Does anyone else not really care what they eat???

Posted by: BasketballOSU

Does anyone else not really care what they eat??? - 09/30/08 09:02 PM

Of course I "care" what I eat as far as getting the proper nutrition for backpacking. On the other hand, I see these recipes in the backpacking magazines and sites for things that require like ten different ingredients and an hour of preparation.

I don't really care what my food tastes like out on the trail as long as I get a lot of bang (energy) for my buck with it in comparison to how much it weighs. Because 1.) When you hike long enough, anything sounds tasty and 2.) Even if it doesn't sound tasty, I would rather just force something down and take the energy from it than to have to worry about all my individual ingredients and spices scattered throughout my pack.

I can see, on the other hand, how cooking a nice meal is something to do once you are at camp and the sun goes down and you get a little bored.

On the other hand, I LOVE the feeling of getting back after a multi-day trip and going to some restaurant and just gorging on all the great food. Tuna, pb, bread, crackers, etc. only whets your appetite for all the amazing food you can eat once you get back...

Thoughts on this subject?
Posted by: Eric

Re: Does anyone else not really care what they eat??? - 09/30/08 10:18 PM

On a short trip I just want something that tastes OK and keeps me going. On a longer trip that gets really old and I start wanting things that taste good with good mouth feel, in other words comfort food.
Posted by: Trailrunner

Re: Does anyone else not really care what they eat - 09/30/08 11:14 PM

I concur. I'm a ramen and oatmeal kinda guy. I just want light and simple. I'm even leaning toward cold food trips lately. Elaborate meals are pretty far down on my priority list.
Posted by: GrumpyGord

Re: Does anyone else not really care what they eat??? - 10/01/08 03:16 AM

I am with you. As far as I am concerned when a recipe has ingredients it is too elaborate. Idahoan potatoes with Just Vegetables and tuna or chicken is as elaborate as I get. I am not out there to prepare gourmet meals. YMMV
Posted by: CamperMom

Re: Does anyone else not really care what they eat??? - 10/01/08 03:41 AM

I'm "kind of" on your page.

My kitchen at home is full of all sorts of tools and ingredients. Why haul the extra weight and track the paraphanelia for elaborte preps on the trail? I've been cooking and cleaning up since I was a child. When I'm outdoors, I want escape. So, my food is pre-cooked preseasoned, and premixed, then portioned into small bags to which I add boiling water and let that sit while I set up camp, get water, or just chill.

When there is a good sale, I stock up on freeze-dried or grocery-store foods, prepare and dehydrate as needed and store in vacuum-sealed jars. Before trips I portion out foods. There are several grocery-store foods that can pack into these bags as-purchased that can be used for meal bases, adding more veggies, proteins, and flavorings as needed. Sometimes I dehydrate leftovers, too.

Right now I have about a month's worth of bagged meals in the bottom of my freezer. I set up for myself and a friend last spring and the summer trip was canned for health reasons. Oh, well...

In camp, all I have to do for clean-up is lick and rinse my spoon and stuff the bag into my trash bag. If I want to sanitize my spoon, I can swish it in the nearly boiling water before the next hot meal.

CamperMom
Posted by: mosquito

Re: Does anyone else not really care what they eat - 10/01/08 04:59 AM

Camper Mom,
My wife and I do what you do. We chop, cook and dry at home and then add water in camp, put it in a cozy and let it sit till ready. We try a lot of different recipes and delete as needed. The only thing I can't get right is couscous so we are giving up on it.
Posted by: sarbar

Re: Does anyone else not really care what they eat??? - 10/01/08 07:03 AM

If you are bored in camp you haven't hiked far enough <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

For me, I have my levels - I preplan everything. All the meals are ready to go with any items needed all in one little bundle. No digging for stuff or one part being in a different bag. I do this from simple to elaborate meals - that way my food is ready fast!

I eat FBC-style on 99% of my trips, making my meals even easier <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> The elborate meals I present sometimes I wouldn't do unless it was a very short trip and the husband was with us <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Posted by: chaz

Re: Does anyone else not really care what they eat??? - 10/01/08 07:48 AM

Quote:
The elborate meals I present sometimes I wouldn't do unless it was a very short trip and the husband was with us


At least that's the most you have to do to get you spouse to enjoy the woods with you. I would have to pack a holiday Inn, a mall and the mother in law. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />
Posted by: phat

Re: Does anyone else not really care what they eat - 10/01/08 08:11 AM

I am mostly on the page of "I don't wanna mess with it a lot in camp". I want good food that doesn't distract me a lot (time or fiddling or weight wise) from what I'm outside to enjoy. Moving to an alky stove about 5 years ago took a lot of the "cooking" out of me, *however* while I don't particularly care what I end up eating, I do like stuff I enjoy, so I'll put a little effort into it not being oatmeal/ramen monotony. had too many trips like that in my younger days. On the other hand I'm not out for a gourmet meal experience - I can get that cheaper by dropping the hundred bucks I would spend on gas and supplies to hike at a nice restauraunt downtown.

More or less in non-winter hiking, I eat anything that can be made by methods no more complicated than pouring in boiling water and cozying the bag for a little while. Often this is natural high or mountain house meals, or something I cooked up FBC style (I'm a big fan of sarbar's cranberry chicken thinger, and I usually make my own soups). I also do cold food on some trips, and I'm a big fan of dehydrated hummus and pitas in the pack. so basically, I do care what I eat, and enough to do a small amount of preparation ahead of time, but in camp I do not wanna mess with it. In the summer I often if I'm alone I do not eat supper in camp. I'll hike at a nice slow pace all day. at 5 or 6 I'll be hungry enough to take a protracted break and put together supper, and eat it. Then if the day is nice I'll keep walking, and camp closer to 9 or 10 pm (since it's often light till 11 <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I don't always get my trips and weather to that extent that I can do that, but I find I have a really good time when I can.

In winter I tend to "cook" a little more, mainly because:

1) I have a lot more time to kill in camp (it gets dark mighty early up here then)
2) I have a "real stove" with me in winter.
3) I'll happily do things like cook up something full of smoked salmon without figuring I'm sending up a bear beacon <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> In winter I care a lot less about where I cook and how near my camp I cook.

however my "cooking" in winter still tends to simpler dishes, pasta with salmon and some dehydrated veggies, Curries, etc. etc.
Posted by: Hector

Re: Does anyone else not really care what they eat??? - 10/01/08 08:11 AM

> If you are bored in camp you haven't hiked far enough

Yeow! Too true. And/or camped in the wrong spot.
Posted by: sarbar

Re: Does anyone else not really care what they eat??? - 10/01/08 09:31 AM

Quote:
> If you are bored in camp you haven't hiked far enough

Yeow! Too true. And/or camped in the wrong spot.


Lol..I have to say it was my husband who told me that gem years ago when I was belly aching about sitting around camp. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Hehheh!!!!
Posted by: sarbar

Re: Does anyone else not really care what they eat??? - 10/01/08 09:33 AM

Quote:
Quote:
The elborate meals I present sometimes I wouldn't do unless it was a very short trip and the husband was with us


At least that's the most you have to do to get you spouse to enjoy the woods with you. I would have to pack a holiday Inn, a mall and the mother in law. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Good food, somewhere pretty to shoot photos and a spot for his hammock and all is good! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I am lucky in that.....
Posted by: wandering_daisy

Re: Does anyone else not really care what they eat??? - 10/01/08 10:31 AM

My meals are all simple, but I really concentrate on variety because I go out so much that I can get bored with the same stuff. I also carefully check calories becasue I want to have just the right amount. I pre-mix at home so I just have to deal with one bag per meal. I really cannot afford the packaged fd meals. I like to cook, so my requirement of simplicity has more to do with minimal cook gear: small solo pot, spoon and cup ony.

If I am out for 10 days I want 3-4 different kinds of cereal - oatmeal, Malt-o-meal, Wheateena, Barley- and different kinds of fd fruit- strawberries, pinapple, mango, dates. Also, with trail food - 10 different kinds of trail bars, various trail mixes, various kinds of jerkey. For dinner I take at least 2-3 boiling water only meals in case it is raining or I am just too tired to really cook. But I also take some cook-meals - not complicated but they do require about 5 minutes of cooking and stirring. I also like real food - not fake flavorings - real cheese, olive oil, real garlic, real butter. A 3-oz packet of pepperoini goes a long ways to add zest to a meal. And I need a sweet treat every night to reward myself! My favorite this year is the hard coffe candy - tastey and light weight. My latest "discovery" is an after-hike cold drink- I mix one packet of Emergen-C and vanilla sport protein powder for an interesting fizzy energy drink. I was on a dark chocolate kick last year but am now tired of that.

I really do not crave a big meal when I come out. I usually just munch on trail food while driving home. One cold beer seems to satisfy my "civilized food" cravings when I arrive home.
Posted by: HikerMatt

Re: Does anyone else not really care what they eat??? - 10/01/08 07:51 PM

Normally, when I'm out my concern is just food in my belly...don't really care what it is....Usually I carry some Mountain House stuff just for simplicity, but since discovering sarbar's site thanks to my father-in-law I have begun food prep for next season (this weekend is my last trip for the year...I'm a wimp when it starts to get cold), which is really annoying my wife because the dehydrator has been running almost nonstop. I'm not big on elaborate meals that take a lot of time...I remember when I was in Boy Scouts and we would go out backpacking...I would just take Ramen and call it good...I like my meals to be simple because I would rather spend my time reading, hiking around looking for good photo's to take rather than prepping for dinner, cooking dinner and cleaning up dinner...boiling some water, pouring it in a bad and taking a break is very appealing to me.