Whenever you are planning on traveling long distances on foot with only the pack on your back, it is essential to take as much food as possible while maximizing the amount of calories that food will provide to you. This is known as "calorie" to ounce. Ideally, you shouldn't have to cook the food. It should cook by adding boiling water to it. It should require a minimum amount of calories to consume while providing the maximum amount possible. It can't require refrigeration and variety is never a bad thing.

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Breakfast ideas:

• Instant Oatmeal - make your own in snack bags and add dried berries or nuts

• Instant coffee or tea

• Grits

• Powdered eggs, milk

• Granola

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Lunch:

• Summer sausage

• Hard cheese

• Beef Jerky

• Tuna & salmon packs

• Tortillas not bread

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Snacks:

• Kind Bars - purchased or home made

• Peanut butter

• Snickers bars

• Nuts & seed bars

• Salt & pepper

• Fruit leather

• Seaweed

• Honey

• Granola bars

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Dinner

You can always purchase Mountain House or similar store bought meal option but it is possible to make them yourself. They will be higher in nutrition and lower in sodium. Here are some different ingredients you can mix and match to make your own:

• rice & couscous - brown rice is more nutritious but white softens faster. Use minute rice.

• Pasta - noodles that cook in four minutes or less.

• Veggies (dehydrated)

• Dried herbs

• Chicken or beef base

• Add chia seeds

• Nuts

• Freeze dried chicken or beef

• Powdered milk

• Powdered peanut butter

• Dried fruits

• Dried Parmesan

• Instant noodles

• Instant prepackaged rice

• Beans

• Bacon bits

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Cooking can be done by putting your meal together in a freezer zip lock bag and then adding boiling water. Alternately, you can use a covered bowl or soup mug. I recommend always carrying a soup mug.

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For desert, brownies, dark chocolate or licorice make a nice treat.

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When crafting your own meals, first choose your carb. Then choose your veggie and protein to go with it. Then add a sauce or seasoning and combine them in the packaging of your choice. Always consider the calorie per ounce of weight, it's ability to stay fresh without refrigeration, it's ability to cook with just water, and if it will taste good.

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You can decide if you want to take many smaller packs or bulk supplies. There are pros and cons to both.

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In a long term survival situation, learn to supplement what you are carrying with food available from nature whenever possible. Get edibility books for your area and any that you plan on going through. Learn how to hunt and trap small game to provide a ready source of protein. You can also fish and collect eggs along the way. Eventually you will have to learn how to dry fruit, meat, and veggies to exploit larger food caches as you travel. When retrieving food from nature, it is important to keep in mind that you don't want to expend more calories securing the food then your body will be able to harvest from that food source. Also remember that other animals may be at the same food sources as you.

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Vitamins, protein drinks and powdered meals are another easy to pack, high calorie resource.

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Chin's Gourmet S'mores

• Cinnamon Sugar Graham Crackers

• Peeps

• Ghirardelli Chocolate

 

Sites Referenced:

https://www.theyummylife.com/Backpacking_Food
https://www.greenbelly.co/pages/backpacking-food-ideas
https://youtu.be/6yvvYOukY5M
https://youtu.be/zPbl_R6D8vU
https://www.wonderlandguides.com/backcountry-cooking/backpacking-food-ideas
https://www.freshoffthegrid.com/backpacking-food-ideas/
https://blog.nols.edu/2016/04/20/how-to-make-your-own-instant-backpacking-meals

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