Backcountry food talk need advice please

[VarmintSniper30]

So when you guys go into the backcountry what kind of food do you take and do you use a lightweight stove or do you just take food that you don't need to use a stove. I'm trying to decide if I need to buy a lightweight stove or not

 

[AdamW]

I think you'll find most are using some kind of lightweight stove option and probably freeze dried or dehydrated meals like Mountain House. There is a big transition happening where it seems a lot of people are looking for more healthy options like Heather's Choice or DIY dehydrated meals. That's my plan for this fall, mostly doing my own meals. Coffee and something no cook for breakfast, no cook lunch and a nice hot DIY dinner in the evenings.

 

[Mark]

Jet Boil stove to boil water and Mountain House freeze dried food for dinner and sometimes breakfast. Mountain House isn't the healthiest food, but I only eat it 4-5 weeks a year. Breakfast is typically oatmeal or granola with powdered milk premixed so I just add cold water (thanks Becca!)

 

[VarmintSniper30]

So on your own dehydrated meals. Are you going to have to heat them up in the field? Excuse my ignorance I'm very new to this

 

[RyanC]

Any dehydrated meal will have to be rehydrated using boiling water. Just boil water and pour it into the bag, seal and wait 10-20 minutes. If you are making your own meals guys typically will vacuum seal them in 4-6oz packages. There are a variety of options out there for dehydrated or freeze dried meals which is where I recommend you start, unless you already have a dehydrator and will be doing a lot of backpacking trips.

Mountain House is the most commercialized product out there but many more can be found off the shelf at REI or local back packing stores like Backpackers Pantry, Alpine Aire, etc. Other choices not found in stores include Hawk Vittles, Heathers Choice, and Paleo Meals to Go. There are more out there but these are the ones I have used.

Long answer to your question but to sum it up......YES buy a lightweight stove and eat a hot meal at the end of the day in the backcountry. You won't regret it and as a matter of fact you will look forward to that hot meal every day your out there!!

Ryan

 

[focker34]

A lot of good information on backcountry meal planning on this podcast:

Full Draw Full Time - Bowhunting the West: FDFT 004 // EATING QUAKER OATMEAL AND JERKY DOESN'T CUT IT ANYMORE...

 

[jdmaxwell]

Last year I made my own Verizon off Mt House breakfast cereal..
Granola cereal, dyadrated blueberries, and powder milk in individual Ziploc bags..
In morning just add water and mix... Just like cereal at home and milk was pretty decent..
Simple and quick..

 

[AdamW]

So on your own dehydrated meals. Are you going to have to heat them up in the field? Excuse my ignorance I'm very new to this

Yes. Just like with a mountain house meal or other commercial backpacking meal. Boil the water, pour it in the bag and wait. Since it sounds like you're newer to the "just add water" meals, I'd maybe buy a few Mountain House, Backpacker's Pantry, etc. meals and give them a shot at home. Warning: these things are loaded full of salt and are 1 step above a military MRE on what they might do to your guts. Some flavors I've had no issues with, others I can't ever eat again.

Long answer to your question but to sum it up......YES buy a lightweight stove and eat a hot meal at the end of the day in the backcountry. You won't regret it and as a matter of fact you will look forward to that hot meal every day your out there!!

Ryan

Couldn't have said it better.

Also here is a Gritty Bowmen video/podcast on the subject. Pretty good.

EPISODE 11: 200 Days In The Field What Are You Eating? With Aron Snyder - YouTube

 

[5MilesBack]

YES buy a lightweight stove and eat a hot meal at the end of the day in the backcountry. You won't regret it and as a matter of fact you will look forward to that hot meal every day your out there!!

I look more forward to my hot coffee every morning and afternoon than I do the hot meal. But yes, a hot meal is OK too.

 

[gelton]

If you are out there for any length of time you will definitely want a stove. Granted, tuna, jerky and cheese will get you through the day, but you will want at least one hot meal per day, I assure you.

 

[LongWayAround]

Protein powder + quick oats with water for breakfast. Bacon/bagel sandwiches for lunch or tuna+ramen. Idahoan instant potatoes + diced summer sausage for dinner (or something freeze dried).

 

[Hunt'nFish]

VarmintSniper,
Go to the "Cooking in the Wild" sub-forum here on Rokslide.
Everything you need to know us there.

Get a Jetboil or MSR Rector stove and master freezer bag cooking. And research various 5min microwave meals and adapt them to hot water rehydration cooking. Things like Knorr rice or pasta meals, Idahon instant potatos w/ foul pack chicken, ramen noodles, etc.

Combine that with simple no cook meals for variety.
Things like Butthole Sami's, flour tortilla's stuffed with various shelf stable ingredients: cheese, salami, etc. (man I wish someone made fajita foil pack chicken!)

For weigh & distance reasons, some things should be eaten first and dehydrated stuff saved for last. And some things can be cashed bring scouting trips. (Please cashe properly though, we don't need to condition the bears on where to find free food and that tents = food.)

Make lunch bags using various single serve snacks; PB/cheese crackers, pepperoni stixs, power bars, dried nuts/fruits/trail mix, fruit leathers, gummies, drink mixes, oreo's, coffee nips, jolly ranchers etc.
Remember variety, mix them up, never the same each day.

Breakfast... I'm a cold ceral guy.
Various fruit & nut granola w/ powdered milk.
Not hard to get calories up to 400-500.

Coffee... Via instant or coffee bags.
Powdered teas are nice too. Crystal Lite Raspberry Iced tea is a fav to enjoy at water holes.

I try to get my food down to 1lb/day but some are 1.5lb days.
Hunt'nFish

 

[Poser]

For breakfast and dinners, I use Heather's Choice meals. The macros are unbeatable when compared to any other commercial food source.
Alpine Aire desserts.

Coffee + Butter
Tea + Butter.
I carry a stick of butter cut in 2 pieces, stored in a ziplock bag that rides in the coffee cup.

Lunch: Butthole sandwhich piled as high as I can with bacon, almond butter, honey and bacon fat.

Snacks: Salami, Almond Butter, macadamia nuts (all heavy in fat)
dried fruit (fiber/carbs), Jerky (protein)

On the go: 6-10 gel shot (depending on how much hard climbing) and 1-2 honey stingers.

Energy & Focus or similar drink mix
Hydrate & Recover or similar drink mix
Green Infusion or similar drink mix (fiber)

 

[njdoxie]

for breakfast I have whole powdered milk with my favorite cereal, for lunch I have my favorite nuts and favorite cookies, dried fruit, for dinner I have either my own dehydrated chilli or meat sauce spaghetti, and for dessert I have either pumpkin bread or banana bread....every thing I bring is a personal favorite, I really, really look forward to dinner/dessert around my campfire....I've tried foregoing a hot meal at night, sucked

 

[IL Red]

I just received some Heather's Choice. Like backpackers pantry better than MH. WHAT is a butthole sandwich?

 

[Poser]

WHAT is a butthole sandwich?

Google it. You'll get some interesting results, including recipes on Rockslide

 

[bikerdavet]

That sandwich led me to Rokslide. They are tasty!

 

[Hike2hunt]

VarmintSniper,
Go to the "Cooking in the Wild" sub-forum here on Rokslide.
Everything you need to know us there.

Get a Jetboil or MSR Rector stove and master freezer bag cooking. And research various 5min microwave meals and adapt them to hot water rehydration cooking. Things like Knorr rice or pasta meals, Idahon instant potatos w/ foul pack chicken, ramen noodles, etc.

Combine that with simple no cook meals for variety.
Things like Butthole Sami's, flour tortilla's stuffed with various shelf stable ingredients: cheese, salami, etc. (man I wish someone made fajita foil pack chicken!)

For weigh & distance reasons, some things should be eaten first and dehydrated stuff saved for last. And some things can be cashed bring scouting trips. (Please cashe properly though, we don't need to condition the bears on where to find free food and that tents = food.)

Make lunch bags using various single serve snacks; PB/cheese crackers, pepperoni stixs, power bars, dried nuts/fruits/trail mix, fruit leathers, gummies, drink mixes, oreo's, coffee nips, jolly ranchers etc.
Remember variety, mix them up, never the same each day.

Breakfast... I'm a cold ceral guy.
Various fruit & nut granola w/ powdered milk.
Not hard to get calories up to 400-500.

Coffee... Via instant or coffee bags.
Powdered teas are nice too. Crystal Lite Raspberry Iced tea is a fav to enjoy at water holes.

I try to get my food down to 1lb/day but some are 1.5lb days.
Hunt'nFish

Well spoken here. I like Jiffy to Go PB with banana chips or hershey chocolate bars