Salt content in hiking meals

[Jason Powell]

Hey all, I'm sure this is chewed gum, but I'm new to backpacking and this site. I've been purchasing alot of gear and trying to stay light but as I started to look into the food options I've noticed huge salt contents. Specially the mountain house and similar products. I've come up with a few ideas such as rice noodles, soba noodles, instant potatoes, and a few other sides but that doesn't cover the protien end of the spectrum.

I've camped my whole life but usually at a camp site with a cooler and my car two steps away. Now I'm wanting to hike more than site camp. Any ideas? And where to find products.

[Ken Thompson]

A search through this very forum will yield all the answers you seek. Recipes, food sources, etc.. are all here.

[Jason McSpadden]

There are some great resources here on this forum. Do a bit of searching. My favorites are Laurie Ann March's books "A Fork In The Trail" and "Another Fork In The Trail". She frequents this site. I also like Sarah Kirkconnell's book "Freezer Bag Cooking". She also is a BPL member.

I haven't tried them yet but Pack-Lite Foods area "fairly" low in sodium–that is compared to Mountain House.

[Bob Gross]

Noodles and potatoes tend to be low in protein, but not zero. If you need to add protein, there is always peanut butter.

If you think the protein content will get too low, then add beer. The beer doesn't add any protein, but you won't care.

As for the salt, yes, the commerical food processors tend to put a lot of salt in there to improve the flavor. What you can do is to take one serving of the salty commerical food, then add one serving of noodles or rice. Effectively, that cuts the salt in half.

You probably do not want to cut the salt too low. Backpackers tend to sweat a bit, and that salt needs to be replenished.

–B.G.–

[Jason Powell]

I was wondering where the beer thing was going, lol. I'm not sure if that packs light but maybe a flask of whisky….

thanks for the replies though, I'll be looking through here more and more since I just found the site I'm sure I'll find what I'm looking for.

[Gary Dunckel]

My approach is to buy the Mountain House salty meats (beef, chicken and burger) in bulk, then combine those with various dehydrated or freeze dried veggies/beans from Harmony House, and some version of cooked-then-dehydrated pasta or grains. I might add some sort of sauce mix (pesto, alfredo, 4-cheese, dehydrated green chili etc.), with powdered milk and butter powder, and add my own seasonings. These dishes all rehydrate pretty fast, but sometimes I'll simmer them to get the spices happening.

[Jason Powell]

That's an interesting idea, I'm gonna have to experiment at home. I have bought a jetboil, which doesn't simmer well, but boils water awesome. I'm still learning ways to cook with it.

[Anonymous]

"I was wondering where the beer thing was going, lol. I'm not sure if that packs light"

Hey, this is backpacking light. Get the dehydrated version.

[Author]

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