Lentils!?

[Snowleopard]

Take a look at this thread on red lentils, etc.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...ht=red+lentils
Soaking helps rice or barley cook faster also; mix them with lentils.
Soaking with hot water works better than cold water.
Try google for lentil recipes; there's lots of ways to spice them.
I'd want something different for breakfast (e.g., oatmeal) and lunch (sandwiches, etc.).

[Tinker]

I have news for you. If all you eat is lentils, you are gonna keep stopping to poop.
Trust me. Im a vegetarian. I know what kinda evil things lentils can do!

And you won't have many friends.

Red and yellow lentils cook fairly quickly, but turn into mush quickly, too.

I used to be a vegetarian, and beans of all sorts were a big part of my diet as well as rice, but preparation takes much more time and thought than throwing a burger in a frypan.

I do most of my meat eating in towns on long hikes now, but occasionally buy some jerky and tuna/chicken/salmon packs to add to my typical Knorr-Lipton dinners. I usually add at least a tablespoon of olive oil, too.

For a quick cooking grain with lots of protein try Quinoa. It cooks quickly and has a nice nutty taste.

[sarbar]

What you spend on fuel could be spent on a more varied diet of food

Nothing wrong with lentils - I eat them all the time - but after 5 months you won't ever wanna see them again.

My Grandmother on eating oatmeal 3 times a day for a good year in the Depression - she never ate it again the rest of her life.

Any food solely eaten will drive you crazy after just a couple days.

[Dogwood]

Most hikers, or non-hikers for that matter, would find it boring to eat the same thing everynight. Variety does not have to blow your hiking food budget!

I like lentils on the trail. What I do is buy dehydrated LENTIL SOUP MIX from bulk bins in a healthfood or Wholefoods store. Cost is about $3 per lb(No, everything sold at a healthfood store or Wholefoods does not mean departing with your whole paycheck!). Find the Lentil Soup Mix in places that also sell dehydrated corn chowder, black beans/soup, vegeterian chili, tofu buger, etc. A Lb of the LENTIL SOUP MIX goes a LONG way for cheap. For variety and extra complex carbs I blend the LENTIL SOUP MIX(Notice the emphasis?, I'm not talking about simply lentils!) to noodles, brown rice, whole wheat cous, millet, tiny pasta(orzo, ditallini, small shells, baby bowties, etc). It's rather inexpensive and cooks fast. No soaking of lentils or long cook times needed. I recently picked up 2 lbs of dehydrated sprouted lentils at a Wholefoods in SC for $3 per lb. They cook fast too. I've made some meals at home with those sprouted lentils with my hiking stoves and hiking cookware and it takes no longer to cook them than tiny pasta or egg noodles. Nutrituous and crunchy too.

Downside is you will not find Lentil Soup Mix in very many places near the AT where as lentils are everywhere.

[Tipi Walter]

It is quite possible to fuel an A.T. through hike with brown rice and lentils. Easily 1/2 the calories I consumed came from that source.

I suggest the addition of oatmeal as a primary calorie source in the morning to reduce your in-camp time. Add olive oil and whey-based protein and you will be off to a good start.

If that is your wish, buy a good liquid-fuel stove. Coleman or unleaded automotive fuel from the pump isn't costly.

A brown rice and lentil diet is a near perfect combo for the backpacker as it's cheap and filling. I spent several years living out of my pack between 1980-87 and used a Svea 123 stove to cook up my rice and lentils. You won't see any alcohol stove users reply to this thread as cooking bulk rice and lentils requires a long simmer time. The Svea really simmers great.

Lentils can be augmented with cheese, sour cream, butter, peanut butter, wild edibles such as mustard greens or lambs quarters, etc etc. The thing is, I like them with no crunchiness, and so for green lentils you're looking at a 45 minute cook time at least. You can get a little electric coffee grinder and grind up your brown rice and lentils into a powder which makes cooking time much less, but this isn't practical when actually out on the trail.

All the suggestions to soak lentils are good, though soaking brown rice isn't really going to work as the rice doesn't soften and be eaten w/o cooking. Lentils can be soaked and finished off with a short cooking time.

OATMEAL
Now we're talking. You can buy the usual Quaker old fashioned oats and live off this for a long time. And they cook very fast. The good thing about oats is that they can be found in every little store along the trail and they mix well with a variety of other foods like cheese, wild edibles, dates, raisins, cream cheese, pecans, walnuts, etc. Oatmeal is probably the perfect backpacking food. And it is definitely something that can be soaked in the morning with raisins and eaten raw in the afternoon.

[Doctari]

Like others have said, you may (May not) tire of "insert name of food here" very quickly.

Many (30%?) of my meals are based on Couscous, but with a wide variety of flavors. On seeing this post I went & got my recent food purchases from big lots, here is the cost of one day's meals all from BigLots: Breakfast - 1 cup grits from a $1.00 4 cup Box (at home I add "stuff" like; cheddar cheese powder & bacon bits), Lunch - 1/4 lb Beef jerky ($8.00 a Lb bag), 3 - 4 granola / candy bars from a $3.00 for 8 box, Dinner - $0.80 container of split pea soup (just under 1 cup) added to 1 Cup of couscous at about $0.20 a cup. Grand total for the day = $4.75 for the day. Sometimes I add Gatorade powder from a 10 serving jar at $3.00 a jar. so just over $5.00 a day & I often don't eat all of that listed above, saving it for the next day.
I have supplied similarly at the Dollar General in Damascus & other stores I call simply "Dollar stores".

IF set on lentils, maybe go with a wood burning stove with a alcohol stove as a back up. And bring a wide variety of seasonings for a change of taste from time to time.

[emerald]

This discussion boils down to time and money which is a form of banked time. The thread's starter indicates he has more time than financial resources. His post invites discussion about basic nutrition whether or not it was intended. Some contributors may be missing one or both points.

Minimizing tiime required for food preparation and pack weight are not always the most important considerations. Even when motor fuel prices peak, a quart of fuel from the pump is still under $1.00 which would last a week or more. Maybe some of the concepts involved are hard to grasp by people conditioned to think in terms of the how things are done by the vast majority of long-distance hikers today.

[sarbar]

This discussion boils down to time and money which is a form of banked time. The opening post invites discussion about basic nutrition whether or not it was intended. Some contributors may be missing one or both points.

Minimizing tiime required for food preparation and pack weight are not always the most important considerations. Even when motor fuel prices peak, a quart of fuel from the pump is still under $1.00 which would last a week or more. Maybe some of the concepts involved are hard to grasp by people conditioned to think in terms of the how things are done by the vast majority of hikers today.

On fuel...so few use gasoline as a fuel anymore in the US - think of how few use a liquid fuel stove. Canister stoves have pretty much sidelined the finicky multi fuel stoves that require priming and trail side repairs. Sure, those stoves have a place (winter, international travel, etc) but most hikers just don't need a stove of that level - or have any desire to use unleaded gas as a fuel.

I haven't met anyone cooking brown rice since 1993 on the trail (that was me actually doing it!). The only good thing that time was I had a fire which allowed us to cook the meal for a long time with no fuel use. Sitting for 45 to 60 minutes waiting for dinner is far to long for the vast majority of hikers. Sure, some will be happy with that, most thrus would stop doing it within the first week.

[Del Q]

............not to belabor the point but this last hike was a enlightening one for me, NONE of the thru hikers I met and hiked with are cooking. Heaviest pack was 23 pounds, no-cook food options are limitless, these guys must be in NH by now or done. Shipped my stove, cookpot, fuel, etc home from Waynesboro, the rest of my section hike was better, seemed more relaxed, could hike until sunset with no concern about having to have a water supply for cooking, washing, etc. Less Stress - More Fun - Easier and Longer Miles, all good.

Del Q votes for NO COOK! .....................and Del Q likes to EAT!!!!

[emerald]

So if there is a better way, talk dollars, sense and specifics. Tell hikers who want to reduce the cost of a through hike why a retro-hike isn't the answer and how faster and lighter can be less expensive. Usually, not always, they cost more, don't they?

A recent thread called attention to the many virtues of a retro-hike and it's primary proponents weren't being facetious, but rather they pointed out how hikers might travel more frugally. The devil is in the details and costs accumulate quickly for those who insist upon the fastest and lightest.

Shiny and new aren't free and trends come and go like the wind.

[LaurieAnn]

The tiny moong dal (a small yellow lentil) will cook very quickly. You could also pre-cook and dehydrate lentil soups/stews, lentil salad and lentil dip.

[Odd Man Out]

I just posted my Dahl Bhat recipe (Rice and lentil stew - national dish of Nepal) on another thread, but will repost here as it applies. With lentils, no need to pre soak or boil a long time. Add about 3 parts water to 1 part rice/lentils. Adjust proportions to you own taste. I used curry powder for seasoning. I also add olive oil for a calorie boost (most calories per gram in your pack) and salt for electrolytes and flavor. You can also add veggies and/or meat (fresh or dehydrated). Put it all in the pot and bring to boil. When the alcohol stove goes out (in about 8 minutes), wrap the pot in a dish towel or pot cozy and let it set for 20 minutes. For the complete Nepalese banquet, make some chai tea while your waiting for it to cook (if you have a second pot and don't mind using more fuel). The lentils might be a little undercooked, but perfectly edible. The OP is correct - lentils are very nutritious and cheap. The are easier to cook than most dried legumes. Rich in protein, fiber, folic acid, thiamine, and potassium. Cooking with rice gives a more complete protein. For variety you can use dried soup mix for flavoring instead of curry.

[innermountain]

I think a better choice is dehydrated beans and cous cous. I sustained myself on a 4-month hike with that snappy combination plus a bit of cheese and spices. The cous cous with dehydrated milk and some brown sugar makes a nice breakfast. Super cheap.

[emerald]

Did you find dehydrated beans to be readily available at supermarkets near the A.T.?

[JAK]

Is there a vegan recipe for chilli made from lentils and kidney beans instead of hamburger and kidney beans? Would you have to soak the kidney beans while your hiking, or is there another way?

[Navy Salad]

If you're just looking for something cheap and healthy, consider adding a variety of other similar things. Quinoa comes to mind -- it is (I believe) the only grain that is a complete protein, cooks much quicker than lentils (about 15 to 20 minutes), takes less water to cook, and won't give you gas!

In addition, eating the same thing for long periods as a steady diet, no matter how healthy it may be, is ultimately not the best for your health. The body (not to mention the taste buds) thrives best by eating a variety of foods.