Breakfast: superfood oats- freeze dried/dried fruit (3 blueberry, 2 apple, 1 pineapple, 1 dried mixed berry), oats, vegan protein powder, lions mane, spices, seed and nut mix, green powder

Lunches/snacks: assorted bars, 2 sticks of salmon jerky, trail mix, veggies and pretzels with powdered hummus, protein "cookie dough", protein smoothie with puffed rice and oats, dried cranberries

Dinners: 3× dehydrated curry mix (dehydrated California blend, sesame seeds, thai curry powder, tvp, dehydrated chickpeas, peanut butter powder) topped with tamari, tahini and a salad topping blend (chow mein noodles, cranberries, almonds, seeds) 4x lavash with avocado, tempeh, lettuce, cheese triangles, powdered hummus

Honestly this still has me second guessing if its enough food, my last trip i was short (thankfully was front country camping 3 of the 7 nights and was able to restock) and felt like i didn't have enough options.

Potentially going to add rice cakes, cookies and/or some babybel cheese.

Thoughts, insights and advice all welcome!

First time backpacking, had my first experience with those REI dehydrated meals last summer. They were good but expensive. I’ve been doing some research and have been utilizing my grocery store (ramen, alessi soups, tuna creations, oatmeal, tortillas) but I’m unsure about calories. I don’t count calories in my daily life so I don’t really know what to base things off. We’re doing an experimental trip to test our gear and abilities before going to grand Teton. Test trip will be about 10mi 1,000ft gain. Planning on also supplementing with nuts, jerky, dried fruit, etc. on past trips I’ve just eaten what i feel like when I’m hungry and not thought much about it. But in a backpacking situation rather than car camping I’m concerned about not giving my body what it needs. Thanks for any wisdom!

In the past I frequently had horrible stomach aches that often caused me to cut my runs short. Luckily, after cutting out dairy and reducing the amount of gluten I eat, things have been pretty good for about two years. During that time, I started seriously trail running, and I've loved it. But now my stomach aches have been slowly coming back, and I honestly don't feel 100% safe going on my longer runs. While I figure out my tummy troubles, are there any trail snacks/meals you would recommend? Thank!

I used to buy these alot, and they were like $9 for a 40oz bag at Walmart.

It been discontinued for a few months, or at least I wasn't able to buy it at my local Walmart.

Now Walmart has them again but $7 for a 34oz. But the bag, to me, looks the same?

Did they just removed abit of the plastic on the top of these bags, cuz I know they never seem to fill them up to the top on the 40oz, but these 34oz are all filled closely to the top now.

idk maybe im the only one that weirdly noticed this small change i guess.

I recently picked up a box of these to try out. I am doing a test run in the kitchen and they seem to hold up OK. They are pretty light at 6.8g. The ones I get from Packit Gourmet are about twice this.

They seem like a good, easy to acquire option for repackaging. I frequently repackage my freeze dried food. For one, the bags they come in are heavy and take up a lot of space. I have poked a hole in them before and pushed out the air. That helps with the volume, but the bags are frequently suoer heavy duty so they never really conform well and are still relatively heavy.

I also repackage because a lot of times the portion is more than I want to eat. If a meal is over about 900cal/bag a lot of times I will buy two and break them into three portions. If I don’t do this I sometimes feel like I am forcing down the last of it. And I generally have other dinner items I want to eat.

Does anyone here have any experience with these? Are they too fragile for backpacking? They did fine in my test.

I make most of my food on a budget or spun off of bear creek soups & potatoes but my girlfriend is not a mushy/soup enjoyer in the slightest.

I'm taking her on her first day hike and want to impress her with what food you can make while out to and see if i can hopefully rope her into being a hiking buddy in the future.

She already knows I can make brownies & cake on a camp stove so unfortunately my one impressive hiking meal is already known to her, looking for any ideas!

A lot of the recommended meals I see involve tortillas of some sort. I have celiac. Many gluten free tortillas are not good unless you heat them up, and generally I just don't like them. So give me your best gluten free lunch options that will hold up to 85+ degree days and get me carbs and protein without tortillas.

Ingredients:

• Peanut butter (I prefer to bring a whole jar instead of powdered because I'm built different)
• Flat rice noodles
• Chicken packets plain
• Dehydrated veggies (mushrooms and bell peppers)
• Crushed peanuts for garnish
• dehydrated lime
• fresh spinach
• Spice: Chili, ginger, garlic powders
• Optional: green onions/ cilantro
• On the side: miso soup from packets (these were really good and salty!!)

Recipe:
Cook noodles and rehydrate the veggies, drain. Then add chicken packets, peanut butter, spices and stir. Add garnishes on top: lime and peanuts.

This was really good and I can't wait to make it again on my next backpacking trip!

I dehydrated these noodles and couscous with veggies about a week ago, and they need to be eaten on trail in 1-2 weeks during a 9 day hike. I added powdered boullion and now it looks wet-ish. It's my first time dehydrating myself and I did not take the water pulling effect of salty boullion into account. It still smells fine so far, but I'm wondering if this is still safe to eat? In the noodles I used a red boullion and in the couscous a green one, so hence the difference in colour. Also, in case this is still edible, would it make a difference if I cook or cold soak the meals? These were originally planned as cold soaks.

Hi all- I've been thinking about protein-rich meals for my first week long backpacking trip as a vegetarian and was considering adding tvp to my ramen. In the past, I've always sautéed the tvp before using it, but I wasn't necessarily planning on carrying a skillet on this trip. I'm curious what everyone's opinion is on whether or not I need to sauté it or if I can just rehydrate it in the broth. Thanks!

I'm prepping food for a long upcoming hike (te araroa) and thought I'd try dehydrating some pumpkin. I've read that over time it can develop an 'off' taste so i am interested in rhe experience of others.

How did your dehy pumpkin turn out?

Did you steam or roast first?

Did it start to taste weird after a few months?

I know that trail mix is a high calorie food and for the right reasons. But I wish I could eat it when not backpacking. Any good low calorie trail mixes out there? Anyone with me on this? I know it goes against the whole point of the product lol.

Hi, all the tortillas I have ever bought tell me to put them in the microwave but if that's not possible on the trail, how do you heat them up?

I'm preparing my gear for the American Discovery Trail. I want to pack light, but I don't mind a little extra weight for some comforts. Cooking and eating healthy are really important to me, so if there's one area I'm willing at add a bit of extra weight it's here.

For those that don't know, the ADT crosses over the US. Basically I'll be walking coast to coast. It'll take me about a year to do, so I'll be living outside for the vast majority of the walk. I plan to eat at restaurants very little, and dehydrated meals are expensive, so I plan to cook most of my meals as I go along.

Obviously, while out on trail I'm not going to be lugging around sacks of fresh stuff, but when I'm close to towns, I want to be able to get some fresh stuff and cook a little meal with it. The little stove cups for boiling seem good if all you're doing is rehydrating stuff, or eating instant oats, but I want a bit more variety than that.

It's important that any stove uses inexpensive widely available fuel.

What would you recommend?

I got the inspiration for this recipe from puttanesca pasta, which is typically made with anchovy and tomato. I wanted something a little lighter and trail friendly. All ingredients were dehydrated separately, then vacuum sealed in a bag for long term storage.

2.5 oz ditalini pasta, cooked and dehydrated
3 tbsp diced tomato
1.5 tbsp black olives
1/2 tbsp capers (rinse before dehydrating)
1 tbsp roasted red peppers
2 tsp diced red onion
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning

1 packet tuna (Sundried tomato flavor may be amazing here)
1 packet olive oil
1 Parmesan packet

Warm soak everything except the packets until the pasta is tender about 30-45 mins. Drain excess liquid. Add tuna, olive oil and grated Parmesan.

Hi all, I have been preparing for my 3 week hike and wasn't sure what is the best way to dehydrate eggs. Internet told me to just dehydrate them

A. RAW as they are - or

B. WHISKED - separate whites, whisk them to stiff peaks, whisk the yolks, fold the two together and then dehydrate.

​

So I've tried both and added a

C. PASTEURISED version (inspired by dehydrating lemon curd) I cooked some eggs with a bit of water in water bath to 74°C till they thickened but not curdled.

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Results are:

Ease of preparation:

1. Raw. Naturally. Just briefly whisked/mixed whites and yolks together and poured onto the tray. Difficult to load in the dehydrator as eggs are liquid and spill easily.

2. Pasteurised take annoyingly long time to prep. But pasteurisation can be done at once with a large batch and they're easier to handle when putting the egg loaded trays into the dehydrator as they're not so runny anymore.

3. Whisked. Takes long time and (with standard kitchen equipment) you can whisk like 4 eggs at a time only, so you need to do it many times. Easy to load though.

​

Dehydrating time (dehydrated at 63°C):

1. Whisked. These were a bit faster do dry, but it was difficult fit all of the eggs on a tray since the foamy eggs are so voluminous, so you might need to use fewer eggs per tray.

2. Pasteurised. Even though there was added water during the pasteurisation process they dehydrated a tad faster than the raw version.

3. Raw

​

Powdering:

1. Whisked. It is much easier to blend them into fine-ish powder.

2. Raw. Ended up pretty grainy, here I can't speak about powder anymore.

3. Pasteurised. Yet more rough finish resulting in more grit than a powder.

​

Rehydrating (rehydrated for several hours in adequate amount cold water):

1. Whisked. Since the powder is the finest they seem to be smoother when rehydrated.

2. Raw. Bigger ju ks in there but all right. Neither has the snooty egg texture as fresh eggs, it's just a yellowish liquid with chunks in it.

3. Pasteurised. The chunks and water kinda didn't get together much at all.

​

Cooked (scrambled with fat):

1. Whisked and raw. I expected the raw ones being more gritty but I struggle to taste any difference in the end. Nearly as smooth as fresh eggs, though not quite 100%.

2. Pasteurised. Tangibly rough, but still edible. The chunks weren't rock hard, just a bit gummy.

​

Conclusion: simple RAW liquid eggs are the winner for me personally for the ease of preparation and at the same time not so noticeable difference on plate. If I am dehydrating just one batch I'll maybe invest time and effort in the whisking for the satisfying powdering phase, but it's not worth it for a large dehydrating project.

Pasteurised version is doable and quite all right if you are worried about food safety.

​

Hopefully this will help someone to decide with meal prep for their hike!

​

Do you know another method that might be worth trying? Have you tried rehydtrating with hot water?

Just wanted to share a simple recipe that I love: it’s light to carry, packs some fiber+protein and will last on the trail for at least a few days if they don’t get smushed in your pack!

• 1 cup peanut butter (I’ve found that natural PB is usually too oily and chunky for this recipe, proceed w caution)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 medium sized ripe bananas
½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons honey (optional, I don’t add it because I think they’re plenty sweet with ripe bananas)

* Optional add-ins: dark chocolate chips, coconut, raisins, nuts or seeds for extra fiber+protein (mix well before spooning into tins or just sprinkle on top, chips & nuts tend to settle at bottom)

They stick like crazy. Oil your tin well or use muffin liners!

Bake at 400 for 12-15 until tops are done and browned slightly. Enjoy!

The food is my favorite part of trip planning! This is for an upcoming climbing trip to the Winds. Everything just needs to be brought to a boil and then put aside to finish hydrating.

1 - Dinners packed for 2, we’ll just eat out of a shared pot. Each meal is 700ish calories and between 125-175g per serving. Most will have a little butter or oil added to serve.

2 - lasagna! I’m most excited about this one. Cooked + dried noodles, tomato sauce leather, ricotta, ground turkey seasoned like sausage, spinach, parm to finish

3 - tuna mac with dried peas, tuna (dries and rehydrates incredibly well but made the whole house smell like tuna lol), cooked and dried shells, Annie’s cheese packet and extra parm

4 - Mexican rice and beans - rice cooked with salsa, dried black beans, corn, peppers, and dried carnitas (drain and defat pressure-cooked pork shoulder, season with cumin/coriander/garlic/orange peel, dehydrate until crispy)

5 - peanut noodles - ramen, soy curls, dried stir fry vegetables, Thai green curry paste, coconut milk powder, peanuts

6 - thanksgiving dinner - turkey, stuffing mix, cranberries, green beans, brown gravy mix, mashed potato

7 - jerk rice and beans - turkey, rice cooked with coconut milk and jerk seasoning, black beans, dried peppers and pineapple

8 - biscuits and gravy - dried homemade biscuits, turkey seasoned like breakfast sausage, country gravy mix made with Wondra flour, cornstarch, and milk powder.

Why I have I never heard of these in the backpacking world? Got one when I was nerding out on espresso and coffee roasting during the lockdowns. But the Amazon page has 12 reviews lol, searching on Reddit they’re posted nowhere. Basically taste as good as any v60 proper pour over, I’m impressed. Of course, requires burying or burning pour over filter paper, or packing out

Thank you all for feedback and ideas for teh breakfast I am working on! (Thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/trailmeals/comments/1ttyao5/breakfast_hash_recipe_workshoppingfeedback/ )

I have made a 2.0 version. It is still a bit light on calories, but I am trying to dial in the flavor before loading it with cheese/butter powder/etc. This version has much better flavor with the jalapenos, but seasoning or hot sauce are still nice add-ins. More comments/ideas welcome but wanted to share the update and thank folks for feedback!

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Breakfast Hash 2.0 (Estimated: 480cals, $5.50 per portion, about 3.9oz in freezer bag)

Ingredients

- 37 grams (2/3 cup) dried hashbrowns (one of the carton brands)

- 7-8 grams (about a tablespoon) country sausage gravy powder

- 40 grams of bacon bits/crumbles, bacon jerky (ripped up), and/or smoked sausages (sliced)

- 10 grams pork rinds (crumbled)

- 15 grams of crispy jalapeno pieces and/or parmesan cheese crisps (salad toppings aisle)

Instructions

Add 1 cup boiled water and let it rehydrate in bag in a koozy for 8mins

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Updates from 1.0 based on feedback:
- Country gravy rather than brown
- Smoked sausages (it should be an obvious add-in, but never would have thought of them)
- Cheese crisps and jalapeno crisps are a big win, but tortilla chips really made version 1.5 salty

Continued Tinkering:
- I am planning to try unsalted tortilla chips or just regular tortilla pieces in another version to get the calorie boost

- Parmesan crisps were a last minute idea but they melted in and blended with the pork rind gravy perfectly, plus less water weight and keep longer! Definitely a win but I want to see how much I can up the amount for calories without overwhelming everything.

- To get more smokiness/grill flavor/diner quality of the taste, I am considering some dried pork, smoked paprika, and butter powder.

- OvaEasy eggs were suggested quite a bit, but I haven't gotten my order in yet, and it does sound like they might force a 2-step cooking process rather than a classic freezer bag meal. Will update if I find a good approach on this.