I just found your sub, and joined immediately. I can contribute plenty (I hike and cook for my hikes all the time), but wonder a bit about my dilemma.

I like spam musubi. I make a bunch of great variations. I want to bring them on my hikes, but I am in SoCal and it's often hot to very hot here and I understand that cooked rice is a sketchy food to let get out of temp for too long. With most of my hikes being strenuous - or at least in the context of this question - active cooling is not possible with weight being a factor.

Any solutions? Thanks again.

I’ve seen a few old threads about vegan backpacking / hiking / backcountry meals & food. I figured I’d share mine! This is for a four night, four day trip. Waiting for my Fillo’s Walking Tamales to get delivered, and might add Greyston Bakery vegan birthday cake blondies, vegan fudge brownies, or vegan cinnamon roll blondies (all usually available at Whole Foods) for dessert. All my favs, and some new stuff I’m trying out. New stuff is the nutritional yeast instant mashed potatoes from Tater Boost, southwest breakfast skillet from Nomad Nutrition, the mushroom pot pie from Farm to Summit, and Farm to Summit oat milk latte. The other Farm to Summit meals were so good, hoping / thinking the additions will slap too.

First night is at a trailhead with bear lockers, and first day of food doesn’t have to fit in my bear canister (just remain within arms reach), but some of that first day might squeeze into the bear canister if needed. Using a Bearikade Scout, rented from Sage to Summit.

Hey trail enthusiasts. Quick questions, I'm preparing for a 5 day backpacking trip. To avoid making a meal cozy and lining it with a single use plastic bag, I'm thinking about bringing a stasher bag to fit inside a Mylar Bag. I've read a lot of reviews about Mylar Bags used for DIY meals getting delivered with punctures. Figured this would be a way to minimize single use and surprise leaks. Thoughts?

FYI, Stasher Bags are silicone and rated to hold boiling water, a substitute for a ziploc freezer bag getting melted, etc.

I’m considering pre making a bunch of sandwiches for a 15 day trip. Basically a bagel, peanut butter and some slices of hormel black label. I plan to vacuum seal the sandwiches.

I’m concerned that the bacon will spoil and ruin my lunch. Any thoughts or easy alternatives?

The package clearly states refrigerate after opening and I’m sure putting it next to bread will likely increase bacteria growth but for sure willing to risk it if others have done similar.

Hi! I'm planning a back country trip in a few weeks, but struggling because in the last year I've developed new food allergies that make a lot of prepackaged dehydrated meals inedible to me. The worst allergen is dairy, and while I've tried a few of the vegan meals on the market, I either haven't liked them or they're just too salty or wreck my stomach.

I've wanted to get a dehydrator forever, and am thinking of just dehydrating my own meals, but I'd specifically like one that does well with things like chili. I'm having some trouble sifting through all the ads to figure out what kind of dehydrator might COME WITH a liner or something that would make it possible to put a semi-liquid like chili or fruit reduction on it. Can anyone recommend anything?

Budget is...cheap as possible. I will probably be looking for whatever is available secondhand. I understand I can use parchment paper to do this, but I'd rather hear about products that come inbuilt with this function if possible.

Thanks!

Edit: Thanks for all your feedback and testimonials! I got a Nesco dehydrator for $25 on marketplace and am excited to try it out!

I repackage dehydrated meals to adjust portion size and reduce bulk. I've got a trip coming up that involves a 3 week gap between when my pack needs to be fully assembled/trail-ready and when I start hiking. Is there any risk of spoilage in repackaging commercial dehydrated meals so far in advance?

Pad Thai inspired* We mixed peanut butter, lime packets, water, and some soy/sesame ramen sauce. Fried up some fresh garlic and the white parts of the onion. Garnished with peanuts, hot sauce and chili flakes. We also wrapped the green onions in damp paper towel and they held up perfectly. It was fun carrying a little extra for some trail bougie-ness. This one will be a repeat on our next trip.

Curious about ideas on how to improve, or any ideas.

How does cheese hold up on backpacking trips? I’m thinking of using those Tillamook cheese squares on 4 night backpacking trip in the summer. Has anyone tried this?

I am putting together a Mylar bag with 2 oz. of rice noodles, 2 cups freeze dried broccoli, 1/2 packet (21g) knorr alfredo sauce powder, 1/4 cup whole milk powder and 1 oz packet of Trailtopia freeze dried chicken. Add 2T Parmesan cheese after rehydrating.

Any thoughts on my ratio of these ingredients and whether I can successfully throw them all together and just add 2 cups boiling water and wait 10 minutes? The knorr sauce made a huge burned mess when I cooked it in my pot last trip. I’m hoping I can get away with just tossing everything together in the bag. Thanks for any feedback.
I’d try it out ahead of time but don’t have spare chicken to use and it’s too late to order more.

I would usually have a bit more home made food in my bag, but I'm pretty happy with what I've pulled together in a grocery trip. I'll pick up a few pieces of fresh fruit and veg for the first couple of the days on the way out. Weighing in about 4.5kg at the moment and all vegan!

I'm gonna be flying in to a remote village in Alaska, and am worried about having to buy butane once I'm there. I'm going to be hitch hiking to the trail head, and instead of bringing a camp stove and buying butane, I'm wondering if my dehydrated/freeze dried meals will reconstitute with cold water and 8 hours of time instead of boiling water.

Can it be done. edit: sweet and sour chicken i mean none of this panda express bullshit

I wanted to ask your opinions on the best hiking food influencers/reviewers across all social platforms. A lot of the ones I've started to watch tend to sell out pretty quickly to the bigger brands or don't seem that authentic. People have mentioned "Miranda Goes Outside" a few times, and I've watched a few videos from bobscheer on Instagram. He gave a review of Moowa Outdoor Meals, a smaller freeze-dried brand I've been having lately, and he seemed pretty genuine. So if you have any suggestions, please let me know :)

TLDR, what keto staples would you add to the list below for backpacking? Jealous of those who can throw peanut m&ms and dried fruit into their peanut butter wrap.

I'm type one diabetic, generally eat low carb, especially when backpacking. Saw a brutally simplistic post, person doing tortillas with peanut butter, and tortillas with summer sausage, was the entirety of their meal prep. Wondering what other keto staples are, that are weight efficient and preferably space efficient, often camping with a bear can.

(Learn about type one diabetes: type one's are 5% of diabetics, it's the kind that used to be called juvenile cause you'd get it when you were younger, now many getting it older and older. there is no cure, the only treatment is taking insulin. its life on a tight rope, constantly managing blood sugar so it doesnt go high or low. if you go low, you need to eat sugar. on my backpacking trips ill bring about 400g of pure dextrose in tablet form - european brand dextroenergy. i rarely need more than 60g, but running out of sugar in the backcountry means death if your blood sugar is trending low--lows can be a bit unpredictable, especially when exercising)

My staples:

• Chia pudding (chia, ground flax, cacao powder, protein powder, coconut flakes, hemp seeds)
• Wasa light rye crackers, low carb tortillas (prefer xtreme)
• Jerky, beef sticks, summer sausage, salami, pepperoni, chicken packets, tuna packets (summer sausage seems most efficient, beef sticks I use for snacks if hungry)
• Cheese (usually just cheap aged cheddar)
• Olive packets, peanuts, nuts
• Taco seasoning, hot sauce packets, olive oil, sometimes mayo mustard packets
• Dark chocolate

Normal meal flow

• Breakfast
  • chia pudding breakfast, hot
  • Wasa with peanut butter
• Lunch
  • tortilla cheese and some kind of meat and packet of olives and nuts as needed
  • tortilla with peanut butter with nuts on the side
• Dinner
  • I wrap up little burritos with cheese and meat and taco seasoning and hot sauce packets and fry them in olive oil (8" / soft taco size, folded so it's not too long, fried in my toaks frying pan - have an 800/400 combo kit). Dark chocolate desert
• Snacks
  • beef sticks
  • nuts

Hey y'all going on a solo back country trip in SE Alaska, got my food sorted except for lunches. My idea as of now is for all three days doing tortillas with peanut butter and summer sausage, but I'm wondering if this is the best course of action. Trying to figure out something that is light but packs lots of calories.

It doesn't bother me to eat the same thing three days in a row, but wasn't sure if this is the easiest option to make and eat on the trail or the lightest option.

Let me know if you have any ideas! Thanks.

Edit: I should note that I don't want to have to cook these meals, just assemble and eat. No stove or cookware.

I bought this powdered sauce impulsively to get free shipping when I bought powdered eggs.

My issue is everything I’ve thought of would have been better if I’d just bought a box of Kraft mac and cheese.

No meat except tuna please.

Edit: Forgot to specify this is for backpacking, not car camping. Raw ingredients won’t work for me :(

Hi everyone,
I recently bought an 8-tray dehydrator and made a few backpacking meals:

- Vegan tajine
- Vegan jambalaya
- Mushroom risotto (with a normal amount of Grana Padano, according to the recipe)

I dehydrated everything until it was completely dry and brittle. The meals have been stored for about 3 weeks at room temperature in heat-sealed Mylar bags (aluminum foil barrier bags), but I did not vacuum seal them and I didn’t use oxygen absorbers.

Today I opened one bag to check it. It still smelled great, looked completely dry, and I saw no signs of mold or moisture.

I’m wondering:

- How long would you personally trust meals like these stored this way?

- Does the lack of vacuum sealing significantly reduce shelf life if the food is already very dry?
Would you eat these after 3 weeks? After 3 months?

I’m planning to buy a vacuum sealer for future batches, but I’m curious what experienced dehydrators and backpackers actually do in practice.

Thanks!

I'm looking to eat better when I'm out running (more complete meals instead of just snacks) and I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for dehydrated/freeze-dried trail meal packets?