I see alot of posts about "salt", "calories", "fat" and the like. Does it really matter ?? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I think its cause I'm not thinking about weight (it goes food, water, fire, first aid, shelter, a spare set of clothing then everything else from most to least important in my pack so my food can weight me down alittle if I'm eating good hearty meals) which might be the reason I don't quite get about over analyzing this or is it because simply I've never really read a nutritional bar on food with the intent of controlling my diet with that information ??

Dimitri

It can matter. For example, if you pack three meals and snacks per day, but still have to few calories, you'll be sluggish and have a hard time hiking since you have insufficient fuel. If you have a lot of calories, but say not enough carbohydrates, then you could have a similar effect.

In winter, having enough fats is very important, since your body's metabolism is a key factor in staying warm. Sufficient calories and fats help keep it firing all night, which helps you get a nice, warm night's sleep.

Food if fuel, so yes, it is important what the nutrients are and how much. At least, that's always been my take on it.

Tom

For me it matters a LOT.

I have to watch my sodium and potassium intakes carefully, so I am always thinking "if I take this" or "I really shouldn't eat that". Also, up until this summer I usually carried both my food and my son's. He eats more than I do! So Often I was carrying 4 lbs of food a day! Ahhhhh!

Even with him carrying his own food now I am thinking in advance of what will be the biggest bang for the weight, and that he will like the taste of. I try to stay away from pure sugar for him so that it lasts energy wise (though I do let him indulge a bit!).

I would suspect I think about it more than most people do.

For many people, diet and its composition matters a lot. As an example, some folks are lactose intolerant and will suffer digestive problems if they consume lactose (milk sugar). Other people have food allergies which can cause a severe, and potentially fatal, reaction if a food allergen is consumed. Others have sodium sensitive blood pressure and have to rigidly control sodium (table salt, msg and sodium nitrates and nitrites for example) in their diets. And, some, myself included, suffer from migrane. Many food items can serve as a migrane trigger and must be avoided.

So, if you can backpack on a steady diet of Cheeztos and Gatoraide count yourself lucky; diet planning need not be a large element of your trip planning. Others, however, are not so fortunate and need to know, exactly, the composition of every food item that goes in their pack.

This is so true! I have celiac, so I can't eat anything with wheat, barley or rye in it. Also, I'm already underweight, so if I really exert myself I'll lose even more weight, especially in the cold. Not only do I have to carefully consider what goes in my mouth at any given time, I also have to consider other appetite issues that make it difficult for me to eat at all when I'm tired. Because of that I tend to pack heavier food because I don't have to do as much with it. I don't go out on long trips... if I did I'd have to think more carefully about food than I already do. It is almost overwhelming.

MNS

You said exactly my views! As some know here, I can get god awful migraines as well, so I avoid MSG, artificial dyes, flavors, preservatives, nitrates, etc.

I tell you, if there is one thing I truly miss is a big bag of Cheetos. They are so nasty, yet so addicting <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> My son and husband gleefully eat food that is bright red, orange and blue <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> I recently found decent fake M&M's with nothing bad in them.....then they ate them! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Like you, I could eat a whole giant-sized bag of Cheetos in a single sitting. I think it is one of my major character flaws. Potato chips run a close second. I can't think of a single food group that contains fewer nutritional virtues and yet tastes so doggone good as deep fried starch coated with salt and a bunch of chemicals. Well, maybe ice cream. Yum! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Calories matter to me, in a huge way. If I don't have enough to eat, it's all over. I've, well, not got a lot of in-body energy storage. Just the other day I was day-hiking and started losing focus, getting a little shaky. So I sat down in the middle of the empty trail, as that was the only suitable area, and ate two trail bars. Sarbar's recipe as a matter of fact, with extra nuts + chocolate chips and some large-grained sea salt that makes for little salt explosions in your mouth. Yum.

Ahh, I get distracted. In any case, what I needed sorely was food, even though just two hours ago I'd finished off one medium roast beef sandwich. The trail bars were wonderful and I was substantially less shaky and more awake about 5 minutes later. An hour later I was home and eating a bowl of ice cream, and believe me I needed all of that plus a good dinner later. Multi-day backpacking trips pose major energy challenges for me! As a result I've become a devotee of homemade trail bars, thank you Sarbar, and I always try to keep some stocked in the freezer.

At this point I don't heavily monitor my fat intake, sodium intake, vitamin intake or similar things. I do force myself to have 3 large organized meals a day, often with a banana for the first two. I snack heavily on fruit. I estimate I consume about 3000 calories a day, depending on how active I am, and I'm a pretty fit guy. My father has had 2 heart attacks, my mother is a diabetic, and this has greatly influenced my cooking and given me motivation to keep fit. Namely, my father's cooking changed drastically after his heart attacks, and he's the guy who taught me how to cook. Instead of worrying too much about monitoring fat, I cook salmon and other fish often, and don't serve Hollandaise too often <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />. Instead of worrying about monitoring vitamin intake, I just try to eat a variety of fruit and vegetables. I do cook french toast or pancakes a few times weekly, and eat ice cream!

Nah I mainly bring foods like beef jerky, Spam, canned beans, rice, bread, cheese, canned condescend milk, peanuts, trail mix, a few energy bars, multi-vitamin supplements, Tabasco Sauce, salt and the like. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Next year I'm thinking about buying a box of MRE's though and trying thouse out.

Dimitri

So you'll stoop to the level of using canned milk while backpacking? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

What can I say I got to have some milk or else I get cranky and yes I know there is the powdered type but I havn't really tasted any yet that I've liked, however I'm looking at trying NIDO milk powder (as its full fat content) by spring when I start to hike and camp again (this is too busy of a late fall/early winter to camp or hike for me <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />). <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Dimitri

Sorry Dimitri... I was making a joke about "condescend milk" as opposed to what you meant, which was condensed milk <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

If ya have to have milk, at least get the shelf stable pouches of Horizon milk. It HAS to taste way better than canned milk <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
And yes, you can do better food wise <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> So many options out there these days <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> And your pack would be lighter as well. And you don't even need to do any real cooking either!

I can't keep my paws outta' a bin of freshmade kettle corn myself <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> Oh, the things I used to enjoy eating when i was younger <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Heh my spelling sucks I know that but when I can't spell a word it seems the spell checker has no idea what I'm thinking about anymore (ie spelling has gotten better) so I couldn't fix that. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Dimitri

On MRE's

My experience goes like this...I have eaten them ALOT. (Maybe that explains many of my "strange" behaviors). I ate them almost every day in Iraq. Just from Iraq, for three meals a day, I know I ate them exclusively for more than 6 months worth.

I recomend them, especially for emergency food storage. But, for backpacking there are some things to consider. First, they are over packaged. You also won't eat everything in them. Buy a few boxes of 12. At home, eat them and try different ones. Some you will like (maybe) and some you won't (for sure). There is a trick to heating them up, ie, you need the heater pouch. Practice at home, not in the woods for the first time.

For a few days trip they are great. They are heavier than dried food, but make up for it with ease and less gear to heat. Freezer Bag Cooking (which is about the only thing that comes close to the ease and lightweight) requires a stove, fuel, fuel holder, pot, and maybe a cozy. The food is lighter (no water), but you have to have the extra stuff to heat it up. You don't need a stove, pot or the other stuff with MRE's, but the actual food is heavier (it is hydrated). I am guessing that the weight evens out about 2 to 3 days, and afterwards the freezer bag system is lighter.

Just my thoughts. YMMV

Oh yeah, I forgot. They make you constipated. So, you won't need TP. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

FinallyME thanks for your service in Iraq; the Big Ashtray is one of the worst theaters our military has ever served in.

Second, I have found that in environments that are lacking in water sources, the MRE's are great food sources because they contain the water needed to prepare them. Yes, they weigh more, but that's water weight you do not have to pack separately to prepare them. For shorter based trips of up to 4 days i find them ideal in water scarce environments. They're conveinent to eat if the weather deteriorates, you arrive late to camp, or you find yourself injured; because they can be consumed cold, but taste best hot.

Like yourself, I open them and disassemble them to the components I enjoy, and trade off the rest or leave it in a ziplock in a hiker box <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> You can reduce their weight in half by ditching most of the excess packaging and things you don't want. I have 10 cases sitting here ready to deploy when I need them for upcoming Winter trips.

FinallyME,

Thank you for your reply. And glad to hear your made it out of the Sandbox alright!

I know there are some people claim are not good tasting but I got to admit I'll eat almost anything as long as its food. The MRE choices must be pretty bad for me not to eat them. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I will try heating them up and tasting some of them at home though before taking them out to the bush thanks for the advice. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Dimitri

Hi Dimitri - I didn't read all the posts so hopefully I haven't repeated too much information.

It can make a difference depending on the person and there has to be a balance between what your body needs for fuel, what your body can tolerate from a health perspective and the weight of the food itself. Most of us who hike don't have the issues with sodium and a little extra in our hiking diet isn't a big deal. Too little food and one might start to become lightheaded. Keep in mind that weather also has an impact.

Winter hiking - well you need more fat in the winter diet and a greater caloric intake.

Personally, when cooking for others, I go with a lower sodium approach and I let the individual add salt to their tastes and needs. I also avoid preservative ridden foods and keep factors like trip difficulty and time of year in mind as well.

To each his own. If you eat right, exercise, blah blah blah and then get hit by a car, did it ever matter?

Nah, it won't matter a bit. However, the odds of me dying, hit by a car, are a -lot- lower than the odds of me dying due to heart disease or other bodily malfunctions. Plus, it isn't exercise if you enjoy it <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

I submit that it DOES matter... eating right and exercising helps your health at the time you're doing it... not eating right and not exercising will eventually cause you to gain weight, and with that you will probably develop a whole host of health problems that will make you feel sluggish, lethargic, and generally unwell, which is not how I want to live my life, for sure... even if I'm hit by a truck tomorrow.

MNS

Well I misunderstood the post- I thought it was about health, but I read it with my glasses on and realized it is about fuel value. In that case it does matter. It would be like carrying rubbing alcohol instead of denatured.

Here's a great article, or cluster of articles actually, about food, training, and hiking.

Thru-Hiker: Pack Light, Eat Right

Dimitri Posted:

I see alot of posts about "salt", "calories", "fat" and the like. Does it really matter ??

I think its cause I'm not thinking about weight (it goes food, water, fire, first aid, shelter, a spare set of clothing then everything else from most to least important in my pack so my food can weight me down alittle if I'm eating good hearty meals) which might be the reason I don't quite get about over analyzing this or is it because simply I've never really read a nutritional bar on food with the intent of controlling my diet with that information ??

Dimitri




If you really think that eating is just picking up food and putting it into your mouth, then all this talk of "salt", "calories", "Protein", "Carbohydrates"...... is just a waste of time.

I used to have a friend who believed the same way.

I don't miss him one bit.

I have been looking at the grocery stores and trying to find food that does not have any preservatives. Are there any? I know that peanut butter is preservative free but what else is out there that doesn't have any preservatives. I hate those things. They are killing us all and we don't even know it. The U.S.D.A. What an organization. I would be interested in knowing of food products that you guys and girls are aware of that is preservative free. I'd be interested in some feed back here from every one....sabre11004...



The first step that you take will be one of those that get you there... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

If you want to avoid preservatives you will need to look carefully. Often canned "simple" foods are free of it, so are "simple" frozen and of course fresh. By "simple" I mean foods that are one or two items. In other words: canned beans, frozen green beans, etc.
If the food is processed into a ready meal it often has preservatives.

Hence, I buy nearly all organic food to avoid preservatives. When I buy things like meat for my family I realize that I have to use it up fast (one down side). I cook almost everything from scratch.

Yes, it does take more time, but it can be worth it <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Just read, read and read more when you shop!

Seconding what Sarbar said - the basic food elements are usually free of preservatives and flavor enhancers. They are put into finished food products because they allow the food to last longer without flavor changes and spoilage. Frozen, vacuum-sealed food may be one exception, since no stabilizing additives are needed due to freezing and oxygen-free packaging. You still have to check the label.

OTOH, those labels don't tell you EVERYTHING you know. Like canned oranges - the label doesn't say what pesticides, fertilizers, and growth supplements were fed to the trees. The same is true of meat, fish (ESPECIALLY fish - heavy metal contamination), poultry (hormones hormones hormones), and...hey, isn't that just about everything we eat? So you buy free range or organics? What's in the water? How about the rain? What about the ground? Some ground is naturally high in hazardous substances. (LOL when I saw the "organic" orchard next to the Quicksilver Mines in San Jose - lots of mercury in the red dirt) And those pollutants in the air go somewhere - is your free range right next to a major highway? It's enough to make ya wanna starve!

So here's what I do - I try to keep myself healthy by regular exercise, proper diet/hydration, and getting enough sleep. I get an annual physical. I trust my body to deal with the minute quantities of toxins I eat.

- Jim

What Nity and Sarbar said, I cook all my meals from food I raise or grow, spend less than $25 a month at the store <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

I have the family on a more intense diet right now. No dessert anymore (except for Fridays) and no more junk cereal for the kid and husband to munch on as candy. I quit baking cookies and treats for them as well.

I have never been a meat fan, I was a vegan for years. I love cheese too much to be a vegan again, but I could live without eating meat ever again. Getting down to 1 meal a week with meat. I think the only complaint from my husband is the sheer amount of legumes I cram down their throats. I call it the high fiber lifestyle <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

On the other hand, my pants are not tight anymore <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Darn earthling. You're doing pretty good for the ol' footprint on the planet. Impressive.

I wish I could spend $25 a month...my problem is I like hard to find stuff <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> My spice habit alone is killing me <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> Trader Joes exists solely to deplete my wallet.

Yeah, I hear ya. Mind you, with a 14 and 16 year old in the house, I can't wait to see how my diet and store trips and expenditures change when we finally get rid of the kids..

Sarbar,

LOL...yeah, Trader Joe's puts a dent in my food budget too! I hate the dried food aisle - I have soooo much dry food taking up cabinet space - all in the name of mix-my-own gorp. They always seem to have something new I've got to try. The frozen cioppino is really hard to walk by...arggh! There goes another $15!

Earthling,

I don't know how you manage on $25! That's what I spend on just milk.

I spent $100 at TJ's this morning. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> I get to the checkout and suddenly I see stuff I didn't put in the cart and the husband and kid whistling innocently and heading out to the truck, ditching me. Hah.

My kid alone is 1/2 our food bill <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />For such a skinny kid he can pack away the food. And he is only 10!!!! I don't wanna know how bad it will be at 16. Waahhhhh!

ROTFL!

I an remember little old ladies stopping me in the grocery store when the boys were very young. They wuld pat my hand and say "THREE boys? You poor little Dear!" I thought at the time it was the thought of rearing them at all. As time went on and the butcher would look at us and say "Three boys? I wouldn't want your grocery bill!" Hubby and 3 sons are all over 6 ft tall. That did take a lot of food. (Now they call me "Shorty," BTW!) <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

At least one of them still cleans the rain gutters for me.

CamperMom

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />CamperMom that's funny; guess you fed them all well 'cause you grew some big'uns <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I can't hold it against you folks with the little munchikins..Lord knows they can pack it away in them little hollow legs of their's. Have to equate kids to kittens, who are little eatin' and poopin' machines; and quite proud of themselves when they head straight from their food bowls to their litter box <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> Kids are a whole 'nother equation when it comes to food shopping...and don't even get me started on taking them to a TJ's or Costco, etc <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> Can't blame them, we were all like them many moons ago!

I use coupons and have only shopped once last year when the cashier did not return cash to my hand <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> upon checkout. Now that's shopping! I only a few cwertain items once a month, and being 1 person they last me the whole month. I grow, cook, and raise my own food so the expenses are minimal at the grocery store. I only drink water, for the past 35 years, no booze, soda, coffee <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />, yeah, no coffee and I'm this hyper <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />, so that's easy. I don't buy meat, and eat it once a month or less. Though since my friend sent me down some Bison, in trade for some things I sent him last year; I've been enjoying a nice Bison sirloin once a month <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> Had my own chickens so that solves the egg and chicken part if I want any. Mostly gave them away for trade, I like to barter <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> Fruits and veggies all covered...like I posted...Ate my last GARDEN FRESH tomato on New Year's Day <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

If I learned to sew I would'nt have to buy clothes <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I know how to make deerskin clothes but they are'nt practical to wear unless you're on the set of a Western IME <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> Or one of the Village People, and, well, if you remeber who they are you should go to your closets right now and toss out all theose '70's clothes your hoarding with the big lapels <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

My 14 year old boy eats like 3 people. Now my 16 year old girl isn't so bad, but she has a boyfriend who eats at our house as often as not - I basically take anything we're making for
dinner and double it when that happens. - and it all dissapears....

How is it teenage boys know what house to eat at? It isn't by accident I tells ya! My mom fed all of my brothers buddies in high school. She dropped a couple hundred a month on them. I think she felt sorry for them and she felt boys needed to eat. Hence the mooches never went home. Hah!
One of the guys lived with his mom and grandmother who thought half a sandwich and a 8 ounce cup of soup was dinner. And that snacks were bad. She'd send him to school with a lunch for an anorexic woman. He'd hit our house and eat non-stop from 3-5 pm every day <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> My mom kept the poor guy from starving!

From Observation, and having been a teenage boy myself, the algorithm is relatively simple :

Q: "What house to eat at?"
A: "All of them".. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Although I think The Arrogant Worms sing it better than I can describe it <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

lol......

Geeze Sarbar <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> I have a soup and sandwich meal for dinner almost every night during the Winter, and I'm no rail <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> Then again I'm quite a bit past my teens <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> i would've wrangled that posse of youngin's into doing chores around the yard before the feasting began. That way you could weed out the genuine moochers from those truly in need <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> I make a meal 3-5 times a week for my elderly neighbor who I know appreciates the gesture as he has failing eyesight, and so does'nt cook for himself <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Hehheh......my mom would always surprise the guys and send them out to help get firewood or help my dad in the back 40. I learned how to hide from my mom <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

A soup and sandwich usually does it for me to Earthling. Tonight I'm having homemade chicken and rice with a nice Tuna on toasted rye.

Last night was a really nice homemade minestrone with grated Grano Padona cheese on top and a fresh mozzerella cheese sandwich <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> I am THE Soup King in these parts, some call me frugal, I like to think of myself as resourceful and not wasteful <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

I love soup, nearly any kind and make tons of it.

I'll be eating a LOT of it in the next week. My braces are being put on in an about an hour and a half. Sigh <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> No chewing for awhile!

Sounds like when I was in High School. At one time, my mom would have two fresh loaves of bread come out the oven when we got home (this was the whole wheat kind that we ground ourselves). One of my friends found out, and came home with me every day for a month or so. It was his first for homemade bread and he always seemed to cut a really big slice. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I also remember one time eating at a friends in High School. They gave us ONE box of mac and cheese for 5 teenagers. I was thinking, "I eat one by my self for a snack." <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Lol...yeah, some parents get it, others don't! And mmmmmmm......how I love bread hot-out-of-the-oven slathered in butter. There is little better than that! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Tell me about it. bread is totally my drug of choice...

went home last night and my kids, 15, 14 and 11 had made pizza dough and baked 4 30 cm pies on their own!!!! My wife made the sauce before she left on a business trip on Tuesday.

I work late on Thrusdays and was not in th emood to bake pizza, make dough, knead etc, got home and it was done for me...

that is better than bread, if you ask me...

robi

I really look at the food I take on a trip as equally important as my shelter, or water. Take advantage of what people have learned about nutrition, and use it your advantage. You don't want to learn the hard way when you run out of food, are still hungry, and a day or two away from your ride home. That being said, I think everyone brings the necessary indulgences on a trip. I don't know what I'd do on a trail in the middle of nothing when my sweet tooth kicks in and I didn't take along some junk food.

On the topic of MRE's, I've always had great experiences with them. While I was never forced to eat them for a period of time, they come in handy during bad weather. Every time I've gone out, it rains cats and dogs, and I've always had 2 MRE's as a backup if I wasn't able to cook. To me they are one of those things you take not because of a few scenarios you can think of, but all the other stuff that could happen that you can't think of. Besides, you can't get more romantic than in a tent, with a candle lantern-lit dinner in the middle of a thunderstorm. She almost thought I planned it, except I'm not in charge of the weather <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />