Do you Eat Funny/Different Food on the Trail Only? Like SPAM!

[jmegillon149]

I know I said I don't usually eat that stuff, but I have had the Mountain House Lasagna, and it was good enough, I could consider eating it at home.

As far as eating healthy- eating healthy usually requires eating fresh stuff, not pre-packaged, which is far more convenient (and safe? think meat), at least for trips longer than one day.
Just try to carry green peppers with you for more than a day or two in a pack, go ahead, I dare you... Trying to get rotten pepper stink out of your gear while in the woods is no fun!

I guess when I say "healthy" I don't really equate that with "fresh", I tend to think of healthy as low fat, low salt, high protein, high in complex carbs; most of stuff I eat on the trail, such as dehydrated meals, dried fruits, chicken jerky, energy bars etc., fits all those except the low salt. I guess its the high frequency of people answering with things like pepperoni, vienna sausages and that kind of stuff that seems odd to be eating while doing something physical; of course I am a former wrestler, avid weightlifter, and former obese person(post college wrestling career->blew up, so glad I got into hiking!); so the idea of eating beef, pork, candy in any setting seems to go against my lifestyle, while hiking fits it extremely well.

With that said, these two things that seem to go together in my mind, yet are often not combined in the minds of others seems a little odd to me. But I guess we each do this kind of stuff for our own reasons, not to mention that we all have our own physical goals, ambitions, capabilities, metabolsims, etc; for example, my natural metabolism requires constant dieting, working out, etc., and any slippage in these habits would not permit me the physical ability to go hiking (at least not the pace, distance, and duration that I desire)

 

[JohnL]

Egad! If I would not eat something at home, what makes me think I would entertain eating it on the trail where digestive stresses are greater? I don’t take anything with me on a hike that does not come from my normal pantry. I once ate freeze dried foods for 36 consecutive days and this was long before they became something resembling palatable. It was not pretty. However, at the time there was no other choice but now I have choices. My motto is that if it’s not table food, then it’s not trail food.

JohnL

 

[WhiteMTHike]

I used to have some MRE's left from my Army days, I saved some upon retiring. Those things aren't bad but only taste good on a trail. Now that I'm out of them I'll probably pick up some more at an Army/Navy surplus store since I'm not out of trails to hike.

 

[pedxing]

I always eat a higher fat diet on the trail,
If I'm not sharing food with anyone else, I won't cook inthe summer. I'll eat dry salami (and other sausages) and cheeses that don't require refrigeration. I'll also take tons of nuts and dried fruit and some trail hardy bread. I tend to get obsessed with the calorie/weight ration of all the food I take if I'm going to be out for more than 2 -3 nights.

 

[jfb]

Foods that I eat on the trail that I don't eat at home include instant oatmeal, instant coffee and "just add water" pancake mixes. Otherwise for a typical one or two night trip, I usually eat food that I would also eat at home (but not as much variety).

 

[skiguy]

Egad! If I would not eat something at home, what makes me think I would entertain eating it on the trail where digestive stresses are greater? I don’t take anything with me on a hike that does not come from my normal pantry. I once ate freeze dried foods for 36 consecutive days and this was long before they became something resembling palatable. It was not pretty. However, at the time there was no other choice but now I have choices. My motto is that if it’s not table food, then it’s not trail food.
JohnL

Agreed John...The Whole SPAM thing goes back to old Summer Camp Rituals. Kind of like what Pete Hickey was saying about using it at confrences for effect.This is really more of my mentality.

First I have to agree with the Power Bar Bashers. Those things taste like sugar coated cardboard (even during and/or hiking), not to metion you could rip a filling out chewing on one. Sorry jmegillon149 but there are Soooooooooo many other energy bars out there that I like way better.
Secoundly I think we eat alot of the above mentioned foods because we do rationalize but more so because they taste good. More so though I think alot of it comes down to convience and ease of preperation. If you put your mind to it you can eat healthy on the trail and have it taste good too. Longer trips nutrition becomes more of an issue as we all know that eating lousey has its drawbacks.HERE is a link to a great book for those Trail Chef's out there.

Lots of talk about how bad store bought dried food is.So has anyone dried their own food. I have used Food Dryers and Vac Packers before and had some great results.

 

[KMartman]

I have the Exaclibur 2400 4 tray model..works great..the jerky comes out terrific provided you use a marniade that you enjoy..

M

 

[trailbiscuit]

Ever chew on squid jerkey?

Squid jerky is pretty tasty.

As far as recipes go, just add taco seasoning to anything on the trail and it tastes good, such as Lipton Sides Spicy Alfredo, Lipton Sides Spicy Teriyaki, Lipton Sides Spicy Stroganoff, Lipton Sides Spicy Chicken. (But, never eat the Liption Sides Nacho Pasta...it's gross. Trust me, it's nacho pasta.)

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Ever chew on squid jerkey?

Squid jerky is pretty tasty.

Maybe, but there's something about the piece with the eyes. I have a thing about eating something that's looking at my as it travels to my mouth.

 

[Mike P.]

Definitely different

On trail Bon-e-bel Cheese wheels, last longer, single serve Vs. bringing a block of cheese which I try not to eat since an 8 oz block equals one serving to me (it wasn't by accident I got to almost 230 last year)

Sliced peperoni, try to get Turkey as it's lower in fat & calories,

Cliff Bars (other bars too in summer)

I try & keep the same trail food, summer & winter so it's important that it'd edible at 80 or -20. That's not a concern at home, Pizza & pasta don't pack well.

 

[trailbiscuit]

Maybe, but there's something about the piece with the eyes. I have a thing about eating something that's looking at my as it travels to my mouth.

Yah, skip that piece. As a rule, I always pass on food that at me.

 

[bubba]

Definitely Cliff Bars – only on the trail. Daxs packed some Vegan jerky that was very tasty on the top of Eisenhower, but I’d have pass on closer to sea level. I don’t mind Jerky on the trail but have no interest off trail. For me, the jury is still out with regard to Gorp… not sure how it likes me on the trail and I’d not eat it off trail. On a couple of recent trips hiking partners have had small packaged salami that seemed excellent later in the hike. I am also not a gum chewer, but I really like it while hiking. (I can actually get myself in trouble by chewing too long – jaws hurt!!)

PowerBars gag me no matter where. Add power gels to the trail only list. I’m only out for overnights (two at most) so not having heated food doesn’t bother me. My mother actually served SPAM occasionally at home (baked with whole cloves in a brown sugar glaze) and I didn’t mind it. In college I learned that it is made of pigs a—holes, so one would have to wonder how many calories are in holes?? However, Skiguy’s recipe sounds excellent!!

As far as “healthy” I don’t know if this is relative to the goal of obtaining energy. Hiking burns calories and the attempt is to replace them quickly on the trail and to build up for the next day. And, for the record, I could live on PB&J both on the trail and off!!

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Black food

Now that I'm back from Philly, I loked into my stash and found some more stuff. I have this 'Black Cheese'. Some kind of powder, to which hot water is added, and it turns into cheese. At least that's what it says on the bag. It also has tis warning:

"Not stir oppositely, otherwise the cheese will not coagulated"

I take that as a serious warning. It also goes on to say,

"It has been proved for thousands years in China that black food is nutritious, and nowadays, the black food has become more and more popular in the world. With high quality black bean and sessame the sessame and black bean chese is finely produced"

I mean, when you read a label like that, you HAVE to get some to take on a hike. Why not make the 'eating' part just as adventurous as the rest of the hike. Why take a chalanging hike, but take plain boring food, that offers no challenge to keep down?

Go EXTREME all the way!

 

[skiguy]

My mother actually served SPAM occasionally at home (baked with whole cloves in a brown sugar glaze) and I didn’t mind it. In college I learned that it is made of pigs a—holes, so one would have to wonder how many calories are in holes?? However, Skiguy’s recipe sounds excellent!!

If you liked the sound of the other recipe bubba here's another one to try; kind of a variation on your Mom's recipe. I call it "Spam al la Hawaiian", it goes like this. Once again slice SPAM to medium slices, and then sizzle lightly. On the side mix brown sugar and maple syrup together to create Glaze. Spoon over lightly sizzled SPAM and continue to cook over medium heat. Again on the side drain a small can of Pineapple chunks of their juice. Toss the Pineapple chunks into the pan along with a few tablespoons of their juice and cook until SPAM and PineApple are slighlty browned.