Food for those who don't want to cook.

[Blissful]

Poor crappy noodles I agree. That's why I do maildrops to add dehydrated veggies and meats to my meals. And also have sent to myself "turkey dinner", "beef stroganoff", pesto and tortollini, etc (and NOT $$$ Mountain House either)

But I'd say if you want to go no cook, then the best thing to do is try it on a short hike.

But I used my MSr pocket rocket for 3,200 miles maintenance free

[Amanita]

What stove to use or going stoveless is an entirely personal choice. Some people love stoveless, others can't imagine life without a hot meal.

I've found that going stoveless works well for me. It's less fuss at the end of the day. I will probably use a stove again for colder trips or trips with fewer resupplies, but carry and alcohol stove and plan on cooking maybe 1 meal every 2 days.

Stoveless foods I enjoy:

Kit Kats and Peanut butter - fat and salt, sugar and carbs. easy to eat when you've lost your appetite (the first 3 days for me). I bring haloween size kit kats and a 12 oz jar of peanut butter.

Peperoni - eat with rolls, bread, cheese, and crackers.

Cheese - harder cheese keeps better

GORP - add different fruits like craisins, dried apples, whatever you like. nut variety is good too.

Dried Fruit - apricots are my favorites. can be bought in packages or in the bulk section of a grocery store.

Pastries - whatever's on sale or strikes my fancy. Danish, strudel, doughnuts, croissants. Tasty even if they get a little smushed.

Bread products - bagels, rolls, bread ect. good with peanut butter, butter or peperoni and cheese.

Tip: I make sure the average of my food bag is 100+ calories per oz after fresh foods are removed. This helps keep my overall food weight down, because I can plan in calories (oz) per day.

Fresh Foods: on day 1-2 after ressuply I may bring heavier foods that will not keep as well.

Chicken sausage/ precooked meat- vaccum sealed meats will keep for up to 2 days without refrigeration if it's not too hot.

Yogurt - horribly heavy, if I hit town in the morning this may be lunch, if town was afternoon next morning's breakfast. Would not carry more than 1/2 a day.

Blueberries/fresh fruit - see yogurt

Sandwiches - from home or a deli

Leftovers - chinese take out plastic boxes are perfect for taking leftovers onto the trail. nothing like cold pizza, lasangna, or general tso's chicken at the top of a mountain after the long climb out of town.

[MuddyWaters]

meal replacement mixes come in handy, the kind weighlifters use to boost their calorie intake. (ie myoplex) Right at 100 cal/oz. 2.7oz packet with 40+ g high quality whey protein and complex carbohydrate, vitamins, etc. However the protein will make the bottle you mix in stink rapidly, even after rinsing out,unless washed with soap. (Just like milk).

An old adage from my weightlifting days is that "its easier to drink calories, than to eat them."

[tolkien]

Recipie for the Two-Day Granola Bar
4/3 Cup Rolled Oats (not chopped/quick oats)
2/3 Cup Sesamee Seeds husked, Sunflower Seeds unhusked, Sliced Almonds, Flax Meal, Chocolate Chips, Melted Butter
1/3 Cup Honey, Maple Syrup, Brown Sugar, Oat Bran, Pecan Peices
1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
1 Tsp Allspice
325 for 25 min

Freaking awesome. Two days of calories, a day and a half of sodium, protien, and fats. I can fit it in a 9x9x1 slab. Only solid butter has a better calorie/weight ratio.

[harryfred]

I go stoveless in the warmer months as a hot meal at the end of the day does not mean as much and sometimes is not even wanted.

Flat bread, Flat bagels or bagles, tortillas or wraps.
Summer sausage, pepperoni, single serving lunch meat Buddig or Hebrew National (OK till it is open than eat all of it) Foil pouch tuna ( I can't stand regular but like all the season varieties) Foil pouch chicken, Single serving Spam, Beef sticks and jerky. Cold hot dogs Oscar Meyer has only four to a pack.
CHEESE and a lot of it what ever you like. If it is warm it just gets a little soft and oily but much more flavorful.
Peanut butter.
Jelly.
Honey.
Candy, Snickers are a favorite but you know what lives in the heat and what doesn't
Cookies What do you like oatmeal and peanut butter varieties are great for breakfast.
Cold cereal, I went three days in the Mojave on nothing but Cheerios. Add instant milk or Nido.
Fresh fruits and veggies apples peaches pears grapes plums all good for three days or better. I love cucumbers and baby carrots celery gets a little limp but is still good Broccoli and cauliflower last a couple of days. take along some of those dressing packs. Plum or the little tomatoes travel well keep them in the top of your pack.
Lemons, limes, oranges.
Dried fruit and that covers raisins.
Instant rice add water at lunch and it is good to eat at supper let your imagination season it. instant mashed potatoes add water and wait a few min. same.
NUTS, mixed nuts peanuts cashews.
Pretzels, corn chips corn nuts ect,
I could go on but so could you.

[Panzer1]

The point is...it's easier to hike without a stove than with one, it means you can hike later into the night, spend less time messing around camp, cooking and cleaning up, don't have to worry about fuel, eating in the rain is not an issue, etc

You can argue that with every piece of gear. Its really an ultralight-er argument.

Panzer

[stranger]

You can argue that with every piece of gear. Its really an ultralight-er argument.

Panzer

Really, how so?

Seen any threads about hiking without a backpack?

How about hiking without footwear?

Shelter?

Sleeping Bag?

I don't think you can can have that argument with everything with due respect.

[Uncle Walkie]

I say to each it's own, or as I've learned from this community HYOH

However...if you refuse to carry any type of stove, don't mooch a hot drink/bite from me on a cold and rainy day....well I'll probably offer anyway..but grudgingly so

[Chop]

Recipie for the Two-Day Granola Bar
4/3 Cup Rolled Oats (not chopped/quick oats)
2/3 Cup Sesamee Seeds husked, Sunflower Seeds unhusked, Sliced Almonds, Flax Meal, Chocolate Chips, Melted Butter
1/3 Cup Honey, Maple Syrup, Brown Sugar, Oat Bran, Pecan Peices
1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
1 Tsp Allspice
325 for 25 min

Freaking awesome. Two days of calories, a day and a half of sodium, protien, and fats. I can fit it in a 9x9x1 slab. Only solid butter has a better calorie/weight ratio.

Thanks! Will have to give it a try!

[paradoxb3]

i thru-hiked last year. i carried a coke-can alcohol stove i made at home before i left. there is no such thing as maintenance to a coke can. fuel was never not accessible in town, and in a pinch you can always burn some sticks to boil water. people overthink this topic way too much. its a non-issue to me.

HOWEVER if you're dead set on not carrying a stove, i met 2 guys that went stoveless. one the whole AT, the other that i hiked most of the trail with did it about halfway after he met the other guy and was inspired. he actually loved going stoveless. he would pick up uncle bens pre-cooked rice packets, throw in some packaged chicken, tuna, etc and top it off with some sauces/spices of his preference wrapped up in one of those fancy green or red tortillas. many of his dinners made me envious, but sometimes with crappy resupplies i felt sorry for him.

one thing to remember is theres always a trade-off. he got rid of the weight of the stove but balanced it out with having to carry heavier foods (pre-cooked rice as opposed to dry) and the cost of fuel was balanced out with the cost of more expensive foods. and if you're worrying about always being able to find fuel, well the opposite to that is being able to find decent no-cook food. sometimes your resupply is nothing more than a convenience market.

i suppose the only real advantage is that he could just sit down and eat with little to no preperation. if you dont mind never having a warm breakfast or dinner when its bitter cold, or having to eat lots of honey buns, beef jerky, or ramen in a gatorade bottle then thats fine. to each their own. i personally dont mind the extra few ounces of a stove.

[sarman]

I was virtually stoveless this spring. alcohol stove for coffee in the am. Hard salami, pepperoni, gorp, tuna, hard cheese, bagels, bananas out of town, deli meats out of town, etc.

I do bring a whisperlite stove for winter backpacking meals.

[ncmtns]

FRUIT CAKE...very dense and packed with calories