Triscuits. Cheese (not too salty). Dried fruit. Mmmmm.
What tastes good to me changes on the trail. My favorite trail lunch is raisin bread with peanut butter. The raisins help keep the bread from molding. I have never eaten that anywhere but on the trail because hiking is the only time it appeals to me. I wouldn't find a hot lunch appealing unless the weather was cold. I also like Fritos and bean dip, cheese and a satsuma, or trail mix. I remember reading of a hiker who always ate marshmallows and peanut butter for lunch. That sounds pretty good. You will figure out what suits you.
I've stopped thinking of meals when I hike. Instead, I stop for a decent break every two hours, long enough to eat as much as I can. That's usually at least five times a day, and I ran out of names for those food breaks.
I keep a bag of tortillas, a jar of peanut butter, a couple bags of different kinds of nuts and dried fruit, a bag of crackers, some Fig Newtons, some fresh fruit and veg for a couple of days at least, and a large bag of muesli.
I used to just keep hiking and eat on the move but am trying to make myself stop every 2-3 miles to take the pack off, stretch, drink, and eat a snack. Lunch, if I eat one, is usually a Spam sandwich, sometimes with cheese, and Hellman's mayo (which comes in individual servings). Otherwise I eat trail mix (with espresso beans and chocolate, if I can find it at Walgreen's), Gatorade energy chews, and Think bars (which don't get as hard in the winter as other bars).
I've hiked with people who can boil water and eat a bag of Ramen noodles out of its own bag in the time I can get out some crackers,cheese,and a candy bar.Don't ask me how he does it without burning himself with the hot water.
I survive on FB cooking but I have a cozy for the bag.I've seen others eat oatmeal straight out of its own bag at breakfast too.That .4 oz a ziplock FB weighs is just too much weight I guess and it does add up.Ditto for the stuff sacks.
I'm another PB&J on a tortilla kind of guy. I use the bars for snack breaks (when I do keep moving, or at least keep my pack on). For me, lunch is for stopping, getting your pack off, giving your feet a rest, digging through your food bag, and getting something more than a bar. Planters use to make a great nut-based bar but they discontinued that years ago (crap). I'm not obsessed with protein in particular. Protein probably isn't the most efficient way to get energy.
Lance Snacks makes a very similar product to the Planters Peanut Bar. Amazon sells them by the case. I usually just buy the snack size paydays which are probably more sugar and less peanuts for hiking. I think the paydays are bit softer in cold weather.
Just a minor point, but what's commonly called The Hikers Bible was actually titled "The Complete Walker". Great book, way ahead of its time, although I still find the practice of cutting off toothbrush handles to save a few grams a bit too extreme. Makes them much harder to use and brush effectively.
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"That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett
It must be remembered that Colin Fletcher carried a 55-65 lb pack---See his gear list---and 6 lbs of just camera equipment---
Colin Fletcher kit.jpg
Ahh — a master speaks!
I’ve more or less adopted that strategy as well. DIY gorp, salami, cheese, one bar a day, eaten whenever I feel like it, and especially 20 minutes beforehand in anticipation of a tough climb up or down.
Now I have to work on consuming enough calories during the night. Extra before-bed, and extra after the obligatory nighttime pee-break(s) … mostly the same gorp mixture, heavy on nuts.
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I used to think I liked dates until I brought back a bunch of protein-bar based snacks from a business meeting afternoon break room kind of thing. The leftovers were about to be tossed (or hopefully donated) and I was encouraged to take all I wanted. As a hiker, I was only too happy to snap up one of each kind, no pun intended.
To my palate, they ranged from meh to horrible, and the horrible ones all had in common that dates were one of the top ingredients. I recall liking to eat them "loose", as much as raisins or other dried fruits when I had them just on their own. After having these bars, loose is probably the only way I'd eat them again! Unlike you, Nanatuk, it wasn't the texture for me (and I do get that on some foods), it really was the taste. Blah!
Dates get a bad rep from many as the only ones they have had are the low quality processed ones, typically dusted with sugar to make them palatable. Even the ones in bulk bins in stores can be marginal quality. The jumbo Medjool dates are close to candy. The downside is good dates seem to always come with pits and that means having to haul the pits out. Dates have a low glycemic index so they are good for a quick energy boost but need to be mixed in with something with longer term energy. I usually buy the domestically produced dates as the imported ones can go through a long chain of not necessarily modern hygiene standards. They keep well, no need to freeze but do keep slowly drying if not kept in a sealed plastic bag.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
My favorite is pepperoni and a tortilla
3 beef sticks, 2 packages of cheese and crackers (various flavors), and 1 or 2 handfuls of corn chips. As I tire of the latter I will replace, for a bit, with a handful or two of Skittles.
Lonehiker (MRT '22)