Re: [at-l] Intro and food question.

["Jim Mayer" <jmayer@rochester.rr.com>]

There are a bunch of posts in the archives on vegetarian trail food.  I know
I made a number of posts myself (although I'm not a vegetarian my trail food
is).  I'm hard pressed to think why meat would give any nutritional
advantage while hiking... protein is easy to balance on the trail (think
beans and rice, etc.), and dried veggies are easy.  The only pitfall I can
think of is not getting enough calories, and that can be fixed with some
nuts and a bottle of olive oil (or squeeze margerine).

For breakfast I usually go with musli (the sort with lots of oats, nuts, and
dried fruit) or granola.  Sometimes I add extra nuts or sunflower seeds.  I
used to mix it with instant milk forified with "non dairy creamer."  This
summer I started using a powdered soy beverage called "Better Than Milk;"  I
pre-mix it with the musli.  After that, all I have to do is add hot or cold
water, mix, and eat.  I prefer the "Better Than Milk" to instant milk.

I've also made "waybread," and rather enjoyed it.  Particularly when smeared
liberally with peanut butter.  Be sure that you have lots of water before
you try it, though.

Lunch for me is mostly gorpish stuff.

For dinners I generally make "one pot" meals of the "add boiling water"
variety.  I usually start with some combination of the following:

o Fantastic Foods instant refried black beans, refried beans, and hummus.

o TVP

o If you have a dehydrator, you can cook and dry lentils or any small bean.
Lentils rehydrate the fastest though 'cause they are so small.  Dried,
cooked, lentils are wonderfully versatile... you can make anything from
lentil/rice dishes to lentil soup with them on the trail.  Plus they pack
down compactly.

o Dried veggies.  You're better off if you dry them yourself, because you
can cut them thin that way.  The secret is cutting everything very thin,
because then it rehydrates quickly.  Carrots, onions, potatos, and even
zuchinii work well.  Greens (spinach, swiss chard, etc.) crumble but are
very good, especially in Indian inspired trail food.  Crushed tomatoes,
dried and chopped (one of those little electric coffee mills with cutting
blades works well) are GREAT... they add lots of flavor.

o Instant rice, cous-cous, instant mashed potatos, pasta, etc.

o Useful spices include curry powder, chili powder, onion powder, garlic
powder, salt.

o Dried fruit is a must.  It adds texture and variety to what would
otherwise be depressingly homogeneous "one pot" meals.

o Dried apples are great... I like granny smiths dipped in lemon juice and
dried till they snap.

o Nuts, sunflower seeds, etc. add fat, protein, texture, and a nice flavor.

o Instant "cheese" powder... this is the stuff you find in macaroni and
cheese boxes.  You can buy it separately, and it is particularly good with
potatos.

o Bacon bits would probably be cool... I've never brought them, but I really
should.  They'd add a nice crunch on top of a meal.

o Olive oil.

o There is a brand of freeze dried vegetables called "Just Veggies" that are
really good.  You can eat them like popcorn (I got tired of that though), or
can throw them into a "one pot" meal.  The same company makes various sorts
of dried fruit under the "Just Fruit" label.  "Just Fruit" is awesome...
they don't add sugar (most dried stuff is too sweet for me) and they dry it
to the point where, for example, the apples are crispy.  I can get both at
our local supermarket.  The only problem with the "Just XYZZY" is that it is
expensive.

My usual cooking style is to:

(1) add the veggies and anything that needs to rehydrate to the pot with a
measured amount of cold water.
(2) bring it to a boil.
(3) add everything else (TVP, cous-cous, instant rice, etc.)
(4) return to a boil and let sit in a "pot cozy" (anything to keep the pot
warm... I use a cover made from "reflectix", a sort of aluminum foil covered
bubble wrap).
(5) eat.

Pasta is a little different... the trick with pasta is to add "just enough"
water at the start and bring it to a boil.  Then, when you remove it from
the heat, it will finish cooking.  If you get it just right you'll be left
with sauce.  If you add too much water don't worry, just think soup.

I've also been known to cheat and pack pop-tarts, snicker's bars, etc.

And, of course, for the first day or two after a resupply a pack of pita
bread and the instant hummus is REALLY good.

All this stuff is vegetarian, and most of it is probably Vegan (but as a non
vegetarian I don't know the "rules" for vegan cooking).  It is also low in
saturated fat (though explicitly NOT low in fat), balances out the protein
pretty well, and has lots of variety.

My only really awful experience was with some brand of instant chili back
when I was just getting started and experimenting more.  All I can say is
that it was a good thing I was hiking solo, and a bad thing that I was using
a bivy sack.  The stuff tasted fine, but it wasn't worth it.  I use a tarp
now, but there's still no way I'll try that stuff again.

-- Jim

----- Original Message -----
From: "kahley 7" <kahley7@ptd.net>