FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Thoughts on Food.

While backpacking and exploring the country-side, there is a piece of gear I refuse to compromise on- food. Leaving the comforts of civilization behind does not mean you have to eat bland foods every day.

While I may not have the lightest of packs, I am on the lighter side compared to half the people I meet on the trail. I spend time, money, and effort in cutting out extra grams from my gear, but not just to carry less weight. I do it because for every gram I cut from my pack is another gram of food I can bring. Since my recent indulgence on getting lighter gear, I felt I could splurge even more on food, allowing me to experiment some. In my most recent trip to Yosemite, I decided to try some new foods out.

PLANNING: 

Something I feel I lack when I’m backpacking is protein. I hate carb loading without having any protein to back up the burn. I bought a dehydrator, and set out to make my own jerky.

After testing the dehydrator on some strawberries and bananas, I grabbed a nice chunk of California Tri-tip and cut it into 3/8” strips. I threw them into a Ziploc bag, poured a beer in, and let it sit overnight.

Sadly, that was my first mistake.

That process works great if you were to grill it the next day. Unfortunately, dehydrators strip much of that flavor, and nothing would be added in the cooking process unless you have the seasonings out there. I should have marinated it in teriyaki and salted it after, but this was a learning process.

It was a five day trip, so I simply split the pieces evenly into five bags.

Then I thought- “What else would go with tri-tip?”

Carbs were easy to come by. Vegetables weren’t.

I bought some spinach, took five handfuls and placed those into a Ziploc bag with napkins to catch any moisture.

Dinner- check.

For lunch, I went for a home staple- Peanut butter and Jam sandwiches. I made the sandwiches, going as far as to use different jams for different days. I zipped up each in their own separate bags and tossed them into my bear canister. I bought some packages of dehydrated milk to round out the meals.

Since I was already bringing milk, I figured that would allow me another luxury breakfast- cereal. I grabbed four handfuls of cheerios, added some sugar, and threw them into Ziploc bags. I measured out the milk I’d need, and called it good.

Then I stared at the bananas. I could afford the weight, right?

It didn’t matter. Don’t mess with my food.

I grabbed two bananas, split them and wrapped the stems with plastic wrap. Why? Well, if you haven’t heard of the trick, I’ll spare you the scientific reasoning. When you buy a bundle of bananas, split them individually and wrap the stems in plastic. It helps them keep longer.

Scientific explanation: When harvested, the stem releases a chemical that promotes aging, to help the fruit decay and seed. The more breaks in the peel, the more the chemical is released, and the faster it’ll brown and age- also the reason why food will age faster when next to older fruit. When you wrap the stem in plastic, it prevents that chemical from spreading, slowing the aging process.

So, I threw three whole bananas in my bear canister. Because I could.

Just for spite, I grabbed a handful of fresh strawberries to add to the lot. I love having fruit cut up into my cereal.

Then I topped everything off with some snickers bars.

Not a bad meal plan for backpacking, I thought to myself.

EXPERIENCE:

Day 1: Dinner- I only had to worry about dinner, since we had started late. That night, I cut up the strip of tri-tip and put them into my jetboil. The dehydrated tri-tip texture was better than any jerky I’d had. The taste was the worst. It was bland, with no spice. I didn’t realize how much flavor was lost during the dehydration, and basically the meat tasted like old beer. The spinach, though, was one of my best choices. It held very well, and it was nice to have some fresh vegetables out there. While everyone else cooked up top ramen, I was loading up on protein and vitamins.

Day 2: Breakfast- I tried my first stab at the cereal with dehydrated milk. It wasn’t bad, but thinking back I should have added more sugar. The amount I added was my usual amount for home, but having a vitamin and protein heavy dinner left me craving sugar and carbs. The banana quickly made up for it. I decided to go for the banana first, since I figured it was the heaviest and wouldn’t last as long as the strawberries- a mistake I’d later regret.

Day 2: Lunch- That afternoon, I pulled out the peanut butter and jam sandwich, which was in surprisingly good shape. I mixed up some milk and called it a pretty good choice.

Day 2: Dinner- That night, I decided I was over the bland tri-tip. I offered to share my dinner with my friend, if he’d do the same. His top ramen and salami meal mixed well with my tri-tip and spinach. For dessert, I got a stick of string cheese in exchange for a snickers bar. The meal was actually tasteful and nutritious, becoming the staple for the next two nights.

Day 3: Breakfast- Since the bananas were keeping so well, I went for the strawberries the next day. Unfortunately, they had gotten fairly squished. The taste was what mattered though, and they held fine in that department. I started to get my mixtures with the milk down a little better- I realized it tasted much better when I added 1/3 more mix than suggested.

Day 3: Lunch- The strawberries weren’t the only foodstuffs to get squished. The PB&J sandwiches were also victims of the pressure. The bread had gotten soggy from the jam, but it still tasted good.

Day 3: Dinner- We mixed dinners once again, the spinach still holding well.

Day 4: Breakfast- I ate the last banana that morning, still longing for more sugar.

Day 4: Lunch- My sandwiches were looking pretty ratty. It was basically peanut butter with soggy bread.

Day 4: Dinner- If you read my write-up on the trip, you’ll remember how we met up with others, and they started cooking gourmet meals. I mixed the last of my tri-tip and spinach in with them, and had one of the best meals on a backpacking trip- couscous, onions, broccoli, red onions, bell peppers, tri-tip chunks, mushrooms, and various spices. I am now a believer in mixing meals. The results are far more tasteful than anything you’d bring for just yourself.

Day 5: Breakfast- It was at this point we realized our five day trip was turning into a six day trip, and I’d have to ration my food. I had a half of a bowl of cereal. The bananas were gone, but had held really well. The strawberries were still there, but were no longer edible. Smashed into a mush, they looked like they were going rotten. I was wholly disappointed, especially having carried their heavy weight for so long. I simply chucked them into the fire, and ate the cereal by itself.

Day 5: Lunch- I learned my lesson. I knew the bread would have gone soggy with it premade, but I thought it was something I could handle. Now I know to keep the ingredients separate and make it there. The peanut butter jam mush that I had was still better than the cereal, but I gave serious consideration to simply skipping lunch. Michael and Jose had an excess supply of food they were happy to share, which led to pita bread and cheese snacks.

Day 5: Dinner- I was then out of food. I had planned for five days, and had expected to be eating pizza and beer in some restaurant at that moment. That did not mean I was disappointed though. We had another gourmet meal provided by our chef, and savored each bite. We even topped off the meal with chocolate and peanut butter.

Day 6: Breakfast- I used up the last of my cereal that I had rationed out, along with the last of the milk. Everyone finished their meals and we hiked out the last few miles.

EVALUATION:

So, the experimentation was worth it, and I had learned a lot. I’ll bring bananas, but not strawberries. I’ll bring PB&J again, but have the ingredients separated. I’ll bring the dehydrated milk again, but measure it out differently. I’ll bring more carbohydrates, but I’ll aim to bring a lot of protein and vitamin-filled foods. 

Spinach was by far my best choice, and will be a staple on each trip from now on. The dehydrated meat was great, but it will be prepared much differently. I’ll bring back the staple oatmeal with raisins, but as a backup meal.

My next set of experiments will include:

Steak Burritos- Dehydrated beans, dehydrated meat, string cheese, and tortillas.

Eggs and Pancakes- Bring the mix ready to go, with small packets of syrup. Bring an actual egg.

Breakfast burrito- Eggs, potatoes, tortillas, and whatever else I can think of.