I built my own meals at home, dehydrated soups and meals like Hamburger Helper type. Egg Beaters is super but it turns an odd color. Egg Beaters with Reindeer sauge. Oatmeal with bacon. Get creative. Dehydrate or buy dehydrated meats. I would cook up burger, moose or beef, pork, caribou, chicken, etc and then suck the life out of it. Store bought is better at being dehydrated but home taste better. I place one complete meal in a 1 qt freeze zip lock bag. When I say complete it is, mix, meat, seasoning everything but water. Place the complete meal bags in a larger food bag, either a large zip or turkey roast cooking bag that also can be used in for things in the back country.
Now in the backcountry, boil water and pour it in the zip lock, seal it up and let it sit. If you place the bag inside your cook pot with a little hot water left in, it will lose less heat and hydrate a little quicker. We / I would eat out of the bag unless I was guiding and my charge (client) did not want to then I would pour the food into his mug. The used zip locks become daily trash bags. If possible, I would burn the trash bag and stuff the ash in another bag with no food residue or bury it. No the plastic does not melt during cooking in boiling water.
Now for super food, buy a can of cinnamon rolls. Place a few in a plastic bag, place that bag inside your pot with a little boiling water, about an inch deep, keep the boil going and until you get practice, the amount of water so you may have to add a little at a time to keep the boil. Yep, cinnamon rolls in the backcountry. A can of biscuits will provide fresh bread, doughnuts and crust for pizzas cooked the same way. Its a heavy meal but my charges loved it when they woke up to hot cinnamon rolls or in camp after a hard day, decompress for pizza.
Another favorite is fried bagels. Just like it sounds, I would use squeeze butter in a pan, squeeze it on bagels, and then fry bagels in the pan. Drop some sugar, cinnamon, pack of restaurant jelly, choco chips, etc and gourmet in the backcountry.
I carried cans of Pringles too. The tube does not crush and the empty tube has other uses. Fairly light food for the calories.
For heavy trips, pepperoni, grated cheese, and such always adds flavor. I almost always take a bottle of squeeze butter, flavors everything and adds fat calories, only on super light pushes and then its everything cut down and superlight. Instant rice and potato flakes add mass and volume for no weight plus calories but its fast burn calorie.
That is a start, if I can think and anything else I will add it on but main point is, be creative and look and think. Store bought backcountry food is junk compared to what can be made from home.
Lastly, Logan Bread has just about the most calories per ounce of food weight there is. Taste good too.
I had two different types of food, guiding would be a heavier food so I could treat charges right. And then super light, pure super light calories, taste not so much of a thought.
good luck
Last edited:
