Cold food

[Pete_Hickey]

Most energy per weight

If you really want to go lightweight, take the densest (calories/weight) possible.

Oil.

At 9 calories per gram, it can't be beat. Just kind of sip on it all day long. If you drink a cup in one shot... well, trust me when I say "don't".

If you want to be yuppie-ish about it, take olive oil, and put some basil leaves in it. No more calories, but it will show you have good taste.

You can get your 3,000 calories with 3/4 of a pound. Can't do that with other foods.

But now, here's the best part! Its Atkins friendly! That's right.. No carbs!!!1

 

[hankmccain]

I have been on a no-cook kick for a while now.

I've been eating Army MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) on trips lately. Very compact, nutritious, and they require nothing extra for preparation. They aren't gourmet meals, but they will provide the necessary fuel for any trip. Most even have a chemical heating element inside so you can have a hot meal without a stove.

They come sealed up nicely to minimize the the attraction of foraging animals (although you should obviously still use a bear canister). You can order them from numerous sites on the Net. They come as a full meal in a sealed package but you can also order the individual entrees. Lucky for me they have a few vegetarian versions.

My menu for this weekend:

Breakfast: 2 balance bars

Lunch: GORP, dried fruit, power bar

Dinner: Cheese Tortellini MRE


BTW... the oil drinking idea sounds interesting but I could only imagine the aftermath...

 

[percious]

Dehydrating food and reheating it with the alcohol stoves works really well. For 2 oz of fuel, and 7oz of cooking gear, you can make enough food to stuff 2 people.

My favorite meal of late is dehydrated fajitas. I start with chopped peppers and onions, dehydrate them, along with 2 or 3 cooked and grated chicken breasts. I also dehydrate some salsa, and some of the "Far East" Fajita sause you can find in the grocery store. I usually add a few corn cournels (sp.) Total weight with 6 fajita shells, and ziplock bags: 17oz. Oh, and the cost is low. <$5 (most of it is the chicken). I have never eaten a "Mountain House" meal. I probably never will.

In order to save on fuel, I put all of the ingredients in a large ziplock with some water and let it sit for about 1/2 hour in the sun. We snoozed while our food rehydrated. After warming up the food, and eating, we were stuffed, and there was at least 1 more fajita wrap worth of food. We had to pack some out for the first time ever.

If you really dont want to cook, try moose goo. Peanut Butter, Rice flour, and honey. Excellent on flat bread, easy to make, easy to eat. I use Soy Flour for mine, because it has much more Protein. Experiment. Let us know what you come up with.

-percious