Vantage wrote:Have you considered beans on toast? Beans keep good for a couple days as does butter for the bread which is both lightweight and packs flat...kinda. Can be toasted on one of these... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004VW0Y1S/ ... Hzb1ED1S1X
I have two and they make (if you do it properly) the nicest toast. Far better than the **** poor job any electric toaster does.
I bet you dont use a wood burner stove ( unless you also like sooted toast?)
Sweep wrote:Looks interesting vantage though gather that the mesh is a consumable.
How practical is it for carrying on a bike?
I do like toast of a morning when at home but need to limit my clutter when bike touring.
Yes very much consumable. When it does go the whole grill is useless...unless replacement mesh can be found and refitted. Ive not found any yet. I've no idea how many tea cakes and rounds of toast my first one managed but it wasn't short lived. It did me, the fiancee and three kiddies between us on several camping trips.
It folds flat and if you keep it in it's packaging it'll keep longer. I just slide it between the pannier backplate and something soft (clothes/sleeping bag) or anything non-pointy. I havent broken one yet.
Bill
“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” ~ Eddy Merckx It's a rich man whos children run to him when his pockets are empty.
Vantage wrote:Have you considered beans on toast? Beans keep good for a couple days as does butter for the bread which is both lightweight and packs flat...kinda. Can be toasted on one of these... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004VW0Y1S/ ... Hzb1ED1S1X
I have two and they make (if you do it properly) the nicest toast. Far better than the **** poor job any electric toaster does.
I bet you dont use a wood burner stove ( unless you also like sooted toast?)
Nope. As far as I can tell, they're designed to be used on small camping gas stoves.
Bill
“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” ~ Eddy Merckx It's a rich man whos children run to him when his pockets are empty.
Heltor Chasca wrote:Popcorn. Uncooked. Rice. Uncooked or those par-boiled Uncle Ben's. Cous cous. Pasta. Chorizo sausage or other dried sausage. Fruit. I love fruit. Muesli bars.
And very soon I will be experimenting with supplementing a meal a day (and if pushed 2) with ... Huel. Has anybody tried this stuff? So long as you can get water it should work.
Even on a recent 4 day tour I found I didn't have enough food off-road and up on the Ridgeway and I think Huel would have been ideal.
someone did a program with Huel in it and it didn't fare very well in the longevity tests by the testers who got sick of it very quickly, complan would have the same effect and be available in most chemists - vanilla flavour too, datrex lifeboat biscuits are probably more versatile or just a bag of oats and milk powder. I have power bars, fizzy cola laces and military high energy biscuit things as my just in case food, two days calories are smaller than a paperback book though a tad boring and you need a lot of water. I also have some arctic ration packs that are handy and indestructible while tasting really good.
I got used to carrying the extra weight of food as I saw the value in it, its easier on the bike so I'll continue. I've been watching a lot of darren alff lately and noticed his terrible diet (for a vegetarian even worse) and the fact that he now appears to be suffering after 17 years of it.
I have wondered about getting a few days worth of freeze dried meal kits to bury in the bottom of a bag so I have the option of eating that or buying fresher if available, katadyn do something called trek n eat in a day ration pack for the german army which is really good and about 4000 calories so you can stretch it out. expedition food is not cheap as its the same price as a decent takeaway for a mediocre experience but being able to live in your bag for 3 years is handy.
I suppose the debate is the more weight the more calories you will burn so the more food you need to carry ad infinitum, but there's nothing worse than being chinstrapped, needing a proper meal and knowing you can't have one.
Just to go back to the OP, given that water availability is not a problem, the lightest option is undoubtedly dehydrated food.
There's a stack of good advice on the interspaz, mostly backpacking sites.
Given the high cost of commercially available dehydrated food (and the variable quality of same) have you considered getting a dehydrator and doing it yourself? You do need to be able to cook (obviously) but the results can be really good. I have adapted a Gordon Ramsey Shepherd's Pie recipe for home dehydrating and I think the man himself would approve.
I've just decided to do 12 days in yorkshire late sept, although I don't need to (as its hardly the wilds of dagestan) I'm going to self support for most of the way as a bit of a training exercise so have also been looking at food with fervour and interest as I haven't done so for a while and have been reading the journals of the trail hikers in the states who prep their food months in advance then send ahead for resupply en route. I can take ration packs (at 1.7kg ea) but the fun is finding alternatives so a trip to morrisons picked up polish chicken spread, crispbakes, honey roasted peanut butter, flavoured instant mash, meusli, smooth porridge oats, fruit and nut with choccy raisins mix, squeezy cheese, powdered full milk and choccy milk, pasta sauces, cup noodles, semolina, custard mixes and numerous snack bars. considered boil in the bag rice but the pre cooked packets are cheap enough now and flavoured, you just boil em up in the pouch and poundland has 'look what I found' meatballs in gravy in at the moment and plenty of snack bars. they also do a cheap nonstick cooking sheet that can be cut to fit frying pans and reduce the sticking and burning.
as I was alone all weekend with the solar panels chugging along I tried some oven dehydrating to see what I can do with pasta n sauces. mushrooms, onions are a doddle as is cabbage, broccoli, peas, carrot and peppers. ham and beef jerky took a little longer, tuna is very smelly and goes like sawdust, I was warned off proper chicken but chicken roll dries out and rehydrates very nicely. apples and bananas work quite well as the sugar content helps preserve it so it doesn't have to be brittle crispy. you can also dry cooked rice to make it easier on camp apparently but I haven't tried it yet. before I go I'll open the tops of the pasta mixes, chuck in the dried stuff, milk powder if required and a knob of butter if I am not taking half a pat with me then tape them back up (although they are edible without butter and even milk). breakfast oats and supper muesli goes in sandwich bags with milk powder.
dehydrating in simple terms you put the oven on low as will go so around 50-60 degrees, put the food on non stick trays or parchment and prop the door slightly open with a spoon or similar. turn over every now and again to stop it sticking and dry out the other side. onions and tuna are stinky though so make sure the wife is out. some veg are better and cheaper if you take frozen veg then dry them, otherwise you have to blanche them first. so peas, broccoli, cauliflower need precooking, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes don't. fruits don't though might need a lemon juice bath to stop them going brown.
pesto pasta with onion, mushroom, broccoli and chicken worked out very well. tomato and herb with onions, mushrooms, tuna and a few sachets of mayo is also very tasty. cheese and broccoli with extra broccoli and onion is a staple in our house and dried veg was little different. chicken and mushroom works very well, going to try mac n cheese with jerky next. it is long winded and faffy but having had awful expedition food in the past it is worth the effort as there's nothing worse than not wanting to eat whats in front of you.
I can make up retort style pouches on the move with toaster bags and clipits so I don't have to lug tins about (it lasts a good week sealed up', some foods are worth it like princess corned beef hash with some decent baked beans, brown sauce and fresh bread. waitrose do packet fondue which is fun when eaten with a baguette cut lengthways, a non stick pan is better for this as it is messy unless you set up a bain marie.
puddings can be fun but cake or mars bars with custard do the job, instant semolina with a jam sachet or even boiled rice with sugar or condensed milk fills a hole on a hard day.
for an emergency energy snack then smooth oats (ready brek) with dried milk and sugar is cheap and 400 calories or so, I prefer it cold but I've been that way since I was 7.
I've been looking at flask cooking and sandwich style bag cooking too, it took nearly two hours to make flask rice pudding but it did turn out okay eventually and boil in the bag omelette is different but at least it doesn't mess the pan up. I'm going to try pre soaking meals to see what they do as far as pasta and rice goes. unless the weather goes cold I don't think I'll bother with a flask set up.
I plan to take a regular 500ml pop bottle for either storing fresh milk or making up powdered Nido milk. and either a water bladder or flattened 2l pop bottles to stock up at free water sources like cemeteries, cafes, canal side taps and drinking fountains for later on.
after I had made up 9 days of home made ration packs I found it interesting that I did not save that much weight and did lose a fair bit of space due to the fragility of some items and bulky things but if I didn't have the option of free rat packs then it would be much cheaper than buying them. I'd like to go back to norway and iceland but know how expensive they are so making my own light weight food is viable if I can't nip across the border to stock up. it's a shame that freeze dried food is soooo expensive here, and many things common even in europe like tinned butter are very hard to find.
just out of interest I haven't found a recipes thread anywhere is it something worth a sticky in the camping section where we can share recipes, techniques and web sites?
Really interesting, educational thread this, thanks everyone for the tips. However, I'd be interested in people's ideas for food with a low / no carb content as I don't function well on sugary food, bread, rice etc. Any thoughts on high protein/ fatty foods?
Dehydrating mince meat works well - add some bread crumbs to ease rehydration. Dehydrated kiwi fruit too is good - bitter but a good contrast to sugary things. Aldi do a dehydrated mango .. fair, but sugary and expensive. I have not tried to dehydrate mango myself.
Fat does not dehydrate much, so no real help for that.
Cooking with sticky stuff? I do cheese ... powdered parmesan .. put it on last as a topping and don't mix it up. This keeps it off the pan so you don't have it stick to the pan, and the heat melts it nicely.
Kapalasa wrote:Really interesting, educational thread this, thanks everyone for the tips. However, I'd be interested in people's ideas for food with a low / no carb content as I don't function well on sugary food, bread, rice etc. Any thoughts on high protein/ fatty foods?
Would that not hinder your progress? you need carbs to function so should find one that works for you. my first week out after years away I heeded the protein within half an hour of stopping for the day so packed a massive bag of home made ham jerky to snack on.
peanut butter might be your way out though. boiled eggs as well as packed full of energy or of course the full english breakfast. your recovery times might be slower and you'll probably suffer after three hours or thirty miles - ish
smooth oats might work better for you than porridge.
dried fruit as well. choccy nuts and raisins mix.
Last edited by crazydave789 on 8 Oct 2017, 12:35am, edited 1 time in total.
having just spent two weeks on the stuff, nestle NIDO dried whole milk is awesome compared to the usual dried skimmed stuff. spoons straight into hot drinks and hydrates in cereal instantly with a decent flavour.
twice as much but its got a permanent place in my cupboard now.
