some real basic food questions for AT hike

[DavidNH]

hey folks,

I have got some very basic food questions. Even at home I make meals simple as possible and this goes double for the trail. And my culinary abilities are therefore fairly elementary.

I am planning on doing principally lipton noodal type dinners. cocoa in eves and breakfast, oatmeal or pop tarts at breakfast. Many of the lipton noodle and sauce recipees call for adding 1/2 or 1 cup milk.On trail this would have to be powedered milk. So how much powdered milk to how much water to make 1 cup of milk (not being too thin or overly thick)? Do most hikers carry powderd milk? If I don't add the mild will the noodle sauce mix not come out right?

other lipton dinners call for adding some oil. If I don't want to carry veg. oil would it not turn out right? can anything subsitute for to subsitute for oil?

Also.. many say add to boiling water and continue boiling for 5-8 minutes. has it worked for you to just add boiling water..shut stove off then let sit for 5 min? that's what I am hopin for.

On the long trail the biggest treat was vermont chedder with the noodles and chedder with anything else..like bagels. Can ya get chedder cheese in the south? ok maybe not vermont chedder but can I get a similar cheese in georgia and NC? I don't want that so called kraft singles cheese..talkin' real cheese here. I love cheese!

No, I have not and don't want to spend time dehyrdtin' stuff. I want minimum prep work. If the job is much beyond add boiling water and stir or stir into boiling water then its pretty much out far as dinner goes.

got any other ideas that I haven't listed here that meet my simplicity requirements (ie one pot, add boiling water and stir)?

I am also a little worried that 3 months in I may get sick of lipton noodles.. and ramen noodles aren't really substantial enough. If that happens..not really sure what the alternative would be. Hopefully, I will get ideas just by observing and talking with other hikers on the trail. Do most hikers usually share about their food likes and dislikes and recipee concotions?


Lastly... I understand that peanut butter is a wonderful lunch time food on trail. But in stores it usually comes in these really big jars..like 1-2 pounds worth. What do hikers do..buy the whole jar of peanut butter? have small containers in mail drop and split it up? how long would a standard full jar of peanut butter last the avg AT hiker? good week or two (not how long is it good for but how long will it take the hiker to eat it all)? Willl I really get so hungry that that whole jar of BP just goes?


David

[Topcat]

http://www.freewebs.com/freezerbagcooking/index.htm

I have found this website extremely useful and the writer is a member here on Whiteblaze. i am sure she can help you.

I do advise carrying olive oil and using it to help flavor and boost calories. Have a great hike

[Doctari]

At 280 calories per OZ, carry olive oil, it's worth it.

But, if you are dead set on not carrying oil, most items that call for it will taste OK. As will items that call for: milk, butter, etc. Even Zatarans cajun chicken & rice is ok without adding chicken. If adding powdered milk, follow the directions on the package, at least at first, then follow your tastes.

If you like Pop Tarts, but find another brand cheaper, TASTE them first. Learn from my lesson, I got a brand that shall remain nameless (the initials are: Quaker Tostables) & they were un-edable, even after the week 2 endless hungries set in.

Many "just add water" things call for 6 cups of water, bring to a boil, simmer for (X) minutes, then drain. A better way is: add 2 parts water per 1 part noodles (or rice). Kraft mac & cheese is 1.5 cups noodles, so add 3 cups water and do not drain.

Peanut butter comes in plastic small(ish) jars here in Cincinnati, & probably elsewhere. As Mark Twain once said: "When the world ends, I want to be in Cincinnati, everything happens 7 years later there" In over 100 years, thing havn't changed, so my guess is, if it's in Cinti, It's everywhere else, 7 years ago. AND: peanut butter will not last that long, ie; you will go thru a 1 to 2 Lb jar in no time once you are on the trail for a few weeks.

PB is also in squeeze tubes, but it's sort of hard to get the last bit out.

I second going to http://www.freewebs.com/freezerbagcooking/index.htm
For more tips.

Cheddar cheese is avalable "everywhere" but as you suggest, it may not be from Vermont. And Kraft singles, may indeed be cheese, but , , , ,

If you are planning on doing total on the trail re-supply, shop with an open mind. Even if doing mail drops, an open mind will allow you to come up with many combinations.

A hint or two for ramen, or whatever: add leftover nuts & stuff. a scoop of peanutbutter reduces the salty taste of ???. Mix some dried fruit together, add 2 x water, heat for a tasty fruit stew (add cayenne pepper to taste). Did you add too much water? add: potato flakes or oatmeal or grits.

Doctari.

[Frosty]

Lipton noodles and other meals come out just fine using only water. If in doubt as to how much water to add, add too much rather than too little. It tastes fine watery and makes pot cleanup and drink-your-dishwater much easier.

If you go with powered milk, mix it with cold water first. Don't dump the powder into boiling water or it will cook rather than reconstitute.

[neo]

http://www.freewebs.com/freezerbagcooking/index.htm

I have found this website extremely useful and the writer is a member here on Whiteblaze. i am sure she can help you.

I do advise carrying olive oil and using it to help flavor and boost calories. Have a great hike

i secound this website also,i am a recent convert to freezer bag cooking
its great neo

[totempole99]

Like Frosty said, Liptons taste just fine using only water. If cooking on my stove at home I replace equal amounts of water for the milk. Unlike Frosty though, I like to cook Liptons with less water...ie. if recipe calls for 1.5 cups water, .5 cup milk, I go with 1.75 cup water. Definately test it out at home before you go to see what works for your tastes and how much water works for different items.

[Ridge]

Like Frosty said, Liptons taste just fine using only water. If cooking on my stove at home I replace equal amounts of water for the milk. Unlike Frosty though, I like to cook Liptons with less water...ie. if recipe calls for 1.5 cups water, .5 cup milk, I go with 1.75 cup water. Definately test it out at home before you go to see what works for your tastes and how much water works for different items.

You can also use powdered milk in some of these quick meals.

[BigToe]

I love peanut butter myself - it comes in squeeze tubes at some of the bigger food chains. Also check out the Enertia brand dehydrated foods, much tastier than the freeze dried stuff.

Have fun!

[Singe03]

I never carried powdered milk and saw alot more in hiker boxes than on the trail.

I ate alot of instant mashed potatos, again, just fine with only water, in fact you barely notice a difference. I also picked up some chicken boullion crystals (not cubes, cubes take too long to dissolve) to add some flavor, hormel has real bacon bits in pouches that keep rather well for a couple of days if you are so inclined. If you do the boullion + bacon + cheese thing in potatos, do not add salt.

On the long trail the biggest treat was vermont chedder with the noodles and chedder with anything else..like bagels. Can ya get chedder cheese in the south? ok maybe not vermont chedder but can I get a similar cheese in georgia and NC? I don't want that so called kraft singles cheese..talkin' real cheese here. I love cheese!

I pick up extra sharp Vermot Cabot all the time at Walmart in Texas, if you can get to a Walmart (about as common in the south as Starbucks in San Diego) you should be able to find good stuff. Chedder is common and easy to get down here, most grocery stores will at least have Cracker Barrel.

got any other ideas that I haven't listed here that meet my simplicity requirements (ie one pot, add boiling water and stir)?

Here is a pretty simple winner of a trail meal to break the Ramen / Lipton / Mac and Cheese cycle. No boiling required, just a little work with your pot and stove to avoid scorching.

Take a tortilla, line it with cheese (sharper the better IMO but YMMV) and throw on a good handfull of pepperoni, add anything else you want, fold it over then heat it in just a little olive oil (really just a coating) in your pan until it browns just a bit and the inside is nice and gooey. Eat it with a packet of taco bell hot sauce. I could go through 2 or 3 of these for dinner, easy prep over an alky stove and no real cleanup, just wipe out the pot.

Chicken stove top + a pouch of chicken can be done easily in one pot and its pretty good.

I also used to eat tuna straight out of the pouch with broken up crackers in it but alot of people do not like it unless heavily doctored with mayo and stuff. IMO Tuna in water is better for this, I did not like the oily flavor eating it straight like that. Lemon pepper seasoning salt makes this MUCH better, sometime around Waynesboro I started carrying a little baggie of it.

I lived on nutrigrain bars for breakfast subbing pop tarts when I couldn't find them but I'm not fond of pop tarts unless they have been through a toaster.

[hopefulhiker]

Check out "Nido" powdered milk by Nestles. It has a higher calorie content.

[jigsaw]

i never bother to add the milk or butter to my liptons. i use a bag cozy and less water than it calls for. if ya like cheddar try brocolli and cheddar rice with a pouch of chicken.

[Mouse]

I found poptarts seemed to have more calories and fill me up better than oatmeal.

I had no trouble preparing "Add milk and water" meals like mac and cheese with just water. Not Quite the same but perfectly eatable. And at its calorie level, olive oil is well worth the weight. I took it on several sections.

On the high long mountainous sections I always took peanut butter, mixing it in with ramen for that thai taste and the calories as well as just spooning it into my mouth on breaks.

I had no trouble having ramen with foil pouch tuna for the vast majority of my suppers. I did find tortelini, the kind in foil bags like coffee comes in, was a great alternative since it comes with cheese in it and was in most supermarkets, although not in convenience stores. My big discovery was that it is very good raw just like ramen, so I skipped carrying my stove and fuel from mid Virginia until Vermont.

Once in a while I found instant pea or bean soup which were good alone or with noodles or whatever. I also liked to leave town with a pound or so of roast beef, pastrami or liverwurst and gobble that up the first day out to extent my in-town protein binge an extra day.

[Peaks]

Certainly Liptons are a mainstay. They come in many flavors in both the rice version and the noodle version. You can further modify them by adding fresh vegtables and different meats (tuna, chicken, shrimp, etc.) But look at breaking that up with Mac & Cheese, and freeze dried dinners (Mountain House type).

Milk is nice to add especially to the noodle Liptons. However, try it without. Not that bad. If it you do carry powdered milk, about 2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons per 1/2 cup of extra water.

You have a couple of choices for butter or margerine. Carry powdered butter like butter buds, squeeze Parkay, or olive oil. Parkay really doesn't need to be refrigerated. It has 140 calories per ounce. Olive oil has one of the highest calorie per ounce ratios. It packs 240 calories per ounce. And calories are important to long distance hikers.

Once your dinner is at a boil, you can shut off the heat, and put the pot in "cozy" or just cover it with a camp towel or fleece to retain the heat. It will need to sit longer than if you simmer for 10 minutes.

The harder the cheese, the longer it will keep. Cheddar should last for several days. If you can't find Cabot, you can usually find Kraft instead.

How long will peanut butter last? It all depends on how hungry you are. It's a great trail food because of the calorie per ounce ratio. Buy it in 12 ounce plastic jars.

Pop tarts: good, but generally crumbly to pack along. Bagels are a dense bread that packs well.

[Cedar Tree]

On my hike I carried peanutbutter a lot. One "trick" I did was after I had eaten about half of the jar was to put other things in the jar to save space. Take a pack of nabs and crumble them up into the jar and then cover that with honey. Put the top on and hike. After riding in your pack for a while it becomes a gooey glob, eat with a spoon. When you get down to all peanutbutter repeat. Also a food that became a big staple (and favorite) of mine was cold cereal with powdered milk. Cold cereal is bulky, and doesn't pack well, but it doesn't require cooking. I sent my stove home at Bland VA and went the rest of the hike stoveless.
Cedar Tree

[Mouse]

[QUOTE=Peaks]Milk is nice to add especially to the noodle Liptons. However, try it without. Not that bad. If it you do carry powdered milk, about 2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons per 1/2 cup of extra water.
[QUOTE]

Excellent idea! Just go buy one right now, cook it at home with just water, and see how you like it. No need to wait until the Trail to find out.

[Rendezvous01]

Spices spice up your Trail life. I carried about half a dozen different spice blends to add variety to my meals. One source where you can buy 1/4 cup plastic jars of spices is penzeys.com.

Another food to add variety to the mac-n-cheese/Lipton routine is stove-top stuffing.

Eight ounce chunks of Kraft cheese are available in almost all stores. One of my favorite dinner meals was a four-serving packet of instant potatoes flavored with one of my spice mixes, two to four ounces of cheddar, and chopped up summer sausage or pepperoni.

With cheeses, know your weather forcast. Many cheeses will keep for three or four days on the Trail if it is not too hot (pack them in the middle of your backpack, insulated by your sleeping bag), but during the hottest part you will want to eat it all within the first two days out of town. In addition to cheddar, I also bought monterey jack, colby, swiss, and gouda.

Adding to Liptons is always an option. Chicken, tuna and other seafood all now come in foil packets that are easy to pack in/pack out.

Powdered milk is usually about 1/3 cup powder to one cup water. You may want to make up a whole bunch of zip-lock bags of this size ahead of time and send them in your maildrops, but, as mentioned above, you can often find this commodity in hiker boxes, as many hikers realize they don't like powdered milk in any form. See another recent thread from about two weeks ago for more info on powdered milk.

One bit of food advice borrowed from William Least Heat Moon's Blue Highways: always carry something that you don't really want to eat, but would if it was the last thing in your pack. You may end up carrying it back into a few towns, but it will be there when you absolutely need it.

Your tastes may change as you hike. You may be totally sick of Liptons by the time you reach Damascus. You may develop a craving for raw ramen for breakfast. Be willing to experiment and learn from your fellow hikers.

[workboot]

Heres a quick, cheap and filling meal.Liptons Spanish Rice (actually store brand for me) spooned into soft tortilla shells, shave a little cheddar cheese on them and top with a couple of packs of Taco Bell taco sauce and walla you`ve got yourself a couple of rice taco/burrito thingys... it actually makes a pretty nice supper..........mmmmm

[camich]

... spooned into soft tortilla shells, shave a little cheddar cheese on them and top with a couple of packs of Taco Bell taco sauce and walla you`ve got yourself a couple of rice taco/burrito thingys... it actually makes a pretty nice supper..........mmmmm

We always carry tortillas when we're hiking....they are not exactly light but they add versatility to a lot of meals. We also use them with Zaterain's red beans and rice.....they also work out pretty good to wrap p-nut butter with a few marshmallows......good stuff!

[Ridge]

A Suggestion. Whatever you decide to take for food do this. Test it at HOME first, using the cookware and stove you plan to take. This includes any hot drinks or instant stuff.

[McPick]

A Suggestion. Whatever you decide to take for food do this. Test it at HOME first, using the cookware and stove you plan to take. This includes any hot drinks or instant stuff.

This advice from Ridge is very important. Some weeks ago, a similar thread advised... "If you don't like in now, you won't like it on the trail." and "Practice, Practice, Practice..." Quite right!