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Most calorically dense food with no dry heaving


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Home Forums General Forums Food, Hydration, and Nutrition Most calorically dense food with no dry heaving

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  • #1235738
    Zack Karas
    BPL Member

    @iwillchopyouhotmail-com

    Locale: Lake Tahoe

    What's the most calorically dense and well rounded meal, barring trail mix and bars, that you can think of?

    #1495669
    cary bertoncini
    Spectator

    @cbert

    Locale: N. California

    that would be pretty rich …

    pesto sauce: olive oil, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, basil

    #1495693
    Kathleen B
    Member

    @rosierabbit

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    Food energy comes from fat, carbohydrates, and protein. Fat provides 9 calories per gram, and carbohydrates and protein provide 4 calories per gram. Pure fat gives you the "densest" calories. So basically, just fatten up your carbohydrates and protein with whatever form of fat you like.

    #1495699
    Matt Lutz
    Member

    @citystuckhiker

    Locale: Midwest

    Lard > butter.

    #1495701
    Kathleen B
    Member

    @rosierabbit

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    Matt is right. A quick google search showed 1 Cup of lard has 1,849 calories, and 1 Cup of butter has 1,628 calories, probably because of the added water. The concept holds, however, that the more fat in your food per weight, the more calories. Popular fat additives for backpacking are cheese, nuts, and packets of olive oil.

    About the pesto sauce above – check Sarah's freezerbagcooking website to see one of her latest recipe posts for backpacking pesto sauce.

    #1495705
    Nia Schmald
    BPL Member

    @nschmald

    As others have said you want a good mix of protein, carbs, and fats. Get the highest fat content and the lowest water content for the most calorie dense foods. I shoot for a 40/40/20 ration of fats, carbs and protein respectively.

    My foods are

    Carbs
    —-
    dried fruit
    nuts
    instant rice
    couscous
    pancakes/biscuits made on the trail

    Protein
    —-
    Nuts/peanut butter
    cheese
    salami
    jerky

    Fats
    —-
    olive oil
    ghee or clarified butter
    cheese
    salami
    nuts

    Any of these foods can be eaten on their own and taste pretty good (even the oil and ghee). For meals I combine a grain or pasta with some nuts, dried fruit, and salami with a spice mix (I like garam masala or italian seasoning + garlic and onion powder) and maybe some sun dried tomatoes or dried mushrooms. Add in some extra fat and I have a pretty tasty well balanced, calorie dense meal.

    #1495741
    Zack Karas
    BPL Member

    @iwillchopyouhotmail-com

    Locale: Lake Tahoe

    Thanks for the replies. I'm looking for the most calorically dense, well rounded meal so I'm guessing eating just lard is out.

    I've always added olive oil to my meals when hiking to boost the fat calories and flavor of the dish. One of my favorite backcountry meals is mac n cheese, chorizo and olive oil, though the chorizo is heavier than I would like.

    I'm trying to find good meals that can beat Big Sur Bars for taste, calories and weight. On short hikes, food is more function over form, but longer hikes are a balance of the two–especially when the hyper sensitive gag reflex has kicked in.

    #1495781
    Sarah Kirkconnell
    BPL Member

    @sarbar

    Locale: Homesteading On An Island In The PNW

    I'll go out on a limb here – the best for calories/fat are not always food you can eat long term in large amounts. Carbs have their place even if they are not as big in calories. They often take up more space as well.

    Still, I'd rather cut weight in my gear than in the food I take. Food will get lighter over time, the gear won't ;-)

    #1495805
    Joe Kuster
    BPL Member

    @slacklinejoe

    Locale: Flatirons

    I don't know the exact weight / calorie ratio, but Mike's Super Spackel recipie in the Bio-Groovy article has got to be up there. Tastey too, you can actually eat a decent amount of daily calories that way.

    I can't stomach the concept but I've heard dog racers up north use sticks of butter rolled in brown sugar…..

    #1496107
    Sarah Welton
    Member

    @campgirl

    One of the Packit Gourmet set menus focuses on calories:

    http://www.packitgourmet.com/Calorie-Packed-2-People-p344.html

    Check out the dessert (molten chocolate lava cakes). 1160 calories per two muffin cup sized servings!

    #1499829
    Gregg Carsen
    Member

    @chopper

    I have the same problems! But it looks to me that if you try to mix in various nuts this helps. Also some people like taling bagels along for the first few days.
    But here is a link to way to much info for me but maybe you will find it helpful!
    http://thru-hiker.com/articles/trail_foods.php
    http://thru-hiker.com/articles/pack_light_eat_right.php

    #1499872
    Robert Blean
    BPL Member

    @blean

    Locale: San Jose -- too far from Sierras

    "I can't stomach the concept but I've heard dog racers up north use sticks of butter rolled in brown sugar….."

    Also do not forget traditional pemmican — the real thing is very high in fat (as opposed to some stuff that is sold as pemmican, but is mainly carbs).

    As to butter up North — in my experience, I can tolerate a *lot* more fat in really cold weather than I can in the summer. When cooking supper for four at -10* – -20*F it is no big deal to drop a stick of margarine into the dinner pot — something I would not seriously consider doing in the summer.

    –MV

    #1501410
    josh wagner
    Member

    @stainlesssteel

    they sell it in singles. 3oz for 250 calories, 200 calories from fat. it's already cooked so can be eaten a variety of ways. mmmm

    #1501425
    Erich Langner
    Member

    @elrich

    Locale: Pacific NW

    could be fun, but isn't hard to store? i can already imagine a disgusting greasy spam mess. also that doesnt seem very efficient, due to the high water content of spam. i like to bring parmesan cheese and summer sausage for fat. i sometimes bring sesame oil, can make an otherwise boring meal very tasty. a nice all purpose food to bring along is pea soup mix. its light, high in protein decent amount of carbs and fat. pea soup, dry refried beans and quinoa seems to me to be the most well rounded and light staples to bring.

    #1501439
    Greg Mihalik
    Spectator

    @greg23

    Locale: Colorado

    There are many trail foods that are over 100 calories/ounce versus the 84 calories/ounce for SPAM.

    #1501446
    Sarah Kirkconnell
    BPL Member

    @sarbar

    Locale: Homesteading On An Island In The PNW

    The Spam Singles are actually good if used right. Is Spam gourmet? No, but it is awesome in lo mein, fried rice, etc. It is very fatty and high in protein. For meat cravers it work well and the Singles pack well.

    Sure, legumes and grains are better, but lets face it….not everyone is into them. For every person who swears by say lentils there will 10 guys who want 'man food'.

    #1501449
    M G
    BPL Member

    @drown

    Locale: Shenandoah

    "There are many trail foods that are over 100 calories/ounce versus the 84 calories/ounce for SPAM"

    Such as?

    #1501455
    te – wa
    BPL Member

    @mikeinfhaz

    Locale: Phoenix

    ramen: 3oz, 300 calories.
    wont clog arteries.

    #1501486
    Sarah Kirkconnell
    BPL Member

    @sarbar

    Locale: Homesteading On An Island In The PNW

    Pffftttt….you just need to combine the ramen and the Spam for Spam-tastic Lo Mein. Just saying……

    #1501498
    W I S N E R !
    Spectator

    @xnomanx

    Canned meat. Disgusting.

    Crushed potato chips are pretty good calories/weight.

    #1501501
    te – wa
    BPL Member

    @mikeinfhaz

    Locale: Phoenix

    "Crushed potato chips are pretty good calories/weight."
    especially, my friend Craig.. Especially! if those crushed chips are used as a batter for fresh caught Golden Trout… mmm delicious..

    hey, here's a link to some Great trail food: http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/
    Sarah, sorry if this link takes away some of your business, but how can a guy resist the "junkyard dog"?
    just not possible…

    #1501512
    Eugene Smith
    BPL Member

    @eugeneius

    Locale: Nuevo Mexico

    For dinner on the trail, I've been crushing Al Dente brand pasta, preferably of the whole wheat variation, into smaller bags and throwing in powdered milk/ alfredo mix/ bouillon, I later add 2tbsp of olive oil and salami for a pretty dense meal, high in fat, carbs and protein, and sodium. This is a caloric dense "meal" more than a dense food, singular, but it works none the less and doesn't weigh the pack down much. You can always 86 the salami for something else if weight is an issue.

    #1501562
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "Crushed potato chips are pretty good calories/weight."

    Right on. Crushed just about any chip-corn, multigrain, etc.

    Also chocolate (>70% cacao); crushed nuts, especially walnuts, pecans, macadamia; oils; ghee; hard cheeses; Just the Cheese wafers, crushed, even though the gourmets among us sneer at the very mention.

    #1501565
    josh wagner
    Member

    @stainlesssteel

    i'm telling you. try it it's bangin chopped up in a bag of instant potatoes and dry veggie soup mix. the 300 calories in ramens that you quoted are for the big styrofoam cup one. the little 10 cent ones that most people use are less than 200 calories.

    neither that or chips have nearly the proteins or fat in ramen

    enjoy your alfalfa and tofu

    #1501566
    Denis Hazlewood
    BPL Member

    @redleader

    Locale: Northern California

    Man…. now that sounds good. Deep Fried

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