After reading the lunch thread I started thinking about my upcoming trip. The longest wilderness trip I've been on was 10 days (twice @ Philmont). The thing is, we resupplied half way through. Short of that, I've packed for 7 day trips many times both backpacking and canoe/kayak camping. The lunch thread got me thinking about meal planning for this year (which is a 14 day pure solo trip). Dinners are easy, breakfast too. What is a concern to me is the lunches. I usually do simple lunches, even on layover days. Primarily two power bars, venison jerky and gatorade OR chicken salad on crackers or tortillas with gatorade. The first option WILL work for me, but will be heavy and get routine FAST. The second option is even heavier. I'm curious as to what other longer trippers do for lunch meals (and the other meals as well).

If your eating on the run, then this might not be a good option?
However, if you stop and not opposed to boiling a cup or two of water quickly on your camp stove, this might help with the meal boredom factor.

I'm a big fan of Cous-Cous. Quick cooking, tasty and being a complex carb, it provides the fuel you need for paddling.

Take a zip lock bag and add say a 1/2 cup of Cous-Cous to it.
I put in a flavored bullion cube of your choice (keep wrapped).
Boil water, equal water to Cous-Cous. Remove bullion cube, add water and cube, stir and seal bag. Wait 5 minutes and you have an excellent lunch/dinner.
I bring Venison snack sticks/ Single Albacore/Chicken pouches. You can add to Cous-Cous for Protein to make a complete meal.
 If you have some fresh fillets, dice one up into small chunks and add to it as well.
  You can do the same with quick cook brown rice ( double water to rice) and there are other notables as well.  Quinoa is one that's getting popular. Unique in that's it also has protein in it, making it a complete nutrition source, Been around for centuries.

Nice part is that these dried quick fix whole grains are light in your food pack, pack plenty of caloric punch, and can me added to soups/stews or adapt well too almost any spice or liquid choice.

Do a little Googling. I'm sure you'll find many helpful tips/recipes.

I'd second the quinoa or cous-cous suggested by ST.  Wild rice is also a good carb with protein in it, plus it's local.  Unfortunately, it takes a long time to cook.  We had some success with making bannock on the trail.  Cooked extra during dinner for breakasts and lunches the next day.  Something we've done on our 10 day trips is to swap the dinner (typically cooked) to a lunch, and granoal bars/trail mix lunch to dinner.  This works especially well if you make camp before lunch.

If you don't mind cooking, I like to pack dried soup: lightweight, nutritious, and after a half-day of canoeing, you probably need the water and salt too.

Both Maggi and Knorr-Swiss make a wide selection of good ones, much better than domestic dried soups like Lipton Cup-o-Soup.  Oxtail and minestrone are personal favourites, but they're all good.

If you're tired at the end of the day (or if you eat your big meal at lunch and want more than a couple of granola bars for dinner), they're substantial enough for a quick meal, especially if supplemented with "nature's bounty" - fresh fish, wild mushrooms etc. Or if you want more calories, you can add extra rice or pasta. (on that note, orzo is the most compact, fastest-cooking pasta that I know of.)


 

I suppose this may be rather obvious But if you run a line and whack a fish, you could fry that bad boy up. Running a line is not for everyone....... you need a rod holder. I always run something that doesn't create to much drag, like a husky jerk with just the tail hook so I minimize snags (I go the next hook size up).

With a sharp knife, and a pocket rocket I can have lunch and be done with clean-up in 1/2 hour. Going solo makes the whole process even easier. Stop when you want and where you want. The time of year your going also helps out......long days.

Create a separate dry bag just for shore lunches.....that's what I do. Bada-bing and I'm on my way. The whole process is actually rather enjoyable. I can look back on many trips and many shore lunches stand out in my memory for some odd reason.

PBJ every day
keeps the doctor away
puts a smile on my face


I don't know why, but I love it on a canoe trip....never eat it at all the rest of the year.

Really the skies the limit. Usually have "fast" meals and "slow" meals on the trip. The boy's new favorite fast meal is the "Thai Dinner" one of those box meals in the asian foods section supplemented with shelf stabile bagged shrimp, chicken, or tuna. The slow one will be the old pizza in the Outback Oven. Spag, yeasted bread and chocolate cake is always a party meal too.

Chowmein, Mac-n cheese w/ peas and tuna, chicken and biscuits, various soups, fish and rice, and burritos always hit the spot for din din. But then there is the Baked Herbed Laker with thyme carrots and fresh bread, that makes the trip for me.

We also have been know to drift for the "wet lunch", a relaxing way that is bug free.

The morning started with buckwheat pancakes is fine ;) But sweet rice (jasmine rice, milk, cinnamon, brown or maple sugar, and dried fruit) and homemade granola with hot water are still my all time favorites. Of course washed down with the morning brew of a trail mocha or tea. Maybe oatmeal in a bag, or PBJ and hot drinks a lake or two up the trail work better some mornings.

Food can make the trip or break the trip IMHO. I always "plan" the menu with the other folks, shop, prep., and pack it out with them too, builds the group with the food being the glue; gives me the opportunity to watch and learn too :)

I don't like lunch "stops", just prefer a lunch break, and mostly not even that - more like just a pause.  I bring a variety of snacks that I can eat a bit at a time - I like a steady fuel supply, not a stop and refill approach - I may start on my "lunch" at the first portage of the morning.  So I'll take a bite at the start of a portage, maybe a couple more on the return trip, and finish at the end.   I do the same type of lunch for hunting trips or climbing tirps or whatever, so I always have a good supply of stuff to build lunches from.  

Problem with stopping to cook lunch, aside from the extra fuel you need to carry, is a full stop breaks my momentum - takes a while to get back into cruising speed for me.  For my brother, anything longer than 15 min and I have to hit the button on the shock collar to wake him up.  Anybody who can stop and cook up a lunch in half an hour is either really fast or exagerating a bit I'd think (and I'd suppose if you planned ahead and had everything ready in one easy to get at stuff sack, maybe a half hour would work).  For me, it would be closer to an hour start to finish, and I don't want to use up that much time - an hour, or even half an hour at midday is likely to translate into an hour or more of late afternoon paddling into strong headwinds - the afternoon winds are almost always going to be a lot stronger than at noontime, and I don't like that tradeoff at all.

I travel every day but one layover day, and that's "fast and light" as a backpacker would call it.  A half hour break every day for 14 days amounts ot almost a full travel day ( I average about a 10 hour day) - if you are doing a 10 day trip in 14 days, well, you've got that time to use - me, I'm doing a 12 day trip in 13, and I' don't have that extra time built in.  Obviously, if you are base camping, you have a lot more time to use for a lunch stop.

So I do the snacks for lunch - usually 2 or 3 "snack bar" type of thing - Nutragrain bars, Sunbelt fruit and grain bars, granola bars, diet supplement bars - with a "fruit" item, and 3 or 4 hershey's mini candy bars - for a solo trip, a day's lunch all fits in a sandwich size ziplock.  

There are probably a hundred varieties of snack item you can find in the grocery store - I just keep my eyes open and buy stuff on sale - Nutragrain bars go on sale at two boxes for $5, so I stock up then, and buy whatever else I see that looks good.  There are all kinds of energy bar types - Larabar, Luna Bar, Cliff Bar, whatever - I lke to add peanut butter cracker sandwich packages too.  When I package my food, I lay it all out on the floor, and work at getting as much variety into each day's lunch as I can, so I don't eat the same thing everyday.  I don't really care for Power Bars - most of the other things I buy taste better, and won't tear the teeth out of my head when I take a bite.  If its cold, you have to chop the Power Bar up ahead of time into bite size pieces.

I'll often mix up some raisin/mm/peanut gorp, and put a quarter cup or third of a cup of that in as one of the lunch items - maybe alternate that every second or third day.

The daily "fruit" item isn't a heavy apple, but may be a small handful of raisins, a few apricots, or a small package of fruit jellies. maybe some dried apples or banana chips - I alternate these too.

But everythng I bring is stuff I can just take a bit of from time to time, and all packaged so that if I don't eat it that day, I can add it to the next day's lunch, or just keep the leftovers in the food bag without it spoiling or getting too messy

The real "keystone" of my lunches though is two pints of cytomax drink mix per day.

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I mix up a pint in the morning, and drink that instead of water.  Water is good, gatorade better, but cytomax is much better yet.  Every time I take a swig, its fuel and water both.  Useing it, I have definitely been able to cut down on the size of my lunches, can go for longer and harder, and just't don't feel really hungy during the day.  Mid-day, I mix up a second pint.

I pre-package a scoopful in a baggies sandwich bag, and bring a piece of folded paper with it to use as a funnel, to make it easier to pour into my water bottle.  I use a pint water bottle, and bring two packages per day.

I know how much I need to eat, and that is a lot less than I think I want, or that I start out packing..
I normally pack a month or so ahead of time, and will repack my food, and then re-repack it, whittleing it down to the weight I want to carry.  I know pretty well what I need, and I don't bring a lot of extra food.  Its easy to bring way more than you need - but I don't want to carry more than I need.  I keep in mind that lunch is only a part of the day's food, and bring only enough to keep me going thru the day - I don't need or want to eat too much.  I figure that if I ever do get hungry, I can always catch a fish or two to supplement what I bring, but I don't count on fish for any meal other than once on my layover day when I have time to cook it.

You will be surprised at how much bulk and weight it will take for a 14 day trip - so it is a good idea to pare your food down as much as you can.  The tendency is to bring a little extra for dinner, and for lunch and some extra snacks, and ....  and that get really heavy really fast.

I look at the total day's food,and package it that way - i.e. day 1, day 2, etc -  I'll lay it all out on the living room floor, and arrange it all so that I have as much variety as I can get, and don't eat the same stuff two days in a row.  That normally means having a freeze dried dinner on day 1, and the same variety on day 6 or 7 - usually only have chili mac twice on a 12 day trip in other words.

 Alternate oatmeal and carnation instant breakfast every other day (with Milkman, or whatever powdered milk you like).  Maybe every 4th or 5th day, I'll go with a two-serving size of freeze dreid meal, rather than the pro-pack size - both to add just a wee bit more food, and to have a meal that isn't available in the pro-pack size.  I always finish off the days' supper with some kind of desert - instant pudding (I split a package into two servings, and bring the powdered milk pre-measured - mix by shaking in a ziplock bag) is a nice treat every third or fourth day, but mostly I just bring some prepackaged snack dessert - Dolly Madison, or something like that - a brownie, a strawberry roll, a coffee cake - something that even squashed, still tastes good.

For sure, I avoid cooking anything other than boiling water - the more you cook, the more you need to clean, the more fuel you need to carry.

Mat

I'm probably more like you when it comes to "lunches" than not. To be honest I usually don't even eat lunch when canoe tripping. ( I eat lunch backpacking though) And yea, I like to work hard. Seems like that oatmeal breakfast really powers me through and I always have "1 per day" regular sized snickers bar to eat on a portage. I drink a lot of water though.

Me exaggerate? Hah! I always downplay fish size so when I really do catch a whopper my buds know it's for real. Not so tough to filet a walleye and pop him into blazing oil (heated instantly by my "blowtorch" camp stove ala Pocket Rocket......no pumping or priming just turn the handle and flick a bic). While it's cooling off I'm washing up. 1/2 hour? No problem unless there is bread involved.

Mat, thanks for pointing out the cytomax. That rang a chord with me. I'll probably bite.

Mat, if you use baggies for your cytomax, you can just cut off the bottom corner of the baggie to add it to your water bottle.  The bag thus becomes the funnel as well.  Not sure what that paper weighs, but as a guy who counts ounces, you might appreciate the weight savings.  ;)

Mat,

Thanks for the cytomax tip. The weight is definitely adding up quick. Right now I have a fairly leisurely route set...but something is nagging at me to change it and take away some leisure  ::) Either way, I like quick no-cook lunches except on layover days or fairly short travel days.

Thank you everyone for your input so far. I do appreciate it. I'm going to experiment with different variations and will probably end up with a few of the suggestions packed in just for variety out there.

Weight and size are of the utmost concern.

One can also "pre-soften" the cold power bar by tucking them inside you shirt for a while. ;)

For me...I will carry the weight...I have been on trips before where I was hungry and food was on the shy side...After those experiences I now carry extra and have found the extra pounds to be a relief and relaxing. To each there own  :) We still move pretty good too-78+miles in 6 days with duff days on the loop that contained the Frost River-just me and the boy who was 7 at the time...Just call me porter ;D

Cytomax....I will be checking that out to incorporate into the grazing that we do.

If your on a long trip where weight is a concern I tend to simplify things. That is, I can eat the same thing for an extended time. I find the wide mouth Nalgene canteens make exceptionally good food containers. Air tight and practically indestructible they also lend themselves to dispensing food due to their flexibility. Plus they pack nicely. I think all around they are tops plus come in a variety of sizes.
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Wow, that sounds a lot like a commercial! Maybe I'm in the wrong line of work!  

"Mat, if you use baggies for your cytomax, you can just cut off the bottom corner of the baggie to add it to your water bottle.  The bag thus becomes the funnel as well.  Not sure what that paper weighs, but as a guy who counts ounces, you might appreciate the weight savings."

actually, my dad tried that and it did not work - the powder would not pour freely, and trying to shake it out just made a mess - so I stick with the paper. its just a piece maybe 5 inches square, folded in half, and then creased in teh middle to make it stiffer - that works a lot better than cutting off the bottom corner of hte baggie - maybe just because the water bottles I use are old mouthwash bottles, and the mouth is only an inch wide  - the pice of paper usually gets used later to help start the fire

and you are right - if I could get away without the paper, I'd do it that way, just to save a half ounce or whatever!

Mad_Mat wrote on May 19^th, 2010 at 12:51pm:

- maybe just because the water bottles I use are old mouthwash bottles, and the mouth is only an inch wide

Since the esteemed and well liked Mad Mat is such a generous contributor to QJ I have set up a site where contributions can be made:

WWW/MadMat//watercanteen//procurement fund.com
;) ;) ;)

mastertangler wrote on May 19^th, 2010 at 1:36pm:

Mad_Mat wrote on May 19th, 2010 at 12:51pm: - maybe just because the water bottles I use are old mouthwash bottles, and the mouth is only an inch wide Since the esteemed and well liked Mad Mat is such a generous contributor to QJ I have set up a site where contributions can be made: WWW/MadMat//watercanteen//procurement fund.com ;) ;) ;)

But, THEN his breath won't be all minty fresh ;D

 I was talking with a friend who's a dedicated road/mountain biker.
He's into the performance/recovery drinks. I asked about Cytomax, Mad_Mat's drink of choice.

He said it was one of the top ones, but he, personally couldn't tolerate it.
He steered me too this article. He uses the G1 Hydration stuff.

Some alternatives for consideration, if your going that route?

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"Since the esteemed and well liked Mad Mat is such a generous contributor to QJ I have set up a site where contributions can be made:

WWW/MadMat//watercanteen//procurement fund.com"



Oh, that was low - no, cruel!  My feelings are hurt, sniff, but worse, my water bottle's feelings are hurt!

Now I must defend my choice of the Ultimate water bottle - the perfect marriage of form and function.

Function ? Why to hold water, which of course it does.  Form, ah, now we come to its real beauty!
The "flask" shaped 16 oz bottle fits perfectly in the hip pocket of any pair of pants, and even carrying a pack,
it is comfy and so easily available that I don’t need to stop to take a drink - even cross counntry skiing,
I can reach my bottle and take a drink, even while gliding down the hills.  No stopping to dig out a water bottle for me
And that nice flat shape fits nicely in the top flap pockets of all of my packs - much easier than those big mouthed fat ol' round bottles that everyone else buys - you know, those round bottles that,
when knocked over, roll down the hill, or roll down the rock into the lake.
No sir! I wouldn't have such an ill trained water bottle - mine are faithful and stay with me, even if I do knock them over or kick them.

No, I won't give up my Plax bottles! - you'll have to pry them from my cold dead fingers!


The Penultimate bottle, yes, but some of their cousins are nearly as fine.  Two of the 30 oz Viadent
bottles, with thier flat rectangular shape fit oh so perfectly, side by side in the front pocket of the daypack I use for river trips here;  and, laid flat in the bottom of my hunting fanny pack,
leaves enough room on top for raincoat and lunch and hoist.
And they fit nicely along the sides of my climbing pack, fitting into the spaces much better than round bottles do.

So nice, that I retired my old qt plastic vinegar bottle, the one with the duct taped 4 holes from a bear's canine teeth, in favor of the better flat form.

And then there is the perfect little plastic syrup bottle - the 12 oz one with the handle that works so
well when clipped with a biner to my climbing harness!  

And the "old man" gatorade bottle - well, we'll skip that one for now.

So what should I do?  Give up my Plax bottles that have skied thousands of miles with me? that have gone on hundreds of hunts with me? that go climbing with me?  that fit in the side pockets of the truck door?

and replace them with what ? This $30 yuppie water bottle  that weighs nearly a pound!
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Or the "cheap" $10 wide-mouth REI bottle  that weighs  a whopping 6.2 ounces?
when two bottles of mine weigh only 3 ounces!

Nay Masterjester, I won't abandon my faithful companion in favor of a newer, sexier model, even with money contributed - you must have me confused with some politician!

Bottle Banter ;D

/
Mad_Mat wrote on May 20^th, 2010 at 6:14pm:

Nay Masterjester, I won't abandon my faithful companion in favor of a newer, sexier model, even with money contributed - you must have me confused with some politician!

I have no reply to such persuasive arguments. Tis not for me however. I can't imagine a 16 oz anything in my back pocket. I can't even put up with a wallet there.

I wear a web type belt on which my water holster, camera, and aluminum fish pliers/sheath ride. All these items I need on a constant basis. I find the water rides nicely on my hip, the camera is there when I want it and the aluminum pliers are lightweight yet very strong with carbide side cutters for wire. Since I usually run a line the pliers are more or less used several times a day. Once in a while I get some conflict with my big padded waist belt on my pack but not to much.

I wonder who else wears stuff on their belt?

Hey Mat, let's go climb Mt. Rainier. It'll be fun.  8-)

mastertangler wrote on May 24^th, 2010 at 5:42pm:

/ Mad_Mat wrote on May 20th, 2010 at 6:14pm: Hey Mat, let's go climb Mt. Rainier. It'll be fun.  8-)

Guys,
when I ask you to go do something it's just my way of showing I share your interest. Get it? Lighten up, I'm not that scary. "sure, sounds great" is the correct response. Or, "Ya sure, you betcha, don'tcha know" if your from canoe country.

Yeah, climbing it would be fun - but coming back down would be painful, and I'd be moving like an old lady.  my peakbagging days are pretty much over, unless ther's an elk on top.  need to get back on the mt bike to loosen up them old knees I guess!

Actually it's not to bad Mat. I wouldn't do the Hazard route. One day is a 4 mile snowfield to camp Muir, nothing technical, no ropes or crampons. Just a trudge with great views. Then it's a 3 A.M. start with rope and crampons for about 3 hours. Just have to get off before the sun hits the mountain and stuff starts loosening up and falling off. Lots and lots of people climb it. Even old guys like me.

Talking about knees I have an appointment with the Orthopedic surgeon June 7. It hasn't bothered me all winter but I wrenched her pretty well setting up on a fish offshore just recently wearing those stupid croc shoes. My little party is holding their breathe wondering if I'll make the "Q" this July 4th. Good thing the plan is base camping in North Bay, feel good about pulling that off.

Moving like an old lady is not a bad thing. I employ climbing tricks when going up inclines all the time. It seems painfully slow at first but your usually only a few minutes longer. Take a step....take a breathe.......take a step........take a breathe........repeat to the top. I'm never out of breathe on steep places, don't break into a sweat, my legs never quiver from lactic acid build up. In fact sometimes I have old lady's blow by me....."get out of the way sonny!!"  ;D  

 
Quote:

wearing those stupid croc shoes.

 Your climbing adventures makes up for wearing those ( fill in the blank) crocs ;)
Good thing! The knock you'd hear on your door, would be Wally coming to get your MAN-CARD ;D

solotripper wrote on May 26^th, 2010 at 3:46pm:

Quote:  Your climbing adventures makes up for wearing those ( fill in the blank) crocs ;)

Have to set the record straight Big Daddy. A bookshelf of climbing books does not make me a climber. Part of the bucket list.

I love the high country though and back in the "day" was part of a group of hot shot hikers that worked at Mt. Rainier. My claim to fame was a 2 day solo snowshoe up to Camp Muir in the middle of winter. Created a bit of a buzz. Ah, the glory years. I am but a shadow of that fellow now.  :'(

Quote:

My claim to fame was a 2 day solo snowshoe up to Camp Muir in the middle of winter. Created a bit of a buzz. Ah, the glory years. I am but a shadow of that fellow now.

I bet THAT guy wouldn't of been caught DEAD wearing a pair of those Yuppie, re-cycled rubber Hipster Doofus sandals ;D

Time too recapture some the glory, start by ditching the CROCS for good :-[

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Yea I got sucked in.....all the offshore guys wear them. Salt water is tough on footwear, especially with all the hosing down of the decks. That material is impervious. Plus it has a cushioning effect when running in tough seas. My usual choice offshore is a pair of Yachting boots. I still can't figure out why I had those dopey Crocs on.

Oh well, I'm still mobile. I had to get this knee looked at sooner or later.....this presses the issue.  

An ex-girlfriend if mine was a nurse at the local hospital.
I went up there too take her to lunch one day.
It seemed like every nurse/doctor was wearing a pair of them.
My lady friend said they were popular because assorted " bodily fluids" washed off easily :P

A friend of mine has a Podiatrist as a brother-in-law. he loves the Crocs and the Flip-Flops!  Seems his business has increased in direct proportion too there popularity. Lack of proper arch support is the main problem. But, like the ladies pointed toed /stiletto heel shoes, style trumps practicality and foot health every time ;)

Crocs?  They're awesome camp shoes.  Super light.  No problem getting them wet.  Even for someone like me who wears orthotics when walking they're quite comfortable.  Superbutugly, but who cares about fashion out there.

Feet and food.....fetish like indeed. What are Crocks anyways? They make sauerkraut in them right ;D Dont they get a little heavy for camp shoes; tevas for this one with 2 pair of bug proofing socks. Fads they come and go. Food and feet dont, and mine are flat like a pancake :o

This might be the most egregious thread hijack we've had in a long time.

Shoot, my bad.

I know the trend is against freeze dried but I can eat it just fine. I like the mountain house Lasagna and the pasta prima vera. Lightweight, no fuss, completely indestructible packaging and the only mess kit you need is a 16 oz cup to heat water. If I were doing anything over 10 days it would be part of my strategy.

Another big advantage is Mr. Bear won't eat it. When a stray snickers bar gave my stashed food bag away (fortunately we were on our way out ....Sawbill lake) he ate everything but the freeze dried. A single investigative tooth puncture was all it took for him to decide it wasn't up to par. I ended up tossing it but if I were in the backcountry's behind I would be mighty glad to have it.

I think I know that bear.....I have heard him, smelled him, and seen him swim across Zenith. Maybe i am wrong :-?

Kingfisher wrote on May 29^th, 2010 at 11:13am:

This might be the most egregious thread hijack we've had in a long time.

And all I wanted was some lunch lol   Thank you everyone for the now continued advice.

Coffee Talk ;D wait wait Crock talk ;D

mastertangler wrote on May 29^th, 2010 at 12:25pm:

I know the trend is against freeze dried...

Really?  Freeze dried is better than it has ever been and getting better.

My biggest issue with FD is the weight.  Much of it is heavier than my own dehydrated food.

marlin55388 wrote on May 29^th, 2010 at 7:14am:

Food and feet dont, and mine are flat like a pancake :o

I have high arches, and I like tevas too because they are easy to rinse mud out of when they're still on your feet, before you step into the canoe. But some of the web comments I ran across recently suggest that the newer teva models aren't as solidly made as the versions from a few years ago.