Looking to add protein to my backpacking diet

[monkey]

Not sure if anyone mentioned pork cracklings. Something like this: link

These are natural, very light, a bit bulky though, and 100g contains 644 calories, 55g fat and 45g protein. Personally they are a bit sickening if eating a lot, but two-three bits with dinner are perfect to satisfy a craving.

[AK Granola]

instant hummus Protein-rich flatbreads fantastic foods refried beans Precooked bacon that keeps without refrigeration Dry milk powder Nutella!!

[Bill Segraves]

"Not sure if anyone mentioned pork cracklings. Something like this: link "These are natural, very light, a bit bulky though, and 100g contains 644 calories, 55g fat and 45g protein." Careful of pork rinds as a protein source. IME, most are labeled "not a significant source of protein." How can that be, you might ask, if they have all those grams of protein? Check out the amino acid composition of collagen and its resultant nutritive properties. Cheers, Bill S.

[Bill Segraves]

Let me be explicit that this proves nothing, but in light of discussion, I found it pretty funny. Walking in the Tetons last week and came upon a trail runner doing a 36-miler. I asked him what he eats/drinks on the trail, and he pulled out his fav, an Omnibar, featuring real meat. He said he used to use other less protein-rich bars, but said of the Omnibar, "I like the way it feels in my stomach." :) It doesn't really have all that much protein, as a percent of calories (looks like ~18%), but interesting to see how different people's preferences are. Cheers, Bill S.

[Steve Thompson]

I do something very similar. For breakfast I bring Nido and either vanilla or strawberry flavored protein powder to add to one cup of water, mix with 3/4 cup muesli. The powder I use (Jay Robb) is sweetened with stevia so no added carbs. Additionally I will include a protein milkshake with dinner. These additions add little bulk or weight and make it easy to increase the protein composition of my backcountry diet. Steve

[Steve Collins]

I think it's a given, but important to note, that not everyone's bodies react the same – what works for a short high miles weekend may not work for a 2-3 week trip with no resupplies. I've personally been eating a high protein, low carb, no refined sugar diet for years and after a 100 mile ride or long day hiking at altitude I'm actually craving protein not carbs. I do have carbs every day in the form of nuts or nut butters and black beans or lentils – this has been easy to adapt to trail life. I also use two scoops or so of Isopure Natural protein powder each morning at home or on the trail, mixes super easy with water or dehydrated almond milk. It's completely unflavored and dissolves really easy with a shake in a Gatorade bottle or just stirring it up with a spoon – I actually add it to my paleo granola with some water, shake up the bag and eat. My two cents, YMMV. – Steve

[Rick Reno]

Steve: Care to share your recipe for paleo granola? Anybody else?

[Steve Collins]

Sure, here are the basics, sometimes I mix it up and add some different seeds or nuts depending upon what I have. 1/2-3/4 cup each Almonds, Walnuts, Pecans (chopped up to 1/4 inch or slivered) 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut 1/8 cup flax or other seeds 1/4 cup local honey 1/4 cup coconut oil 1/8-1/4 cup almond flour 2 tbs pure maple syrup 1 tsp cinnamon (or more to taste) 1 tsp salt (or more to taste) Mix honey, coconut oil, almond flour, maple syrup and cinnamon in a large bowl. Get it as blended as possible, sometimes a little bit of warmth helps – microwave for short bursts of 5-10 sec at a time. Stir in rest. You want to get it mixed up really well, I dump it on a silpat or parchment paper, get your hands into it. If it is too dry add a little coconut oil, too wet add some almond flour. Spread out on the silpat or parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Pop in the oven at 300-325 for 10-15 min. Pull it out and crumble it up. Pop back in the oven for 10-15 min. Watch it so it doesn't burn. Let it cool completely and store in airtight container or your stomach. Good luck. Here are a few recipes I adapted mine from. Paleo Grubs Granola Civilized Caveman Granola Paleo OMG Granola Steve Edited: fixed the links!

[Pedestrian]

So what makes this granola "Paleo")? (whatever "paleo" is…..)

[Steve Collins]

The paleo diet essentially allows lean meats, fish, veggies, some fruit, tree nuts (not peanuts) and seeds, little starch, and no sugar. This excludes… grains, legumes, white potatoes, dairy, and corn. Think about it this way… the things that are excluded are the food items that people are more often allergic to or just have issues digesting. White potatoes and corn just turn into sugar. The Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet The Paleo Diet

[Bob Shaver]

Warner B, it looks like your client started out looking pretty hot, and put on a lot of weight with your pills. I use freeze dried sausage crumbles in spaghetti, precooked shelf stable bacon in meals in the evening, and bacon and cheese on bagels toasted in butter for breakfast. Also freeze dried chicken and beef cubes to add to pasta and rice dishes. Plus whatever fish I can get.

[Anonymous]

"The paleo diet essentially allows lean meats, fish, veggies, some fruit, tree nuts (not peanuts) and seeds, little starch, and no sugar. This excludes… grains, legumes, white potatoes, dairy, and corn. Think about it this way… the things that are excluded are the food items that people are more often allergic to or just have issues digesting. White potatoes and corn just turn into sugar." Interesting premise, and i certainly can see the benefit of cutting down on the latter group and increasing some or most of the first group, but there are definitely exceptions to the rule regarding ease of digestion in the latter group. For example, brown rice for grains, lentils for legumes, goat and sheep milk for dairy and cultured forms of cow dairy. While quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat are technically considered seeds, they are good substitutes for/in the grain category. Oats well prepared are pretty good. Cultured goat and sheep milk is very easy to fully digest and fairly nutritious. If a goat or sheep is treated well, is happy, and eats healthy food and drinks clean water, and so is healthy, no one can tell me that straight milk or especially cultured versions of same, is unhealthy in moderation. I have a fair amount of food issues, and have had to cut out a lot of foods i like due to problems with digestion, intolerance reactions, etc, but goat and sheep dairy definitely are not on that list. This is why i don't follow specific diets so much as listen to my own body, experiment, and synthesize various different dietary information to find similarities and common ground. Diets, like a lot of codified belief systems, generally contain some dogma and inaccuracy. Civilization dates for example, every few years or so it seems, is getting pushed back further and further as to ancient history and when relatively advanced and organized ones sprung up (with agriculture often being an important part of the development). If it keeps getting pushed back, this could have ramifications for paleo theories. And nobody knows exactly how long it does or doesn't take for the human body to adapt to a food or general diet. Balance, moderation, variety, and naturalness seem to be more key overall. Also, i wished people used common sense more. While i agree with some vegan principles, try eating a vegan diet up in the Arctic and being healthy or comfortable. You need the high amount of fat and protein up there, and non animal sources of same aren't as nutritious as the traditional diets of those who adapted to those regions (lots of organ meats with necessary high amounts of vitamin A, D, etc). Considering how thermic producing complex and dense sources of protein are and how much water it takes to process, it doesn't make sense to eat a lot of animal protein living near the hot areas of equatorial regions if there is plenty of nutritious, non animal foods to eat. Relativity.

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