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Backpacking Recipes - The Simplest
by Steve Gillman I need simple
backpacking recipes because there is never a stove in my
backpack, even on week-long trips in the wilderness. I often
backpack with less than fifteen pounds total pack weight,
and total means all food, water - everything. It's often in
a daypack, so I don't have much room for a stove and fuel
canisters.
I also don't want the extra weight. I
don't want the extra trouble of cooking either. I prefer to
spend my time to hiking and exploring and picking wild
berries. I leave the stove home. If you've considered doing
the same, try some of the following simple backpacking
recipes to add a little variety to that diet of crackers,
nuts and granola.
Peanut Butter And Wild Fruit
Peanut butter is a great backpacking food
because it is so high in calories for the weight. Put some
on a wheat cracker and top it with a few wild strawberries
or raspberries for a healthy treat. My wife and I have eaten
as many as nine different kinds of berries on one day hike,
so you can have quite a variety of taste sensations with
this plan.
If it isn't the season for wild fruit, you
can bring along a handful of jelly packets borrowed from
your favorite restaurant. If you bring jam or jelly from
home, ditch the heavy glass jar, of course. Jelly in a small
plastic tub will be lighter and safer, and should stay fresh
for at least a few days.
Trail Mixes
A good trail mix is one of the most
convenient backpacking foods. Here's my recipe for a good
one: Mix peanuts, sunflower seeds, chocolate chips, and
raisins in any proportions you like. Taste and adjust the
quantities. Add whatever else you can think of and taste it
again. Is that simple enough?
A Full Dinner Backpacking Recipe
Want a delicious dinner in the middle of
the wilderness without cooking? Pack whole wheat crackers
and two types of cheese. Hard cheeses, like a good smoked
gouda last longest. Bring a foil pouch of tuna. These don't
have to be refrigerated. Put a few olives in a zippered
plastic bag with a small handful of baby carrots. Then get a
boxed wine, drink all but about four glasses, remove the bag
from the box and pack that.
Have this special meal on your first or
second night out, while the carrots and cheese are still
good. Prepare crackers with tuna on then. If you come across
some wild onions, sprinkle some chopped up leaves or bulbs
on these. Prepare crackers with the two types of cheeses and
top these with the olives. The baby carrots will be ready to
eat as is, and will have been flavored by the olive juices.
Enjoy it all with a water bottle half full
of wine (I never carry a cup). The wine bag, by the way, can
then be used to carry up to six quarts of water, or can be
blown up and used (wrap in a sweater) as a pillow. These
bags weigh less than three ounces and are very tough.
Salad Recipe
Backpacking doesn't have to mean giving up
fresh foods, not even if you go really light. Throw a few
carrots and radishes in a plastic bag and they're usually
good for at least several days. Add some edible wild greens,
like dandelion leaves, and some wild onion or peeled and
chopped young thistle stalks, and you have a salad. Carry
you veggies in a large zippered plastic bag, for easy
mixing.
For dressing, get one of those eight-ounce
plastic water bottles. These weigh less than an ounce and
don't take too much room. Put a few ounces of olive oil in
it (a great high-calorie backpacking food), an ounce of wine
vinegar (or any other vinegar), and a pinch of salt, pepper
and oregano. Add a touch of honey if you like it sweet, and
a bit of cayenne pepper if you like it hot.
This should be enough for two salads. Just
wash your salad ingredients, put them in the bag, add some
dressing, close and shake. You can eat it right from the
bag. The salad dressing container can be used as an extra
water bottle when it is empty. I like backpacking recipes
that keep it light, and multi-use containers help with this.
Copyright Steve Gillman. Get ideas for
Vegan Backpacking Food, and the free ebook, "Ultralight
Backpacking Secrets" (And Wilderness Survival Tips, as well
as gear recommendations, and a new wilderness survival
section, at: http://www.The-Ultralight-Site.com
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steven_Gillman
Like this article? You may also
enjoy:
Ultralight Backpacking,
Breakfast Recipes, Lightest
Foods, and Vegetarian
Recipes by Steve Gillman; as well asEating
without Cooking by Ed Stiles
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