I help backpackers, like you, meal plan with ease so you can spend less time, money, and effort preparing for your adventures.
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We specialize in simple ultralight recipes that save you time, money, and weight.
Have you experienced hunger on the trail because you ran out of food? Have you carried the weight of extra food you didn't need? Have you purchased expensive freeze-dried meals that didn't taste good? Have you considered homemade meals but didn't know where to start? You're not alone!
I used my skills as a registered dietitian and experience as a thru-hiker to create Ultralight Meal Planning for Outdoor Explorers. Calories and nutrition are maximized while the total weight and volume of water required to prepare the meal are minimized.
Your web site is specific about how much it costs to "join" but vague about other things. How many "recipes" have you got? Not counting each different kind of pasta... What will I need to prepare them? How much will they cost? A list will do. Do you have a serving size calculator/spreadsheet?
lets be completely honest here, there is no "preventing it". seriously. it is part of hiking, it just is. in all my long distance hikes, my feet ALWAYS hurt at the start of the day until I got around the 1,200 mile mark. after that my feet have slight aches and stiffness but not seriously hurting anymore. you literally cannot "fix" the hobble by eating certain foods! sure, good foods help the body to heal and give energy, but it is not going to fix the "hiker hobble" at all. please stop giving people false hope, because they are going to find that your advice is not working and start thinking that they are doing something wrong.... the bottom line is that your feet ARE GOING TO HURT when out for multi day and long distance hikes. there is no avoiding it. there just isnt. its part of hiking and something that you just deal with until you put in enough miles for your feet to adapt.
I went low carb and definitely hit a wall, had to reduce miles because I ran out of energy, will bring Cliff bars next time for carbs. Carbs give me energy 1.5 hours after eating and last for about 2 hours. Also gonna bring some homemade Pemmican for Fat. Skippy peanut butter gets into bloodstream immediately and gives instant energy, probably due to high fat & sugar content
Hey there !!! Just a few????'s. How long b4 bed is a good eat time ? A bàll,,hollow or cork b4 bed ???? ( roll under your feet ) Stretching b4 bed to relax time muscles any value ?? Especially calves n feet ???? Any values in these 4 am hobble
Thanks, great info! It's rough for me. I don't always eat as much as I should in the evening. Usually count on the ibuprofen before bed to keep me from being too stiff in the morning. The only thing I do right is religiously include electrolytes in my water. Cramps are the WORST! Not only prevents cramps, but also greatly reduces how much water I need to drink throughout the day. Nice to see you posting. Can't wait for the next one!
Before going on a long hike I just store up fat ( I eat a lot week prior,gaining a few kg of body weight ) and when I hike I just use it to compensate the lack of food . That’s a really cool body feature for me . But the most important is to sleep like 10hrs a night so your liver can process this fat into energy. One time I went 7 days only on water and it was ok but it’s always better to keep it like at least 600-1000 cal a day.
For short, low intensity hikes, fat can certainly be used as an energy source. However, I wouldn't recommend relying on body fat for more intense trips (lots of elevation gain, difficult terrain, high altitude, etc). Carbs are the body's preferred energy source for energy higher intensity activities. Fat also doesn't provide vitamins and minerals that carbs provide. For a long-distance hike, I'd be sure to take a vitamin-mineral supplement to prevent deficiencies.
Very informative video. You take the time succinctly explain a relatively complex subject into a very compact video! I have gone back to dehydrating all my home food for backpacking, instead of choosing the highly processed convenience foods, I and many other hikers choose to eat. It is a chore at times and requires planning for longer multi week trips but the benefits on trail are instantly felt with lower pack weights and the knowledge that I know what I’m actually eating.
Thank you for sharing even with is europeen peolole, interesting and helfull ! Little question concerning parmesan (great receipie you have !): isn’t it an issue to have parmesan with you in the trail ? I thought this should be kept in low temperatures (4 to 8 dégrées C). Flo
Hard cheeses, like parm, are safe to eat on trail without refrigeration. I've found that it's good for about 30 days (except when it's really hot outside). For meals that I prep well in advance of a trip, I leave out the cheese and add it when the meal is consumed.
I’ve been labouring over this I’m a new lightweight backpack are primarily bowhunter utilizing lightweight gear now and packing in long distances but my problem is I’m primarily a carnivore it seems almost everything is focussed on sugar and carbohydrates I’ve eliminated my diabetes by eliminating sugar and carbohydrates out of my diet I’m at a loss what to start packing for food?
This is definitely a tricky situation because low carb diets can certainly help manage diabetes in the front country. However, I've found that hikers struggle with low carb diets (hitting the wall, fatigue, poor recovery, etc) while in the backcountry especially when the trip is a challenging one (lots of elevation change, difficult terrain, heavy pack, etc) because the body prefers carbs when the going gets tough. Carbs are quickly utilized for energy while hiking unlike in the front country when we're not physically active. I would recommend talking to your medical provider about what would be best for managing diabetes while physically active. If adding back a few complex carbs is okay, that will open up the food options for you.
Ok, but how does anyone manage the amount of water on their trips. ID like to know. I'm extreme so I tend to over load on water. If there are tips that anyone can share with there own experiences it would be appreciated. Thanx
There was no mention of how you manage taking water with you. To me that's the most important. Taking your own food and water is one thing but doing it for a dog is another.
Good point! Depends on the availability of water sources. If water's prevalent, I don't carry as much for my dog because she can drink from the stream/lake. I'll carry more for myself because I don't filter at every water crossing. If water sources are limited, I carry an equivalent amount for my dog. On hot days, I carry even more because I pour it over her cooling vet.
For water "exercises" it's safer to replace paracord with some other material which is sure to stay on the water surface. If your leash sinks in water it may get caught in underwater junk / weed of any sort and potentially drown your dog.
Good point. When she's swimming, I keep the line taught so that very thing doesn't happen. I'm constantly pulling in and letting out the line to keep it from sinking.
For the most part, I'd agree. However, there are some cottage food companies that are doing a pretty good job or producing quality meals. I still prefer to make my own because I like having control over what's in my food and it's significantly less expensive.
The biggest problem I found on the PCT was that the calorie count of the biggest meals were barely 1000 calories (most were closer to 500). I gave up on finding something healthy… I just didn’t want to starve. When the customer base is burning 6000 - 7000 calories per day, it feels like a significant disconnect between the people making the meals and the people using them. Maybe I’m just missing something, but $20 for 2 meals that still doesn’t get the job done is just irritating.
@@mikeypick1 I hear what you’re saying. After starting my own backpacking food business this season, I have a new appreciation for why commercial meals are prepared the way they are and cost what they do. Food is incredibly expensive to produce. The overhead is sooo much more $$$ than I expected. I hated charging $12 for a 600 calorie meal but that’s what I had to charge just to get by. Unless you’re a company like Mountain House that can order ingredients by the hundreds of pounds at discounted pricing, food costs are also much higher than you’d expect. I’ve chosen to shut down my food business after only one season because the work required for the minimal return isn’t worth it. As for the “low calorie” meals that has to do with the population of weekend warriors (who don’t need 1000 calories) far outweigh the number of ravenous thru-hikers. I agree with your frustrations 100%. Unfortunately, it comes down to making enough money for the business to survive. 😕
That makes a lot of sense… I wish we could figure out why food prices are so insanely high and find a remedy, but I’m not interested in moving to a new country. 😂 Thanks for the conversation! I appreciate you taking the time to respond!
@@mikeypick1 And I live on the central coast of California where the cost of living is absurd making my food business that much more expensive to run. Ugh! If it weren’t for my husband’s job, we’d relocate. Btw… Happy to chat! Now that I’m closing the shop, I’m looking forward to having the time to do what I do best - be a dietitian. Hoping to post new videos later this year.
Why is our food supply so tainted with things that makes us all sick? Seems opposite of what reality should be. Aren't we smart humans. Seems like there is an agenda to make us sick 🤢
Convenience, cost, and shelf stability seems to be the driving factor for adding preservatives and lesser quality ingredients. It's unfortunate that there aren't more commercials about how to use whole foods instead of focusing on highly processed convenience foods. :(
Only think I would try to include is peanut butter. Scoop every time you take a break. About 100 Cala per tbsp. Just try to stay away from add sugar and hydrogenated oils.
Nut butters are great! When I need to boost calories without adding bulk and weight to my pack, I add nut butter to drinks, spread on top of energy bars, and eat by the spoonful.
You're so welcome! I'm looking forward to taking a deep dive into the newest nutrition research for athletes this Fall and will be posting about it on our social media channels. facebook.com/backcountryfoodie
It just alllll looks like GOOP... As much as im looking forward to my thru hike, i think im gonna die when it comes to the food... (not literally but maybe lol) i HATE wet goopy foods. im all about texture. and im finding alot of what ppl eat, i wouldnt touch at all.... I feel so screwed when it comes to the food department....
Sorry for the slow reply. :( Totally agree about texture and have made significant changes to the food I pack since this video was filmed. I, now, focus on packing food that's closer to what I normally eat at home. Cold cereal for breakfast, pasta salad for lunch, and lentils for dinner are examples. Feel free to shoot me a message and I'll try and help come up with ideas that aren't goop. backcountryfoodie.com/contact-us/
Hey I am putting together some information on rations for light infantrymen doing long distance patrols. We need ideas for ruckable (crushproof) high calorie food items that will provide enough nutrients to keep troops healthy for a week or two. It also helps if food items are very common, ie found in grocery stores in poor countries, and somewhat familiar to US troops. We usualy have access to multivitamins. Current staples are peanut butter with added a scoop of greens powder to it, tortillas or local flat bread, dried fruit&nut trail mix. For meals we are able to prepare, we pack split peas and salt pork. Calories, weight, and volume are king. Is there any critical nutrients missing in that simple plan? Do you know of any food items that better meet our demands?
Sorry for the slow reply. :( We actually have a group of special forces dietitians that use our meal planner platform for this very thing! This is a much bigger question than can be answered here. Shoot me a message and I'll help you troubleshoot. backcountryfoodie.com/contact-us/
Love all those different options, but I am missing some more environmentally aware packaging solutions - there is just way too much plastic everywhere ...
Sorry for the slow reply. :( Agree 100%. Since filming the video, I now use biodegradable zipper top pouches for my meals. We currently sell them in our shop, but our store will be closing soon. I hope to move them to our regular site next year after returning from my hike. backcountryfoodie.myshopify.com/products/large-biodegradable-stand-up-food-pouch
Sorry for the slow reply. :( I've since transitioned to biodegradable pouches that have worked really well. We currently sell them in our shop, but the shop will be closing soon. I hope to move them to our regular site after returning from my hike next year. backcountryfoodie.myshopify.com/products/large-biodegradable-stand-up-food-pouch
At home test of this recipe exactly as presented for upcoming kayaking trip. Very, very good. All comment alternatives also noted. Thank you from Anchor Point, Alaska.
Good question. She's hiked with me enough that she knows what to do based on the trail. She walks ahead or bedside me when the trail is flat and easy, steps aside and waits when I need to step up or down, and falls behind me when I go downhill. I need the hands-free leash because I hike with poles.
We have a few dehydrated tuna recipes, but that's it. Vegetarian proteins are used strategically to keep the nutrition high and weight of the food low. By using combination foods (carbs, protein, and fat in each gram of food), I can create ultralight recipes. Animal proteins are solid sources of protein, but poor sources of carbs and fat which means additional foods have to be consumed to provide those macronutrients. Something like quinoa has carbs, protein, and fat in each bite which means that less food has to be consumed = less volume = less space required in your pack.
Just an fyi, this isn't ramen, it's ramen noodles. The noodles alone don't equal ramen. Ramen is the meal, not the ingredient. 😛 So remember, any time you don't use the soup part (a.k.a. if you drain off most or all of the liquid), you aren't making ramen.
