Hiking, backpacking and travelling all require the same thing, food!! I am going to go over some of my favorite things I like to carry when I am in the backwoods and when I am road tripping around the USA. My last trip to Montan I brought some of my most favorite freeze dried meals and of course fresh food.
To start with the fresh food I usually like to bring is the following really simple list.
pita bread
lettuce/bag salad
fresh cold cuts like sliced turkey and ham
peanut butter and jelly
olive oil (for sandwiches instead of mayonnaise)
fruits like apples and pears they seem to last a bit longer than oranges in the cooler.
nuts and dried fruits
So the simple meals, obviously are sandwiches which is nice if you are driving and just want to take a quick break on the highway relax and eat. Pita bread is my favorite because I can get two sandwiches from one pita. I try to use all my fresh foods first so as to not lose anything to spoiling. If I want to get more it's pretty easy to just stop at a grocery store to pick up whatever else I want.
So that said, when I do run out of fresh food like cold cuts I might replace it with fresh meat like steak pork or chicken to cook on the grill or my stove. As long as I have ice for the cooler because I don't have a portable refrigerator yet.
Drinks are always necessary, I love to start the day with a hot drink, so I tend to carry tea or coffee but mostly now I drink tea and one of my favorite places to get tea is called TeaBox because everything is organic and sourced directly from the growers and they are always offering great deals. One of my other favorite drinks are from Nuun, they make tablets and powdered drinks that have vitamins and electrolytes, also high performance drinks for athletes. I am not an athlete by any measure but these are great to stave off dehydration if you are like me and don't always drink enough water. Of course like anything else the choice is yours as to what you like to drink.
I also carry a 6 gallon water jug in my truck and a few 1litre spring water bottles for anyone that might need one.
Snacks are always a necessity so I like to bring things like beef jerky Kind
Backpacking specific foods:
When I am travelling, I usually carry a multitude of freeze dried meals from various brands in my truck to make nice hot hearty quick meals on the road, mostly though I love to carry FD meals backpacking . They're lightweight easy to prepare and the selection of foods is enormous. I have three go to brands I have found over the years. BackPackers Pantry, Mountain house and Stowaway Gourmet as of late.
Some of my staple meals are:
Dinners
Beef Stroganoff from Mountain House
Any meal from Stowaway Gourmet these are high quality delicious meals that are beyond the average FD meals. One of my favorites "jambalaya with shrimp"
Mountain house chicken and rice meal
Breakfast
Mountain House breakfast skillet, it's filled with eggs potatoes and peppers
Backpackers Pantry granola with blueberries and milk
Backpackers Pantry whole grain pancakes with flax and hemp seed.
Oatmeal
Now that's just a few of my favorites, and with that I also add pre-cooked bacon to those meals because the fat content is close to zero, we need fats to help digest food and process for energy so adding the pre-cooked bacon or any other fatty addition to the meal helps.
Since we're talking about meals we need to finish this off with dessert!! For me dessert can be anything sweet especially chocolate!! I carry Kind Bars for my sweet treat usually, freeze dried Neapolitan ice cream that's a classic!!
I also carry a couple of other cookable treats , like brownies from backpackers pantry that I cook in my old Outback Oven , there's seriously nothing like having the smell of fresh baked brownies wafting in the air while you are in the middle of the woods backpacking or camping. I have had people walking by , turn around and hover over me asking " did I just smell chocolate cake?" , yup you did sorry you can't stay for some lol I have also made cornbread with jelly ,chocolate chip cookies blueberry muffins, and even tried to bake a small pie!! It worked a little messy but delicious. Sadly I don't think the outback oven is even available anymore but I still use mine and I use other brands mixes when I need to buy some but I usually create my own at home to bring.
Well that's a just a small smattering of ideas I like to share, there are so many options and combinations from so many different companies that I could go on for days. If you have questions or comments pleas feel free to share I really do enjoy trading ideas and information about outdoor adventuring and food!
