Whether you're doing a quick overnight trip or hiking for many days, you will want food that will fuel and strengthen you while still tasting delicious. If you have thought that a whole lot of planning and preparation goes into creating a great camping menu, let us tell you that some fast-food solutions taste as good as an already-cooked home meal. The following guide will give you a hand in meal planning as well as introduce you to some backpacking food ideas that will elevate your camping cooking and the whole outdoor experience in general.
Backpacking Food Ideas
Enjoy nutrient-dense meals even in the outdoors with a convenient and delicious camping food pack. When backpacking, camping food packs will save you both space and weight. These are ready-to-eat and pre-made meals that are easy to prepare by adding water to the convenient pack. These meal alternatives are quick to hydrate, taking 10 minutes to prepare making them an excellent choice for people short on time and space and want to pack less. Nevertheless, they provide adequate nutritional variety. What's more, bringing extra camping food packets will provide your body with adequate nutritious content and energy.
The best thing about hiking food packs is that there is breakfast, lunch as well as dinner packs. There are also snack packs available. For instance, instant hot cereal or oatmeal with dried fruits and nuts; rolled oats soaked overnight in water; powdered or fresh scrambled eggs in a tortilla; savoury pancakes; breakfast bars; apple quinoa porridge; granola or cereal with powdered milk; instant mashed potatoes or instant hash browns; instant grits with bacon bits or cheese; self-stable or precooked bacon are all the breakfast options.
Freeze-dried foods, on the other hand, can be a terrific on-the-go and delicious lunch alternative. Bread, rice, and pasta are some of the many options. You will most need to add water or boil them. They can last up to 30 years but must be stored at lower temperatures, usually with low humidity. Also, consider dehydrated food. These food variants often need to be vacuum-sealed, boiled, and let sit in water before eating. Still, they are light and easy to transport because they take up very little space, making them perfect for longer backpacking trips.
Dinner is the reward after putting in the effort all day. Backcountry gourmets don't mind the extra effort of preparing full meals amid the great outdoors. Most weary travellers, however, prefer the comfort of prepacked freeze-dried or dehydrated meals, or simple foods like spaghetti, which require just boiling water.
Try mac and cheese with bacon pieces or tuna; dehydrated risotto; pesto and parmesan cheese pasta; ramen noodles with dehydrated vegetables; instant soups; instant mashed potatoes and beef jerky or instant chicken stuffing.
Amount
A common question is how much food to take for a hiking trip. This will be determined by a variety of criteria, including the intensity of your activity, your size and weight, how many calories you burn, the number of days you'll be out, and so on.
A daily meal intake of 1½ to 2½ pounds (2,500 to 4,500 calories) is an acceptable target. A person doing 10 miles of rigorous hiking with a 4,000-foot rise will certainly burn more calories and require a lot more food than someone walking a few miles of reasonably flat terrain and intending to relax at the campsite.
When deciding how much or how little to carry, consider taking a bit extra. Extra food is one of the ten essentials for an overnight travel. However, you will not want to overdo it. A classic misstep is packing too much food, which forces you to carry extra bulk and weight. Experience will teach you the amount of food that works best for you.
Food Planning
Even if it's just a rough sketch, creating a meal plan can help you determine how much food you'll need. This might be as easy as writing it down on paper, or as complicated as constructing a spreadsheet.
Begin with dinners, which are typically the largest meals of the day and the ones you are most likely to sit down for. Consider the activities you plan to participate in and when they will take place. What will your day look like, and how much energy will you have by the end of it? On your most difficult day of hiking, you may prefer a basic dehydrated supper. However, if your trip includes time spent relaxing at camp, you will have more time to prepare.
Places to Shop
Scan grocery stores for little food packets like tuna pouches, oil packets, powdered milk, and peanut butter or jelly. Also seek for ramen noodles, quick rice, soup mixes, chicken or beef broth, instant mashed potatoes, and dried hash browns. Don't overlook the international food section for quick noodles, refried beans, and other boxed meals. Look in the bulk food aisle for snacks, instant hummus, vegetable soup mixes, black bean flakes, powdered milk, powdered butter, instant falafel mixtures, and extra threads.
