How to Eat, Part 1: Stuff to Buy

People here will be divided into two camps: those with a stove, and those without.

Either way is doable, each with pros and cons. It is nice to have a hot meal in the wilderness, but it comes at the cost of lots of cleaning, maintaining, and extra weight. You can still occasioanally have hot meals without a stove with small campfires, but honestly, those times can sometimes be few and far between. A good compromise for light cooking (boiling water) is building a simple alcohol stove. They are super light, easy to refuel, easy to clean, and super cheap. I guess you could even use a sterno can, in a pinch.


Either way, having a compartment that is uncrushable greatly explands the kind of food you can bring: fruits and bread will stay good for quite a while as long as nothing squished them. Something else you have to consider is calorie expenditure: you will probably burn almost double your basal metabolic rate. You are no longer using food just as a comfort; your body absolutely needs the calories.

I just received an old notebook of mine from my last trip. In the back, i had made a list in the back of all the foods that were convenient to eat. So, lets start with things that need no stove:

Bread
Tortillas
Fruits
Carrots
Granola
(can be made from oatmeal in a pan over an open fire!)
Nutella
Peanut butter
Jelly
Candy
(A good pick me up on long days)
Tuna
(the kind in bags, not cans)

Sardines
Saltines
Powdered Milk
Cereal
Dried fruits and nuts
Dehydrated baked bean chips
(I made them before I left- amazing!)
Muesli
Jerky
Salami
Dry cheese
(keeps over a week)
Mozzerella sticks
(individually wrapped keep 4 days)


For those with stoves:

Instant pancakes (the single greatest treat on the road)
Instant oatmeal
Instant rice
Easy mac
Grits
Potatoes

Ramen
Vegetables
Red lentils
Mushrooms (foraged)(article on foraging coming soon!)


Finally, you should bring some spices. I always bring hot pepper powder, Spike, Old Bay seasoning, and salt. Use coconut oil for cooking: it never spoils.


If you are in the US, go get food stamps- about $200 dollars a month for anyone without an income and limited resources! Easy! Its not an abuse of the system. We are a goddam first world country, spending trillions on bombs and war- we should be able to feed our citizens. What else is government for? If you want to argue socialism with me and tell me why we shouldnt be feeding our citizens a basic amount of food, send me a polite message. This is not the place for that conversation.


The food section will not be complete until I finish the articles on dumpster diving and foraging! Stay tuned!

2 comments:

  1. A dehydrator is the backpacker's best friend prior to departure! Just about all the calories and nutrients of the foods you wanted, just without the water weight. Apples. BAM, delicious. Bean chips. BAM, awesome. Hash browns. BAM, kickass. Jerky, Fish chips, 'nanners, mushies, raisins. It's fun to spend a week just figuring out what makes great dehydrated food limited only by your creativity.
    I've also always wondered about easy set up dehydrators made on the road on an over-night coal bed, any experience with this?

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  2. I tried this, was very difficult. Had lots of hot spots, and it cooked. I think youd have to build something, or use a simple coil that plugs in for an even heat

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