December Trip's Food Prep

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11-12-2019, 10:38
Tipi Walter

December Trip's Food Prep

Okay boys and girls---A new pair of boots arrived in the mail---gear is getting squared---and the home dehydrator is running overtime.

Here are some of my food preparations for the next backpacking trip---

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-...2810%29-XL.jpg

My core dinners revolve around brown rice---and the best way to rehydrate cooked brown rice in the field is to cook up a big pot (with salt and plenty of olive oil)---let cool---then put in blender and add water (or whole milk) to get it to blend up into a liquid that can be poured on silicone sheets of the dehydrator. This way it reconstitutes quickly like oatmeal. Plain cooked and dried brown rice kernals are generally too hard to rehydrate properly etc.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-...%282%29-XL.jpg
Once dried the rice becomes like a big potato chip and is easily crushed into a Hefty zip bag. In the field I fill half the cook pot with rice and add water and bring to a boil and shut off the stove and place the pot in the cozy for 30 minutes. Many things can be added to this base rice stock---see next pics.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-...%283%29-XL.jpg
I came up with this idea several years ago---as I really like these burritos so why not slice them up and dry them?

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-...%285%29-XL.jpg
Once dried you can either snack on it raw or add to your brown rice mix.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-...%288%29-XL.jpg
I really like these vegetarian refried beans and once dried that make an excellent addition to the brown rice.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-...%289%29-XL.jpg
Beans smeared on the sheets and ready for drying. It all crumbles up and is easily bagged.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-...%287%29-XL.jpg
Finally, your standard dried fruit, in this case pears.

Just some ideas.
11-12-2019, 10:53
cneill13

Those are great ideas. I have been dehydrating homemade hummus. Cilantro, jalapeno, lime is my favorite. I also smoke the garbanzo beans on my grill before making the hummus. It adds an incredible flavor.

Once dehydrated, I put it in a food processor to turn it into dust. It is super-light, protein-packed and tastes excellent on a tortilla with hot sauce.
11-12-2019, 11:07
Tipi Walter

Quote:

Originally Posted by cneill13

Those are great ideas. I have been dehydrating homemade hummus. Cilantro, jalapeno, lime is my favorite. I also smoke the garbanzo beans on my grill before making the hummus. It adds an incredible flavor.

Once dehydrated, I put it in a food processor to turn it into dust. It is super-light, protein-packed and tastes excellent on a tortilla with hot sauce.

I also like my hummus but usually just take a tub of store bought hummus on a trip and finish it in the first couple days.

A food processor and a dehydrator are a backpacker's best friends. One of my staple backpacking foods---high in fat and calories---are NUT BUTTERS. A food processor makes excellent cashew or almond or pumpkin seed butters---just add olive oil to help in the "butterification".

Instead of hummus and garbonzo beans I really like cooked/dried lentils---as they rehydrate fast in the cook pot. And mix well with brown rice. Complete protein!

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-...1000001-XL.jpg
Here's cooked lentils ready to be dried.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-...1000002-XL.jpg
Smeared on the silicone sheet.
11-12-2019, 11:16
CalebJ

If you have a minute when you're done, I'd love to see photos of the finished, dried product.
11-12-2019, 12:52
Tipi Walter

Quote:

Originally Posted by CalebJ

If you have a minute when you're done, I'd love to see photos of the finished, dried product.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-...2814%29-XL.jpg
Here's about 3 days worth of brown rice---this time blended up with organic whole milk---so you get not only dried rice but dry whole milk. This is 3 days worth because other things can be added like lentils or refried beans or burritos etc.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-...2813%29-XL.jpg
Here's the dried burritos and can be crushed up to fit better in the pack. Add this to rice or snack out of hand.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-...2815%29-XL.jpg
Dried pairs, the usual.
11-12-2019, 12:57
Tipi Walter

Another thing I like to do is cook up a complete pasta meal with ample sauce and instead of eating it---dry it.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-...1000001-XL.jpg
Pasta Spiral cook fast and mix fast with sauce. And dry very well. Reconstitute just like brown rice---bring to a boil---shut off stove---put in pot cozy for 30 minutes.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpacki...37%20014-L.jpg
Here's one box of spaghetti cooked with 2 or 3 jars of pasta sauce added---and dried. A large hefty bag and you have enough dinners for about 9 days. Add cheese, oil etc etc.
11-12-2019, 13:07
CalebJ

All of this looks delicious. Thanks for sharing the pictures!
11-12-2019, 16:17
Dogwood

First pic, before reading the caption, I thought you had melted a foam sit pad.

I like the way you sliced up the Amy's burrito and how you stored it. .
11-12-2019, 19:49
RockDoc

OK well you've taken care of the carbs. That will keep you dying for more food.

What about protein? Hummus will give you 8 grams/serving... not so "protein packed", and not complete protein either.
My doctor recommends 160 g/day protein.

not.hiking.with.you!
11-12-2019, 21:26
Tipi Walter

Quote:

Originally Posted by RockDoc

OK well you've taken care of the carbs. That will keep you dying for more food.

What about protein? Hummus will give you 8 grams/serving... not so "protein packed", and not complete protein either.
My doctor recommends 160 g/day protein.

not.hiking.with.you!

Dying for more food? If that were the case I would've been dead a long time ago. Plus you didn't read my post evidently. Brown Rice and lentils/beans---complete protein. And this is by no means my complete food load---there's also alot of nut butters like homemade almond and cashew and pumpkin seed butters---and goat cheese. The burritos are complete protein---beans and wheat.

160 grams protein per day? Wow, the usual recommendation is three times less.

Regarding lentils, there's 18 grams of protein per cup---and then combine it with brown rice.

My standard breakfast is two cups of oatmeal with dry milk and a couple tablespoons of peanut butter---about 30 grams of protein in one sitting---half my daily allowance. Oh and don't forget goat cheese.

And then there's my ThinkThin plant based protein bars---complete protein by the way---two bars = 26 grams of protein.

No way am I in perfect health (too much cholesterol from too much . . . you guessed it . . . goat cheese)---but my vegetarian backpacking diet has pulled me thru alot of trips in the last 48 years.
11-12-2019, 21:32
TNhiker

New boots?

did you contact zamberlain to have them replace the blown out ones?

and whatcha get for the new ones?
11-12-2019, 21:48
Tipi Walter

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by TNhiker

New boots?

did you contact zamberlain to have them replace the blown out ones?

and whatcha get for the new ones?

Zamberlan recommends sending busted boots to Dave the Cobbler in Seattle---and I now have about 3 pair that need new life, an Asolo 520, Fugitives, and the Zams.

https://www.davepagecobbler.com/

So in the meantime I went with Zam's alternative to the Asolo Fugitives---Trail Lite Evo GTX---

Attachment 45839
Much lighter than my winter Zamberlans and full leather goretex etc. Full report forthcoming. They work great at home and excited to put them to the test under weight on some rugged trails.
11-12-2019, 22:20
Sarcasm the elf

Tipi, I don’t have much to add, but just want to thank you as always for your excellent posts. I recently got a basic Nesco dehydrator and plan to try a few of these ideas out.
11-12-2019, 22:42
Tipi Walter

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarcasm the elf

Tipi, I don’t have much to add, but just want to thank you as always for your excellent posts. I recently got a basic Nesco dehydrator and plan to try a few of these ideas out.

I started with a Nesco and improvised and ended up in my current state where I'll dehydrate anything not tied down.

But it's all done for backpacking trips---I have no motivation whatsoever to do all this drying for at-home consumption.

As far as your Nesco---I think it's a good idea to make up meals as you would eat them at home---and then dry the lot. Or buy frozen meals at the store and thaw and dry. This one I discovered and dried a couple packages and really adds flavor to my rice/bean meals---

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-...1000040-XL.jpg
11-12-2019, 22:47
Tipi Walter

2 Attachment(s)

And then there's you basic baked sweet potatoes and baked butternut squash---great additions to any soups.

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And some of this food prep can be pretty cheap cash-wise if you concentrate on bulk lentils and brown rice and potatoes/spaghetti and squash etc. The Amy's stuff is not cheap though---but all of it is way cheaper than your standard Mt House meals.
12-23-2019, 12:26
Sarcasm the elf

5 Attachment(s)

Hey Tipi, thanks again for the advice. Here are my first attempts.

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12-23-2019, 12:44
Tipi Walter

5 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarcasm the elf

Hey Tipi, thanks again for the advice. Here are my first attempts.

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Excellent!! I'm currently on an Amy's frozen food kick---as her meals really dry well once thawed. They are already cooked in the box of course so you just need to thaw and dry and package in Hefty bags. And her meals are available at every grocery store in my area including walmart.

I really like to dry up this meal---

Attachment 45968

Other favorite meals I like to dry---and I DO NOT work for Amy's.

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01-04-2020, 16:44
Brutalguyracing

How long are you drying the amys meals.for?

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01-04-2020, 17:34
Tipi Walter

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brutalguyracing

How long are you drying the amys meals.for?

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Generally around 8 to 10 hours.
01-04-2020, 19:24
Brutalguyracing

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tipi Walter

Generally around 8 to 10 hours.

Ty

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