I'm going to start backpacking....I can't wait ...too hot here in AZ now But it gives me plenty of time to do all the research I need...I used to live in Oly too.... anyhow I don't know what would be good eating for backpacking but I wanna say some homemade pepperd jerky.....and if I was going only for a day I'd wanna find a way to bring some chicken marinated in teriyaki sauce and cooked over an open flame! Hmmmm
I enjoy food immensely...guess growing up hungry as a kid will do that to ya! 🌮 Anyhow have you ever tried kimchi? It's Korean....very delicious and incredibly healthy for you and a great probiotic too! Try some.....I think they sell it at Walmart....they brand they sell hear is called king's..... anyhow happy hunting.....or hiking I meant😆😆😉
Here’s another hack for measuring water: use a Sharpie and mark your plastic water bottle at 1/2 cup intervals, that way you can pour/measure straight from the bottle. Super convenient. Thanks for the fun food ideas! Happy trails. 🗺⛰🪵🌿🏕
After a while you can pretty much eye ball the amount of water you need if you use the same pot to cook in all the time and you can adjust any recipes it's not like we are baking on the trail precision is up to your taste
DeSoto Firesweep58 Thanks for pointing out the obvious. Sometimes those markings are obscured by what’s in the pot, like your dehydrated food, or by low light, etc. Much easier to see your water bottle, which never gets obstructed by the contents.
Thank you for these great ideas! Here's one for you. If you ever want to pre-soak something to save fuel, or cold soak, just add a thin piece of food grade silicone sheeting between your pot and lid and hold the pot and lid together with rubber bands from the produce section or an x-band. The little red lentils will cook pretty quickly if you pre-soak them. Once I surprised my cousin and his three boys with ice cream about 6 miles in at about 5:30 p.m. after hiding it in a peanut butter jar inside a very beefed up cozy inside my bear canister. I kept the whole thing in our chest freezer until about 9:00 a.m. when we left. The ice cream was perfect and they still talk about their surprise! All the best, Scott
I've never had a desire to cold soak while on trail. I'm one of those hikers who really looks forward to a warm meal at the end of the day. The idea of eating a cold, mushy meal just doesn't sound appetizing to me at all. The ice cream surprise sounds awesome. Trail magic is on trail is always such a treat!
@@tommysimmons3258 Not if there's a fire ban in the area you're traveling in. This is when having a backcountry stove is pretty handy, unless you'd rather cold soak. Personal preference.
I never cook hot meals or hot drinks on a trek, even if it covers multi-days & nights during all seasons. It saves me carrying gas stoves and cooking gear. I also never make fires, even during winter.
Great ideas. A few staples i keep handy for backpacking trips are velveta cheese packets, tomato sauce packets, and chata chilorio, my best description of it is a Mexican pork BBQ. It’s generally available at Walmart, but it’s in the international foods isle not with the other prepackaged meat. A cheese packet added to a Knorr pasta sides packet, plus a packet or two of chicken tastes a lot like the cheesy lasagna freeze dried meals. The tomato sauce packet+ tortilla shell, pepperoni, bacon bits, and cheese makes for a tasty trail side pizza wrap. The Chata Chilorio is heavy, therefore generally a lunch or supper the first day on trail. But it’s almost a meal on its own, it’ll make two or three burritos.
I'm just getting into overnight camping. In one video you've answered almost all my questions about food, calories and prep. Can't thank you enough. Well done.
Love those tasty bite meals! For my last backpack in Jan, I froze a ribeye that was $8-9 dollars. Since freeze dried meal bags are that price, I figured it was worth it. By the end of the hike that day, it was mostly thawed. Heated pan on fire, threw on salt and pepper, got a nice sear on it...it was amazing.
You can do the same thing in summer, just double bag the meat and bury it in your sleeping bag/quilt for refrigerator-like insulation, it stays cool for a day.
These are great meals you cooked up. I used to take Mountain House meals which were calorically great; also, expensive. I ate Mountain House meals during my camping excursions with the Boy Scouts. This is really good food btw. I like the options you picked and you are getting the most bang for your buck on these meals. My fav is the chili
Adding the gravy packets was something I started doing when I was out thru-hiking the pCT. I had to do something to switch up the flavor of all the instant mashed potatoes I kept eating out on trail.
@@TheHungryHiker the older i get the more im willing to bring the weight of extra spices and packets of seasoning ect to dress up these backpacking meals .
Great ideas! I'll be making a grocery list to keep in my phone for my PCT adventure this year. That way when I get to town to resupply I won't be wandering through the stores aimlessly.
This video came up in my feed, checked it out! Love camping and now getting into backpacking, this 62 year old can use all the tips and tricks I can learn! Thank you so much for an outstanding video, and Tucker is cool!!!! Subscribed!!!!
Hungry Hiker I am a boy scout merit badge counselor and I teach the cooking merit badge, I would love to teach my scouts to make the stove cozy. You link teaches the pouch and cup one. Could you please make a video for the stove.
SUCH a good video I did a 500 mile bike tour in my 20s I wonder how much easier it could be with instant food : ) good options out there today, fiber, nutrients
Not every pot has measurement markings inside it. I use an orange Lexan spoon where I put markings on the handle of the spoon to denote 1, 2, & 3C of water. I place the handle side in the pot and fill the pot to the appropriate level. No muss, no problem. With the spoon being orange in color, I'm less likely to lose it. I have different spoons for different pots. Just be sure you take the correct spoon with your pot.
Asian markets are a great place to find a wide variety of dried grains, beans, lintels, flour from all kinds of grains and beans, a wide variedly of sizes of cous cous and small pasta shapes. And dried sea plants and things that swim like dried shrimp and little dried fish. As well as powdered drinks.
Those ramen bombs look like the perfect guilty pleasure dinner after a long hike. I’d love to see more of those untraditional recipes, the mish mash of things you’d never think to mix.
Excellent! Thank you, I've cycled across the US three times and done a few of these, but the "Ramen Bomb" sounds perfect for this summer and the Great Divide Mtn Bike Route. Bomb On!
I used to buy heavy grocery store food, now I'm buying freeze dried meals. Next year I want to play with a dehydrator to make my own meals. Thanks for sharing, definitely gonna have to try a few of these and remember to look in other isles at my grocery store
I've been dehydrating a fair amount of my favorite meals and love it. So much more cost effective and it leaves you in charge on what you want to put into those meals. :)
I'm so jealous to see so many varieties of Idahoan! The easiest one to find in the grocery stores here is the plain variety and if I'm lucky I have stumbled on the cheesey ones!
easy boost for 'just ramen take 1 pouch of 1 cup style soup with a complimentary flavour to the ramen through it all in the pot give it a dry stir then add water you can depending on brand and flavour up the calories in your cup by 60 -80 % also you end up with a thicker more flavourful btoth and using no extra water
Great videos and ideas. I love the diy insulator as well! I work in hvac and have a roll of that in my shop. You know I’m making one of those! Thank you again😊
Awesome! Here's the video I put together showing how you can make your own DIY Backpacking Food Cozy ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rmr_D4qjDYI.html
Hi, I have been hiking a little in the last 10 or so years but I love it and feel so grateful to have come across this video with you and Tucker. Thank you! by the way, he has one of the coolest names ever. Haha And you are beautiful, I look forward to seeing more videos Thanks
Yay for you and your wallet! Sorry Mountain House! It was Mountain House meals that got me through a very rainy and cold Washington along the PCT, but it’s nice to know that there are lots of other options. 😀
I love this! Before my first PCT thru-hike, I bought the big canisters of Mountain House meals and sent them to myself on trail. Within the first 100 miles, food fatigue hit me hard. Now I try to mix it up as much as I can.
If you're counting calorie totals, I noticed something interesting this morning. I recently bought some new knorr sides at the store for this years trips, and also cleaned out my bear cannister of some packages of food I'd left there from last year It so happened that I had some new and old packages of knorr sides from both the can and the store, and I noticed as I was looking at them that the listed calories in the new stuff is cut in half for the equivalent older product. The package contents and serving sizes are unchanged from last year, but the listed calorie values are literally half of what they were last year. Just something to take into consideration this year, if you've done your daily calorie counting based on the values in last years Knorr packages.
Love that chili recipe. I use either the Ramen Chili or Teriyaki seasoning packets to season a steak I cook on a fire the first night when leaving town. My favorite, although hard to find outside Texas, is to use 1/2 cup Dehydrated Refried Beans, 1/3 cup minute rice, 1/2 TBSP Tomato Bullion, 1/2 TBSP Taco Seasoning, and 1 cup boiling water. Then I add cheese and Fritos to the meal.
@@bikeislife8405 No. I marinate the steak in a freezer bag and cook it the first night. Also, I backpack in spring & fall when weather is cooler. Precooked sausage keeps for a couple days.
So simple when you actually break it down. Some really great ideas. Beautiful, smart, and a love for the out doors……Your significant other sure is lucky! Thanks for the idea’s .
Super nice video. I've been testing receipes for the couple last weeks and I must admit I'm pretty excited about what I will eat on my next trip. Just found out Knorr soup mix can be a really tasty way to put flavour in rice and couscous. Adding dehydrated vegetables in the water too. I tried to take off the water from ramens to turn it into chow mein works well too.
People really need to look into buying freeze dried vegetables in bulk. It's pretty cheap actually, and just excellent way to get your veggies on trail.
Tasty Bites meals are amazing, my mom showed me them lol. Even my friend I hike with, who is a VERY fussy eater, like their lentils curry. But good lord that weight can get to you, they are such heavy meals in your pack. I brought them on a multi day snowshoe trip and the weight was tough, but the meals were so worth it.
The problem with many of these is, they require cooking as opposed to just rehydration. That means using lots of fuel. Many of your ideas though are spot on, except I would pour the boiling water into the food pouch rather than dirty the pot. You can do that in a zip lock bag as well. I let them sit in a food pouch coozy rather than a pot coozy. I know you were just covering dinner, but for breakfast I like instant grits. Just add them to your freeze dried eggs and you have a breakfast that will last you will into your hike. If you are able to fish, nothing is better than pan fried or aluminum foil baked fresh fish served on a plate of cheese grits. Trust me. Great video--keep it up.
I completely agree with you! Cooking these does take a bit of fuel and you're spot on about using a freezer Ziplock bag to let these sit and rehydrate in once the water has boiled. This is something I'm going to try this year in an effort to keep my pot clean on trail. As for breakfast, I made a video with some of my favorite breakfast options. Check it out here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8OI6P3WH_Z0.html Glad to hear you enjoyed the video! :)
@@TheHungryHiker I'll be sure to check it out. BTW-the packet the grits comes in, will hold boiling water as well. It doesn't look like it would, but the instant grits do just fine in their own pouch. Happy hiking . . . and eating.
In metal cups, bowls and pots, using an electric metal scribe pen, measure liquid then mark the inside. If you are good, you can mark a line AND what the level represents, "3 T", "2 cup," etc. I like to use levels I can eyeball half the amount (i.e., 1 cup [or C] from 2C, using the most common measures. Even write the figures upside down as this is easier. Thanks for the video.
Awesome info , im blown away im a calorie freak the more the merrier i burn the stuff sitting still , so this is great thanks for sharing this invaluable video , and doing the hard work so we dont have to 😊😊😊
Pre-cooked food pouches are great for car camping, but too heavy for backpacking in California. I have to pack a bear canister. Freeze dry food pouches are great. Thanks for food tips, like the pot cozy. I will make one for my pot. I usually use cook pouche.
Agreed. The precooked food pouches are a bit on the heavy side. This is why I like to mix them up with lighter food options for any given trip or stretch of trail. I also tend to eat my heavier food first when out on trail. That way I carry less weight towards the middle and end of my trip(s). The pot cozy is my favorite! I used this on every single trip I've gone on this season.
Bear Creek Minestrone soup mix + packet of knorr mexican rice + Uncle Ben's Ready Rice Jambalaya. Mix all of that up ahead of time and put in separate ziplocks. Then after you get it to a boil add some pieces of jerky and if you really wanna get snazzy get one of those single serve packets of flavored chicken or tuna to the dish. I call it trail jambalaya and its one of my favorite things to cook while on the trail.
There is a good recipe that I make whenever power outages happen. Box of Zaterrains Red Beans n Rice and I dehydrate hamburger. Make hamburger then follow instructions on box along with 1/2 to 1 jar/packet(pouch) of Salsa. Top with babybell cheese crunched up stir. Awesome meal and very filling
Hello neighbor, I'm located in Issaquah. Thank you for the meal ideas for on the trail as an alternative to the dehydrated meals. Going to try some of these on my next hike.
Great tips, i didnt even know you could buy dried chile. I stopped buying freeze dried meals because of the prices. years ago. Your video is relly helpful. Thank you
Yay! Glad you found this one helpful. There are so many options out there. Just have to be a little creative and willing to experiment. Not everything I pick up in the grocery store is a winner on trail.
My days of camping are long gone, 74 and a widow, but I love to see quick, cheap and convenient meal like those you demonstrated in this video. I can adapt these for my meals the only problem is we don't have the huge variety you have in our stores here in here South Africa. I read further along a comment about biltong, we also have droëwors - dried sausage. Can last for weeks 'cept that it's so delicious l wouldn't finish it up in a day or two.
Just came across your channel and am really enjoying binge watching your videos 😊. I appreciate your food videos - shopping, calories, and preparation.
I've been buying backpacking food at the grocery store for years... but you HAVE to read the labels to know what you're buying. I bought a box of chili mac for one trip, and it wasn't until I was on the trail and making dinner that I realized it was just noodles and a packet of sauce mix... it didn't come with the hamburger! But to be fair, this WAS 1971 and I was a wee bit younger. I also buy bell peppers or 5 pound bags of frozen mixed veggies from Walmart, and dehydrate them. I'll just toss a handful into whatever I'm cooking, and take a big Ziploc bag camping just to add to whatever I'm making. EVERYTHING'S better with bell peppers.
100% - gotta read the packages!! I also experiment with my food BEFORE I get out on the trail, just to make sure it will be easy enough to cook on trail and that I'll like eating it.
Great video! I have a tip. Check out your local Asian grocer. You can find all sorts of flavorful dried food. Mine has dried fish that are out of this world. You could do a sequel to this in an Asian grocer easy!
My favorite slop in a pot I made on my last thru hike was I took bear creek cheder brok soup made it slightly too watery and then used that to rehydrate My potatoes and dumped bacon bits on top
With my ramen I also like to have a ziplock of dehydrated veggies I can throw in. Peas and corn especially light weight and small when dried. Good to put in as your water comes to boil as they have extra time to rehydrate.
Great video. I don't count calories. Idk why it's such a big deal with many. Just enjoy yourself. You burn calories worrying too you know. Creates stress
100% agree! I only count calories when originally putting together a resupply for a big trip so that I make sure I’m eating enough to maintain my physical exertion when out on trail. I listen to my body and give it whatever it wants and craves when I’m out there.
