Food Ideas?

[patjune19]

Me and a few friends are planning our JMT trip this August and I'm thinking about food options. I'm probably going to do oatmeal for breakfast and then graze during the day. I'll probably have a huge bag of trail mix and a few other snacks. What I'm stuck on is dinner, I'm thinking just going with Mountain House Freeze dried Meals but I'm not sure, I feel like I would get tired of them after 2 weeks. What do you guys plan on bringing?

[wcgornto]

Hawk Vittles

http://hawkvittles.com/


Enertia Trail Foods

http://trailfoods.com/


Packit Gourmet

http://www.packitgourmet.com/


I like Mountain House fine, but I prefer Hawk Vittles and Enertia / Coleman. I haven't had Packit Gourmet, but it gets good reviews from those who have.

With Mountain House, I like Chili Mac, Lasagna and one or two others. I like all Hawk Vittles that I have had. My JMT this year will be exclusively Hawk Vittles for dinner.

[Feral Bill]

Bear Creek sides are good, and cheap. Knorr, too. Also mac and cheese, rice with whatever, etc. Take walk around your nearest supermarket.

[patjune19]

Those Hawk Vittles look good, do you have any idea of how large the portions are in relation to Mountain House? I'm not sure whether or not to get the single or double serving.

[wcgornto]

Those Hawk Vittles look good, do you have any idea of how large the portions are in relation to Mountain House? I'm not sure whether or not to get the single or double serving.

A single serving is 4 to 6 oz dry, and 450 to 600 calories. A double portion is, well, double that amount.

A standard Mountain House pouch is a little bit larger and with more calories, maybe 500 to 800. the Mountain House Pro Pack is a bit smaller than the standard pouch, closer to the hawk Vittles portion, but more airtight and a more rigid package.

For carrying a week's amount of food and being limited to the capacity of a bear canister, I will be going with the single serving of the hawk vittles meals. If I were doing an AT thru hike, with a voracious thru hikers appetite that kicks in after several weeks on the trail, and without the constraints of a bear canister, then I would carry the double portion.

[Hikes in Rain]

Those Hawk Vittles look good, do you have any idea of how large the portions are in relation to Mountain House? I'm not sure whether or not to get the single or double serving.

I recall a nice night a couple of years ago, leaning back against a tree with a pot of Cowboy Pasta, with just a little left, saying aloud, "must...finish last...bites!" They're a nice big single serving, and darned tasty.

[markdek]

Here's some rough notes I started on Grocery food for Backpacking:

Backpacking Food Ideas (get a Cozy for cooking) Auto Sun Shade made from Reflectix (looks like metallic bubble wrap)

* Duct tape
* Velcro (sticky and double sided)

Main Dinner Staple

* Meats, pouch or canned, chicken, turkey, tuna or salmon
* Cheese
* Spices/Gravy
* Couscous

* Near East is my favorite brand. Sitting next to it was a Quinoa Blend in Rosemary & Olive Oil flavor
* Near East Herbed Chicken Couscous
* Near East Parmesan

* Quinoa
* Rice

* Minute Rice (white or brown); precooked

* Pasta

* Knoll Pasta Side Dishes, Alfredo, etc. (rice-based or pasta)
* Knorr/Lipton Noodles & Sauce, Alfredo, 4.4-Ounce Packages

* Mac n Cheese

* Kraft Blue Box Macaroni & Cheese, 7.25-Ounce Boxes

* Mashed Potatoes

* Idahoan Flavored Mashed Potatoes (12 Pouches
* Betty Crocker Au Gratin potatoes


Breakfast

* Instant oatmeal
* Honey, dried fruit,
* Bagel
* Granola

Dinner Add Ons

* Olive Oil
* Powdered Milk (Milkman?) Nido: full fat powdered milk
* Dried mushrooms or other fresh or dried veggies
* Kraft parmesan cheese, can?
* Dried potato flakes
* Stove Top Stuffing Mix, Turkey, 6-Ounce Boxes

Notes:

* Shelf stable milk. http://www.horizondairy.com/products...lain-milk-box/
* Veggie Flakes/Dried Veggies/freeze dried veggies......soup starters
* Instant Refried Beans (Flakes)
* Stuffing
* Beef Jerky
* Summer Sausage
* Packaged Peperoni
* Dehydrated Vegetables
* Pouched Tuna or Chicken
* String Cheese
* Dried Soup Packets
* Pasta Noodles

[heavyfoot]

Nice list, markdek.

[DaFireMedic]

Some of our most enjoyable meals were corn pasta with meat sauce that I dehydrated and put into ziplocks. Made a very nice diversion from the Mountain House foods we ate so much of. We sent some ahead in our resupply to MTR and happened to find an unopened jar of parmesan cheese in the hiker barrels there. Man, that was a treat.

[1Greywolf]

Great list Markdek.

I would add a chunk of pecorino or parmigiano. You can either snack on it or shave some in your dinner.
On the pasta, try elbows, little shells, and if you can find dry "Tortelloni." The large ones cook faster, especially if you use a Cozy. To any of the pastas add a packet of Knorr "pesto sauce" you can also add the cheese and if you close your eyes you swear you are in Italy. lol

This combo will have lot less sodium and chemicals and its a snap to make. You can also add tuna or chicken pieces and/or Olive Oil for additional calories.
It was one of the main dinners I looked forward to eating on my AT thru-hike. And I am planning to take on my JMT hike this July.

The planning is as much fun as the actual hike.

Enjoy and see you on the trail.

Here's some rough notes I started on Grocery food for Backpacking:

Backpacking Food Ideas (get a Cozy for cooking) Auto Sun Shade made from Reflectix (looks like metallic bubble wrap)

* Duct tape
* Velcro (sticky and double sided)

Main Dinner Staple

* Meats, pouch or canned, chicken, turkey, tuna or salmon
* Cheese
* Spices/Gravy
* Couscous

* Near East is my favorite brand. Sitting next to it was a Quinoa Blend in Rosemary & Olive Oil flavor
* Near East Herbed Chicken Couscous
* Near East Parmesan

* Quinoa
* Rice

* Minute Rice (white or brown); precooked

* Pasta

* Knoll Pasta Side Dishes, Alfredo, etc. (rice-based or pasta)
* Knorr/Lipton Noodles & Sauce, Alfredo, 4.4-Ounce Packages

* Mac n Cheese

* Kraft Blue Box Macaroni & Cheese, 7.25-Ounce Boxes

* Mashed Potatoes

* Idahoan Flavored Mashed Potatoes (12 Pouches
* Betty Crocker Au Gratin potatoes


Breakfast

* Instant oatmeal
* Honey, dried fruit,
* Bagel
* Granola

Dinner Add Ons

* Olive Oil
* Powdered Milk (Milkman?) Nido: full fat powdered milk
* Dried mushrooms or other fresh or dried veggies
* Kraft parmesan cheese, can?
* Dried potato flakes
* Stove Top Stuffing Mix, Turkey, 6-Ounce Boxes

Notes:

* Shelf stable milk. http://www.horizondairy.com/products...lain-milk-box/
* Veggie Flakes/Dried Veggies/freeze dried veggies......soup starters
* Instant Refried Beans (Flakes)
* Stuffing
* Beef Jerky
* Summer Sausage
* Packaged Peperoni
* Dehydrated Vegetables
* Pouched Tuna or Chicken
* String Cheese
* Dried Soup Packets
* Pasta Noodles

[aficion]

Grits, red pepper flakes, pre cooked bacon, and cheese. MMMMMMMMMMMM. Gonna go make some right now.

[jacob_springsteen]

Honey peanut butter and Nutella. Pounds of each. You'll eat it up.

Salty snack items like honey roasted peanuts, salted cashews, salted&roasted sunflower seeds, etc.

Cocoa + coffee powdered drinks for breakfast and around the campfire at night.

Beef jerky. A whole bear canister worth.

Mountain House® Wraps Breakfast Skillet. Yeah, they are next best thing to Denny's on the trail.

Copious amounts of chocolate fun size bars.

Lipton/Knorr's Noodles and sauce or rice packets for easy meals if you want cheap and simple. Find some Nestle whole-fat powdered milk and a squeeeze bottle of olive oil to add to these Knorr meals.

Annie's Mac and Cheese. Use powdered milk and olive oil to add to it. Maybe bring an onion and some garlic fresh to add it. Never get tired of eating this mac and cheese. Maybe find some of those dried tortellini shells ( Ronzoni brand?) to add to the mac and cheese nad some sun-dried tomatoes.


Emergen-C drink packets. Keep them in several spots in your backpack so you can pull them out and add to water without having to search your pack in a rush.