Real Food vs Processed : What do you bring on the trail ?

The chocolate and beer studies (see here) made me think...

What do I usually bring on the trail, real food or chemicals drinks, Gu gel and Power bars ?

I always find real food more trouble, so I go with packed food. But then I envy those who pull out fresh strawberries out of their packs...


Lazyness ? Yes

This is not a thread about what you bring on the trail, it is about real food or processed, what do you prefer ?

I bought a big box of Quaker breakfast bars about a year and a half ago. A month or two out of date now they are still fine. I throw a couple of them in my pack and go. I can't be bothered with anything else

timmus said:

The chocolate and beer studies (see here) made me think...

What do I usually bring on the trail, real food or chemicals drinks, Gu gel and Power bars ?

I always find real food more trouble, so I go with packed food. But then I envy those who pull out proscuitto and fresh strawberries out of their packs...


Lazyness ? Yes What about you ?

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Criteria for me include:

Easy of use (laziness, convenience)
Spoilage / longevity
Ease of digestability
Density of calories (how many for a given weight)

I usually bring:

Cliffshots
Trail mix (homemade)
PB&F (does not spoil)
Pop tarts
Gatorade
Water
If it's really cold, soup or stew, but that is heavy.

I knew a pizza nut who would bring last night's pizza leftovers wrapped in foil, but they got squished and messy. I put my PB&F in a plastic sandwich container (Rubbermaid) so it doesn't. It packs easier, albeit a tiny bit heavier. From my endurance cycling days, I learned that nibbling the whole way keeps a constant fuel level going. I don't like to stop except at the top as it takes a while to get warmed up and grooving again.

Tim

Hi Julie -
Great topic!

My normal trail food consists of GORP, dried blueberries, baby carrots and some cheese. I carry a selection of energy bars and granola bars for emergency use or if I have unusually strong hunger pangs.

Regards,
Marty

I always opt for “real” food. If I am doing a simple overnight, whether in a tent or self-serve hut, I like to bring a nice hearty stew, chili, or goulash type dish. I always love the look of envy when I start heating up my delicacy in my skillet while others are pouring hot water into their bag of freeze-dried gruel. I have learned over the years to bring enough to share.

I do both, depending on how far in advance I know I heading out. If I can't get to the grocery store in time, then it's Pop Tarts and candy bars, etc. But If I can get to a grocery store, then I prefer fresh food, definitely! My new favorite for lunch is an everything bagel with cream cheese and two slices of smoked salmon....mmmmm.

timmus said:

This is not a thread about what you bring on the trail, it is about real food or processed, what do you prefer ?

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Most of the food I pack is "real" (toblerone falls under "real," yes?), mostly because it's cheaper and tastier.

I do bring gatorade as well, though. After a while, just drinking water gets boring for me.

Real food whenever possible. I started hiking with bars and goos and freeze-dry, and always found them disappointing. I like having that hunk of cheese, some hummus and crackers, fresh baby carrots and canned chicken to throw in the instant noodle soup on a backpack, juicy grapes on hot day, a big honkin' sub for an uber-hike, etc. My body gets the calories just the same, but I find myself much happier and infinitely more satisfied. I like variety, and taking a snack each of the different items gets me that. Different-flavor bars can only go so far.

The only time I haven't taken real food was our 5-day backpack in Colorado. We survived on freeze-dry dinners and turkey jerky, and una_dogger ate a lot of bars. It was certainly useful to have all that lightweight food, and easier to deal with, although at this point u_d doesn't even want to *look* at jerky any more. For a northeast backpack, though, I'm going to take some real food for at least the first few days.

Jason - I'll second you on the bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon as being a wicked treat up in the mountains. I'll take mine for breakfast. Yum!

PS - invariably I never eat almost half of what I bring, so I've also been cutting back recently and enjoying getting that weight out of my pack

Day hikes I take bars and Gu, with the occasional "real" food (does a bearclaw or cheese danish count?)

But as far as bars go, I do prefer the taste and feel of the least processed ones:
-Larabars

Chocolate Coconut ingredients:
Dates, almonds, walnuts, unsweetened coconut, unsweetened cocoa powder

-Clif Nectar

Nectar Dark Chocolate & Walnut Ingredients:
Organic Dates, Organic Walnuts, Organic Unsweetened Chocolate, Organic Cocoa, Organic Vanilla.

yum

timmus said:

I always find real food more trouble, so I go with packed food. But then I envy those who pull out proscuitto and fresh strawberries out of their packs...

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Just hike with Geri, she got all the healthy goodies with her and very generous about sharing .

My hiking diet includes: Nature Valley bars, Hershey's nuggets, GU and Bagel Sandwich from MacDonald's or some mini croissants. To me is weight and packability. Bagels are very squeezable, and wont get too soggy like breads. Mini croissants are easy to pack. Fruits and vegies are relatively heavy but with low carbs, they are yummy but I usually don't have appetite during a hike anyway. Just carb me .

griffin said:

toblerone falls under "real," yes?

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No. Everything that comes in a wrapping, that has a logo, a related website, and advertize in your favorite magazine is what I call ''processed''.

''Home made'' and basic products are what I call real food.

Maybe there's a more appropriate terms, sorry if that brings confusion.

Gu (Vanilla Bean) & Clif Bars for me, or an occasional sandwich in tupperware. In winter, however, a thermos of tomato soup is MANDATORY!

It's goofy, but I love to have a good old-fashioned Large Italian in my daypack. Sounds strange (and how would you fit one in there?), but a toasted Large Italian really takes care of business!

Tobler, too!

timmus said:

Everything that comes in a wrapping, that has a logo, a related website, and advertize in your favorite magazine is what I call ''processed''.

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So basically everything that you can buy in a store is out.
I don't really grow my own food and don't hit up the farmer's market that often so I guess everything I eat is processed.

Good?

timmus said:

No. Everything that comes in a wrapping, that has a logo, a related website, and advertize in your favorite magazine is what I call ''processed''.

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By this definition, basically anything I don't grow in my back yard or kill is processed.

--M. said:

It's goofy, but I love to have a good old-fashioned Large Italian in my daypack. Sounds strange (and how would you fit one in there?), but a toasted Large Italian really takes care of business!

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I second on the Large Italian. Always takes care of business and I always feel safer with one in my daypack:

cbcbd said:

So basically everything that you can buy in a store is out.
I don't really grow my own food and don't hit up the farmer's market that often so I guess everything I eat is processed.

Good?

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Oh- Sorry, I thought all grocery stores had fresh vegetables and fruits, meat and bread... Maybe not where you live ?

I would love to have my own cow.

I've always wanted to bring an Eggplant on a hike.. What's more natural than bringing a purple eggplant?

Jay

On my last hike I enjoyed 2 exquisite roast beef sandwiches with lotsa mayo and Dijon mustard. I bought a roast of beef, cooked it and sliced the meat with shards from my grandfather's shattered tibia. Well, with a standard chef's knife.
Neither the mayo nor the mustard were logo-less. Does Hellman's have a www site?

Anyhow, I also ate 2 Nature Valley Optimum energy bars. They definitely have a web site.

I guess that means I go both ways.

Incidentally, instead of taking point and shoot digital pics I sit down and paint.

(I make my own brushes too.)

I hate goo, power shots, gel thingies and fancy protein nanotechnology. On my next hike I believe I will carry a big rutabaga and chaw on that.

timmus said:

Oh- Sorry, I thought all grocery stores had fresh vegetables and fruits, meat and bread... Maybe not where you live ?

I would love to have my own cow.

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Fruits, veggies, and meat yes. Most of the bread would be using processed ingredients, though.

Don't have a cow, man.