Registered: 11/23/03
Posts: 430
Loc: Kitsap Peninsula, WA
Is there anything in the grocery store that would be like freeze dried meat? I want to add some protein to my dried soup mixture and/or my Top Ramen, potatoes, etc. I have tried those packets of tuna and salmon, and they are about twice what I need and need refrigerating after opening so I can't use just half while hiking.
Dried or smoked sausage baby! drying and smoking were originally a means to preserve meats. Landjaeger is one of my favorites. Of course pepperoni is a familiar standby.
Also hummus powder (I like Fantastic Foods brand) is a great thickener and adds tons of flavor not to mention protein. (hummus is basically garbonzo beans). You can also get black bean powder which is good too.
there are smaller tuna portions in plastic tubs - I've seen them at some stores but also at Minimus.biz. there are also 3 oz cans of chicken. Canned chicken can be easily dehydrated, unlike any other kind of chicken; spread some on a cookie sheet, set the oven at a low setting, prop the door open with a wooden spoon and dehydrate away. You can pack as much or as little as you want in your meals.
Someone told me they've seen half size pouches of tuna at a grocery store - still looking for them myself.
packit gourmet (google it) has shelf stable meats of several varieties - I'm waiting for chorizo to come back in stock. Legumes and lentils make for good trail eats - I just made a lentil soup to throw in the dehydrator.
_________________________
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind there are few." Shunryu Suzuki
One easy and cheap way is to add TVP. The unflavored TVP adds nothing to the taste but add the protein. I have never used the flavored TVP because the only way I can find it is mail order and the freight costs more than the TVP. My frequent backpacking meal consists of Idahoan potatoes with Just Vegetables and TVP. The Just Vegetables and the unflavored TVP is easily obtained locally. My meal costs about $1.
PS: I did try the bacon bits which I believe is TVP but did not like the result.
Registered: 08/21/03
Posts: 330
Loc: Southern California
I add a tablespoon or so of soy protein powder to just about all my dehydrated meals. It's essentially tasteless, so it doesn't affect the flavor. I also start most of my mornings with a protein shake: dry milk, a couple of tablespoons of chocolate instant breakfast and a tablespoon of soy protein. I usually mix in a teaspoon or so of psyllium husks for added fiber.
_________________________
My blog on politics, the environment and the outdoors: Haiwee.blogspot.com
Registered: 02/05/03
Posts: 3293
Loc: Portland, OR
Added to suppers:
TVP (textured vegetable protein) nonfat milk powder jerky, shredded into small bits tuna in 3 oz. pouch grated parmesan cheese cheese powder (from packaged mac'n'cheese) dehydrated black beans Oscar Meyer bacon pieces in sealed 2.8 oz pouch
Added to lunches:
string cheese nuts and seeds dry salami
Added to breakfasts:
nonfat milk powder nuts and seeds
Edited by aimless (02/09/0902:10 PM) Edit Reason: added an item
Registered: 02/26/07
Posts: 1149
Loc: Washington State, King County
Last year I bought a lot of ground beef on sale, cooked it all and drained off/squeezed out as much fat as I could, dried the results in a food drier, and what I didn't use in making FBC meals (www.freezerbagcooking.com) I vacuum sealed in small individual portions and stored the results in the freezer. These little individual portions worked great for what you're talking about, for example, making a beef top ramen serving into something a lot more like a meal.
Doing a "lot at once" is an appealing idea for efficiency in terms of time and effort and perhaps in cost. Last year I was preparing to do so much backpacking that an assembly line process made sense just for my own personal food. But in a previous year my wife and I got together with another friend who backpacks and we made some meals together and split up the results.
Registered: 11/23/03
Posts: 430
Loc: Kitsap Peninsula, WA
I tried the Textured Vegetable Protein and I think it is the answer to my nutrition needs. Doesn't taste like much, so I'm going to add more spices to my mix next time.
Check the nutritional information on the packages with sausage (very yummy but not so nutritional). You may be surprised how little protein you get. Some is mostly fat. You get a lot more protein for the wieght from jerkey.
Almonds added to rice dishes Add a spoonful of powdered milk to meals TVP - a spoonful per meal Protein powder Any kind of nut added to cooked cereal Soy nuts Cheese - use a hard cheese like parmasan- it keeps better FD egg whites
Check the nutritional information on the packages with sausage (very yummy but not so nutritional). You may be surprised how little protein you get. Some is mostly fat. You get a lot more protein for the wieght from jerkey.
Yes, when I did the actual label reading, I was shocked at how little protein I was getting from different sausages.
I tried the Textured Vegetable Protein and I think it is the answer to my nutrition needs. Doesn't taste like much, so I'm going to add more spices to my mix next time.
It does not matter if you get protein from meat or plants as long as the total of what you eat at one sitting is a "complete" protein. Meat is complete - you do not have to even think about it. A "complete" protein is a combination of amino acids? (is that correct). Beans and rice are a combination that add up to complete protein. So is milk or milk products and grains or pasta (thus macs and cheese!). Soy and legumes are complete (or near complete?). TVP is a soy product. I used to know all this stuff- am a bit fuzzy on it now. You also need a lot less protein than most people think. I aim for 18-20% of my backpack calories as protein. I think you only need about 14% if all the protein is complete. If you were to really study what is in a freeze dried meal that says it has meat, you may find that there is maybe a spoonful of dried meat chunks and a lot of TVP! The best protein source when backpacking is to fish.
Just remember that the meat protein and the vegetable protein are not the same thing.
The one thing about TVP that most meat cannot do is be shelf stable for years. The flavored TVP's work so well due to that and being very light. They do not require long rehydration times and come back to life at high altitude. It is also considerably cheaper than using freeze dried meat - which, yes, can spoil if left exposed to humidity in air and not kept tightly sealed.
It also contains fiber, something meat doesn't have (which is why if one has never had it before, start with small portions!)
_________________________
Freezer Bag Cooking, Trail Cooking, Recipes, Gear and Beyond: www.trailcooking.com
Registered: 01/04/02
Posts: 1228
Loc: Eastern MA, USA
Hmm-I tried to post on this yesterday, but it is not showing up.
WAY back, when I was still a student, the common thinking was that the combinations of proteins had to be consumed at the same meal. I read recently that this info has been revised to "in the same day." So, if you have, say, peanuts as you hike, the amino acids consumed can combine with other amino acids from your morning oatmeal to give you the building blocks your body needs. Nuts, beans, and seeds provide some aminos and grains, preferably whole ones, can yeild the rest. I don't know about bee pollen. Corn and beans, and rice and beans are some well-known combinations. I read more recently that green peas also are considered a protein source. I don't know why I would have expected them to be regarded any differently from split peas as in soup. We still need to be careful to get enough of the right "B" vitamins if going vegetarian on the trail. Bananas or potatoes and milk are supposed to have all the nutrients we require. In the school where I work, the kids are told that the Native Americans could cover all of their basic needs with "The Three Sisters," corn, beans, and squash. After reading about potassium, I looked at some charts and found that white potatoes have double the potassium of bananas. Maybe that is one reason that instant mashed potatoes seem to be craved by long-distance summer hikers. Who knew?
Maybe one day the FDA will come up with an actual protein rating system instead of the current PDCAAS joke and we won't have to rely on so many different sources.
Two of my friends, well I have four friends but two of them are nutritionist one a vegan to the point of obsession, which I guess is reduntant and one who has trained pro bodybuilders and I rely on them for my diet info. Both agree that things that don't have muscles are not very efficient at feeding muscles without very careful planning and knowledge of what each food contains, and that there is no more effecient protein than an egg white.
They disagree on everything else.
_________________________
"In the beginers mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." Shunryu Suzuki
Registered: 01/04/02
Posts: 1228
Loc: Eastern MA, USA
Don't know that it matters much, but did they elaborate as to why they consider egg white to be so efficient? One guess is that the albumin is pure protein. No fat at all. I don't recall if there is any vitamin content to egg white. Egg yolk has the same amount of protein, but it also contains fat, vitamin A (maybe others), and iron. It has been a very long time since I felt the need to look any of that up. I do recall that egg white protein was one we kept away from babies for the first year because of the frequency of allergies. Egg white was the big culprit. It seemed pretty ridiculous that mothers were told to use only the commercially prepared jarred baby food egg yolks because we couldn't be sure we removed all the white from our child's food if home-prepared. Talk about propaganda.
Maybe one day the FDA will come up with an actual protein rating system instead of the current PDCAAS joke and we won't have to rely on so many different sources.
Rely on the FDA, are you kidding?
Originally Posted By bigb
one a vegan to the point of obsession, which I guess is reduntant
Now that is funny, I don't care who you are.
_________________________
I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money.
Our long-time Sponsor, BackcountryGear.com - The leading source for ultralite/lightweight outdoor gear:
Affiliate Disclaimer: This forum is an affiliate of BackcountryGear.com, Amazon.com, R.E.I. and others. The product links herein are linked to their sites. If you follow these links to make a purchase, we may get a small commission. This is our only source of support for these forums. Thanks.!