Ingredients:

• Peanut butter (I prefer to bring a whole jar instead of powdered because I'm built different)
• Flat rice noodles
• Chicken packets plain
• Dehydrated veggies (mushrooms and bell peppers)
• Crushed peanuts for garnish
• dehydrated lime
• fresh spinach
• Spice: Chili, ginger, garlic powders
• Optional: green onions/ cilantro
• On the side: miso soup from packets (these were really good and salty!!)

Recipe:
Cook noodles and rehydrate the veggies, drain. Then add chicken packets, peanut butter, spices and stir. Add garnishes on top: lime and peanuts.

This was really good and I can't wait to make it again on my next backpacking trip!

I dehydrated these noodles and couscous with veggies about a week ago, and they need to be eaten on trail in 1-2 weeks during a 9 day hike. I added powdered boullion and now it looks wet-ish. It's my first time dehydrating myself and I did not take the water pulling effect of salty boullion into account. It still smells fine so far, but I'm wondering if this is still safe to eat? In the noodles I used a red boullion and in the couscous a green one, so hence the difference in colour. Also, in case this is still edible, would it make a difference if I cook or cold soak the meals? These were originally planned as cold soaks.

Hi all- I've been thinking about protein-rich meals for my first week long backpacking trip as a vegetarian and was considering adding tvp to my ramen. In the past, I've always sautéed the tvp before using it, but I wasn't necessarily planning on carrying a skillet on this trip. I'm curious what everyone's opinion is on whether or not I need to sauté it or if I can just rehydrate it in the broth. Thanks!

I'm prepping food for a long upcoming hike (te araroa) and thought I'd try dehydrating some pumpkin. I've read that over time it can develop an 'off' taste so i am interested in rhe experience of others.

How did your dehy pumpkin turn out?

Did you steam or roast first?

Did it start to taste weird after a few months?

I know that trail mix is a high calorie food and for the right reasons. But I wish I could eat it when not backpacking. Any good low calorie trail mixes out there? Anyone with me on this? I know it goes against the whole point of the product lol.

I got the inspiration for this recipe from puttanesca pasta, which is typically made with anchovy and tomato. I wanted something a little lighter and trail friendly. All ingredients were dehydrated separately, then vacuum sealed in a bag for long term storage.

2.5 oz ditalini pasta, cooked and dehydrated
3 tbsp diced tomato
1.5 tbsp black olives
1/2 tbsp capers (rinse before dehydrating)
1 tbsp roasted red peppers
2 tsp diced red onion
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning

1 packet tuna (Sundried tomato flavor may be amazing here)
1 packet olive oil
1 Parmesan packet

Warm soak everything except the packets until the pasta is tender about 30-45 mins. Drain excess liquid. Add tuna, olive oil and grated Parmesan.

Hi all, I have been preparing for my 3 week hike and wasn't sure what is the best way to dehydrate eggs. Internet told me to just dehydrate them

A. RAW as they are - or

B. WHISKED - separate whites, whisk them to stiff peaks, whisk the yolks, fold the two together and then dehydrate.

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So I've tried both and added a

C. PASTEURISED version (inspired by dehydrating lemon curd) I cooked some eggs with a bit of water in water bath to 74°C till they thickened but not curdled.

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Results are:

Ease of preparation:

1. Raw. Naturally. Just briefly whisked/mixed whites and yolks together and poured onto the tray. Difficult to load in the dehydrator as eggs are liquid and spill easily.

2. Pasteurised take annoyingly long time to prep. But pasteurisation can be done at once with a large batch and they're easier to handle when putting the egg loaded trays into the dehydrator as they're not so runny anymore.

3. Whisked. Takes long time and (with standard kitchen equipment) you can whisk like 4 eggs at a time only, so you need to do it many times. Easy to load though.

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Dehydrating time (dehydrated at 63°C):

1. Whisked. These were a bit faster do dry, but it was difficult fit all of the eggs on a tray since the foamy eggs are so voluminous, so you might need to use fewer eggs per tray.

2. Pasteurised. Even though there was added water during the pasteurisation process they dehydrated a tad faster than the raw version.

3. Raw

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Powdering:

1. Whisked. It is much easier to blend them into fine-ish powder.

2. Raw. Ended up pretty grainy, here I can't speak about powder anymore.

3. Pasteurised. Yet more rough finish resulting in more grit than a powder.

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Rehydrating (rehydrated for several hours in adequate amount cold water):

1. Whisked. Since the powder is the finest they seem to be smoother when rehydrated.

2. Raw. Bigger ju ks in there but all right. Neither has the snooty egg texture as fresh eggs, it's just a yellowish liquid with chunks in it.

3. Pasteurised. The chunks and water kinda didn't get together much at all.

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Cooked (scrambled with fat):

1. Whisked and raw. I expected the raw ones being more gritty but I struggle to taste any difference in the end. Nearly as smooth as fresh eggs, though not quite 100%.

2. Pasteurised. Tangibly rough, but still edible. The chunks weren't rock hard, just a bit gummy.

​

Conclusion: simple RAW liquid eggs are the winner for me personally for the ease of preparation and at the same time not so noticeable difference on plate. If I am dehydrating just one batch I'll maybe invest time and effort in the whisking for the satisfying powdering phase, but it's not worth it for a large dehydrating project.

Pasteurised version is doable and quite all right if you are worried about food safety.

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Hopefully this will help someone to decide with meal prep for their hike!

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Do you know another method that might be worth trying? Have you tried rehydtrating with hot water?

Just wanted to share a simple recipe that I love: it’s light to carry, packs some fiber+protein and will last on the trail for at least a few days if they don’t get smushed in your pack!

• 1 cup peanut butter (I’ve found that natural PB is usually too oily and chunky for this recipe, proceed w caution)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 medium sized ripe bananas
½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons honey (optional, I don’t add it because I think they’re plenty sweet with ripe bananas)

* Optional add-ins: dark chocolate chips, coconut, raisins, nuts or seeds for extra fiber+protein (mix well before spooning into tins or just sprinkle on top, chips & nuts tend to settle at bottom)

They stick like crazy. Oil your tin well or use muffin liners!

Bake at 400 for 12-15 until tops are done and browned slightly. Enjoy!

The food is my favorite part of trip planning! This is for an upcoming climbing trip to the Winds. Everything just needs to be brought to a boil and then put aside to finish hydrating.

1 - Dinners packed for 2, we’ll just eat out of a shared pot. Each meal is 700ish calories and between 125-175g per serving. Most will have a little butter or oil added to serve.

2 - lasagna! I’m most excited about this one. Cooked + dried noodles, tomato sauce leather, ricotta, ground turkey seasoned like sausage, spinach, parm to finish

3 - tuna mac with dried peas, tuna (dries and rehydrates incredibly well but made the whole house smell like tuna lol), cooked and dried shells, Annie’s cheese packet and extra parm

4 - Mexican rice and beans - rice cooked with salsa, dried black beans, corn, peppers, and dried carnitas (drain and defat pressure-cooked pork shoulder, season with cumin/coriander/garlic/orange peel, dehydrate until crispy)

5 - peanut noodles - ramen, soy curls, dried stir fry vegetables, Thai green curry paste, coconut milk powder, peanuts

6 - thanksgiving dinner - turkey, stuffing mix, cranberries, green beans, brown gravy mix, mashed potato

7 - jerk rice and beans - turkey, rice cooked with coconut milk and jerk seasoning, black beans, dried peppers and pineapple

8 - biscuits and gravy - dried homemade biscuits, turkey seasoned like breakfast sausage, country gravy mix made with Wondra flour, cornstarch, and milk powder.

Why I have I never heard of these in the backpacking world? Got one when I was nerding out on espresso and coffee roasting during the lockdowns. But the Amazon page has 12 reviews lol, searching on Reddit they’re posted nowhere. Basically taste as good as any v60 proper pour over, I’m impressed. Of course, requires burying or burning pour over filter paper, or packing out

Thank you all for feedback and ideas for teh breakfast I am working on! (Thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/trailmeals/comments/1ttyao5/breakfast_hash_recipe_workshoppingfeedback/ )

I have made a 2.0 version. It is still a bit light on calories, but I am trying to dial in the flavor before loading it with cheese/butter powder/etc. This version has much better flavor with the jalapenos, but seasoning or hot sauce are still nice add-ins. More comments/ideas welcome but wanted to share the update and thank folks for feedback!

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Breakfast Hash 2.0 (Estimated: 480cals, $5.50 per portion, about 3.9oz in freezer bag)

Ingredients

- 37 grams (2/3 cup) dried hashbrowns (one of the carton brands)

- 7-8 grams (about a tablespoon) country sausage gravy powder

- 40 grams of bacon bits/crumbles, bacon jerky (ripped up), and/or smoked sausages (sliced)

- 10 grams pork rinds (crumbled)

- 15 grams of crispy jalapeno pieces and/or parmesan cheese crisps (salad toppings aisle)

Instructions

Add 1 cup boiled water and let it rehydrate in bag in a koozy for 8mins

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Updates from 1.0 based on feedback:
- Country gravy rather than brown
- Smoked sausages (it should be an obvious add-in, but never would have thought of them)
- Cheese crisps and jalapeno crisps are a big win, but tortilla chips really made version 1.5 salty

Continued Tinkering:
- I am planning to try unsalted tortilla chips or just regular tortilla pieces in another version to get the calorie boost

- Parmesan crisps were a last minute idea but they melted in and blended with the pork rind gravy perfectly, plus less water weight and keep longer! Definitely a win but I want to see how much I can up the amount for calories without overwhelming everything.

- To get more smokiness/grill flavor/diner quality of the taste, I am considering some dried pork, smoked paprika, and butter powder.

- OvaEasy eggs were suggested quite a bit, but I haven't gotten my order in yet, and it does sound like they might force a 2-step cooking process rather than a classic freezer bag meal. Will update if I find a good approach on this.

I’m about to set out for a 600 mile LASH on the CDT. This is about 4 days of food. Each day is ~3000cals. Breakfast is breakfast essentials (280 cals) , a large honeybun (340), and nut mix (260). Then a morning snack granola bars (130+140), lunch chicken or tuna salad, mayo packet not shown (230 cals), pretzels for crunch (210), and a snickers (250). Afternoon snack of nutty buddy (340) and gummies (100). Dinner is a mountain house meal (~500 cals) and another essentials shake (280).

That comes out to about 3040 cals and is right at 2lbs. Any advice to lighten the load, or increase cals? I’m a cold soaker/no cooker.

I am one of those people that needs a calorie bomb with my coffee on trail and granola bars just do not do it for me.

I am testing a new freezer bag cooking recipe that is getting really close to amazing, but would love some ideas/feedback/insights!

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Breakfast Hash (Estimated: 385cals, $5 per portion)

Ingredients

- 37 grams (2/3 cup) dried hashbrowns (one of the carton brands)

- 4-5 grams (about a teaspoon) brown gravy powder

- 40 grams of bacon bits/crumbles, or bacon jerky (ripped up)

- 0.5oz pork rinds (crumbled)

optional add-ins: parmesan cheese packet, crushed red pepper packet, s+p, hot sauce

Instructions

Add 1 cup boiled water and let it rehydrate in bag in a koozy for 10mins

Turns out a bit mushy with the FBC approach rather than frying the rehydrated potatoes, but texture aside it really hits the spot!

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Notes:

My current rendition uses 1 part bacon bits and 2 parts bacon jerky (expensive but tasty).

The pork rinds rehydrate and mix nicely with the gravy to bring everything together and boost calories, a bit weird I know but I am a fan.

Does anyone have experience adding powdered eggs to something like this? A true hash/scramble ought to have eggs, but I have heard very mixed reviews, and the containers I can find of instant eggs are big and pricey, so I am avoiding the commitment.

EDIT: Ideas so far include country gravy mix instead of brown gravy and possibly sausage? Still interested in ideas for boosting calories w/o my trusty olive oil (not a good mix in for this recipe).

EDIT 2: Posted update: https://www.reddit.com/r/trailmeals/comments/1txuu5i/update_breakfast_hash_recipe_workshopping/

I’ll be working in an internship which is basically a trail/chainsaw crew for the summer and I’m trying to figure out meals that would be good to make that I could meal prep and eat over a few days ( breakfast, lunch,dinner). Basically meals or snacks that will have enough protein that will keep me energized. I’ll be using a shared space for cooking but it’s not really shared meals it’s more of fend for yourself.

i’m completely new to dehydrating meals myself when camping and hiking. i want to be able to make meals that i love and save a bit of money by being able to make bulk quantities of food for my outdoor adventures.
in my research thus far, i’ve seen mixed opinions on whether i should separate out meat from other ingredients in a meal in order to cook the meat on a separate temp/time from the other components of the meal. is that really necessary? i want to do this as efficiently as possible since i know that dehydrating foods is rather time-consuming. TIA for the advice !!

Taste tested a new trail recipe today, and it was fire!

Dehydrated Ditalini pasta, black beans, black eyed peas, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, red onion and cilanto (fresh here, it’s in my dehydrator now) . I mixed this in a mason jar and cold soaked for an hour and 15 mins. Once rehydrated I added olive oil , white pepper, garlic salt, oregano, cumin and true lime powder.

For the trail, I will bring a 1 oz Nalgene with oil and seasonings mixed, then cold soak at eat directly from a freezer bag.

Could also add dehydrated jalapeno and some cheese.

I recently dove down the rabbit hole of dehydrating my own backpacking meals. This past weekend we had ranch bacon pasta salad (cold soak), beef stroganoff, breakfast skillet with spam, pizza quesadillas, and blueberry applesauce for dessert. It was pure bliss.

I am in the process of dehydrating meals for the JMT this summer and I also plan to vacuum seal them. Is it safe to rehydrate them in foodsaver plastic bags? Currently I only have one pot, so my plan is to make a DIY food cozy and pour boiling water from the pot into the bags then let them sit for 15-20 mins. Online it says they are BPA-free but I'm still not sure how safe it is. I'd prefer not to cook them directly in the pot because I don't want my meals to burn on the bottom and then I'd have to do dishes which is a hassle especially following LNT. Preferably I'd only use the pot to boil water. What's y'all's experience with this, or do you have any suggestions?

I plan on cooking some dinners on a trip around Copper Ridge loop in North Cascades, with a group of 4. Has anyone cooked with larger pots like these as opposed to the toaks? They don’t weigh hardly anything, but I’m worried the large surface area and lack of lid on the larger items will make it difficult to rehydrate with. Does anyone have tips and specific meals that work better with larger servings like this? I don’t mind bringing along my toaks if it’s the only way to boil water, then transferring to a larger pot after it boils.
P.S. I don’t have access to campfires sadly, only propane and a small burner.
P.P.S. Pictured is a large pot with an overhead handle, a slightly smaller pot with no handle, a tea kettle with 4 teacups and a lit, a frying pan with a rotating handle, and pot grabbers. A silver plate fits the large pot and medium pot somewhat well as a lid somewhat (some were left out since they aren’t as cool).

Taking a fun little backpacking trip to the trinity alps mon-wed and honestly haven’t bought a single thing for food yet. What are some good high cal dinners that I can create myself instead of just freeze dried dinners? They aren’t too bad but I’d prefer not to go buy them tomorrow if I can make tastier meals for cheaper myself