Sticker Shock, need a new plan

[Steven Hanlon]

since getting into backpacking in a serious way back in 2005, i have usually taken a dehydrated dinner (typically chili mac or lasagna). the price vs convenience was ok. i usually buy them at REI with my dividend or when there is a coupon. i had 10 or so on hand and have finally exhausted my cache. i went to REI and almost fell over in the isle after seeing the prices, i can not afford to eat a $10.00 dinner on the trail for a week or even weekend.

with that in mind, i'm looking for food ideas, something quick, easy, and dead simple (add hot water is about the skillset i have in a kitchen). i have no ideas, none. i like simple fare that is quick and tastes good.

i have looked at a number of things in books and on-line resources, i'm just not a fancy or "gourmet" kinda guy.

i feel foolish, but the dehydrated meals meant i never had to think about food too much.

[Bob Gross]

1. Buy a food dehydrator to operate in your own kitchen.
2. Practice dehydrating your favorite food items.
3. Take the successful experiments on the trail to eat.
4. Eat the mistakes at home.

–B.G.–

[Steven Hanlon]

i am looking at this sight, but i have no dehydrator… maybe i should invest in one?

[Billy Ray]

CostCo sells dehydrated food cheaper than REI.

billy

[Jennifer Mitol]

ramen noodles, cheese powder, tuna. Ta-da!!!!

My favorite trail meal ever.

[Bob Gross]

The typical dehydrator brand is Nesco. There are dehydrators that cost about $75, more or less.

My 30-year-old dehydrator is American Harvestor, which I think was purchased by Nesco, so the plastic trays are all interchangeable.

–B.G.–

[Marc Shea]

http://www.amazon.com/Mountain-House-Pro-Pak-Lasagna-Sauce/dp/B000FXVBUK/ref=sr_1_6?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1433270293&sr=1-6

$5.24 for propak, or buy in bulk. At $27.94 for 10 servings, that's $2.80 a serving.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000M7SY0Y/ref=twister_B00QKP2T7G?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Chili mac is even less when purchased in bulk.

[Bean]

I like to cruise the soup isle of grocery store and look for 'just add water' noodle bowls and rice dishes, then I repackage the contents in ziplocks and cook them in a pot. These aren't the most calorie dense items, but they satisfy my craving to cook something hot, but fast.

Instant mashed potatoes are a favorite of mine, but most people I backpack with say they have no appetite for mashed potatoes at high altitude *shrugs*.

Small corn tortillas and cheese for quesadillas can be amazing… but challenging to cook if you have an alcohol stove and Fosters beer can pot. With a larger pot, you can heat it upside down and use the bottom as a kind of hot plate.

[Bob Gross]

"Instant mashed potatoes are a favorite of mine"

Try preparing that with a lot of butter, margarine, or olive oil. Add a lot of Hormel bacon pieces, onion flakes, and other flavors.

–B.G.–

[Gary Dunckel]

I usually stock up on #10 tins of Mountain House every March when TheEpicenter.com has their annual spring sale. It's a lot cheaper than the regular prices of pouches. Then, 9 months later, when we get our first sub-zero winter weather (with very low humidity), I'll open a can, portion out the food into 1-serving portions which I vacuum seal. Label the bag, including the date (I go a bit further and note the weight, and also the # of calories). These meals are very shelf stable in my cool, dark basement for 3-4 years.

The other thing about buying this stuff in bulk is that I can create my own meals with the individual ingredients. Like adding FD chicken to the MH pasta primavera, or combine the MH mac & cheese with MH chicken and MH peas. I can also add my favorite seasoning to the mix just before I seal the bag. At camp, I just dump the sealed ingredients into a freezer bag (or a re-purposed MH foil zip bag), add near-boiling water, place in a cozy for 10 minutes, then eat. This approach produces an extra amount of garbage, with the bags, but I like the convenience (and the taste).

The only problem with this approach (for you) is knowing exactly what ingredients you want to invest in. A #10 tin contains a lot of food, maybe 7-8 meals. But it gives you the flexibility of packing just the number of calories you want. When backpacking, I like to get 500 calories each night, but when truck-camping, 350-400 calories is usually just right.

If by chance you get into all this, then follow BG's lead and get a dehydrator and add another set of options. If you don't want to do any of this kitchen stuff, just go with Jennifer's ramen idea.

[d k]

A dollar store food section can sometimes yield great results. I have been using some $1 Idahoan brand scalloped potatoes in boxes (jalapeno & cheddar, applewood smoked bacon). Bring to a boil, let sit in cozy 15 minutes, voila!

[Bob Gross]

"then follow BG's lead and get a dehydrator"

Hey, don't blame it on me!

A friend of mine went to the thrift store and purchased two used dehydrators, then used those to prepare food for an entire PCT trip.

Wouldn't we all wish that we had our own freeze-dry machines?

–B.G.–

[Paul Magnanti]

i wrote this article. May be of interest?
http://www.trailgroove.com/issue22.html?autoflip=141

[John S.]

My current trail diet

Breakfast- oatmeal, snickers

Morning snackie- trail mix

Lunch- three bars ; )

Afternoon snackie- trail mix

Dinner- oatmeal, instant rice/instant potatoes, meat packet

[Charley White]

Here are three. Fave is the first. Like Jen's it's ramen based, but:

Pack of ramen, crushed, swap in Knorr Chicken Broth cube (1/2) for broth packet. Add hot water, wait, drink broth. Add this sauce and eat: good peanut butter thinned with canola oil, add soy sauce. Maybe garlic & ginger. Could eat every day.

Potato chips–s.b. thick & oily…Kettle style. Crush. Add powdered milk, maybe baco bits and grated cheese you have dehydrated by just letting it sit in the fridge. Add hot water & buillon cube and remarkably like scalloped potatoes. Add cold water and call vicchysoise. Eat it dry (skip bullion) & it's the end of a bag of chips. Good

Nacho stew. Take corn chips (currently Fritos for me). Crush. Buy dried refried beans (Fantastic). Instant rice (brown if you can find it.) The usual amenities plus Knorr bullion cube.

A beauty here is crushed chips easily lend themselves to stoveless/cookless eating. Was delighted last summer with them as my dinner, bars for breakfast. and tortillas and cured meat for lunch, breakfast, and dinner. Add dried fruit & preferred snacks.

[Valerie E]

Charley's "assembled" food is what I do (and 2 of my meals are actually similar to his!).

Another meal I'm planning for this year is "Thanksgiving on the Trail" — Cornbread stuffing, turkey gravy, FD/dehydrated chicken, FD/dehydrated veggies, and dried cranberries. Yum!

Think about easily found, quick-hydrating foods, and then put them together in a freezer-quality ziplock, and you've got dinner!

[Richard Glasgow]

Here's an easy one:

Instant stuffing, Idahoan instant mashed potatoes, instant gravy mix and chicken in a pouch. Throw it all in a freezer bag and add hot water. We call it crap in a bag.

[Bob Gross]

A friend of mine used to lead group trips, so his meal recipes generally served for six, eight, or ten backpackers. His specialty was a meal on a budget (low cost).

His recipe casseroles were generally named "X Glop", "Y Slop", or something like that. Basic ingredients started with either instant rice or else instant noodles. Two basic meats were either canned chicken, tuna in a pouch, or Hormel bacon pieces. He would mix up one from column A, one from column B, and add flavorings, cheese, or whatever. Breakfast was a mixture of oatmeal, milk powder, shredded coconut, and ground nuts, plus coffee of course. When it was all cooked up and served, we reimbursed him for his food and fuel costs. That generally amounted to $3-$4 per day per person.

–B.G.–

[Bob Shaver]

Pasta meals, couscous, scalloped potatoes, mac and cheese, spaghetti with tomato sauce and freeze dried sausage granules.

See this blog post:

http://backpackingtechnology.com/food-and-cooking/most-excellent-menu-for-5-dinners/

to that I would add:

http://backpackingtechnology.com/food-and-cooking/the-best-trail-supper-ever-scalloped-potatoes/

[Tim Zen]

BG said "X Glop", "Y Slop" sounded like my dad's description of army food.

[Sharon J.]

When cruising your grocery store, check the bulk foods or international foods section. I find dried hummus, lentils (daal), black bean soup, vegetarian chili, corn chowder, split-pea soup, chicken broth in the former, miso in the latter, all in powdered form. Sun-dried tomatoes or onion flakes punch up potatoes. Lots of freeze-dried veggies to be found e.g. in Trader Joes or whole foods.

[Dave P]

Hit up Andrew Skurka's blog, he has a whole section dedicated to DIY backcountry meals. Section Hiker has a whole section too.

Andrew Skurka:
Food planning for multi-day backpacking trips and thru-hikes
Break Down – A Week of Food
Backcountry cooking: An argument for soups and gruels
Backpacking breakfast & dinner recipes: Ingredient info & sourcing
Breakfast Recipe: Cheesy Potatoes
Dinner Recipe: Beans + Rice with Fritos and Cheese
Dinner Recipe: Polenta + Peppers
Breakfast Recipe: Oatmeal with Fixings

There are other websites too:

Trail Cooking

My favourite recipe so far is the Alpine Spagetti (angel's hair, Pameresan cheese, olive oil), and Loaded Potatoes (instant potatoes, bacon bits, butter).

[Roger Caffin]

> i can not afford to eat a $10.00 dinner on the trail for a week or even weekend.
Have you checked what your weekly food budget at home is like?
I think you are complaining a bit too much.

Cheers

[Yak Attack]

Wouldn't we all wish that we had our own freeze-dry machines?

–B.G.–

---

We have a small one, or rather half of one. We split the cost (which was substantial) with another family this past winter. We can freeze dry darn near anything in 24-36 hours, with the exception of some very high fat dishes.

Now if I only had some culinary creativity…

For the OP, I think LDP camping foods has their mountain house sale on right now, generally ~25%ish off iirc. No relationship to them other than as a satisfied customer.

[Bob Gross]

"We split the cost (which was substantial)"

Didn't you have to take out a second mortgage on your home?

–B.G.–

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