Mountain back packing food.

[BimmerBob]

If I'm in the mountains, I'm counting grams. In the last five years, I've also starting being more aware of my caloric intake. I've tried a few different approaches, but have swung back to Mountain House for dinner, just because it's easier, but assemble the rest of the food at home.

But one trick I've found that is a huge help, is adding oil to my meals. Breakfast is home made instant oatmeal, dump in a couple tablespoons of C8 Medium Chain Triglycerides and it give me more pep in my step then a shot of espresso, plus it is sustained energy. It's a very thin oil, so you dont notice it in porridge.

Atleast one snack a day is peanut butter and honey, 4:1 ratio. Creamed honey in the summer and liquid honey in the winter. This is another huge shot of lightweight sustained energy.

Dinner is usually about 1/2 to 2/3 of a Mountain House, that I breakdown into ziploc bags at home. Dump 2 tablespoons of olive oil in it and you have a 1000 calorie meal that'll keep you warm all night and weighs 150 grams.

I do have other food then that. But the oil helps in keeping weight down and calories up. I can hit 3000 calories in 1.25 to 1.4 pounds of food. That's removed 6-7 pounds out of my pack on a 10 day trip.

Sounds like you have it pretty well sorted out. One alternative to Mountain House which is pretty much the same stuff but quite a bit less expensive would be My Patriot Supply, they sell prepper stuff in large packs however you can buy the items that you like separately as well in smaller quantities.

[Pocahontas]

As many people have mentioned on here, dehydrating your own meals is the best, if you have access to a dehydrator. We dehydrate our own meals and not only is it way healthier but they taste WAY better too. Definitely a morale booster as 264mag has mentioned. I can still remember the best chili I ever had was at the top of a mountain after a long day of hiking. We have even gone so far as to dehydrate eggs (very careful/specific procedure) and then added in pre-cooked bacon crumbles, dehydrated peppers/onions/garlic and the Golden Grill hash browns from Costco. This made for a delicious bowl of breakfast hash with an amazing view and a jealous friend who opted to bring his own food haha. For pasta, we have found the best method to be, make the sauce as per normal and dehydrate. Bring dried pasta as-is or add after. Would love to see some dehydrator recipes from the others who cook from home!

[BimmerBob]

As many people have mentioned on here, dehydrating your own meals is the best, if you have access to a dehydrator. We dehydrate our own meals and not only is it way healthier but they taste WAY better too. Definitely a morale booster as 264mag has mentioned. I can still remember the best chili I ever had was at the top of a mountain after a long day of hiking. We have even gone so far as to dehydrate eggs (very careful/specific procedure) and then added in pre-cooked bacon crumbles, dehydrated peppers/onions/garlic and the Golden Grill hash browns from Costco. This made for a delicious bowl of breakfast hash with an amazing view and a jealous friend who opted to bring his own food haha. For pasta, we have found the best method to be, make the sauce as per normal and dehydrate. Bring dried pasta as-is or add after. Would love to see some dehydrator recipes from the others who cook from home!

Me too! I don't have any to share but would love to see some that you may have come up with, it might get a trend started...

[45freezer]

If I'm in the mountains, I'm counting grams. In the last five years, I've also starting being more aware of my caloric intake. I've tried a few different approaches, but have swung back to Mountain House for dinner, just because it's easier, but assemble the rest of the food at home.

But one trick I've found that is a huge help, is adding oil to my meals. Breakfast is home made instant oatmeal, dump in a couple tablespoons of C8 Medium Chain Triglycerides and it give me more pep in my step then a shot of espresso, plus it is sustained energy. It's a very thin oil, so you dont notice it in porridge.

Atleast one snack a day is peanut butter and honey, 4:1 ratio. Creamed honey in the summer and liquid honey in the winter. This is another huge shot of lightweight sustained energy.

Dinner is usually about 1/2 to 2/3 of a Mountain House, that I breakdown into ziploc bags at home. Dump 2 tablespoons of olive oil in it and you have a 1000 calorie meal that'll keep you warm all night and weighs 150 grams.

I do have other food then that. But the oil helps in keeping weight down and calories up. I can hit 3000 calories in 1.25 to 1.4 pounds of food. That's removed 6-7 pounds out of my pack on a 10 day trip.

How are you packing in the oil? Big fan of adding extra calories through fats but I've had bad luck springing leaks. The single serving packets are convenient but definitely not very cost efficient!

Edit: anyone tried peak eats? Stumbled on them this morning, not a massive selection and not super high calorie but some tasty sounding meals, decent prices and it appears to be a canadian company.

[cuervosail]

If you're going to go commercially-prepared freeze-dried meals, switch to Peak Refuel. You'll wonder why you ever thought Mountain House was even close to edible.

[grantk]

I really enjoyed making my own meals last year. Was just in Costco last weekend and they have the Excalibur 5 tray dehydrators in-store for $200. I picked up a 9 tray model last fall on Black Friday, and it works FAR better and holds much more than the Nesco circular dehydrator I had been using. Doesn't take long to pay that off if buying Mountain House or other packaged meals, plus you can use it to make your own jerky and snack sticks, apple slices, etc.

For added fat I just pack a spoonful of coconut oil into the meal bag. It's solid at room temperature, shelf stable, and has nice flavour. Check out andrewskurka.com for some good meal recipes. The beans, rice with Fritos and cheese was delicious.

[huntcoop]

If you're going to go commercially-prepared freeze-dried meals, switch to Peak Refuel. You'll wonder why you ever thought Mountain House was even close to edible.

I have read and heard this from many, will have to try. Very pricey, where are you buying?

[264mag]

On a different note has anyone tried dehydrating deserts for the mountain, that’s a morale booster! I’m going to experiment with an apple pie.

[Pocahontas]

On a different note has anyone tried dehydrating deserts for the mountain, that’s a morale booster! I’m going to experiment with an apple pie.

Rice crispy squares are light and delicious in the bush, good luck with the pie!

[BimmerBob]

I really enjoyed making my own meals last year. Was just in Costco last weekend and they have the Excalibur 5 tray dehydrators in-store for $200. I picked up a 9 tray model last fall on Black Friday, and it works FAR better and holds much more than the Nesco circular dehydrator I had been using. Doesn't take long to pay that off if buying Mountain House or other packaged meals, plus you can use it to make your own jerky and snack sticks, apple slices, etc.

For added fat I just pack a spoonful of coconut oil into the meal bag. It's solid at room temperature, shelf stable, and has nice flavour. Check out andrewskurka.com for some good meal recipes. The beans, rice with Fritos and cheese was delicious.

I noticed that and didn't have room for it and the toilet paper...