I always want to eat delicious food. Eating out in the woods is no exception.

My general goal when backpacking is to eat healthy-ish calorie dense snack foods and a balanced meal (aka fiber) with around 750 calories for dinner.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with dehydrated fruit and nuts

• Coconut Turmeric Oatmeal 
• Apple/Cinnamon
• Raisin/Ginger

Lunch: Pick a protein stuffed in pita pockets or tortillas (crackers get crushed in your pack)

• summer sausage (heavy but delicious)
• tuna (get the thin, foil packs vs. cans)
• hard cheese (Parmesan wedge)

Make it fancy – add dehydrated tomatoes and onions

Dinner:  Cook a choice of starch + can of dehydrated beans + dehydrated veggies

I like to prep a big bowl of dehydrated veggies/beans for a few nights of meals at the same time. Roughly chop everything to fit into the dehydrator (not too small b/c pieces will shrink and fall through). After everything is dehydrated I chop and crumble everything into a bowl.

This blend yielded 3 1/2 cups (3-4 servings) dehydrated.

2 cans of precooked beans (black beans, kidney beans)
1 bunch kale
1 medium onion
1 red bell pepper
4 small peppers (mix jalapeno and poblano)

• Rosemary potatoes with veggies and red beans
• Curry couscous with veggies and lentils (best bet in terms of size/weight)
• Ramen with veggies and beans (bulky so only for shorter adventures)
• Garlic Parmesan Pasta with veggies and white beans
• Tex-Mex Rice and beans with veggies

Snacks Trail mix and Granola bars

• Candy (one bag to eat sparingly)
  • Chocolate people- stick with M&M’s in the summer (they won’t melt into goo)

Beverages Treat Yo’Self

• hot chocolate powder
• instant coffee
• tea in satchels
• Propel/Gatorade powder
• Whisky (illegal in most parks, yet a delicious treat- put in a plastic or metal bottle to reduce weight)