Food When Winter Hiking

[Chip]

Crap.
Winter hiking is your excuse to eat WHATEVER you want. As long as it's highly consumable.
I like high fat and protein.
If they made Reese's, Sardine and Peperoni pizza, I would bring several cold slices.
The best food is the food that's eaten, not carried home.
To drink I like a separate water and then an over-concentrated, from powder, Gatorade.
Milk Hot Chocolate is supposed to be the best single thing.

Oh, yeah: Eat and drink way more crap before (this is probably more important) and have supplies ready in the car or where ever for the ride home.

 

[Chip]

Bacon Jerky, Honey Roasted Peanuts/Cashews, Peanut Butter and Cheese crackers, and Butterfingers.

Isn't Bacon Jerky just cold bacon ? . This list is close to perfect for me. Add the warm milk hot chocolate.

 

[TJsName]

Isn't Bacon Jerky just cold bacon ? . This list is close to perfect for me. Add the warm milk hot chocolate.

Pretty much, just a bit less greasy. Highly reccomend it!

 

[John H Swanson]

* Salt loss by sweating will cause you to urinate excessively. Urine caused by salt loss can be clear or light colored, but you can still become dehydrated. (You need a certain concentration of salt in your blood--too little salt and you need to get rid of the excess water. Too much and need to drink more to dilute the salt followed by urination to dump the excess water and salt.) The "game" is to keep the proper amount of salt in your system--too little and you can develop hyponatremia (insufficient salt) and too much and you can develop hypernatremia (excessive salt). Either can be fatal.

Doug

With all due respect, I think your post give a very incomplete picture. IMO Any conversation about electrolyte loss should start with Potasium, not Sodium (I'm assuming here your use of the word salt means Sodium chloride aka table salt)

About 30 years ago I took a course in nutrition and nutrition teacher told me that in order to have proper absorption of water you need to have a balance of 1 to 1 between potassium and sodium across the cell wall When we sweat we lose both potassium and sodium but the food that we eat usually contains a lot of sodium and not potassium. That's why when you go to a race they have bananas, raisins, aprocots, and other high potassium foods available and they say if you're getting cramps you should eat high potassium foods and drink water. The assumption is that you're getting enough sodium in the food that you eat Of course if you're not getting enough sodium then you would need both sodium and potassium.

After this comment to a I hiking companion, he "... decided I needed to do some more reading on the subject. I found this interesting article which reiterates what you said about the potassium vs.sodium intake in a modern diet plus it gives a list of foods with their equivalent potassium / sodium content:"

http://healthyliving.msn.com/diseases/osteoporosis/potassium-and-sodium-the-dynamic-duo-1[/URL]

 

[Kevin Rooney]

With all due respect, I think your post give a very incomplete picture. IMO Any conversation about electrolyte loss should start with Potasium, not Sodium (I'm assuming here your use of the word salt means Sodium chloride aka table salt)

About 30 years ago I took a course in nutrition and nutrition teacher told me that in order to have proper absorption of water you need to have a balance of 1 to 1 between potassium and sodium across the cell wall When we sweat we lose both potassium and sodium but the food that we eat usually contains a lot of sodium and not potassium. That's why when you go to a race they have bananas, raisins, aprocots, and other high potassium foods available and they say if you're getting cramps you should eat high potassium foods and drink water. The assumption is that you're getting enough sodium in the food that you eat Of course if you're not getting enough sodium then you would need both sodium and potassium.

After this comment to a I hiking companion, he "... decided I needed to do some more reading on the subject. I found this interesting article which reiterates what you said about the potassium vs.sodium intake in a modern diet plus it gives a list of foods with their equivalent potassium / sodium content:"

http://healthyliving.msn.com/diseases/osteoporosis/potassium-and-sodium-the-dynamic-duo-1[/URL]

The above is why I carry Morton Lite Salt.

 

[MikeB]

Grilled cheese sandwiches on hearty bread, cooked extra well done then cut into bite-sized cubes. Carry them in a belt pouch for easy snackin' access. Nice alternative to cheese and crackers and simpler to eat on the move.

 

[Trail Boss]

@mikeb
Love it. Basically you have a belt-pouch filled with canapés, appetizers, hors d'oeuvres, amuse-bouches, and other finger food. Very classy!

My bag of Skittles now seems so ... lazy!

 

[Tom_Murphy]

Grilled cheese sandwiches on hearty bread, cooked extra well done then cut into bite-sized cubes. Carry them in a belt pouch for easy snackin' access. Nice alternative to cheese and crackers and simpler to eat on the move.

Nice, thanks for that !

 

[DougPaul]

With all due respect, I think your post give a very incomplete picture. IMO Any conversation about electrolyte loss should start with Potasium, not Sodium (I'm assuming here your use of the word salt means Sodium chloride aka table salt) [/URL]

I don't know about claiming that one chemical should take priority over the other--both are important and both need to be maintained. (And chemically, both are salts... Yes--I was using the word "salt" in its common usage for table salt or sodium chloride.) My post would have been more complete if it had discussed both salts. But there are other important ions too... A firing nerve involves large flows of sodium, potassium, calcium, and chloride ions. The concentrations of all four ions in body fluids must remain within certain limits for the body (and brain) to operate properly.

The limited focus occurs in a number of places--many discussions and products emphasize sodium:
EG 1: One of the most popular electrolyte drinks--Gatorade--has 470mg of sodium and 128mg of potassium per liter of water.
EG 2: Kelly Cordes*, in an article on the subject suggests an electrolyte consisting of salt (sodium chloride), sugar, and water (no potassium).
* Kelly Cordes, "Liquid Lunch", Rock and Ice 102, Aug/Sept 2000, p 52. Kelly Cordes' exercise physiology masters's thesis at the University of Montanna delt with hydration and thermoregulation.
NOTE: the above concentrations were current as of the time I looked them up--the products may have been changed since then.

You may recall that I published a recipe for an electrolyte which uses Morton Lite salt (290 mg of sodium and 350 mg of potassium per liter of water). http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?4914-Long-distance-nutrition&p=54650&viewfull=1#post54650 My recipe is a simplified version of Gookinaid, developed by Bill Gookin, a biochemist and long-distance runner. (Now known as Vitalyte (with some changes in the formula) http://www.vitalyte.com/)

See the Long distance nutrition thread for more detail on both my recipe and the topic in general. http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?4914-Long-distance-nutrition

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

Grilled cheese sandwiches on hearty bread, cooked extra well done then cut into bite-sized cubes. Carry them in a belt pouch for easy snackin' access. Nice alternative to cheese and crackers and simpler to eat on the move.

I often carry a grilled cheese sandwich minus the butter. (Yes the fat would be good, but it makes the sandwich potentially greasy to handle.) I can easily eat part of it and stuff the rest back into my pocket (wrapped in plastic or a plastic bag).

Along with salted nuts and chocolate (mixed into gorp and/or separately), and fig bars (the original energy bar...), etc. Maybe an apple too (in non-freezing temps). All designed and packaged to be eaten in small amounts throughout the day, of course.

Doug

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Try using olive oil instead of butter for a grilled cheese sandwich. Still very tasty, not quite so greasy, and it's healthier than butter.

 

[John H Swanson]

I don't know about claiming that one chemical should take priority over the other--both are important and both need to be maintained. (And chemically, both are salts... Yes--I was using the word "salt" in its common usage for table salt or sodium chloride.) My post would have been more complete if it had discussed both salts. But there are other important ions too... A firing nerve involves large flows of sodium, potassium, calcium, and chloride ions. The concentrations of all four ions in body fluids must remain within certain limits for the body (and brain) to operate properly. The limited focus occurs in a number of places--many discussions and products emphasize sodium: EG 1: One of the most popular electrolyte drinks--Gatorade--has 470mg of sodium and 128mg of potassium per liter of water. EG 2: Kelly Cordes*, in an article on the subject suggests an electrolyte consisting of salt (sodium chloride), sugar, and water (no potassium). * Kelly Cordes, "Liquid Lunch", Rock and Ice 102, Aug/Sept 2000, p 52. Kelly Cordes' exercise physiology masters's thesis at the University of Montanna delt with hydration and thermoregulation. NOTE: the above concentrations were current as of the time I looked them up--the products may have been changed since then. You may recall that I published a recipe for an electrolyte which uses Morton Lite salt (290 mg of sodium and 350 mg of potassium per liter of water). http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?4914-Long-distance-nutrition&p=54650&viewfull=1#post54650 My recipe is a simplified version of Gookinaid, developed by Bill Gookin, a biochemist and long-distance runner. (Now known as Vitalyte (with some changes in the formula) http://www.vitalyte.com/) See the Long distance nutrition thread for more detail on both my recipe and the topic in general. http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?4914-Long-distance-nutrition
Doug

Thanks for the addition info

My only follow up comment would be a reco to consider the amount of salt consumed in your diet when determining the amount of supplemental electrolytes, if any

 

[DougPaul]

Try using olive oil instead of butter for a grilled cheese sandwich. Still very tasty, not quite so greasy, and it's healthier than butter.

That might be worth trying, but I'd probably put the oil on the inside side of the bread rather than the outside to preserve the clean handling. Not sure offhand how it would interact with the cheese.

Even when I make a "dry" grilled cheese for consumption at home I don't use any butter so I don't miss it at all. (The only difference is that it is still warm...)

Peanut butter is another good way to add fat to a sandwich too. (Haven't tried peanut butter and cheese either...)

Doug

 

[bikehikeskifish]

My kids prefer "dad's grilled cheese" to "mom's grilled cheese" because dad uses real butter.

Just sayin',
Tim

 

[Silverfox]

my winter favs include

reeses..preferably with the dark chocolate

stinger waffles and chews..kept in pockets close at hand

cheeze and salami bits

I hydrate heavily pre hike and never carry more than 2 litres

on the real cold days i throw gatorade in the hot water but usually just water

for a pick me up i use the gatorade prime

 

[DougPaul]

Thanks for the addition info

My only follow up comment would be a reco to consider the amount of salt consumed in your diet when determining the amount of supplemental electrolytes, if any

I also look at the amount of water input and output and how much I sweat during the day.

One of the advantages of electrolyte drinks over electrolytes in food (or salt tablets etc) is that the electrolyte is input in proportion to the water intake. With experience one can determine one's appropriate concentration of electrolyte in water. I can't speak for anyone else, but I certainly do better if I switch from water to electrolyte when sweating. At the end of the day I am neither over-hydrated or dehydrated if I do it properly. (I can easily develop mild hyponatremia if I don't take in enough electrolytes on a sweaty day. The main symptoms are that water passes through me quickly by the end of the day with a very pale to colorless urine and my weight may be down a pound or two.)

On warm days I'll start with some pre-made drink and carry some mixed powder (sugar + Morton Lite Salt) to add later. On cooler days, I carry mixed powder and add it to my water as necessary. Or if I want to minimize the weight, I just carry the Morton Lite Salt. (The mix tastes better and improves water absorption, but the MLS alone does the job.)

Doug

 

[Kevin Rooney]

My kids prefer "dad's grilled cheese" to "mom's grilled cheese" because dad uses real butter.

Just sayin',
Tim

And some think parents should model good eating habits.

Just sayin'
Kevin

 

[bikehikeskifish]

And some think parents should model good eating habits.

Everything in moderation.

Tim

 

[John H Swanson]

Everything in moderation. Tim

.

Except Moderation.

 

[DougPaul]

My kids prefer "dad's grilled cheese" to "mom's grilled cheese" because dad uses real butter.

Perhaps because they contain more of 2 of the 4 essential food groups: grease, salt, sugar, and ice cream.

Doug

Edit: "more of" added.