Can you look over my shopping list for food?

[jimmyjam]

Natures Path pop tart clones. Gaggingly sweet. Expensive.
Pop tarts? Really?
Backpacking should be a healthy activity. Why negate the benefits with pop tarts, etc. ?
Wayne


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This past October I did a 300 mile AT section and ate a lot of poptarts, probably 50+ snickers bars, fruit roll ups and lots of junk and guess what? My cholesterol went down by like 40 points. So I think its OK to eat some junk while you hike. I never eat that stuff when I'm not hiking.

[StubbleJumper]

OP, just ignore the Food Police who prosthelytize their religious views of what is healthy and what is not. My recommendation is that you anchor your trail food decisions in what you actually like to eat rather than fussing about whether a particular trail food has enough vitamin C or riboflavin (you can worry about eating fresh fruit and vegetables when you are in town).

There are, however, a few practical considerations that you might want to think about:


1) You need to get enough calories. If you don't mind losing weight, you can always plan to run a calorie deficit, but I can tell you from personal experience that it's possible to lose weight at an alarmingly fast rate (ie, losing a half-pound per day is okay for 14 days, but after 30 days it's quite something). Calorie dense foods should be your target.

2) You might find that your body will crave salt more than it craves sugar (but there's nothing wrong with sugar either). Personally, I sweat like a pig and lose a ridiculous amount of salt during a day. Salted peanuts, mixed nuts, potato chips, Fritos, no-cook bacon, jerky, and Ramen are great to satisfy that craving. When it gets really bad, I like to make instant chicken noodle soup as the salt content is fabulous.

3) It's nice to consume at least a little bit of protein. I find that protein seems to last longer in my stomach and it contributes to muscle maintenance and development. I like protein sources that are accompanied by salt and fat, including dried sausage, cheese, jerky and no-cook bacon. I find this to be a nice combo of calories and protein. When you are in town, it's always nice to eat a heavy dose of protein at a restaurant meal.


Eat what you like and have fun out there.

[Venchka]

This past October I did a 300 mile AT section and ate a lot of poptarts, probably 50+ snickers bars, fruit roll ups and lots of junk and guess what? My cholesterol went down by like 40 points. So I think its OK to eat some junk while you hike. I never eat that stuff when I'm not hiking.

Fair enough. But the rascals are beyond sweet and about twice the price of the originals.
Down 40 points hey? Good. I've managed to get mine down to the point where the two types are almost equal and I don't have a total of 40 points that I could loose.
Wayne


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[Siestita]

NIDO--The Backpacking Wonder Food

I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Nestle's NIDO Fortificada...Lecha Entera en Polvo con Vitaminas y Minerales" ('Nestle's Nest, Fortified..Dry Whole Milk with Added Vitamins and Minerals). It's available in the Latin American sections of our local supermarkets and Walmarts here in Kentucky. Don't confuse NIDO with other powdered milk products, the ones that are fat-free. There are many tasty fat free foods, but for me reconstituted fat-free powdered milk is not one of them.

Removing the fat from dried milk makes it possible for vendors to keep it staple on store shelves for many months or years at a time, but at the cost making the stuff taste terrible. Half the calories in NIDO. on the other hand, come from fat. Each 30 gram (1 cup reconstituted) serving has 160 calories, making NIDO much more "weight efficient" to carry than sugar, rice, bagels, and noodles happen to be. And that tasty serving of whole powdered milk additionally provides 7 grams of protein and various vitamins and minerals.

On the trail I use NIDO in Mac and Cheese, in Knorr's pasta sides that call for milk, with breakfast cereal, and sometimes simply as a beverage. At home I consume it with breakfast cereal occasionally when our household's supply of liquid milk has been exhausted. I've not yet ever had NIDO spoil during a backpacking trip, even when I've carried it with me for several weeks in Virginia in August. But, if I ever undertake an extended summer trek at Death Valley, for those conditions I would probably leave the NIDO at home (And, before departing I might seek psychiatric assistance.)

[Venchka]

Nido Whole Milk in the YELLOW label cans. 2 sizes available. Don't confuse with the baby formula version.
Wayne


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[Siestita]

"For the thru hiker freeze dried meals like Mountain House are way too expensive in the long run. Plus their really bulky to pack for more then a few meals. These things are geared more towards the weekend and week long section hiker. Most of the MH meals I've eaten were given to me by section hikes who for some reason didn't want to take the extras home. But there are places where that's all they have and you have little choice but to buy a couple.

I've eaten way too many Knorr sides with tuna, but its a cheap and readily available combo." Well said! But, there may be special circumstances when Mountain House type meals merit consideration.

It's been my experience that freeze dried meals generally do not require as much "cooking" as do Knorr sides and other pasta or rice products. That difference doesn't matter along the AT or other places in the Eastern United States. But, up in higher altitude western settings (think 10,000 or 11,000 feet) water's boiling point is lowered, greatly increasing cooking time. I once spent 40 minutes cooking pasta that would have been ready in just 12 minutes at a lower elevation. So, I've used some freeze dried dinners during trips to California's Sierras.

In the USA recreational backpacking became popular during the 1960s in California and Colorado, promoted by writers such as Colin Fletcher. Simultaneously, markets developed for freeze dried 'convenience' backpacking dinners. But, for many other hikers (including me) those expensive little 'dinners' are no longer helpful much of the time. They can be prepared very quickly but are not particularly light, calorie intense, nor tasty.

[Venchka]

Food. Shoes. Backpacks. Shelters. Sleeping systems. Clothes.
Everyone is different. One person's delicacy is another person's poison.
We can make suggestions, but nothing is absolute.
Wayne


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