Backpacking Menu - A Stove-Free Weekend
Here's a quick menu. My requirements for this trip - the food had to be lightweight, nutritious, reasonably satisfying and high in salt.
This is a stove-free menu. I don't always bring a stove on weekend trips, to cut out the weight of stove, fuel, pans, and usually more trash and waste. Frankly, you won't miss having a stove for such a short trip! this gives the freedom of moving faster and easier.
You can use this menu as is, or modify it as you see fit.
This is a stove-free menu. I don't always bring a stove on weekend trips, to cut out the weight of stove, fuel, pans, and usually more trash and waste. Frankly, you won't miss having a stove for such a short trip! this gives the freedom of moving faster and easier.
You can use this menu as is, or modify it as you see fit.
- Friday Afternoon - Pre-Trip Meal
Something hot and nutritious on the road, start at the trailhead with a full tank. A veggie-stacked hamburger, with a side salad or cole slaw and plenty of water. Salty fries are fine, but stay away from soda, alcohol, coffee or iced tea - this is not a good time for drinks that dehydrate your system.
- Trail Snack
Luna Bars, but there are lots of choices out there. If it's hot, I'll drink Gatoraid at rest breaks.
- Friday Evening
For dinner I like tuna with fresh red peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes. Have crackers, rice cakes or tortillas with your tuna, and add cheese slices if you've had a strenuous afternoon!
- Saturday Breakfast
Granola with powdered milk and water. Add dates or raisins, and have a slice of cheese (gouda travels well) and/or a bagel.
- Saturday Lunch
Go for the salt and fats in the middle of a hard day of hiking: more cheese, and Top Ramen, with an apple on the side. Ramen is not the healthiest food, but it has the virtues of being 1. lightweight, 2. inexpensive, 3. tasty and 4. salty. I find the saltiness very welcome in the middle of the day, when electrolytes are lowest. How do you eat ramen without a stove? Just stick the noodles in a Nalgene, add water and the salt packet, and let it sit for a bit. Yum! An instant pick-me-up!
If you don't like ramen, a packet of chunk lite tuna with the cheese and some crackers or cucumber slices is quite good.
- Saturday Snack
Trail Mix (my own combo of almonds, cashews, raisins, choco-chips, sesame seeds and granola). There's also the option of more cheese (a hunk of mozzarella will still be fresh), or a Luna Bar.
- Saturday Dinner
Dried black beans (or dried refried beans - with both you just add water and mix), a yellow bell pepper, and an avocado, all wrapped in a fresh tortilla. Good stuff! For dessert, a handful of Oreo cookies. Eat them slowly and you won't wish you had more.
- Sunday Breakfast
Go for the granola once more, but if this sounds too boring for you, try muesli, or an assortment of fruits and yogurt or cheeses. Best trail fruits are apples, oranges, kiwis, dates, figs or any fruit that's been dried. Bananas and pears bruise too easily, and melons are considered too heavy. Some people manage grapes, but I find they get sticky. Raisins are much easier.
- Sunday Lunch
Dig right back into the ramen,or tuna- I really crave salt on a rugged trail. Another option is to bring peanut butter and put on yout tortillas, with whatever I have left in the food bag - cheese, torts, bagels, crackers, any fruit or veggies that did not get consumed in prior meals. Why hike out with unnecessary weight? Eat it all!
- Sunday Snack
More trailmix and a food bar, with any leftover Oreos.
- Emergency Food
Always have a few items stashed in case you have to stay out an extra night, or if some emergency comes up. X-Rations are usually extra Luna Bars, a few packets of instant oatmeal (you can add cold water right into the package if you tear off the top...it's not hot, but it WILL give you energy), a few packets of sugar and salt. On cold trips have a baggie full of dehydrated mashed potatoes mixed with spices and loads of powdered butter. Also have an extra packet of ramen....
Backpacking Breakfast IdeasGoing shopping for breakfast backpacking food items? Here's a basic list of morning eating ideas, with tips on how to pack them.
Backpacking Breakfasts
With a little creativity, you can design your morning meal similarly to what you might eat at home - eggs, pancakes, hot cereal and all.
- Granola - This can be a standard mix, gorp, or a creation of your own. I have a list of personal favorites I make up myself.
- Dried Milk - Make sure you double-bag all powdered food.
- Fresh Fruit - If your fruit is fresh, focus on eating them earlier in the trip, before they go bad. Fresh fruit is also heavy, so that is another good reason to eat your apples, oranges and pears quickly. Be careful with fruits like bananas, peaches and plums - fruits that are more fragile and prone to squishing all over your pack. Fresh figs and dates are lightweight and long-lasting fruit options.
- Dried Fruit - Most fruits are also available dried and make tasty, healthy additions to your hot cereal, granola or pancake breakfasts.
- Dried Eggs - These taste okay and are a safer bet than carrying the 'real thing'.
- Hot Cereal Mixes - So many to choose from, from oatmeal to farina to childhood standby Maltomeal. The oatmeal packs are the easiest - carefully open the top of the package and add hot water directly to the bag. Mix with a spoon and eat right from there - no dishes to clean up!
- Couscous - Many packers have found that cooked couscous is a great alternative to oatmeal - it cooks instantly, is a great carrier for sweet toppings like honey, and cooks up really well with a sample of dehyrated fruit. I love couscous in the field!
- Pancake Mix - Double bag, or even triple bag. Place instructions for cooking the pancakes into the inner bag on a scrap of paper. You can also cook up your pancakes at home, before the trip, and just heat them in the field.
- Bagels - The smaller versions tend to last longer, or you can plan your bagel breakfasts to be earlier in your trip. Keep your bagel bags out of the sun and try not to sit on them. Tortillas are a good and popular substitute for bagels for many hikers.
Backpacking Spreads
With semi-solids like these foods, you are going to need care wtih packing. Finding wet yogurt or sticky honey on your clothes and sleeping bags is no fun - and many backpackers have dealt with this from time to time. Make sure your wet foods are packed securely - I use a wide-mouthed, short sized Nalgene, tightened, then double-bagged for extra security. Another option is finding dehydrated versions of some of the foods listed below.
- Honey - Dehyrated versions exist. Or just bring brown sugar.
- Jam - For bagels or mix in hot cereal for a treat.
- Cream Cheese - Bagel topper, and also yummy on eggs.
- Peanut Butter - More bagel topping ideas.
- Butter - the dehydrated butters are not bad and can be added to any meal to make for a more rich taste.
- Salsa - I like this for my eggs, and have found I can dehydrate my own salsa in the oven. Alternatively, just bring a small bottle of hot sauce. Tabasco makes a line of teeny tiny bottles that you can find in the backpacking shops.
- Granola - This can be a standard mix, gorp, or a creation of your own. I have a list of personal favorites I make up myself.
Copyright © 2005 Barb Zelinski. All Rights Reserved.
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