Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Favorite Meals?

What are your favorite backcountry meals, menues, snacks...?

I am always looking for new recipes for meal ideas for backpackin' trips.

What do you like to eat?

A good combo snack is dates mixed with pecans, tastes like little bites of pecan pie.....almost......

One of my favorite snacks, and that of my hiking friends, is Cheetos with cheese-whiz. I am sure to have some atop Whitney this July 30th. Whitney Mike

Honestly almost everything I have tried to take on the trail tastes like crap, the only thing I think I have finally figured out but not field tested yet is for breakfast to take just normal kids cereal, separate portions and put them in baggies, it will be relatively small, light and great tasting.

Of course people will ask well what about the milk? use water damn you!!!! lol I cannot understand peoples obsession with water on cereal being gross, even people that have never tried it will say it's so gross.

That sugary mess flavors the water in 20 seconds!

There is always powdered milk for you people!

I guess you can't beat the standard beef and cheese stick combo as a trail snack.

hahah! Rogue, you crack me up!!!

i don't like milk on my cereal, in the first place, so i don't mind!

Dad and I usually have the same meals.
didn't really like the chicken a la king, but it was ok.

I make potato soup. mmmmmm.... potato flakes, seasoning, butter buds, and powder milk. then when it's time to cook it, we heat it up w/ h2o and add bacon bits. it's good. i have even thrown in some cheese powder that i had left over from mac N cheese. (i don't usually use a whole packet when i make it)

dehydrated beef goes into our spaghetti sauce. i don't really like spaghetti, but we have it EVERY year when we go backpacking.

my favorite is chicken and rice. couple cans of chicken, instant rice, and a couple packets of chicken noodle soup.

Dad and I have made pudding as a treat.

oatmeal and cream of wheat (tho they are kinda messy) are breakfasts w/ hot cocoa and coffee!

Gorp! love raisins, nuts, cheerios, m&ms...

Pop and i have been backpacking and camping together for 20 years now, almost every year. So, i am looking for other meals, snacks, and ideas. Thanks!!!

How about this?
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3356/3569527338_703d14a68c.jpg

I'm especially fond of free food - all the goodies others leave behind for us in those hiker bins. There's always something new and fun. Last year's favorite was a pouch of "shreeded beef in gravy" with some fresh tortillas, which some nice hiker left behind at Muir Trail Ranch. Sure wished I could find that stuff at a store, or even online, but I can't. Packaging was similar to the usual tuna pouches - anyone know this stuff?



Beef burrito below Evolution Valley - Yummie!!

For a trail break meal nothing tastes better than a good old peanutbutter and jelly sandwhich.

Buy powdered milk in Baja. They dont regulate the fat content so it actually taste alot like milk. If the water is ice cold you would not believe how good it taste on my raisen brand.

> Buy powdered milk in Baja. They dont regulate the fat content so it actually taste alot like milk.

I get regular non-fat powdered milk, and then coffee creamer powder to it to increase the fat content. Tastes WAY better.

Just make sure the pm and creamer are mixed before you add the water. The creamer does not dissolve will with cold water.

I use Nestle Nido - instant whole milk - sold at most super markets, or amazon.com

It dissolves in cold water, but takes a while.

I usually drink my coffee with whole milk, so this is a perfect replacement, plus I use it for my home made cereal mix.

Never heard of Nestle' Nido. Gotta check it out.

> plus I use it for my home made cereal mix.

Fish, I'm curious about that cereal -- can you describe it?

I have a homemade granola recipe that I have been making now for 30 years. It is the breakfast of choice for myself and my hiking friends on all our backpacking trips. Before the trip, I pack individual baggies with single servings complete with powdered milk and creamer (maybe Nido now), plus some extra brown sugar. Then on the hike, all that is required is water -- warmed helps on a cold morning.

Breakfast: Instant oatmeal if I take time to boil water, granola bars if not.

Lunch: Tortillas with PB or sharp cheddar and hard salami (keeps well without refrigeration). (Tortillas are great...pack easily, don't get smashed like bread, give you something to spread PB on or eat with cheese, etc.) Wish I could find the jalapeno squeeze cheese packets that they provide at Philmont...those are great for lunch!

Dinner: Mac&cheese (the real stuff, carry enough extra fuel to simmer it for 10 minutes, pick up the margarine packets at KFC to add the "butter" to the cheese mix) or various freeze-dried meals.

Snacks: Home-made GORP, equal parts by volume dry-roasted peanuts, dark-chocolate M&Ms, raisins and granola. Or, if I'm lazy, Sam's Club has a good GORP that includes cashews and almonds along with peanuts in big bags.

my mix is different every time, based on what I find at the store. It's what they call "Muesli" in Germany, butchered to Mueslix by Kelloggs to make it sound more old-world (while taking much of the ingredients out).

amounts are guessed - I mix this stuff seat-of-the pants in a large mixing bowl and cut fruit up until I like the ratios

• 1 large can of old fashioned rolled oats
• 16-24oz frosted flakes
• 32oz granola - whatever you like - sugar is good here
• 16-24oz raisins
• 16-24oz cut up pitted prunes
• 16-24oz cut up dried apples
• 12oz cut up dried apricots
• 2 bags Newman's Own organic dried berry mix
• 8-12oz almond slices (baking isle)
• 8 oz walnut pieces (baking isle)
• 3oz wheat germ
• 1-2 cups brown sugar (depends on granola/frosted flake content)
• optional: milk chocolate chips (backing isle)

pretty much add any dried fruit you like, M&M's, nuts - change ratios based on preference.

prepare with milk powder (I used to get Milkman, now Nido seems to be the only whole milk powder left that's easily obtained).

We sometimes mix Carnation Instant Breakfast drinks into this mix - strawberry, vanilla, chocolate flavors, plus the milk powder. Makes a high fiber, high carb, protein packed, vitamin fortified meal. After this lunch can be a snack or bar, with a warm meal at the end of the day.

The above mixes enough for 3 people and 2+ weeks. A 3/4 cup of this will stuff you. This is usually our second breakfast. I prefer a small instant hot oatmeal and coffee early in the morning.

This will stay fresh for weeks in a zip lock - the oats will slowly dehydrate the fruit pieces, so that after a month those will get quite chewy

Steve, Nido is WAY better than the normal powdered milk you buy. Before I could find it in the US I used to purchase large tubbs of it on my international trips and bring it home to use here in the Sierra. I haven't found big tubbs of it in the states yet but I have noticed that some supermarkets here are stocking it in the ethnic foods sections. I usually find it where Mexican food items are stocked. It's in a yellow can.

GREAT IDEAS!!! Keep them coming!

fishmonger, is that your daughter? how old is she? i love seeing kids hiking! my boys are a little too young to take on hardcore trips. i dream of doing the whole JMT w/ my boys when they get older.

she was 10 on that photo, and we were on the JMT (did 195 miles of it). This year the twins are 11 and we are going for the Muir Trail Yo-Yo - nothing too hardcore like the Sierra High Route before they are 12 or 13

She loves Nutella on the trail!

Wow I didnt know they sold Nestles Nido in the yellow can in the states. Thats the baja stuff Ive been buying for years. "Leche entra en polvo" the stuff is the key for back country milk!

same here - it's stocked in the ethnic isle, and only the small cans. Amazon.com has the larger 3.5 pound cans:

http://www.amazon.com/Nestle-Instant-Powder-Mexico-3-5-Pound/dp/B000JMDH9U/ref=pd_sim_gro_3

but it was way cheaper to buy 12oz cans when on sale for $1.99 ea. locally

another thing we really like to eat:

pita chips with hummus (instant, of course)

all found at the organic food isle at the super market. They also have dehydrated packages of

refried black beans
refried beans
sloppy joe mix
vegetarian taco filling
tofu scrambler
falafel
tabouli salad
all sorts of couscous

I tried the Falafel at home - too much fuel needed to cook that stuff to a consistency I like, but the vegetarian taco filling and some toirtillas will be in one of our food caches this summer for sure.

We also kick up regular instant entres like Knorr Dirty Rice ($0.99 a pack) with some freeze-dried beef, ramen noodles get boosted with extra dry veggies, noodles and freeze-dried chicken. If you mix your own meals like that, they will pack better in the bear can and save you $$$ over pre-packed meals. I get large cans of freeze-dried supplies from this outfit:

http://beprepared.com/quickshoplist.asp_Q_c_E_950_A_name_E_Freeze%20Dried%20Foods%20In%20#10%20Cans