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  1. #1

    Default Breakfast : Lunch : Dinner and snacks

    Hi, i was told i need two things for the trail when it comes to food

    Protein
    Carbs

    And to carry enough for 3 to 4 days ( then stop at a town, resupply and continue on)

    With that in mind what would you say would be great ideas for

    1. Breakfast
    2. Lunch
    3. Dinner
    4. Snacks




    Thanks

  2. #2

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by lifeisalwaysgood View Post
    Hi, i was told i need two things for the trail when it comes to food

    Protein
    Carbs

    And to carry enough for 3 to 4 days ( then stop at a town, resupply and continue on)

    With that in mind what would you say would be great ideas for

    1. Breakfast
    2. Lunch
    3. Dinner
    4. Snacks




    Thanks
    Depending on your body fat composition, how many miles you’re hiking, your pack weight, temperature etc. I would also look at fatty foods to include in your menu. If winter hiking maybe a lot.

    A rough estimate is 2 lbs. per day, but there are variables that should be considered. Look for foods with the highest calorie to weight ratio. Nut butters, jerky, chips, chocolate are some of the foods that work well for me.

  3. #3
    Registered User Siestita's Avatar
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    For me "lunch" while hiking is simply a series of snacks.

  4. #4

    Default

    Some just see it as fuel, and they eat carbs (=sugar), otherwise known as "energy". Common, but not so smart.

    Nutrition is different from that, and you need nutrition or you will eventually become ill. Basically, there is protein and there is energy (fats, carbs). Protein and fat are essential for health. Carbs are not but they can serve as a fuel source if you are a "sugar burner". Endurance sports become easier if you adapt to become a "fat burner", and burn your own body fat. I recommend that you learn a bit more about all this before you set off with a bag full of top ramen and pop tarts...

  5. #5
    Garlic
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    Ditto the comment about fat. Fat has twice the energy density of carbs. Nuts are a good, packable, readily available source of fat and protein, so I make good use of them.

    How much you need to eat depends on how much energy you burn by carrying your pack in varying terrain, your base metabolism, your general health, how much body fat you normally carry, the weather, the phase of the moon, and how you part your hair. What you eat is highly personal and impossible to predict from what others tell you.

    The two pounds per day rule of thumb is a pretty good one for many. But two pounds of cookies and candy will fuel you differently than two pounds of whole grains and nuts.

    The more I hike, the more I forget about the concept of "meals." I may eat something when I wake up, maybe not if the weather's harsh, and I eat every time I take a break until I stop for the day. That's usually five, maybe six times a day. What I eat depends on the weather and available shelter, and of course on what I was able to buy at the last resupply.
    "Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning

  6. #6

    Default

    1. Carnation instant breakfast, powdered milk, instant coffee
    2. Chipotle Cheddar and bacon instant mashed potatoes
    3. Andy Skurka Beans and Rice w Fritos and cheese
    4. Stroopwafel with peanut butter (Justin’s)

    5. Don’t forget to hydrate, nuun tablets for electrolytes
    6. Don’t forget the nightcap, whiskey

  7. #7
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    Default Breakfast : Lunch : Dinner and snacks

    Couscous with oil, pine nuts, dried veggies, anchovies. A little bit goes a long way.
    You can walk in another person's shoes, but only with your feet

  8. #8
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by RockDoc View Post
    Some just see it as fuel, and they eat carbs (=sugar), otherwise known as "energy". Common, but not so smart.

    Nutrition is different from that, and you need nutrition or you will eventually become ill. Basically, there is protein and there is energy (fats, carbs). Protein and fat are essential for health. Carbs are not but they can serve as a fuel source if you are a "sugar burner". Endurance sports become easier if you adapt to become a "fat burner", and burn your own body fat. I recommend that you learn a bit more about all this before you set off with a bag full of top ramen and pop tarts...
    I recommend that you learn a bit more about all this before you set off with a bag full of top ramen and pop tarts..

    Quote of the month!

  9. #9
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by lifeisalwaysgood View Post
    Hi, i was told i need two things for the trail when it comes to food

    Protein
    Carbs

    And to carry enough for 3 to 4 days ( then stop at a town, resupply and continue on)

    With that in mind what would you say would be great ideas for

    1. Breakfast
    2. Lunch
    3. Dinner
    4. Snacks




    Thanks
    You also need fats.
    Time is but the stream I go afishin' in.
    Thoreau

  10. #10
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    Be creative and use Fritos as an additive to meals.

  11. #11

    Default

    Peanut butter is an excellent source of healthy fat. Most of your other food will likely be carb heavy, so the PB is a good offset.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  12. #12

    Default

    When planning your trail menu, a typical ideal distribution is 50% carbs, 35% fat, and 15% protein. This can be varied but it’s a good planning target. You’ll find with typical trail food, especially snacks, it’s most difficult to find foods with enough fat.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by spfleisig View Post
    I recommend that you learn a bit more about all this before you set off with a bag full of top ramen and pop tarts..

    Quote of the month!
    That sounds like something I’d do...

  14. #14
    Registered User One Half's Avatar
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    Default

    Fats and proteins are essential.
    https://tinyurl.com/MyFDresults

    A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. ~Paul Dudley White

  15. #15
    Registered User lonehiker's Avatar
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by lifeisalwaysgood View Post
    Hi, i was told i need two things for the trail when it comes to food

    Protein
    Carbs

    And to carry enough for 3 to 4 days ( then stop at a town, resupply and continue on)

    With that in mind what would you say would be great ideas for

    1. Breakfast
    2. Lunch
    3. Dinner
    4. Snacks




    Thanks
    1. Poptarts most of the time.
    2. 3 beef sticks and 2 packages of cheese and crackers (various flavors).
    3. 1/3 of the time cold soaked ramen with miracle whip and tuna; 1/3 of the time instant mashed potatoes w/spam chunks; 1/3 of the time some type of wrap usually with spam and cheese but sometimes tuna.
    4. some type of bar for morning snack, goldfish or similar for afternoon snack; alternate between skittles and fritos as supplement if I feel hungry. Sometime I treat myself with licorace.
    5. 2 honey buns for desert

    This has been my menu since I went stoveless 4-5 years ago. I average close to 1,000 miles a year most of which is long section hikes. I have found this diet fine even for long trips.
    Lonehiker (MRT '22)

  16. #16
    Registered User hobbs's Avatar
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    FOR ALL YOU hikers that want to plan a menu. Backcountry foodie is the site you need...
    My love for life is quit simple .i get uo in the moring and then i go to bed at night. What I do inbween is to occupy my time. Cary Grant

  17. #17
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    A while ago I got into a discussion about carbohydrates while on the trail. Somehow it became my trail name. Anyway, lots of carbs and a good amount of protein is good. Try for the veggies and fruit in town stops. A good trail mix would be nuts, m&m's, and raisins to fill in.
    Simple is good.

  18. #18
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    Default

    A couple of people have suggested that fats and protein are essential while carbs are not. This is a bit short sighted. You must maintain a blood glucose level of about 60 mg/dL or rhings start to shut down. Over the short term you get this glucose from carbs in your diet or glycogen stored in your liver. But in the long term, if your diet is low in carbs, you are going to have to make them. This can be done from protein, but there is a limit to how much protein you can break down into carbs per day and if dietary protein is limiting, you will start catabolizing your protein, since you don't have a way of storing protein like you do with carbs and fats. While stored and dietary fats may be abundant, they utility is limited. They are great at generating useful energy, but only about 5% of a fat molecule can be turned into glucose. So in the end, a diet balanced in all three macronutrients is probably your best bet.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Odd Man Out View Post
    A couple of people have suggested that fats and protein are essential while carbs are not. This is a bit short sighted. You must maintain a blood glucose level of about 60 mg/dL or rhings start to shut down. Over the short term you get this glucose from carbs in your diet or glycogen stored in your liver. But in the long term, if your diet is low in carbs, you are going to have to make them. This can be done from protein, but there is a limit to how much protein you can break down into carbs per day and if dietary protein is limiting, you will start catabolizing your protein, since you don't have a way of storing protein like you do with carbs and fats.....
    Odd Man, couldn't have explained it better than that!
    Simple is good.

  20. #20

    Default

    Ok, another approach to this is to figure out how many calories your going to burn and then try to replace them. I'm 220 lbs and burn 700 calories per hour while hiking, so 10 hours of hiking is 7000 calories and that doesn't include the calories burned the other 14 hours per day. If you look at caloric value, its pretty tough to replace that many calories so just get used to the idea that you can't and you will be losing weight.

    Average between resupply is 5 to 8 days so I shoot for 2lb of food per day or 10 to 16 lbs of food for each leg of the hike. If you can find food that has at least 100 calories per ounce then one days food will yield greater than 3200 calories per day.

    My choice is to cook one meal per day usually dinner

    Dinner is usually Mountain House or similar 2 serving packet or Ramen with foil pack tuna or chicken augment with powdered potatoes, maybe bacon bits. shoot for greater than 500 calories

    For breakfast I might have a cup of coffee, but usually will have a Probar or RX bar as I'm walking. 1 bar = 300-370 calories

    For Lunch I might just have another Probar or RX bar, but I like to make a Tortilla sandwich with salami and cheese or peanut butter and honey. 2 oz of Salami and some cheese on a Tortilla can get you between 500-800 calories. Same for Peanut Butter and honey.

    So meals get me about 2000 calories per day. To fill the rest of my calorie requirements I carry a couple of candy bars, a couple of protein bars, Jerky, cheese and crackers and hard candy to get me another 1500 calories.

    Its difficult not to loose weight on the trail.

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