Trail or Backpacking meal ideas

Lightweight ingredients are the key to making great meals on the go.  Look for meals that take lightweight equipment too-- and most meals are simply reconstituted dried foods.  Making sure the water is safe on site is the subject of another post, but assuming that one has found a safe water source, or has filtered it sufficiently, allows one to use dehydrated foods without worry.

Meals that don't require cooking can be a combination of dried foods like jerky, dried fruits, nuts, granola, and cereal.  Energy bars are filling and easy to take along.  None of these foods require refrigeration and are lightweight.  Nice and easy!

To satisfy the requirements for the Cooking Merit badge, however, one of the meals that are prepared for Requirement #7 must be cooked using one of the cooking methods in requirement 4.  So these pre-packaged options won't work for both meals.

MRE's will suffice, since adding water and heating will create a meal to share.  Consider any other pre-packaged meal that has you add hot water or cook in boiling water too.  Macaroni and Cheese mixes will work, as well as dried soup mixes, oatmeal packets, flavored rice mixes and other pasta mixes.  Where milk is called for, one could use milk powder and water.  Although water will suffice, it may not be as tasty.  Adding lightweight vegetables to these meals will boost their nutrition and add variety to the meal.  For example, broccoli florets cooked in the boiling water that was used to cook macaroni will add a nice vegetable side for macaroni and cheese.  Eaten with a bit of jerky will round it out.

Eggs can be carried safely in one's pack if packaged well.  (A plastic carrying case works well, even though it doesn't look like it would.)  Adding a raw egg to Ramen soup in the last few minutes of cooking makes it hearty.  Toss in dipping carrots and it's filling and nutritious.

(Note that it is NOT recommended to boil a ziplock bag full of eggs and other ingredients to make an omelet or other meals.  The plastic that compose ziplock bags is not stable and should not be boiled with foods to be consumed.)

Another meal idea is to make up one of the Tuna Helper package meals-- using foil packed tuna.  Consider tossing a handful of vegetables into the hot water after cooking the pasta.  This is such a good way to utilize every part of the cooking process.

For a snack, consider making 'Cereal Dump Trail Mix.'  It's just a combination of the cereals in one's pantry that no one will eat-- like Cheerios, Fruit Loops and the leftovers from Lucky Charms after everyone has eaten the little marshmallow pieces out.  Add to that some nuts, some chocolate chips and mini marshmallows and everyone will want a baggie-full to nibble on as they hike.  This requires some preparation-- how can a counselor consider much preparation for the scout who hands out packaged granola bars to his troop and calls that his snack?  It must be prepared in some way.

To be more health-conscious, consider bagging up a variety of dipping vegetables like carrots, celery, grape tomatoes and broccoli, to nibble on along the trail.  You won't be as popular as the cereal kid, but it will do the job and give your buddies more stamina on the trail.

A flavored beverage will take any weird taste in your treated or filtered water go away. Consider hot cocoa mixes or powdered Gatorade or lemonade mixes.  The variety is endless in the beverage aisle, so be adventurous.

Menu Planning and Evaluation Sheets-- and Bonus Requirement 2c and 2d sheet.

Use these forms to plan your meals.  

Use these forms to evaluate your meals

 Use this form for requirement 2c and 2d.  Note that this sheet is made with 2200 calories-- the amount of calories the average boy from age 9-13 requires.  Go to choosemyplate.gov to find the right amount of daily calories other groups require.  

Backpacking Food Common Sense - Courageous Cookery-- by John Echo

I found this online and thought it was really a great read-- for the common sense suggestions and the relaxed feel of the whole article.  Note that this is taken from several sources, none of which go into much source detail to verify the source or if John Echo is real.  But the advice is good.  I paste it here in hopes it will be helpful to the scouts working on the Cooking Merit Badge.

(( The true author of this article is unknown. It is here copied from the COME HOSTELING newsletter, Sept. 1980, of the Potomac Area Council of the American Youth Hostels, who received it from Dick Schwanke, Senior PAC Staff Trainer, who read it in the APPALACHIAN HIKER by Ed Garvey, who got it from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Conference Bulletin, which quoted it from THE RAMBLER of the Wasatch Montain Club of Salt Lake City, which reportedly cribbed it from the I.A.C. News of Idaho Falls, which reported it from the 1966 PEAKS & TRAILS. I offer it here for your enjoyment and inspiration. Note that some of the ingredients are a bit dated. Adjust as necessary. Enjoy!)) 

"Courageous Cookery" by John Echo* 

Once the convert backpacker or cycle camper has accepted the subtle gustatory nuances associated with sustained operations beyond the chrome, he should try the advantages of ultra fringe living so that he will realize what he is paying for his nested pots and pretty pans carried so diligently and brought home so dirty after every "wilderness experience". The following system works. It is dependable and functional. It works on the big rock. It even works when the weather has gone to h&#%, you are wet and cold and the wind is blowing down the back of your hairy neck. It is not for the timid. It consists of a stove, a six inch sauce pan, a plastic cup and a soup spoon. If you insist on a metal cup, you must never fail to mutter "I'm having fun, I'm having fun", every time you spill the soup on your sleeping bag. 

Breakfast: Instant wheat cereal-- sugar and powdered milk added-- ready two minutes after water boils. Eat from pot. Do not wash pot. Add water, boil, and add powdered eggs and ham. You'll never taste the cereal anyway. In three minutes, eat eggs. Do not wash pot. Add water or snow and boil for tea. Do not wash pot. Most of the residue eggs will come off in the tea water. Make it strong and add sugar. Tastes like tea. Do not wash pot. With reasonable technique, it should be clean. Pack pot in rucksack and enjoy last cup of tea while others are dirtying entire series of nested cookware. 

Lunch: Boil pot of tea. Have snack of rye bread, cheese and dried beef Continue journey in 10 minutes if necessary. 

Dinner: Boil pot of water, add Wylers dried vegetable soup and beef bar. Eat from pot. Do not wash pot. Add water and potatoes from dry potatoe powder. Add gravy mix to taste. Eat potatoes from pot. Do not wash pot. Add water and boil for tea. Fortuitous fish or meat can be cooked easily. You do not need oil or fat. Put half inch of water in pot. Add cleaned and salted fish. Do not let water boil away. Eat from pot when done. Process can be done rapidly. Fish can even be browned somewhat by a masterful hand. 

Do not change menu. Variation only recedes from the optimum. Beginners may be allowed to wash pot once a day for three consecutive days only. It is obvious that burning or sticking food destroys the beauty of the technique. If you insist on carrying a heavier pack, make up the weight you save with extra food. Stay three days longer.