brown rice!

[Tipi Walter]

Pre- soaking helps, but beans and brown rice still need lots of cooking. I've been using instant brown rice, rather than dehydrate my own. There are also some dehydrated bean products, but I mostly cook and dry my own. Maybe look into pasta, too: I like the whole- wheat angel hair.

You can get instant brown rice at Wally World. comes in a green box.

I find the difference between cooked organic brown rice and the dehydrated Walmart stuff to be remarkable. One tastes like a hearty grain, the other has a funny taste with the consistency of cardboard. My solution which won't be followed by nearly anyone, is to cook up a full pot of brown rice at home, ziploc it into 2 or 3 bags(make sure you cook it properly without any extra water leftover, etc), and put them in the fridge. Do this right before your trip. Then pack all the bags into your pack and have at it. They'll get you thru about 10 days of nonstop backpacking and mix well with nearly anything. In the winter they freeze solid but thaw quick when cooking. Heavy? So what?

[sarbar]

Btw...if one is willing to dehdyrate at home, check out the Alton Brown method of brown rice, where he bakes it in the oven. I leave out the called for oil and salt and it is perfect rice. Light, fluffy and tasty. Then spread it on a dehydrator tray and dry at 135* till crispy dry.

[JAK]

As noted, I try to stay under 1500 mg a day myself. What those who don't watch sodium intake don't realize is that sodium is only one thing you need - going hiking is not an excuse to load up on salt. Your body will tell you if you need more - our kidneys (when healthy) reserve just what we need (Isn't that awesome?!) so excess sodium is purged out, making it hard on our kidneys.

But! One thing to watch is to get a wide range of nutrients especially potassium rich foods (unless you are on certain BP meds where potassium is not desireable, a few do that.)

For me, I would feel blechy back in then day, nauseous, unable to think clearly, no appetite, bad cramps, etc - when I was dehdyrated. Later on I found out my body was stripped of potassium. So now I carry dried bananas, lightly salted kettle potato chips, green veggies dehydrated, etc. If one wants to feel better on a hot day, when you take a break, eat 1 ounce of potato chips (all natural, less than 80 mg sodium) with your water. You will get a tiny jolt of sodium, a lot of potassium and it will help you deal with the water coming in. That little bit of sodium will encourage you to drink more. The potassium will help protect your body. (Potassium helps regulate how you use sodium)

With sodium...a tiny bit is all you need. You don't need a hit of 800 mg in a serving!

And also, you can get a number of tasty drink mixes that are lower sodium - just a hint, but not too much

Sarbar,

But isn't pottassium in pretty much everything already. OK, maybe not everything, but all grains and vegetables. I've always like banana chips also, but after looking into it I already get enough from oatmeal and stuff. How much potassium is needed? Also curious if a ratio matters, or if it is ok to go high potassium and lower sodium?

Bananas are high, but isn't most plant food already high enough?
OK. I checked stuff out. I see that some stuff like white rice is really low.

White Rice 100g 358kcal only 76mg of potassium

Brown Rice 100g 370kcal 223mg of potassium

Wild Rice 100g 357kcal 427mg of potassium
Oatmeal 100g 389kcal 429mg of potassium

Lentils 100g 353kcal 955mg of potassium

Bananas 100g 346kcal 1491mg of potassium (dehydrated banana chips)

Paprika 100g 289kcal 2344mg of potassium


p.s. Check out paprika. lots of vitamin A and C also. 100g is a bit much though.

[russb]

Paprika 100g 289kcal 2344mg of potassium


p.s. Check out paprika. lots of vitamin A and C also. 100g is a bit much though.

Since paprika is just powdered dried red bell pepper... go straight to the source!

[JAK]

Since paprika is just powdered dried red bell pepper... go straight to the source!

Then do what? Dehydrate it?

That's what I think is great about paprika. It is a great food already dehydrated for hikers.

It's not like some other spices where you have to go somewhat easy either. You can use quite a bit, adding to rice or lentil soup or whatever. I wouldn't go much higher than 100g a day, but lots of vitamins and minerals and it holds its own in calories also. Other spices have lots of vitamins and minerals and calories also, and hold their own in calories per gram, but you might not be able to have quite so much per day because they are often just part of a plant where some stuff is too concentrated. You can halucinate and even overdose on nutmeg for example. One or two gives a nice buzz though, and should be safe enough, maybe not every day.

[JAK]

I suppose if you wanted really good paprika you would dehydrate it yourself. Might try that. Thanks.

[russb]

JAK, I didn't consider making one's own paprika as a spice... it does sound like a good idea though. My thought was just to eat red bell pepper. I do dry my own slices to add to meals. Great taste and amazing color too. Not to mention the health benefits you posted.

[sarbar]

Hehheh....over the years I have had guys ask me about meals with "less vegetables"
I eat a lot of veggies at home and so I keep on it on the trail. Gives bulk to meals as well - add in veggies and feed more. My favorites lately has been freeze dried zucchini and spinach flakes Yum! All are very good for your body!

[Alyssa1]

i never knew you could pre-soak food to get it to cook faster!!