Need Food Advice

[Krell]

I always carry a few jolly rancher hard candies, nice little instant simple carbs when you need it and what I call no bake cookie. I don't recall the exact recipe but it's mainly instant oats peanut butter some chocolate, with a few other minor ingredients and those are money. Put em in a pan and press em down as dense as you can get them. Not as light as oatmeal but more enjoyable to eat and get some other sources of carbs and proteins in it. Another thing I've tried in them is adding quinoa, but wasn't a fan it made them too soft imo. But if you were to pack quinoa in washed and cooked once in oven at home they'd still be light and packable. Then throw in a mountain house with your boiling water they'd open up and soften and wouldn't even notice. Great way there to try to get some extra much needed complex carbs in the back country.

 

[netman]

I found that I take more food the first couple days of my hunt and adjust from there. I eat oatmeal with honey for breakfast before I head out and that gives me the energy to make the long climbs in the dark a little easier.
I Keto diet before going out west to shed excess and switch to carbs once I get hunting to keep the energy up. I still loose about a pound a day.
After a few days of hunting I have my meals and snacks lined out.
My buddy from Colorado got me to packing hard candy for pack outs. The sugar helps.

 

[Raberd14]

I just buy bulk freeze dried stuff and then concoct my own mountain house recipes. It's less than half the price and just as tasty.
Scrambled eggs for breakfast, 5 snack bars and a 4oz bag of jerky through the day, then a hearty freeze dried recipe for dinner. And hopefully after a few days, fresh backstraps. I shoot for about 3k calories per day. Still come home 10lbs lighter.

 

[BradNSW]

One power bar in the AM. Munch on trail mix 4-5 handfuls for lunch. Mountain House for dinner with a shot of scotch and a chocolate snack. Sleep like a baby each night but when I come down after 6 days I'm 5-10lbs lighter and feel great! For my two weeks in Idaho 6 days on above I come down for one night down to wife and a Big meal, then back up for 6 days. By mid Sept I'm down 15-20lbs...but weirdly, never feel hungry or weak.

 

[Donk]

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rich-outdoors/id981781015?i=1000433649366

Might want to listen to this. It really surprised me. Everyday eating and eating for an event are much different. He is a big proponent of gummy bears and honey for long duration type events. They are available almost immediately for use by the body. Almonds are great, but they will be fuel you can use in four hour. So what are you eating for? He is a dietitian and develops meal plans for athletes. Not saying I trust him fully, but more than most people on the inter webs.

Good luck. I hope you have a great hunt. Food is the hardest part for me. I love to eat but get tired of stuff sometimes. Definitely adding gummie bears this year! I also found some vanilla honey I am looking forward to trying on long hikes.

 

[hobbes]

I don't recall ever counting my calories, protein, or carbs for the day while hunting, so can't help you there. As far as your meal plan goes, I like to vary it from day to day more than that. I probably also carry a little more snacks and I always have peanut butter packets and cheese sticks but I like peanut butter and cheese sticks. I've no idea how much they contribute other than they help fill my stomach.

As far as folks complaining about mountain house giving them gas or any other intestinal issues.......how the heck do you survive all those dang "bars". They are like lead and guaranteed gut plugs that give way after a couple days. On top of that fun, I've never experienced the glorious performance enhancements that they proclaim to have. They just taste like hell and are made of God only knows what. I think they hold them together with that paste we had in the little jars with the brush attached to the lid when I was a kid. (that's probably too far back for some of you) Cliff bars are like eating a chunk of pine bark. I'll give them one thing....they are great for an emergency pack because I'm only eating them if it's an emergency.

 

[Jd259]

Take some snickers, reese peanut butter cups, licorice, gummy bears. Why does everyone have to be so healthy. I'm burning heavy calories in the woods, eat some junk food in there. I eat like a stoner out in the mountain because eating is hard when I exercise that much . My food has to be good or I'll just not eat it.

I’m all about this right here I eat 1 mountain house a day and I rarely finish it I live off candy bars and jerky and feel good all day everyday last year was 8 nights in Wyoming high country chasing mule deer and loved every minute of it. Don’t over think this stuff bring stuff you’ll actually enjoy eating and not just a bunch of “mountain fuel” stuff that you don’t really like. Just my .02

 

[Cant hit em]

Lenny and larrys cookies for breakfast with coffee lots of cals

 

[xcutter]

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rich-outdoors/id981781015?i=1000433649366

Might want to listen to this. It really surprised me. Everyday eating and eating for an event are much different. He is a big proponent of gummy bears and honey for long duration type events. They are available almost immediately for use by the body. Almonds are great, but they will be fuel you can use in four hour. So what are you eating for? He is a dietitian and develops meal plans for athletes. Not saying I trust him fully, but more than most people on the inter webs.

Good luck. I hope you have a great hunt. Food is the hardest part for me. I love to eat but get tired of stuff sometimes. Definitely adding gummie bears this year! I also found some vanilla honey I am looking forward to trying on long hikes.

Be careful with what Gummy Bears you buy. Some of them will give you the squirts. Check out these on Amazon. Read some of the comments/reviews. Pretty funny.

https://www.amazon.com/Haribo-Gummi...my+bears&qid=1567089086&s=gateway&sr=8-4&th=1

 

[CMF]

You could add protein powder to the oatmeal, but I didn't really care for it in oatmeal. Goes good with the MH granola, blueberries and milk.

Have my bags mostly packed for NM archery hunt, plan to go in for up to 4 days at time.
Breakfast, alternating
MH skillet, southwest hash or MH Granola with blueberries, milk and scoop of vanilla protein powder
Lunch,
summer sausage w/cream cheese and chives cracker or bagel with peanutbutter/jelly(packets from McD's)
Dinner,
MH, various
Snacks
Trail mix - Either dried banana, pecan, reese piece mix(900+cal worth) or Almond, walnut, craisin, dark M&M mix(700+ cal worth)
3 or 4 a day variety of snacks -Cheeze it, special k protein meal bars, slim jims, dried mango, clif bar, Honey stinger waffle, jolly rancher,

Considering putting the MH meals into ziplocs for a better pack, anyone ever do this?

 

[ljrunyanii]

I think you may be a little light in calories depending on how you plan to hunt. Maybe throw in some peanut butter packs or even just like a 2 or 3 pound bag of almonds or walnuts.

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[Elktaco]

Imo you dont need 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight for hunting. Not even close to that. If you are trying to build muscle yes. Eating that much protein for me just slows me down in the mountains.

 

[Brado16]

Considering putting the MH meals into ziplocs for a better pack, anyone ever do this?

Yes. I empty into a quart freezer bag and label each meal. I bring one empty MH bag with. Fill the quart freezer bag with hot water and seal. Then place inside the empty MH bag to act as an insulator.


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[CMF]

Yes. I empty into a quart freezer bag and label each meal. I bring one empty MH bag with. Fill the quart freezer bag with hot water and seal. Then place inside the empty MH bag to act as an insulator.


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Do you use boiling water or let it cool some from boiling? I read where the softening point for some of the plastic bags is 195°. Any idea the shelf life after removing from original packaging?

 

[Brado16]

Yes boiling water- never had an issue with the bag melting or leaking using Zip Log Brand Feezer bags. Placing it in the emplty MH container insulates but also acts as a barrier if a leak did occur. Not sure on "shelf life" as I ate all mine within a week.

 

[Jqualls]

I just recommend trying everything before taking into backcountry. Like some have said some bars, meals, etc. might cause some stomach issues. Some do better with particular foods. I eat like crap when hunting but it helps keep my belly full and me moving.

 

[Moondoondude]

This will come down to personal preference. When I'm out there, i lose weight regardless. There is no way i slow down and eat like i should, in my mind I only get to hunt for a limited time and if it is good, eating isn't a priority. I make sure i eat as much as I can when i have breaks, and then crush on the drive or walk in the dark in the morning and start eating whatever is in my pack as soon as it gets dark before i can really eat.

That being said, you should bring more food if you are at all questioning if you have enough. At least I'm the type of guy that would rather go 2 pounds heavy then spend any time hungry.

 

[sneaky]

Have you done a Charlie's calories per ounce breakdown on your meals? Sounds like you are packing some items that are heavy for their nutritional value. It's pretty easy to get over 150cal/oz.

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[runnhunt]

During the season, I never eat anything even close to what most the charts show I need.....or what a lot of guys seem to take. But I'll also lose about a pound a day..........so roughly 20lbs for an average 20 days hunting in September. I'm 6'6" 220.

I second this. Throw away the charts and eat when you're hungry. Most people's bodies have enough fat in reserve to help supply energy. Yes, fat is converted to fuel when you're body needs it.

However, I do think it's wise to carry calorie-dense snacks (but not sugary garbage) when you're hunting in elk country.

 

[Berger024]

Imo you dont need 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight for hunting. Not even close to that. If you are trying to build muscle yes. Eating that much protein for me just slows me down in the mountains.

Your body can only process a max of 20g of protein at a time. If you're loading up on protein, eat many smaller meals.