Fabulous Foods for Backpacking Directory Page
This is your home base for all the videos in the Georgia Series
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Welcome to my world of Fabulous Foods for Backpacking!
Since 2006, I’ve been preparing my own fresh foods for backpacking trips. I had walked about 700 miles of the Appalachian Trail, experimenting with commercially available foods. I enjoyed whole foods at home – plenty of vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fish. I wanted to eat just as well on the trail as I did at home.
I researched the calorie density of whole foods and compiled a list of all the foods I wanted to eat, listing them in order according to their calories per gram. Olive oil and brazil nuts were on top, and the values descending from there with other nuts, dried fruits, grains, proteins, and vegetables being low on the scale. I built my menu with that in mind. After a lot of complicated calculating, weighing, and menu planning, I discovered an easy way to estimate my food calories, an important task for a serious backpacker intent on getting the highest food value with the lowest weight! I discovered that most foods that I wanted to pack provided about 200 calories in each 1/2 cup. I could hold that amount in one hand. One “hand” of food would give me about 200 calories !
I had discovered the 10 Hands per day way of packing. I could visually estimate my food, making sure that I had AT LEAST 10 Hands of food, giving me a minimum of 2000 calories per day. Now, you’ve heard that backpackers need 3,000 – 4,000 calories a day, right?
Have you ever tried to eat that much? I did. For my 2007 thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, I started out my trip with that much food – about 14 lbs for the Hundred-Mile Wilderness section.
I couldn’t eat it! As the miles wore down on that 7-month trip, and through the miles and days of the next five years and over 6,000 miles of long-distance hiking, I’ve discovered that 1.5 – 2 lbs of food per day gives me ample nourishment to walk happily. That breaks down to 2000-2500 calories.
I also discovered that if I chose whole, unprocessed foods for those calories that I felt more satisfied on the trail. I didn’t crave extreme foods like ice cream, a common binge food for backpackers. With whole foods, prepared with variety, and combined right on the trail, my meals became part of the alluring landscape of life on the trail. My food was so interesting that I took pictures of it, served up on my scarf laid out as a tablecloth, with beautiful scenery in the background as I “dined out.” There’s a book in there! But, that’s a project for another day.
In this series of short videos, I want to share with you how I prepare some of my favorite whole foods for satisfying nourishment on the trail. I hope you enjoy watching, learning, and especially preparing your own backpacking foods.
Use these ideas, ask questions and give feedback in the Comments Section of each page to let me know how to make my Fabulous Foods for Backpacking even more useful! Let me know how your foods turn out!
For a short time, I’m offering this program at a Choose-Your-Own-Value price! Evaluate what this information gives you in new ideas, weight saving, trail nourishment and satisfaction, and money-saving! Some of these foods are unavailable anywhere but your own kitchen! Your support of my project allows me to provide even more in my next series of videos! Just click on the “Donate” button below to pay. And thanks!
After you Donate, you can return to this page by clicking “Return to the Website”! Come on in and let’s get started!
And Now, The Videos! Watch all Five
in the Georgia Series
Hummus: Regina’s favorite staple food on the trail. Use it for a lunch spread or soup base. Good protein, fat, and taste!
https://forgivenesswalks.com/fabulous-foods-for-backpacking-video-series/fabulous-foods-for-backpacking-hummus/
Pumpkin Pie:
Delicious specialty food for any time of day. It’s spicy and warming, festive, and easy. Enjoy Thanksgiving on the trail any day!
https://forgivenesswalks.com/fabulous-foods-for-backpacking-video-series/fabulous-foods-for-backpacking-pumpkin-pie/
Raw Tomato Sauce
Use this fresh-tasting, savory sauce on noodles or couscous, as a soup base, or even a veggie roll-up by itself or filled.
https://forgivenesswalks.com/fabulous-foods-for-backpacking-video-series/fabulous-foods-for-backpacking-rawuncooked-tomato-sauce/
Pineapple
https://forgivenesswalks.com/fabulous-foods-for-backpacking-video-series/fabulous-foods-for-backpacking-pineapple/
Mixed Vegetables
https://forgivenesswalks.com/fabulous-foods-for-backpacking-video-series/fabulous-foods-for-backpacking-vegetables/
Information and links for dehydrators
Excalibur Dehydrators: The dehydrator that Regina uses. Features 9 trays with over 15 square feet of dehydrating space. Be sure to choose the unit with a thermostat so you can dehydrate both cooked and raw foods!
http://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/
For a Limited Time: Introductory offer!