Any Campers, Backpackers, Hikers Out There?

[Lostfalls]

I am an avid camper, occasional backpacker, and avid hiker: Was looking for meal ideas for all of the above. I tent camp, RV camp with almost a full kitchen and at times just sleep under the stars so any ideas you have are welcome. Have a hubby who sometimes comes along - and have worn out all easy stuff (chicken, steak, hamburgers, gluten-free hotdogs, ect...) so whatever you've got throw them out there.

As a side note I have found that due to my gluten-free lifestyle i occasionally run a little short on carbs and protein when I need them for an intense day hike, leaving me tired and dizzy (maybe sugar too??)when others are ready to move on even though i am in good shape my recovery is longer - any ideas??

[kareng]

Have you used the little search square at the top? We just had this discussion the last few days. I know it was discussed before,too. You might find some info that way.

[daniknik]

I am an avid camper, occasional backpacker, and avid hiker: Was looking for meal ideas for all of the above. I tent camp, RV camp with almost a full kitchen and at times just sleep under the stars so any ideas you have are welcome. Have a hubby who sometimes comes along - and have worn out all easy stuff (chicken, steak, hamburgers, gluten-free hotdogs, ect...) so whatever you've got throw them out there.

As a side note I have found that due to my gluten-free lifestyle i occasionally run a little short on carbs and protein when I need them for an intense day hike, leaving me tired and dizzy (maybe sugar too??)when others are ready to move on even though i am in good shape my recovery is longer - any ideas??

Have you thought about cooking meals before you leave home, packaging them into individual portions via freezer bags, freezing them, and then reheating while you're on your trip? I just got back from a 9 day camping trip where all I had was a camp stove (JetBoil) and a cooler with ice (I refilled the ice daily). I have never been so healthy during a camping trip as I was this time! Yes, it took some work...and I had to cook a whole lot before we left, but it didn't cost that much more than my regular food would have, and I was able to eat comfortable and safely the entire time.

The foods I cooked included:

Beef Stew

Chicken Soup

Chicken Tagine (a Mediterranean dish that I added on top of "boil in bag" rice)

Burgers and pureed sweet potatoes

I also brought along several LARA bars (I like the coconut cream variety) as well as rice cakes, almond butter, one-cup portions of chicken broth, boil in bag rice and trail mix. If you're creative you can bring almost anything that you'd usually eat so long as you freeze it first.

Good Luck and happy trails!

[Lostfalls]

Have you used the little search square at the top? We just had this discussion the last few days. I know it was discussed before,too. You might find some info that way.

Yes I did and the only thing the search gave me was a post done in 2008 on different gluten free backpacking food options, the links had all expired, but I can search again.

[Lostfalls]

Have you thought about cooking meals before you leave home, packaging them into individual portions via freezer bags, freezing them, and then reheating while you're on your trip? I just got back from a 9 day camping trip where all I had was a camp stove (JetBoil) and a cooler with ice (I refilled the ice daily). I have never been so healthy during a camping trip as I was this time! Yes, it took some work...and I had to cook a whole lot before we left, but it didn't cost that much more than my regular food would have, and I was able to eat comfortable and safely the entire time.

yes we sometimes pre-cook meals and freeze or dehydrate - I am just out of ideas of different food to bring. The Beef Stew is a GREAT idea, it sounds good already! I think this is the second time I have heard of LARA bars, I will have to google them because none of the health food store in our neck of the woods carries them...

[Wheatfreedude]

The Boy Scouts taught me some of the basics that I still use to this day. With that said, bring along a roll of aluminum foil. Stop at a farmers market/produce stand and load up on the usual suspects (potatoes, onions, celery, mushrooms, spices). Stop at a club store (SAM'S or Costco) and grab a bag of frozen fish fillets.

The fillets are individually wrapped and if you keep them in a refrigerated cooler, they will defrost in 24-48 hours (depending on the amount of ice you have).

Make the Boy Scout pouch with a little olive oil, the thawed fish and the veggies. Bring along those dried spices that I talk about all of the time! Put it next to the fire or on a grill and you'll be ready to eat in about 30 minutes.

Cut open the pouch and eat right from it! You'll get your protein from the fish, essential good fats from the olive oil, and carbs from the potatoes.

~Wheatfreedude~

[Darn210]

I think this is the second time I have heard of LARA bars, I will have to google them because none of the health food store in our neck of the woods carries them...

You can get them at Wal-Mart in their pharmacy area where they have the protein bars and drinks like Ensure. I also find them at my local Krogers in their health food/organic section . . . once again with other protein bars/powders.

[brendab]

We took the kids camping a few weeks ago and I made homemade pancakes at home and put them in a Ziploc. I also made spagetti noodles and sauce (both in seperate bags), one morning was simply cold cereal, I put raw chicken in another ziploc and made a coke marinade and then cooked that up another night. YUM! Oh, I love pre-baked potatos then cup up and fried in coconut oil! OH man, I am getting hungry!

[Takala]

I am an avid camper, occasional backpacker, and avid hiker: Was looking for meal ideas for all of the above. I tent camp, RV camp with almost a full kitchen and at times just sleep under the stars so any ideas you have are welcome. Have a hubby who sometimes comes along - and have worn out all easy stuff (chicken, steak, hamburgers, gluten-free hotdogs, ect...) so whatever you've got throw them out there.

As a side note I have found that due to my gluten-free lifestyle i occasionally run a little short on carbs and protein when I need them for an intense day hike, leaving me tired and dizzy (maybe sugar too??)when others are ready to move on even though i am in good shape my recovery is longer - any ideas??

__________________

You gotta snack more.

On the keeping up energy when hiking, if I'm strickly adhering to a lower carb diet I'm okay because I can run off my body fat- but if I've been higher carb, I can get into trouble. I carry a lot of homemade trail mix with me and eat it and drink water before and during, and I always have a stash of Lara bars on me, as well as Peanut M&Ms, to the point where it's almost a joke, but they've saved me from a crash a lot of times. I also will eat a banana and/ or a piece of what I call my Elven waybread- homemade, dense gluten-free nut/seed meal bread. Make sure you are getting vegetable fiber as this helps slow down the rest of it. Canned beans or pumpkin is excellent for this. You could make gluten-free brownies with mashed beans as part of the filler, and nuts and chocolate chips. Don't forget fat. Coconut is good, those Jennie's Macaroons are great. Peanuts or peanut butter, or other nuts, too. PBJ on rice cake or corn tortilla for snack. The other thing I have to do is make sure my husband EATS adequately before we do something, because his metabolism is different and if he eats the same lunch as I do he can get into trouble faster.

[irish daveyboy]

A pack of dry rice noodles.

place in boiling water with a Gluten Free Stock cube (flavour of your choice)

after 3-4 mins drain off water place in a bowel stir through some pesto and sprinkle with dry parmesan cheese. Quick and tasty.

Best Regards,

David

[tarnalberry]

As a side note I have found that due to my gluten-free lifestyle i occasionally run a little short on carbs and protein when I need them for an intense day hike, leaving me tired and dizzy (maybe sugar too??)when others are ready to move on even though i am in good shape my recovery is longer - any ideas??

Snack as you hike. I haven't done 18 mile day hikes recently, what with the pregnancy and the baby, but 8 to 10 miles was always a good "moderate length" day hike for me, and rather than stop for meals, I snack along the way. Same approach when backpacking (though the mileage is less ). There are a lot of bar foods you can bring with you, and I make these a staple. I take dried fruit and nuts (but generally not together as trail mix, 'cause it's not really my thing) as those are easy snacking too. If you can do dairy, you can take cheese on even a few days of backpacking (depending on the cheese - some lasts longer than others). In general, I try to not go more than two hours without snacking on something, but it's usually every hour. (And no, I don't stop walking to eat, though that gets interesting when I've got hiking poles out and I'm going over talus fields. )

[Lostfalls]

You can get them at Wal-Mart in their pharmacy area where they have the protein bars and drinks like Ensure. I also find them at my local Krogers in their health food/organic section . . . once again with other protein bars/powders.

Ummm yeah... I live out in the woods in a very small town that has a tavern, hamburger rest stop joint, gas station that is only open when the owner feels like it, a grange, and a post office and that's it. So I either have to make a day trip to the city or order over the internet...but a friend of mine said that Costco now carries the LARA BARS so that would help seeings that when ever I am in town its almost always for a Costco trip. I avoid Walmart at all costs...

[Lostfalls]

__________________

You gotta snack more.

On the keeping up energy when hiking, if I'm strickly adhering to a lower carb diet I'm okay because I can run off my body fat- but if I've been higher carb, I can get into trouble. I carry a lot of homemade trail mix with me and eat it and drink water before and during, and I always have a stash of Lara bars on me, as well as Peanut M&Ms, to the point where it's almost a joke, but they've saved me from a crash a lot of times. I also will eat a banana and/ or a piece of what I call my Elven waybread- homemade, dense gluten-free nut/seed meal bread. Make sure you are getting vegetable fiber as this helps slow down the rest of it. Canned beans or pumpkin is excellent for this. You could make gluten-free brownies with mashed beans as part of the filler, and nuts and chocolate chips. Don't forget fat. Coconut is good, those Jennie's Macaroons are great. Peanuts or peanut butter, or other nuts, too. PBJ on rice cake or corn tortilla for snack. The other thing I have to do is make sure my husband EATS adequately before we do something, because his metabolism is different and if he eats the same lunch as I do he can get into trouble faster.

Nice! Thanks for that. I have heard of the beans/brownies trick and have been wondering about that also good to know it will help slow down the rest of the stuff I am munching on. Guess its time to just give that one a shot. After reading your comments I don't think I am eating frequently enough while hiking - I will be heading out next weekend and will make a concentrated effort to increase my snacks. Great ideas thanks!

[Lostfalls]

A pack of dry rice noodles.

place in boiling water with a Gluten Free Stock cube (flavour of your choice)

after 3-4 mins drain off water place in a bowel stir through some pesto and sprinkle with dry parmesan cheese. Quick and tasty.

Best Regards,

David

Sounds silly but as I was reading that I got to the pesto and parmesan cheese my mouth started to water LOL! I have been using the Thai Kitchen gluten-free noodle meals and I like those but am now kinda burned out on them. I honestly never thought of using pesto let alone combining it. I will be trying that next time. Thanks. You guys all rock!

[bridgetm]

__________________

I carry a lot of homemade trail mix with me and eat it and drink water before and during, and I always have a stash of Lara bars on me, as well as Peanut M&Ms, to the point where it's almost a joke, but they've saved me from a crash a lot of times.

I've been a big advocate of the Peanut M&Ms. I have trouble with soy so the regular or PB Ms always get me, but I'm fine with the Peanut M&Ms as long as I have some will-power. They're great on long car rides, kayaking, slow afternoons and study time in the library (after one hour of rewriting and staring at anatomy notes on a white board today, a five minute water and M&M break helped me go for another hour). I restrict myself to having to buy them from the vending machine so I don't abuse them and always keep a dollar in my pack I case I crash between classes. I've been doing that for years, but I've never appreciated the effect as much as I do now that I'm gluten-free.

[bridgetm]

Another tip is Think Thin diet bars. They are formulated to keep you full between meals and most are gluten-free (I think they all have dairy and soy though; I don't know if that's a problem for you). When I first went gluten-free I ate those when I got tired of Lara bars. I was also doing heavy rehab for a bad knee at the time and needed the fuel. Those bars were easy in between meals or when I couldn't get to a kitchen to make a good meal.

[kdana]

Larabars are great! They're a little expensive in stores, but Amazon usually has a few varieties for sale. I buy the bars a box at a time. They're my standard subsistence for long hikes, frisbee tournaments, and even airplane trips. Very nutritionally dense and remarkably good for so few ingredients.

I've seen a few blog posts about replicating Larabars at home, and the results sounded pretty good (also less than half the cost of purchasing them in the store). Haven't tried it myself.

[cap6]

we travel in a fifth wheel for 3 months at a time. This was my first summer on the road since being diagnosed so cooking was a challenge, especially since i don't much care for cooking. The refrig/freezer in a trailer is not huge so it's hard to bring much from home or to plan ahead far. I cooked a lot of the tin foil meals. "Fix it in Foil" is a handy little cookbook with a lot of recipes that can be easily changed to gluten-free. Also it I made a casserole type meal I made extra & froze half so that there were usually about 4 frozen meals waiting - about all the freezer would hold!

[AmyNColorado]

I'm an avid hiker, backpacker, mtn biker, skier, camper...you name it. I really only eat these kinds of supplemntal snacks on hikes and bike rides that are longer than a couple hours and I could probably benefit from being more proactiv about it because I feel like I can never keep up! Particularly riding uphill on my mtn bike. I like Larabars and Bora Bora bars, Ms Mays Bars...all at Costco. Think Thin bars are gluten-free and have 20g of protein pure serving. Honey Stingers and Gu Gel are both Gluten free. I'm not sure about Clif Bloks but they taste yummy.

Typically for a 14er hike or a full day hike, I pack an apple, larabar, pb&j sandwich with Udi's gluten-free Bread or Rudi's gluten-free bread...holds together great even after sitting in a pack all day. I always bring bags of almonds and when I remember, turkey jerky from whole foods. Not trail mix much because I kinda don't trust which ones are gluten-free.

Hope that helps!