Cooking 3 meals per day

I hate to clean. That’s really my only gripe with cooking at all.

It just takes a lot of time. Even with a very fast stove isobutane stove I find cooking to be a chore when hiking longer distances. I have even less interest in the summer when it’s warm out. I’m definitely not pulling ultramarathon days or going for an FKT but I’m there to hike and see the land. I find that cooking is one more chore and I now usually only cook dinner if that. I love that I’m moving 20 minutes after my eyes open as I drink my protein shake/coffee as I saunter casually down the trail. I’ll start nibbling on cheese/nuts/probar/whatever an hour into my morning…

I switched to a small Esbit system last fall which saved me a lot of weight and volume in my pack for very little expense.

What do you give up by cooking three times a day? More fuel and more time. If you enjoy a warm lunch and don’t care about the time then go for it!

I’m of a similar mind as Matthew.  I came to hike, or gaze at the scenery, or see what’s over that ridge.  I’d rather cook a fancy meal at home, with a full kitchen and pantry.

One of my joys on a no-cook or low-cook trip is that while others are getting cold, waiting for their cup of morning coffee and bowl of oatmeal, I’m getting warm hiking up the trail, eating oatmeal cookies.  And while most people sit down near a stream to feed themselves (and the mosquitos), I cover a mile or two eating my wrap fairly bug-free because I keep moving.

I’ve gone no-cook as long as 10 days and my dinners looked depressingly like my lunches, so I usually cook dinners for the variety.  Plus it is easy to find cheap and light cooked options but harder if constrained by not cooking anything.  And while most people don’t think of a stove as emergency gear, but I’ve used it that way a few times when someone needed to be warmed up or a fire started quickly from wet wood.  So I don’t begrudge the pound of weight that a stove, fuel and pot inflicts.

I don’t really cook anything, but I do boil water twice a day. In the morning for coffee only, and in the evening for reconstituting a dehydrated or freeze dried meal. I always heat up a bit more water than I need because I like to brush my teeth/rinse out my mouth with warm water instead of cold water.

I like the way Matt put it. My thoughts too.

Oatmeal breakfast and maybe a cocoa in the AM and a hot meal at night with same in colder weather. I like a hot meal with cocoa at night to get the furnace stoked for bedtime.

In warmer weather I may skip breakfast and start a snacking routine but at the end of the day a hot meal is a nice reward for us.

I never cook lunch and I rarely stop hiking once I start because I hate the restarts. It takes me a few minutes in the morning to limber up and get the soft tissue warmed up and firing on all cylinders and when I rest too long for a lunch break it wrecks me. I have to start the whole process over again. I don’t know why but its always been like that, I just seize up a little.

If I have to stop during the day its only for water, taking pics or potty trowel in hand. The wife and I will pack a variety of snacks and share throughout the day. I never really get hungry for more. Biggest reason though is my IBS like symptoms. I find the dry snacks with decent hydration keep me from bloating and upset stomachs during strenuous activity. I actually do better on the trail than I do at home in that respect.

Its your hike so do it anyway you like. Enjoy!

I’m more like jimmyb with the morning/evening hot, and — while I’ve never cooked during the day — I’ve been tempted to do what the Korean hiking groups do, which is to cook up some spicy hot noodles (shin ramyon) for lunch. I love those with some kimchi while at home.

At the very least I MUST have my hot coffee in the morning, and the idea of the oatmeal cookies sounds like a perfect match for breakfast and would help speed things up a bit. Gotta give that a try, but aren’t cookies heavier than packets of oatmeal?

edit to add:  ……and what are some recommended store brands for oatmeal cookies?

Bob – on my thru-hike, everyone loved the Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies (not store brand, but still inexpensive). They have an excellent cost to calorie ratio ;)

om nom nom nom @ little debbie’s oatmeal cream pies!

Bob, if you go the oatmeal cookie route try baking up a batch at home. They are so easy to make. Throw in combos of raisins, walnuts and chocolate chips for a hearty treat.

Cant recommend store bought off hand. My grandmother would turn over in her grave :) Probably a little heavier than dry oatmeal to pack but not by much. Oatmeal cookies are generally pretty dry. If anything they take up more space.

Another good cookie for calories and lower on weight (dry) are shortbreads. Keebler makes less expensive pecan and other nut filled “Sandies”. They are part of our snacking routine. And if you like they go down real nice dipped in that morning cup of coffee.

Wow, I had forgotten about those Little Debbies… loved those when we were kids, pre-fluoridated water, hence all the tooth cavities of youth! :^) But those do sound good, and I have indeed taken the Pecan Sandies (dipped in coffee — Yessss!) and also Fig Newtons on many trips.

This got me interested enough to look at some oatmeal cookie recipes this morning and it does seem pretty simple. Something with steel cut oats, raisins and pecans is right up my alley. And I just happen to have all the ingredients in the kitchen already.

“edit to add:  ……and what are some recommended store brands for oatmeal cookies?”

Erin Baker’s Breakfast Cookies. Made in Washington. Good Stuff.

I am in the same boat, I like a hot meal at the end of the day.  Each trip varies, sometimes I use the “crotch pot” method and leave the cook set at home.  During summer I do not have a hot bfast or coffee, but shoulder season and winter I love me a hot meal in the morning.  Trail food all day, I don’t stop for much.  Once in awhile I take some dehydrated hummus and rehydrate in my pot for a nice lunch break.

MMMM oatmeal cookies!

I love oatmeal raisin cookies, but I have to put in a plug for Honey Buns in the AM while backpacking. Huge cal/oz (the nutritionist in me almost wrote kcal/g).

Yeah, Honey buns.That’s a blast from the past for me. As a teenager with empty pockets, a stop at 7 eleven for a honey bun and chocolate milk started many work days for me.

When I’m considering foods for the trail I try to limit high sugar content as I do in my regular diet. Chocolate of course is conveniently overlooked :)  Years ago I reduced considerably my sugar intake and it had a really positive impact on my everyday well being. Do you all take that into consideration on the trail?