Trail food supplies

[skysurfer]

Cooking and Eating - Trail Food - Self Reliance Outfitters?

 

[Enkrypter]

I am not a fan of trail food that requires a LOT of water to use.

Serious backpackers are slowly changing their eating habits on the trail. I know from personal experience that mountain house is one of the absolute worst things you can take into the woods. Why, do I say this? Because they all take 16oz of water to re-hydrate and water is heavy as hell. Water should be going into me, not my food. Sometimes the trail you are on simply won't have water on it. Even a simple two day hike with Mountain house or other dehydrated pastas means carrying something to the tune of 13lbs of water with you. Trust me it's not fun.

Great for the home emergency store, but often bad for the trail.

 

[indytechnerd]

So what would you suggest as an alternative? MH is losing favor, not because of its rehydration requirements, but because of its poor nutrition and increasing price. Let's not forget that you're still ingesting most of that 2c of water along with the food.

 

[Dragon]

A great replacement for MH is Knorr Rice/Pasta Sides. Also, if water is going into your food to prep it, it IS going into your body when you eat it. Food takes water to digest so I really don't see what the big deal is with preparing food if you want to.

 

[littletommy]

A great replacement for MH is Knorr Rice/Pasta Sides.

Knorr is good, and I also like the Meijer and Kroger brand pouch rice and pasta, in fact, I usually buy the store brands, as they often are on sale for around $0.88. Taste wise, I can't tell a difference. I have a small plastic tote full of these things that I'm gonna keep for a few years and see how they taste after expiration, as long as bugs don't get in, I can't see them going bad.

 

[Dragon]

Knorr is good, and I also like the Meijer and Kroger brand pouch rice and pasta, in fact, I usually buy the store brands, as they often are on sale for around $0.88. Taste wise, I can't tell a difference. I have a small plastic tote full of these things that I'm gonna keep for a few years and see how they taste after expiration, as long as bugs don't get in, I can't see them going bad.

How's the packaging on the store brands? The Knorr has that mylar'ish inside that allows me to just boil water and pour it right in, allowing me to "cook" the rice in the bag.

 

[littletommy]

Comparing all three side by side (I went and looked) I'd be willing to bet the packaging is exactly the same, probably coming from the same factory. All three brands show a small, like .032 strip of the mylar at the top where the seam is sealed, and the way the pouch is pleated at the bottom is the same from one to the other.

 

[jmont]

Whenever I'm out, I usually bring oatmeal (does not need too much water), SPAM, canned chicken and tuna (placed into bags to reduce weight).
Is this a good packing list or am I missing something?

 

[PistolBob]

As kids we'd make up a loaf of peanut butter and honey sandwiches and put them in our backpack...we'd live on those for 2 or 3 days. Hard boiled eggs are easy to carry too, and they don't spoil for a week or so....longer if the shell is intact. Good cheap portable protein.

 

[Kart29]

Isn't getting water just part of life on the trail? Why would you feel the need to pack all of the cooking water in?

Well... I guess if you were crossing the desert or something like that maybe. But geez, the whole world is made up of water and dirt. Most times you should be able to find some before too awful long.

 

[fastang50]

The food requires water one way or another. You either hump around food that still has the water and add less later. Or you hump around food that's had the water removed that you have to add later. Both ways work, just depends what you want to eat and how easy water is to get. Of course, I'd agree that MH prices these days have got me looking at other options too. Jeezz!

 

[togden812]

You can easily make your own dehydrated food for far less than $10 a serving.

An easy way to do it is just make an extra serving or two next time you cook. Just dehydrate and seal them with a foodsaver. Chili is super easy. And you can split up, or eat the whole thing, a $1 box of mac and cheese for less than $9

 

[Khazik]

How about Pemmican? The original MRE. Developed and used by the native Americans, served them well. It's fat, protein, and sugars (carbs) all in one package, and you can buy it or make it yourself. I havent tried any yet as I'm waiting for money to come in to do so, but I believe it'll replace the rice I have my go bag. Anyone tried any?

 

[woodsie57]

My son sent me some pemmican made in the traditional fashion- doesn't taste very good,pretty greasy as well- in short, excellent survival food. You're not likely to pig out on it for entertainment, and a little goes a long way