Id be interested in a similar video with stores like Aldi, Dollar Tree, and Walmart. I was pleasantly surprised that dollar tree has so much food that would work great for backpacking, even powdered peanut butter.
I'm a HUGE proponent of Dollar Tree for backpacking! They have great small quantities that are perfect for backpacking, and they have great other things like microfiber towels, small silicone utensils (moreso for car camping), bandanas, and individual silverware. I bought a lot of things for my first backpacking kit there.
This was so informative! I fully expected Trader Joe’s to be more expensive. The apple sauce packets are one of my favorite snacks. My boss told me her son likes them too.. he’s 4 😄
I liked this episode though was a lil disappointed you didn't go Fred Meyer, maybe not one near you. I'll tell you my favorite store before I go backpacking is Grocery Outlet. They always have good salami and hard cheeses or any cheeses pretty cheap. And they have all these products that didn't make it to market that were made for convenience alone. Aaaand they always have some form of instant coffee and creamer.
I totally agree, a video with these stores that are more recognized would be great, I went to Trader Joe's for the first time and I almost couldn't find the instant coffee 😁 besides being more expensive than Walmart it wasn't as good, I don't understand why people choose those stores.
I have a couple Trader Joe’s go tos. They have a yogurt I LOVE and a kind of energy bar I like and can eat. (I can’t have soy which rules out MANY bars). Otherwise, I’m not gonna go there.
Traders has Babybel PLANT based cheese! I’m not Vegan! No refrigeration needed!! Only after you open a cheese but you always eat a whole one anyway!! This was a game changer!! We incorporated this cheese into our daily mid day snack/ lunch. Love the Apple Chips!
Most individual pack cheeses can be considered safe for up to a week on the trail. I would have no concerns about babybel in the wax on a multi-day trip. I've also seen their foil pack wedges sold unrefrigerated, so no concerns with taking those on trail either.
Idahoan instant mashed potatoes are fantastic for the trail. They reconstitute very easily in in a freezer bag and you can easily add tuna or chicken packets. As bonus, they are both light and inexpensive.
Yes! I add gravy mix, chicken, and dried onion rings! Or dried broccoli, bacon bits, chicken, ranch powder, cheese, and onion rings for a luxury mashed potato dinner 🤤
I pack it in a ziploc with a plastic spoon. Add water and I can eat it on the trail without stopping. Good source of potassium, too, which helps relieve muscle cramping.
Thanks! Some great ideas here. My go to for breakfast is rolled oats, then just add my own spices, nuts/seeds, and dried fruit. Lunch: tortillas, peanut butter, and dried fruit. Dinner: couscous, TVP, dried mushrooms, nuts, and herbs. I snack on bars. Cafe Bustelo is my favorite instant coffee. I always throw a few packs of instant ramen and a few Larabars in my bag in case I get stuck out in the backcountry longer than planned.
My last few backpacking trips have been easy trips with middle/high school kids: Friday night at a campsite near parking, Saturday hike to a backpacking site, Sunday hike back to parking. And some (but not all) of our group has been vegan. With that said... Breakfast: boil water for instant oatmeal, instant coffee, instant cocoa, plus fresh fruit Saturday morning (when we're still effectively car camping). I brought Mini Moo's UHT-processed half & half for my coffee. The other adults used instant cocoa (for a mocha), drank it black, or didn't drink coffee. We'd get a mix of flavored oatmeal and regular oatmeal; most kids had a couple packets of flavored oatmeal, and most adults had a packet (or two) of flavored oatmeal cut with a packet (or two) of regular. I like the idea of adding your own dried fruit, nuts, and sweetener rather than buying flavored packets, but flavored oatmeal is easier, which is helpful with kids and new backpackers in the group. Lunch: Tortillas (or maybe pita) with peanut butter (or maybe almond butter) and jelly. We get two jars of each, sized so the group will finish a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly for one lunch, and then repeat for the other lunch. Sometimes we did BYO lunch, in which case I'd pack hard-boiled eggs, cheese, and extra trail mix. Snacks: trail mix (dried fruit, nuts, and maybe M&Ms). Dinner: To avoid arguments, we just had everyone pick their own freeze dried meal from REI (or wherever) for Saturday dinner. Friday was either a car-camping style dinner with fresh ingredients, or bring your own box/bag dinner from home, depending on the particular trip. Dessert: S'mores with graham crackers, marshmallows, and a jar of Nutella (packs better than chocolate bars). The hard part is keeping the graham crackers intact, and keeping the marshmallows from being squished. Or sometimes we'd get freeze dried desserts from REI (or wherever) to share with the group, perhaps something like a berry cobbler. We'd add boiling water after everyone had their freeze dried meals going, and dessert would be ready by the time everyone was done. Yeah, the freeze dried meals were more expensive, but they made Saturday dinner easier (as I said, helpful with kids and new backpackers).
With a group like you describe you might try making berry cobbler on-site in a cast iron Dutch oven using Bisquick and some sugar with local berries. We do this with teen groups, the first served are the two teens who volunteer to pack the oven pot and oven top. This only works during berry seasons and outside of fire bans. You can also make ice cream if you camp near snowfields and pack in rock salt with a couple of cans to roll around the ground.
Interesting idea, but the sites we used didn't allow fires (wood or charcoal), only camp stoves. And there haven't been any wild berries to pick. Hauling in a dutch oven reminds me of my brother's scout troop though. They would use "pack inspections" as an excuse to slip a watermelon into the pack of one of the newbies. Although if you volunteer to haul in a dutch oven in exchange for first dibs on the cobbler, it isn't really hazing.
@@servnava6601 Tennessee has WinCo .I must get VanLife 'ing again theres none here in TX and plenty in PNW & California (one more reason it truly is the "Golden State"
@@MirandaGoesOutside omg ur the creator, right? Mz Miranda ? Id be "touched" beyond belief if you'd react to my own comment/double reverse?? Re- comment! Whatever's this thing I'm doing. Im not to sure what the proper term is?
@@charliemcdowell5231 I swear it feels like they do it on purpose!! I’ve been all over the country and I’m always stumped by how bad every. single. lot. IS!!!!
The Trader Joe's obstacle course (read parking lot) lets you burn off all the calories so you can buy more food in the store. It's a design feature, not a flaw.
I am planning a 5-7 day hike on the Foohills Trail ,and figuring out what food I am going to carry that is nutritious and calorie dense has been a challenge. Being a vegetarian on the trail is not that easy. P.S. Yay for the new E bike!
I hear you!! Grits, potatoes, noodles, rice are all amazing base foods that are light. Powered peanut butter and dehydrated tofu (TVP) are a vegetarians bff on trail!
If you are up for some pre-packed dehydrated food real turmat, adventure food, and trek’n eat are some brands that have a lot of vegetarian options. I packed lunch and dinner for 10 days (pre-packed dehydrated meals), and not one meal is the same as the other. However I don’t know if everything will be available for you. I live in Sweden so the options might very for you😊 If you want to make your own meal. Maybe look in to: noodles, tomato soup (powder, as sauce) and dried soy mince.
There are a lot of vegetarian backpacking meals at REI. Also, if you look at some of Miranda's older videos she has some where she does vegan meals DIY.
Dehydrated cooked lentils rehydrate really well. We've enjoyed lots of spicy stew style meals made of lentils and instant rice with lots of dehydrated or freeze dried veggies. We tend to add dehydrated chicken, but lentils are high in protein on their own. Add chia seeds and peanut butter to your breakfasts. Instant hummus makes good trail lunches, especially if you add some lemon or lime powder. We also make a cookie dough hummus using dehydrated cooked chickpeas. TVP is a meat substitute that has turned many a backpacker temporarily vegetarian when they compare the price to the freeze dried meats. I remember a long canoe trip in my youth that was unintentionally vegetarian because the TVP was so much easier on the budget.
I worked as a wildland firefighter in Canada for 4 years and we would shop for "24 hour kits" - full 24 hours of food to last us before we can get resupplied. The food had to be shelf stable, easy to prep and high in calories, just like backpacking food. My favourites were: baby food pouches (for freshness and vitamins), squeeze pouches of nut butter (to keep in the pocket and eat as needed), instant noodles, fruit gummies, dried mango, nuts, oatmeal, instant coffee (can be added to cold water during the day), some kind of canned veggies (the variety pf pouches of cooked veggies is not great here), couscous. And chocolate covered espresso beans!
Old school me, I love eating gorp on trail (my favorite mix includes raisins,dried cranberries, peanuts, almonds, walnuts and nestle dark chocolate chips).
Every single camping trip I introduce somebody to the wonder that is Trader Joe's instant coffee. ABSOLUTELY the best instant coffee I've had, tasty enough I often make it at home or the office. I'm hoping you've had it before, but if not, get some when it's back in stock. Anyways, great video, and now I need to go grocery shopping. 😂
Perhaps you should make a "resupply" video. I know you're not currently doing any of the big three trails, but as I watched your video from the comfort of rural america where we don't always have any of the big grocery stores nearby. It reminded me of try to resupply in small rural towns where there are just NO real options except maybe a dollar general or even just a convenience store attached to a gas station. anyway, food for thought, loved the video.
Good to know for canoeing trips too. I buy wraps, cheese whiz, canned tuna or chicken spread with little crackers. Small boxes of wine taken out of the box and cocoa packets are indulgent buys. Little cans of oysters, olives, dried fruit, jerky are good snacks. Did I mention that backpackers envy me in my canoe?
TJ's for the win! The best place for backpacking meals and their selection is excellent. Whole Paycheck is just overpriced. Baby carrots are a great portable vegetable.
Definitely love seeing Miranda videos on my days off! As for food I go with oatmeal’s n bars for breakfast, for lunch I go with tuna packs n crackers, or jerky, or ramen with jerky. For dinner I have a few fruits!
I used to live in your neighborhood and was really excited to see my old grocery stores featured in the video! One thing that took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out is that you can just ask for free packets of things like mayonnaise or soy sauce from the deli counter at a grocery store, and they've always been happy to give them out. I think it probably helps to go there after you've already got a cart or basket of stuff you're going to buy.
Trader Joe's is my go to for camping. If you like Indian flavors, there shelf stable veggie dishes are perfect with some rice. You can heat up the bag in boiled water and buy success rice, from a regular grocery store, that comes in a bag that drains its self . If your car camping their premarinated meats are great and easy clean up.
Yesss the bagged Indian food is my fave! Check out the canned goods too- they have lots of delicious dips and beans that would go great on bread for lunch.
I was super excited to see a vegan do this challenge, 😢 hope you are doing ok, being vegan is hard but even being plant based 90% of the time is still helpful! Love you
For some people, like myself, doing a plant based diet can actually cause a lot of stomach issues. Miranda mentioned recently in a video why she stopped being vegan and asked that people not comment on her diet. You should watch the video.
@missydill7846 I have watched most of the videos from the last 6 months, must have missed this one. Can you tell me which one? She didn't mention here not to talk about it, so sorry if I've brought up a sore subject...
As a family of 5, we took a 17 day road trip through 7 states. I packed breakfast, lunch, dinner, 2 snacks, and a treat for each day. It all had to be shelf stable and cheap! I love these kinds of challenges!! Our favorite trail meal is tortillas with rice pouches, protein pouches, and a Velveeta pouch with some hot sauce. The kids especially loved the dehydrated potato hash brown cartons in tortillas.
I buy wheat pita pocket bread and use them for tuna and p butter amd jelly sands. Can do breakfast lunch or dinner with them. Can't smashit cause its already smashed!! I buy pasta that cooks in 6 mins and make a tiny ziplock with parmesan, olive oil, spices and mix in pasta. Delish. I also bring popcorn!!
I was very much interested in this video, so I could take notes on what constitutes "trail food". Problem is my caloric norm is more like 3000, than 2000, so I will end up having to to get SO much foods when I finally manage to do some backpacking. For example, that one packet of jerky you got for two days, will only cover me for a snack for one day. But I never really thought of those tuna-packets before, I'll have to remember them, next time I wanna try something new. A lot of people don't know that you can eat an entire apple, stem and all. When it comes to the seeds, it's best to just swallow them whole if you're worried about that cyanide. But at that point, what's the difference between it passing with your waste, or just spitting it out in the first place. Apparently, strawberry greens are safe enough too, if you're trying to reduce waste. I backpacked a little (a few consecutive years) when I was a kid at Summer camp, and have maintained a strong interest in outdoorsy activities since even before then. One of my favorite books as a kid was a field guide on Edible Wild Plants. Heck, I was even better at navigating than my counselors... I was part of the scouting part that found a really nice spot to camp one night, but no one else with me could follow our own traces back - I mean, come on fellas, there's tall grass, it's bent where we walked; all we have to do is follow it in reverse, stop trying to see the spot by looking at the trees at the field's edge. lol ... 30 years later, I'm starting to be inclined back towards backpacking again. I'm still only at the "campsite camping with a car nearby" stage, but it's good practice because I've not done solo-camping before. At least I've already always preferred tent-camping over RV camping. ;) NOTE: I usually do my regular shopping at Trader Joes. It's my primary store because of costs; but yes they are frequently out of stock when it comes to some of my regular purchases. Then I head over to Kroger for everything else I still need on my lists. Their "Simple Truth" store brand is usually pretty amazing for quality and cost.
I totally hear you needing more calories. I am the same way. I churn through calories and often even in my daily life need close to 3000. On backpacking trips I try and eat closer to 4000 calories which usually means I am always going for the higher calorie backpacking meals like Peak Refuel or Bushka's Kitchen. That being said, for meals from the grocery store what I will do is for lunch bring salami or summer sausage that I cut and eat with a hard cheese and a big tortilla. Easy to pack, and goes a long way. Nicely fatty so plenty of calories, and lots of protein too. Then for snacks I'll smash those peanut butter packets, or almond butter, along with some beef jerky or an apple. I will almost ALWAYS go with a dedicated freeze dried backpacking meal for dinner. Just easier in my view. Those peanut butter packets are also a great addition to morning oatmeal for added protein and general calories!
Yes, I'm in the higher calorie group, too. After a couple of days on trail I need to bump my intake y to~4,000 calories or so daily. I add peanut butter to lots of meals, use high-fat hard salami and other sausages, and use liberal amounts of olive oil, these all help to add calories, avoid the sugar crash of simple sweets, and add to feeling satisfied.
Some of my favorites from each store. Trader Joe’s: Swedish rye crisps (great with cheese or tuna packets), Baby sweet fried pineapple, PB&J bars (like nutri-grain bars), cheddar cheese sticks Whole Foods: McDougall’s black bean soup (has to be repackaged though 😢), bulk buns for trail mix and oats, TVP and Karen’s Just Veggies to add to soup/ramen/mashed potatoes etc (pricey but nice to have vegetables and added easy protein). Kroger: Minute rice, Far East boxed cous cous, ritz sandwich crackers (morale food, and so nicely packaged)
Whoa I found this really enlightening about American grocery shops. I'm pretty sure this challenge could be done in an average UK supermarket (tesco, lidl, sainsburys) for £30 max instead of USD 50! Any chance you want to pop over to the UK or at least have a look at the tesco groceries online and tell me if I'm just being too optimistic 😂
Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are known to be pricier grocery brands here. There’s definetly cheaper grocery stores where you could likely stock up for a three day hike for around 20-30$ easily. You just have to be willing to compromise on some “lower quality” stuff but I don’t really think in those terms when I’m backpacking.
That beef jerky from TJ’s in the red packet has way more sugar in it than their organic beef jerky in the green packet. It costs a dollar more, but has more protein.
I miss, "This is my show gosh darn" at the end. Also, individual olive packets are the best. A little messy to pack out (that oil seems to drip everywhere), but so yummy. I recommend getting freeze dried food and instant things (oats, rice, etc) in bulk and making individual meals from that. Quick cooking things like rice and soba noodles are also great.
This popped up just in time as I'm planning shelf stable lunch and snack ideas for a long trip! Definitely going to check out those smart sweets and protein bars. I also think the tuna packets and tortillas is the most exciting lunch option, can't wait to give it a try during my travels.
Probably because like most people who are not vegan, they don't care about animals. Veganism isn't a diet. It's only about animal welfare. She was most likely 'plant based' for her own personal reasons like health. Not criticizing, just explaining the difference between PB and vegan.
knorr pasta sides with French fried onions was my staple dinner food. Sandwich thins with Nutella or PB for lunch. classic pop tart or clif bar breakfast. Chex mix, trail mix or Pringles for snacks
Ah!! I wish this YT was available in June when I came over to Washington/Oregon from the UK lol. I had no idea in US shops lol. I ended up settling on Fred Meyer and I was mainly doing day hikes, was not brave enough to do backpacking as a foreigner and we don't really get to do it in the UK like in the US. One day though!! Love a Miranda video.
Freddie's is good (Fred Meyer), it's now also owned by Kroger's, but have Trader Joe's and the fantastic WinCo for bulk foods here in Portland, Oregon (not sure about Washington). I hope you come back to the PNW and try our backpacking!
@@memathews oh i did not know that. I would love to come back, in a heart beat. PNW is one of my new favourite places. I think I need a better job so I can fly back and forth more regularly.
Interesting video! You should do a video showing kind of the same thing, but buying the same items from different stores. That way it's less subjective to what you just decided to buy.
The closest Trader Joe’s is over 3.5 hours away 😢 I’m in a one store town so we’re limited on food options, BUT I live on the wilderness edge of the BWCAW ❤.
I live in northern Utah in an outdoor centered town and out of the three (Kroger, Joe, and whole food), we only have a Kroger (ours is called Smith’s). I think it’s all about how often you go to said store. I could navigate our Kroger so well (plus they have an awesome app that tells you exactly where each food is and has coupons for great deals). Just something to think about.
Like all your videos, this was a fun one. I enjoy cooking/baking and creating my own dehydrated dinners for camping (I know the purpose of this video was to buy trail ready items direct from the grocery store). I just got back from 8 days of hiking in Colorado. I spent $30 on ingredients to make 9 chicken-based dehydrated dinners. I spent $70 at Walmart in Colorado where I picked up breakfast and lunch items, water and snacks... $100 TOTAL for 27 meals (24 + 1 extra lunch + 1 extra breakfast + 1 non-hiking day dinner). .... This includes me buying too much water.
on your first trip, you'll most likely bring too much food since you will generally be less hungry and eat less than when at home. don't worry, we've all done that. 😉have fun on your backpacking trip.
This was a fun video ! A lot of backpackers mention the tuna packs but do you ever do the chicken breast ones ? Not a fan of tuna. I haven’t officially backpacked yet but I’ve bought food for it. Lol - I picked up some knorr sides that look like they will be pretty good. Not sure how healthy they are though !
Mio water flavor with caffeine. The chicken/tuna packs work well, with triscuit for me. None of these stores are near me in N PA, so it's Dollar General or Walmart for me.
Great Video!! I’m always mixing my stores up with backpacking food. Kroger seems to always have the wide range of tuna packages, we have an HEB here in Texas. They have a great wife range of meal bars/ snack bars.. Even Walmart does a wonders sometimes 😂
Love you as always! You are amazing and really provide great info in the most fun way!! OMG, I thought you had a huge tattoo but it is the ankle band of your pants!
I think you need to redo this from an unknown resupply point where you don’t know what stores you’re going to have options from that and not being a store you regularly visit and know where they keep things…don’t go off somewhere close to a year round trail either as they will stock based on past purchases in that store. Thus why a Trader Joe’s in jersey is no stocked the same as a Trader Joe’s in northern Virginia
We do t have Aldi or Lidl in the great Pacific Northwest- but I have been to them when visiting family in the south… seems like they would have some good options! Take away bottom line from this video- you don’t have to buy expensive pre packages backpack meals…shop your local stores with a “backpacker eye” and you’ll be amazed at what you find 😊
Curious about the reason for your switch from vegan. Haven’t seen you for a long while and you look different. Pretty and happy as usual! Just different. I went whole food plant based due to medical reasons and look different myself! Not weight, just less inflamed and puffy. And it’s really helped my condition, but no judgment on you or anyone else! (50 yrs of meat and dairy before my change 😂)
Hi! I'm going to tiptoe around this subject....my wife is vegan and I cook and eat vegan food a lot, but I'm not vegan....what were your personal choices for un-veganing? Did you miss certain foods, or was it a health reason? Just curious. BTW, love the channel! I've purchased something for the wife, per your recommendation. Mangoes!
Wow, when Trader Joe’s opened here the traffic jam literally went for miles. People slept in the parking lot the night before. Grocery store or cult? 😂. Whole Foods aka Whole Paycheck. I have definitely tried to take real food, I’m not a through hiker covering miles so it’s not an issue for me to cook stuff. And you are looking extra extra beautiful, whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. It’s also awesome you live where you can use a bike. In my city they tend to kill bicyclists. Or try to!😢
Next time you do a video like this, please add the pack-out weight of each group of purchases. Thanks for doing this, though I am sad you’ve fallen of the vegan wagon. 🌿
I’m sad about it too 🫤 it’s for health reasons, and I’m hoping that in the future I’m well enough to revisit my long term vegetarian/veganism. Thank you for being here!!
This is really helpful. I have trouble eating on the trail, but I have been avoiding TJ. I thought it wouldn't have decent vegetarian options or things that needed little preparation. I will definitely check it out soon😊
Try their bagged Indian food with instant rice! You can heat it up by putting the bag right in boiling water. And it’s super tasty. Their canned goods are also excellent- eggplant, Italian beans, chickpeas, dolmas, etc.
Znatural foods online... for making vegan meals. Dehydrated cashew milk is a game changer to make meals richer in protein and creamier. Vegan english muffins squish well to have with nutbutters. Also dehydrated mushrooms ground up added to the ramen noodles and casew cream is delicious... i tend to use health food store type ramen.... make your own nut mixes and chew it well to bring out the nutrients. Change it up... one can get really sick of penut flavoured food. I also start a resupply with fresh fruit that can offset a water carry at first ...hydrating.
I enjoyed this video as it showed a variety of food options but I think giving yourself a 30 minute time limit was unrealistic and unnecessary. That said, I'd love to see a few more videos on this topic. An only gas station shopping challenge for example or Walmart, Dollar General, and REI or other camping focused shop. I'd also be interested in a video on planning resupply boxes.
Never liked oats. I have standard meals I get at grocery stores, always buy a box of cereal and package Milk & Cereal: 3/4 cup Grape Nuts + 1/4 cup shredded coconut + 3 stevia packets + 1/4 cup NIDO (powdered milk), add water, shake, instant breakfast, can add raisins or walnuts to milk & cereal. Second breakfast is Grits & Bacon: 3 packets instant grits + 2.5oz Bacon Pieces + 12oz boiling water. Third Breakfast Imitation Biscuits & Gravy: 1 package Ramen (broken in small pieces, don't use seasoning packet) + 1/2 package Pioneer Country Gravy + Bacon Pieces + 1 cup boiling water. Tortillas + Peanut Butter or SPAM + mayo or Tuna + mayo or Salami + Peanut Butter. Pepperoni + Cheese is good. I like Atkins bars, especially the Chocolate Brownie bar. Always get 1 pound of Walnuts, calorie dense @ 3000/pound, 65% fat + 14% protein + 14% carbs - 7% fiber.
