat can not be made into sugar (much). I just don't like it when one food gets all the attention (as being either the source or the solution to all nutrition problems). There is not magic bullet. Just eat a little of everything and not too much of anything. Like my favorite trail breakfast: Quick oats with a spoonful each of powdered milk, butter, and maple syrup (or brown sugar), along with a dash of salt and cinnamon. Add boiling water to your favorite consistency and eat.

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't your body only burn carbohydrates by converting fat into carbs or burning carbs?

Sarcasm the elf
05-19-2012, 00:34
Just wondering what some of you have done to try to eat a little healthier while on the trail? I know I'm going to be at the whim of the stores as I go but I'm going to take Spirulina and Chlorella tablets with me to make sure I get all the vitamins and plant energy that I need. Does anyone take any supplements or have any suggestions on what to buy at stores that isn't as bad?

Josh, I also eat a fairly healthy diet in real life and have had some issue adapting to trail food on my section hikes. Part of the answer if that you have to let it go and admit that your caloric needs while hiking require you to eat some calorically dense foods that you wouldn't want to touch in real life, I have also found some things that may be helpful:

- Tree nuts are very calorically dense but fit most peoples standard of natural or minimally processed. My usual trail mix includes Cashews, Raw almonds, mixed salted nuts, dried fruit, and M&M's (because I like them) you can play around and find a combination that provides lots of calories from relatively good fats.

- Avoid the store bought dehydrated meals. I am just starting to get into freezer bag cooking and can't give much advise on the subject, but lots of people on this site have lots of healthy recipies. Some require owning a dehydrator, and some just require carefully looking around supermarkets for food that is healthier, lightweight and doesn't require much cook time.

- For breakfast try making zip lock bags of a decent breakfast cereal plus the appropriate amount of powdered milk beforehand. In the morning just add the right amount of water, seal the bag and shake. Much better than pop-tarts or snickers bars.

- (This one will depend on your tolerance to extra pack weight) On my sections, I have found that I am near a town every 4-5 days on average. I personally am happy to add 3-4lbs of fresh fruits or vegetables to my pack and eat them in the first day or two out of town. There's lots of talk on this site about lowering pack weight, but I've hiked out of towns carrying apples, oranges, bananas, cucumbers, etc. and personally I think they're well worth the extra weight. As an added bonus, doing this keeps your fiber intake up and keeps you regular, which I find is a frequent problem when adapting to less healthy trail foods.

- Similar to the above, a jar of real peanut butter (not that hydrogenated crap) can provide a lot of calories and an amazing amount of options. There are a lot of us who are known to go through a whole jar of peanut butter in a week while hiking.

Finally, I thought I'd mention a personal preference, I love oatmeal in real life, but I hate it on the trail. I'm not sure why, but I just don't find it appetizing after a 15 mile day. I still eat plenty of oats while hiking, but in granola or granola bar form.

Hope this helps and have fun!

heavyfoot
05-19-2012, 02:33
I mail drop all of my trail food. Most of it is a powdered drink that I came up with. It doesn't have any simple sugars. It doesn't even have maltodextrin, which is a complex sugar, but acts like a simple sugar. That means it has a very low glycemic index that still results in a low glycemic load even with the huge quantities that I consume on long hikes.

Would you like to share what it is? It sounds good.

JoshAuerbach
05-19-2012, 11:02
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

All this talk about sugar not being bad for you makes me lol even too much sugar from fruit can be bad for you. That being said. High fructose corn sugar is absolutely not identical. It has zero nutritional value. It's technically a poison as it will kill you quicker if you ate only that if you were starving.

JoshAuerbach
05-19-2012, 11:04
I really recommend taking the time to watch that video presentation above. It changed the way I look at nutrition.

oldbear
05-19-2012, 11:19
Unfortunately this thread has devolved into a good sugar v bad sugar rant and everything that I read about the thru-hikers long march to malnutrition points to the absence of fruits and vegetables and other wholesome foods in their diets as the main culprit for that .

MuddyWaters
05-19-2012, 11:33
"plant energy" ???

Eat a varied diet in towns including some fruits and veggies and you have nothing to worry about.

Odd Man Out
05-19-2012, 13:26
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't your body only burn carbohydrates by converting fat into carbs or burning carbs?

I have been teaching biochemistry at a University for 26 years and we cover this in every class. Students are always very interested as it has obvious implications for human health and nutrition. Here's how it works.

There are three macronutrients in your diet: sugars/complex carbohydrates, amino acids/proteins, and fatty acids/fats. In each case there is a small molecule (sugar, amino acid, fatty acid) that is put together to make bigger molecules (carbohydrate, protein, fat). When you eat food, the big molecules are digested to their smaller building blocks to enter metabolism, so for these purposes, it isn't necessary to distinguish between fats and fatty acids, sugars and carbohydrates, or amino acids and proteins.

You need these molecules to make you body (making stuff we call anabolism). You also break down these molecules to give you energy (catabolism). You need energy to do stuff (hike, keep warm, etc..) as well as to support anabolism (it takes energy to make things). It is often said that fats have twice as many calories (energy) as carbs and protein. This is because the catabolism of fat generates about twice as much useful energy as the catabolism of carbs and proteins (per gram dry weight).

Even though fats are really good at generating energy by catabolism to carbon dioxide, this is the only thing they can do. YOU CAN'T USE FATS TO MAKE CARBS OR PROTEINS (with minor exceptions). However, your body must always have a normal amount of glucose in the blood, otherwise you get hypoglycemic and your brain shuts down. You store some sugar in your body in the form of liver glycogen to keep your blood glucose level constant. But if that gets depleted, and if you don't eat enough carbs/sugar, you have to make glucose. However if you aren't eating carbs and since fats can't make carbs, the only thing you have to make glucose from is protein. However, we don't store a lot of proteins just for food (like we do with glycogen and fat), so your only choice is to use the protein from your muscles to make sugar.

Converting amino acids to sugars is very inefficient so you need extra energy to do it. It turns out you can't live on a 100% protein diet because the catabolism of protein does not provide enough energy to support the anabolism of sugar from the protein. You also can't live on a 100% fat diet because you can not convert fat to sugar, even with all the energy you get form the fat. You can almost live on 100% carbs, except for the fact that a few fats and half of your amino acids can not be made and have to come from your diet (these are the "essential" fatty acids and amino acids).

So the bottom line is that muscle catabolism is a symptom of not eating enough carbs. Energy depletion means you need more fat (or carbs). Eating a balanced diet should give you the essential amino acids and fatty acids you need.

PS - Jesus was a good biochemist. When he said "Man does not live by bread alone", he was of course speaking metaphorically, but the irony of the statement only has impact because bread is, in fact, one food you can live on.

Rasty
05-19-2012, 15:09
I think that carrot cake would almost be the perfect food. It has vegetables, nuts, fruit, flour, dairy, sugar, butter. I wonder how long one could survive on a carrot cake menu?

rocketsocks
05-19-2012, 17:44
I once had a weekend trip where all I took were a bakers dozen Bagels....everything flavored,love that salt.

JoshAuerbach
05-20-2012, 18:38
plant energy as in the highest levels of chlorophyll in any other plant, it is the highest source of energy known to man! totally better than any multi-vitamin though I may take both

JoshAuerbach
05-20-2012, 19:08
I actually got some good info from this so thanks everyone! Learned a lot from Odd Man Out's post for sure.

fredmugs
05-20-2012, 19:54
I just started making my own protein bars. You can also make your own trail mix and you can dehydrate foods.

fiddlehead
05-20-2012, 20:07
A few things that you can do to eat healthier on the trail:
First of all, get yourself a dehydrator.
Dry your own: Bananas, Peaches (try to get tree ripened ones), broccoli and plum tomatoes.
I also carry and eat a lot of powdered coconut cream. And turmeric based curry powder.
And I often leave town with one bulb of fresh garlic.

To Josh: Just try something: If you are going to thru-hike, put one snickers bar in your pack and see if you can make it to the next town without eating it.
Not many can. When you are hiking 10 hours a day, you'll be surprised at what your body will crave.
You can eat a lot and variety isn't a bad thing.

rocketsocks
05-20-2012, 20:32
A few things that you can do to eat healthier on the trail:
First of all, get yourself a dehydrator.
Dry your own: Bananas, Peaches (try to get tree ripened ones), broccoli and plum tomatoes.
I also carry and eat a lot of powdered coconut cream. And turmeric based curry powder.
And I often leave town with one bulb of fresh garlic.

To Josh: Just try something: If you are going to thru-hike, put one snickers bar in your pack and see if you can make it to the next town without eating it.
Not many can. When you are hiking 10 hours a day, you'll be surprised at what your body will crave.
You can eat a lot and variety isn't a bad thing.Fiddlehead, you bring an interesting point,and that is that at times,my body "Craves".Interesting how it knows what it wants,salt,carbs,fats.....ect..

T-Dubs
05-20-2012, 20:36
But sugar IS natural.

The thing to avoid is fructose, as mentioned above. The trend now is to eat more of a 'safe starch' as in potatoes, yams, other root vegetables and rice.
--safe is a reference to less 'toxic' as in the problems some people have with grains and legumes.--




(http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2012/02/is-sugar-fattening.html)

Odd Man Out
05-20-2012, 21:27
plant energy as in the highest levels of chlorophyll in any other plant, it is the highest source of energy known to man! totally better than any multi-vitamin though I may take both

Huh??? Sorry, chlorophyll is not a source of energy. You can eat all the broccoli you want, but you won't become photosynthetic when you stand in the sun. Calorie (energy) content has nothing to do with its origin (animal, vegetable, fungus, etc...). Please don't listen to marketers. Take for example those "energy shots" that give you energy all day, yet the label boasts that they have no calories (energy). Ug.

JoshAuerbach
05-20-2012, 22:29
You misunderstood. It having the highest level of chlorophyll and the highest (most concentrated) level energy were two separate points. And I'm not listening to marketers I'm listening to years of scientific and nutritional research. Would do you some good to research it yourself before assuming I'm buying into a false hype.

"It is an attractive potential food source because it is high in protein (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein) and other essential nutrients; when dried, it is about 45% protein (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein), 20% fat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat), 20% carbohydrate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate), 5% fibre, and 10% minerals and vitamins (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin). Mass-production methods are now being used to cultivate it in large artificial circular ponds. It is also abundant in calories, fat, and vitamins.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorella#cite_note-belasco-2)"

JoshAuerbach
05-20-2012, 22:32
Foods containing high levels of chlorophyll are Chlorella and Spirulina. These foods also offer high levels of other micronutrients. Spirulina is extremely high in protein as well as essential fatty acids, vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, B12, C, D and E and minerals such as calcium, potassium, iron and zinc. Spirulina helps with muscle building, weight loss and as treatment for certain types of cancer. Chlorella is rich in many of the same nutrients, yet chlorella also acts as an antioxidant. Chlorella is one of the highest forms of chlorophyll and has been used to prevent cancer. Chlorella is also used to purify the body and restore nerve damage in the brain.

scree
05-20-2012, 22:52
A tip for breakfast / lunch: Real corn grits instead of instant oatmeal or cereal. It'll cut back on some of the sodium (arguably necessary if its hot out) and sugar and still provide you with solid carbs for the day. I used to make instant grits until I found out about Bob's Red Mill and learned, through experimentation, that it's tastier and doesn't take much longer to make than instant.

I buy 4-packs - http://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-Polenta-Packages/dp/B002NM1UYS/ . It goes a long way and it seems healthier than any other instant / prepackaged breakfast option, especially if you're supposed to stay gluten-free.

Prep time from stove ignition to done can be as little as 12-15 minutes (~8-10 minutes to a boil on a Trangia plus 5 minutes cook time) despite it being real grits. Once it's done, it'll cool off relatively solid and moist and can be left in the pot for later. I guess at that point you could call it Polenta.. at any rate, it was good enough for the Roman Legions and it's good enough for me.

As for the taste, I personally like my grits plain, but you can doctor it up with salt, maple syrup, butter, sugar, etc.. Tastes a lot like corn, which shouldn't be much of a surprise, and really fuels me up for the day.

SunnyWalker
05-20-2012, 23:07
Josh: if you are really serious about eating well then you will have to consider sending mail drops ahead of you (having someone at "home" send them). This way you can select good foods etc., and have them. One good thing I picked from a journal, bring a little small bottle of Olive Oil and put a few drops on most anything. Helps get in fats, etc. One can purchase small bottles at any Dollar type store.

SunnyWalker
05-20-2012, 23:16
Josh: I suppose there are a lot of protein drinks out there. Howeber, the Neolife products have a great mix-up protein drink and it contains all the amino acids that are required. You mix it with milk and so you would need to carry powdered milk I suppose. I used it for years at home and really enjoyed the taste. There are different flavors.

Pedaling Fool
05-21-2012, 09:15
I use to buy a lot of veggies for my salads, now I just pick weeds in my yard and add to my salad/soup. One of the best weeds I have are PURSLANE (http://www.helium.com/items/1342019-health-benefits-of-purslane) and DOLLARWEED (http://www.eattheweeds.com/a-pennywort-for-your-thoughts-2/) (or pennywort), but there are many more...

sbhikes
05-21-2012, 14:32
Coconut manna! It's delicious, high in fat, has carbs too. Can be made into a curry for dinner or melted with chocolate for a dessert or added to oatmeal to beef up the staying power. Lots of possibilities. Lots of calories! You'll have to do maildrops though. It's not easy to find in stores.

Odd Man Out
05-21-2012, 16:37
You misunderstood. It having the highest level of chlorophyll and the highest (most concentrated) level energy were two separate points. And I'm not listening to marketers I'm listening to years of scientific and nutritional research. Would do you some good to research it yourself before assuming I'm buying into a false hype.

"It is an attractive potential food source because it is high in protein (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein) and other essential nutrients; when dried, it is about 45% protein (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein), 20% fat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat), 20% carbohydrate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate), 5% fibre, and 10% minerals and vitamins (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin). Mass-production methods are now being used to cultivate it in large artificial circular ponds. It is also abundant in calories, fat, and vitamins.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorella#cite_note-belasco-2)"

Sorry if I misunderstood. But there is a problem with what you are claiming. Something with the protein, fat, carbs, fiber, and minerals/vitamin content you list can't possibly have the "highest (most concentrated) level energy". The most concentrated source of Calories possible is pure fat/oil, which has the most number of Calories (by weight or by volume) of any food. Anything that is less than 100% fat will have fewer Calories ("energy"). Fiber and minerals have zero Calories and protein and carbs have half the Calories of fat. So this mix you cite would have about about half the Calories (by weight) of fat. Taken as a nutritional supplement, it is not contributing significant amounts of Calories to your diet.

I have no doubt that chlorophyll is a good antioxidant and has lots of benefits for that reason. And as a source of other micronutrients (vitamins, minerals), it is good too. I also agree that a typical long-distance hiker diet could benefit from these (you could pack some spinach, but imagine what that would smell like after a couple of days in the food bag!). But when hiking, you need a couple of pounds of macronutrients a day. Typical Spirulina doses are a couple of grams a day. Thus it won't be contributing significantly to your macronutrient needs as you have repeatedly claimed in your posts.

Finally, I do read the scientific literature (it's my job), and you will not find there phrases such as "plant energy", "energy level", and "purify the body". Continued use of these also does not foster credibility.

As for "weight loss", the answer is exercise more and eat less.
As for "muscle building", the answer is weight training.
These do NOT come from dietary supplements.

oldbear
05-21-2012, 17:43
Josh
If you're really considering eat well then you make the small sacrifice in weight and use two burners : one for boiling and one for simmering.
Oh yeah Baby
Eating food that's good for my body and good for my brain

rocketsocks
05-21-2012, 18:18
I use to buy a lot of veggies for my salads, now I just pick weeds in my yard and add to my salad/soup. One of the best weeds I have are PURSLANE (http://www.helium.com/items/1342019-health-benefits-of-purslane) and DOLLARWEED (http://www.eattheweeds.com/a-pennywort-for-your-thoughts-2/) (or pennywort), but there are many more...That's very interesting john,I had a neighbor who use to make dandy lion wine,seemed as though he was cultivating them,use to drive all the neighbors nuts when they went to seed.

fiddlehead
05-21-2012, 20:38
Coconut manna! It's delicious, high in fat, has carbs too. Can be made into a curry for dinner or melted with chocolate for a dessert or added to oatmeal to beef up the staying power. Lots of possibilities. Lots of calories! You'll have to do maildrops though. It's not easy to find in stores.

Since I live near lots of coconut palms and have discovered their benefits, I had to look this up.
My wife's family grinds up the inside of the coconut and then presses it to get the coconut cream.
I buy it dried for backpacking and find it in most all Asian grocery stores.
Look for foil or white packs of the powder near the canned coconuts in these stores.
Great with tumeric based curry powders or, like you say, great for a dessert too.

Wise Old Owl
05-21-2012, 20:45
But sugar IS natural.nope it has a process.... Honey is natural - Guano is natural - fertilizer is ****e.

Pedaling Fool
05-22-2012, 12:09
That's very interesting john,I had a neighbor who use to make dandy lion wine,seemed as though he was cultivating them,use to drive all the neighbors nuts when they went to seed.
Well, if them neighbors are the type that water their lawn with a sprinkler on a timer that even waters during a rainstorm, than I say, fuc 'em:)

rocketsocks
05-22-2012, 18:15
Well, if them neighbors are the type that water their lawn with a sprinkler on a timer that even waters during a rainstorm, than I say, fuc 'em:)Yes that is a very strange thing to see watering a lawn when it's raining out.But no I don't water my lawn.Last summer I did not have to cut the grass for like 6 weeks,the grass turned all brown but when Sept. came it greened right back up.