Hi everyone and thanks in advance to anyone who helps
My husband and I are new to hiking and have been shopping for gear and I am stumped on what I should buy in order to prepare meals? We do plan on backcountry camping eventually so I want to stay light, but since there are the two of us I know I can splurge a little. Any suggestions?

We use a very simple aluminum pot with a lid. Very light. But then, we usually only boil water in it.

If you are planning to bake bread, fry fish, or grill hamburgers, you'll need a lot more than that. But we don't do any of those, because the weight would be brutal.

You can see photos of our pot on our website

The very simplest and lightest way to eat while backpacking is to go with just-add-water meals and boil water. One pot, no problem with washing dishes if you eat out of the bag you store the food in. (Lots of people do.)

Anything beyond that I'm no help - I don't do cookware or cooking while backpacking. Too much work, not enough gain. I'd rather be fishing or exploring, not spending all my time prepping or cleaning up after.

Have a look at trailcooking.com. There are a lot of recipes and articles there, and options for different ways to prep food.

It depends a lot on what you want to cook. Many people here just rehydrate food in the back country, so the cookware is just a means to boil water. A 1 liter lightweight pot is the most common recommendation I have heard. Titanium would be the ultimate lightweight pot. (something like this: http://www.end2endtrailsupply.com/Evernew_Deep_.9L.html ) The cheap option is an aluminum grease pot sold by Walmart (these guys were selling it but have been out of stock for a while: http://www.end2endtrailsupply.com/Stanco_Greasepot.html)

I've found I can cook everything I need in the 2 cup pot that comes with my stove. We don't use any Mountain House types of meals anymore. As it turns out, a second stove with pot weighs close to the same as an Alpine 750 ml pot, lid and a second little pot for the second person.

This way, we can both cook what we want and give each other new ideas. And if he carries too much food again, he can carry it.

I also use the pots for hot chocolate which I drink with a spoon so I don't burn my lips. I don't have any cups or plates or anything like that.

Someone smart here said something like going lightweight is more about what you leave at home than then buying expensive gear to reduce the weight of what you take.

Thanks everyone! You guys gave me a great place to start and I really appreciate the help

When I go alone I carry a 1 quart titanium pot. When I go with 2 I carry a 1.5 to 2 liter pan and the 1 quart. (quart = about a liter). If I wish to fry I carry a small skillet - I suggest an aluminum 8" one.

Many people here eat reconstituted powdery "food" substances. Many people here eat real food and cook it. If you hate to cook, hate to clean and want simplicity, its easy to do. Carrying real food weighs more and entertains you cooking and cleaning. Maybe its more lifestyle than "eating" oriented?
Jim

I bring a mix. Usually I 'll bring something to cook on the first night or two, and then switch to powdery food. Cheese and sausage last a long time in cool weather so I always bring a bit of that. Dried fruits and nuts are always in there too.

I kind of need fresh food, especially fruits and veggies, so I tend to bring some of those two. They are heavy, but apples, celery, carrots, et. last a long time too and they can replace water for hydration, so that has to be taken into account when everything is added up.

The trick for me has been not bringing too much food. I always have some extra, but I've been getting better at making sure it's lightweight food I'm carrying back.

If you are ordering from Amazon and need a little something to get over $25 for free shipping, this fork/spoon/knife combination weighs 9 grams. They don't break easily. I didn't test one to destruction.

http://www.amazon.com/Light-My-Fire-Spor...8510&sr=8-2

One person here eats real food that you just add hot water to.

cf: couscous, cooked and dehydrated rice/pasta (homemade), any recipe from Fork in the Trail....

Same here.

Canteen cup and stove, Esbit tabs, spork. Simple, compact and lightweight. I do like some fresh food on the trail, so I'll typically have some fruit and cheese as well.

I just got "Another Fork in the Trail" for my Kindle. It looks like a great book. I think I'll do a Julia and Julia with it and try to cook all the recipes. I'm a vegetarian which is why I chose this one instead of the first book.

Thank you very much! I love the website and it is very helpful. I am all about less clean up!

Another good book with cook/dry at home recipes is Backpack Gourmet by Linda yaffe. I have another one of her books too (it preceded Bpack Gourmet) but I cannot recall the name. I do like Laurie Ann's books very much too. After a while you start to just cook and dehydrate your own. I just did a red beans and rice yesterday.

Thanks DTape,

I got the Backpack Gourmet on my Kindle, too. It looks like there are a lot of good ideas.