Backpacking Meals

Backpacking Food Ideas

I've done a fair amount of backpacking and multi-day canoeing trips and wanted to share as well as preserve what I've learned about backpacking food.

Here are menu ideas for a 5 night/6 day trip:

Breakfast Ideas:

• 1-2 packages Instant Oatmeal (vary the flavors: brown sugar, peach, blueberry etc.)/day
• 1/4 cup raisins (prepared in small snack bags)/day
• 1 packet hot chocolate/day 
• 1 granola bar/day or a flat bread (pop tarts, or a flat bun)
• buy egg powder. Rehydrate in a ziplock bag and cook in boiling water for an omelet.  Bring salt and pepper, dehydrated cheese

Lunch Ideas:

• Tortillas or bagels (1 bagel/lunch or 1-2 tortillas)
• Peanut butter or nutella (to-go containers, 1/person/day)
• Honey packets (1/day)
• Tuna fish salad packets (1/trip)
• Pepperoni sticks (2-3/day)-slim jims
• String cheese sticks (2/day)
• Costco mangos (prepared in snack baggies)
• Snickers bar--big one daily :)
• Welches fruit snacks
• Jam in a small plastic fruit juice container
• Kind bars
• Granola bars

Snack Ideas:

• Granola bars (1/day)
• Dried fruit (2-3 baggies)
• Nuts (2-3 baggies)--amonds
• Hard candy (several/day)--lifesavers, werthers
• Triskets or wheat thins or other hardy cracker 
• Peanut butter m&m's

Dinner: If I'm going on a one day trip, I love to have a hot dog for dinner.  It's ready so quickly and I don't have to wait for water to boil and then noodles to soften.  

Friends of ours bought fresh steaks, put them in a freezer before we left and had steak over the fire that night.

I almost always choose meals that only require adding hot water.  I do not mix the food in a pot but either use the container I bought it in or mix it in a ziplock bag. (I prefer to avoid washing dishes if possible).

 My husband made a cozy that helps to insulate the food and cook it better.  I put the food in a ziplock bag, put the food in the cozy, add water, seal the bag, and then close the cozy with office clips.  I have done a little experimenting with how long it takes to soften noodles.  Using smaller size noodles for macaroni and cheese, I let it sit in the cozy for 6 minutes.  I also tested some fettuccine and it took about 9 minutes to soften in the cozy.

https://sectionhiker.com/diy-freezer-bag-cooking-cozy/

Determine how many servings you need and subdivide package if necessary.  Be sure to write how much water to add if you subdivide.

Sample Dinner Menus: Be sure to vary from night to night.  It's no fun to have three nights of noodles or Mexican twice in a row.

• Macaroni and Cheese--Kraft (add powdered milk and butter buds, add boiling water to noodles,
• Mashed Potatoes (Loaded is best, Signature Kitchens, or Idahoan)
• Tortilla Soup Mix (Bear Creek--added freeze dried chicken, some dehydrated mashed potatoes would have been a good addition to thicken it a bit or Packit Gourmet)--fritos travel well
• Noodles (Bowl Noodle Soup, Dr. McDougal Pad Thai, Teriyaki beef noodle)
• Dehydrated Food (Mountain Home or Packit Gourmet (we tried a Tuscan beef stew with polenta, Packit Gourmet all-American hamburger)
• Taco Rice or other flavors (Knorr)
• Take flour, salt, baking powder mixed to a tortilla recipe.  Add water, knead in ziplock bag and twist around a stick to cook over the coals.

Treats and Desserts:

• Instant pudding works well--add powdered milk, knead in ziplock bag
• Oreos
• No-bake cheesecake (add powdered milk and butter buds)
• Snickers bars travel well if it isn't too hot
• Dates
• I've also made cinnamon bread

I also wanted to save this link for other grocery store backpacking food ideas:
http://www.roadtriptheworld.com/2016/02/backpacking-meals-from-the-grocery-store/