What Food Do you Carry in Your Pack?

[Tokwan]

I got fed up of expiring army rations so now I have decided to go back to square one and pack all dry food. Now in my cooking pot or mess tins, I pack:-
1. A few hundred grams of raw rice. (since rice is my staple food)
2. 3 cups of wheat flour.(To make bannocks or bread).
3. Sugar in a small plastic screw capped container.
4. Salt.
5. Black Pepper (grounded)
6. Cooking oil (in a screw capped bottle)
7. Baking powder.
8. Coffee
9. Oatmeal
10. Chicken stock and bilis stock in cubes..make the food taste better and quick soup making..


All these will fit nicely in my army issued mess tins, and I would carry some smoked/dried meat or salted fish and some eggs.

This is good enough for where I am, and would last for at least 3 days.

What do you pack?

[welderguy]

I changed my food up a little recently, I used to carry MRE's now I do tuna packets, chili , spam singles, cracker packs. usually enough for 72 hours two meals a day. costs a lot less than MRE's and I like it better. I also carry salt, pepper, mayo packets, dried onions, bullion cubes.

[Tokwan]

Yep..somehow , they taste better..did you realized that?...a little bit of gourmet...by the way, do you guys do salted dried fish there?

[Duece]

Pack of liptons chicken noodle,pack of veg cup'a'soup and a mountain house chicken and potato stew,i also keep a 500 ml bottle of water that stays in my pack so i always have the water needed to cook.i carry a canteen as well but the bottled water is an extra safety measure

[Tokwan]

Good idea too, but I carry about 4 liters of water with me .

[Winnie]

Living where I do, I'm never very far away from civilisation and neither do I drive, so my bag is somewhat different to a lot of folks. It's maore a get home bag. I carry mainly cereal bars, some homemade hard tack, some squeezy soups(super concentrated single servings) tea and coffee and some stock cubes. I'm rarely more than 30 miles from home so again, my bag will be somewhat different. I don't envisage any instance where I will need to live out of any pack for more than 24 hours.

If you're talking camping, well that's different altogether!

I have a dehydrator so make some meals, put together some mixes and buy some ambient ready meals.

[Rick]

It depends on what I plan to have to eat. I generally always carry some bullion cubes and coffee bags but the rest is whatever suits my fancy for that trip.

[MrFixIt]

Depends on what I plan to do and where I'll be, along with weather conditions.
Generally on a day hike, I'll carry some tuna, crackers and mandarin oranges. I always have some trail mix to snack on.
If out clearing trails, I'll carry some jerky (along with the above) for some extra protein.
And like Winnie said, if camping, we tend to bring all kinds of meat and veggies.

[finallyME]

I have been gravitating more to instant rice and freeze dried meat, or any type of meat. Throw in some type of seasonings and done. Oatmeal for breakfast. You can substitute instant noodles for the rice, but as I get older, my stomach doesn't like the instant noodles as much.

[xjosh40x]

It depends on how long I'll be out. I always like to bring jerky and tea packets with sugar. Some Southern sweet tea is never a bad idea. If I plan on catching my own food I always bring a backup suck as smoked deer tender loins if I have them ready. If not a can of chili does well. I used to pack MREs but when I'm out of a hike or camping I want to enjoy my food. I like MREs but not all of them.

[TXyakr]

There are over a dozen brands of freeze dried meals in mylar bags that only require hot water that are very fast and easy to pack these are mostly all great when I am in a hurry, too busy to put much thought into planning or packing for a long distance backpacking trip, however…

To save money and add more variety and possibly be a little healthier I like to search around the local grocery store, health food stores and ethnic, especially Asian/Indian/Pakistani grocery stores for stuff. Much comes in mylar bags already but if in larger bags I can repackage instant pseudo grains and noodles into smaller plastic or mylar bags reseal with hot steel bar and clothes iron add my favorite seasoning etc.
Also add my favorite legumes and/or meat in mylar packages such as tuna/salmon/chicken/beef/shrimp and even cuttlefish if my traveling companions can stand the smell of it. Also dehydrated vegetables or fresh that last for days in well ventilated mesh bags such as carrots, Idaho or sweet potatoes, turnips, radish, and others.

I have never carried a live chicken on the side of my backpack or canoe but considered it, all the white stuff dropping along the way would be a problem I think, also the predator attraction. LOL But I have traveled with people in South America that carried live chickens with them on trips, generally we ate them before the anaconda did, LOL. Or at least beat it silly until it spit it up and someone pulled hard on the rope tied to the chicken's leg. LOL wish I could find an old 35mm slide of it.
I like to think "outside the box".

[TXyakr]

Some noodles etc. that cook fast and thus save fuel and time:
Vermicelli from soy, semolina, rice and others…

1. Bean Thread or "Green Bean" i.e. soy bean based generally bright white and very thin

2. Semolina (100% Suji Vermicelli or something similar, MTR is a popular brand)

3. Rice stick noodles, many brands

4. Wheat based Ramen noodles, many brands

5. Instant or fast cook Rice (brown takes longer to cook but worth it if you are not a SUL backpacker, IMO)

6. Quinoa, finally there are some "instant" varieties of this available that take less than 15 minutes to cook for lunch and also breakfast

7. Rolled Oats (aka instant oatmeal for breakfast and lunch/dinner think Scottish Haggis, delicious? or not)
You can even buy Scottish Haggis by the can if you really love it, or cook at home and pot it your self in mylar bags, dehydrate etc. Unlikely raccoons or anyone else will bother you for some. LOL

edit: Fresh baked is better but when camping this is my favorite brand

http://www.caledoniankitchen.com/can...ottish-haggis/

If I've got a deep frier then some "Scottish Eggs" are great for breakfast with HP sauce

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/e...4Y5VJ4ukFUC.97

[hunter63]

...............................................7. Rolled Oats (aka instant oatmeal for breakfast and lunch/dinner think Scottish Haggis, delicious? or not)
You can even buy Scottish Haggis by the can if you really love it, or cook at home and pot it your self in mylar bags, dehydrate etc. Unlikely raccoons or anyone else will bother you for some. LOL

LOL .... Your food will be safe.....No one will try to take it....not even the bears......

I like instant oatmeal.......open the package, dump it in your mouth....then drink a hot cup of coffee.....Instant breakfast

[Rick]

He said Haggis!!!!!!!!!

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[TXyakr]

[QUOTE=Rick;452831]He said Haggis!!!!!!!!!
OH! come on Rick Celtic babies love Haggis, its the adults that know what's in it that gag.

Now I'm not going to give you the details of how I make my "trail version" of fast "substitute haggis", some of the ingredients are:

Libby's Beef Crumbles 6 oz vacuum pack
Underwood Liver Wurst Spread, 4.25-Ounce Can
Dried Onion flakes
Dried Garlic
Instant oatmeal
Hot water

Not a great mystery how to make it.
How to keep it down may be, LOL
I strongly recommend you do not cook or eat it close to your sleeping shelter. Ha Ha Ha

Haggis WAS the original "Hamburger Helper"

Edit: If made "correctly" it will stick to the roof of your mouth better than peanut butter and the flavor will linger with you all night long. Intrigued? Sure you are give it a try.

Less gross is Shepherd's Pie: Instant mash potatoes + Libby's beef + dried peas and carrots
but OH so boring.

Here is a Yuppie version with "weird stuff" added if you like that sort of thing, I'm not judging just making totally unnecessary comments, there is no limit to what you can add to any standard recipe that has been around for generations:
http://www.backpacker.com/skills/coo...hepherd-s-pie/

Personally I rarely ever make the same thing the same way twice.

[hunter63]

Haggis..... brought to you by the same people the need Scotch to get it down, wear skirts, and invented golf (most diabolical sport ever).

LOL.....Not buying it.

[Duece]

Just out curiousity has anyone eaten any of the freeze dried foods from mountain house etc after expiration?

[Rick]

I honestly don't know. I don't look at the expiration date. Food after that date is still good. Besides, you have no idea how it was stored before you bought it.

[TXyakr]

Just out curiousity has anyone eaten any of the freeze dried foods from mountain house etc after expiration?

I never have eaten that brand after exp date but have other brands with no problem except less flavor and texture. Other types of food after exp. date have given me mild food poisoning, but OTC meds + fluids fixed me up very quickly, so no problem.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-c...t/con-20031705

read what Mtn House says about shelf life/ exp date:
http://www.mountainhouse.com/M/FAQS.html

basically 12 years from manuf, but up some still taste OK after 30 years.

My biggest concern would be if there are tiny micro tears or holes in the mylar. To be certain dump into a pot and bring to a boil to kill/neutralize any bacteria and/or mold. This may cause it to taste worse but hopefully you won't need any loperamide (Imodium A-D) or bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol). So if you have a beat up mylar bag of Mtn House you have carried on a dozen or more backpacking trips and never eaten, cook it up at home on a Friday night so you have all weekend to recover from it before Monday morning work (assuming you work M-F 8-5). Everyone needs to experience a stomach bug once a year just to learn to "push through the suck". Then do a 6-10 mile hike with 4 gallon jugs of water in BP, great way to drop some pounds around the waist or thighs. You'll be saying "i'm lovin' it" or not…LOL

Edit: If you want an excuse to use up your stash of Mtn House meals you can Thru hike the Continental Divide Trail from Mexico to Canada with me. (approx 3100 miles) After a month or so exp dates mean nothing.

[Batch]

He said Haggis!!!!!!!!!

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I wonder if you knew that the day after that post was the Burns Dinner?

My dad and mom went to the games in Dunedin, Fl last weekend. My dad wore his kilt.

The South East games aren't until March 21 and I usually eat my haggis then.

My 2 year old grand-daughter loves the pipes and makes my dad play youtube videos of the pipes as soon as he gets home (my mom watches her during the week). "Pipes Papa, Pipes!!!" LOL