Easy Backpacking Meals On A Budget

[SC Living Outdoors]

Granola bars, trail mix, tuna packets and a tortilla work really well. You can eat a whole day for like $6.

 

[Lilhowie83]

My main backpacking staple, at least for dinners, is to just take leftovers from some of my favorite meals about a month before the hunt and just throw them on the dehydrator and vacuum pack them. They taste good and rehydrate pretty well.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

I like the knor noodles and I also like the flavored Idaho instant potatoes. I know it’s not for everyone but I also like tuna packs. I eat one every day for lunch when I’m hunting. They are light and have good fat and calories. I also eat almonds and Mike and Ike’s every day! Last year I had a bunch of the heathers choice packaroons and liked those a lot. But at 3.00 apiece they aren’t cheap. I might try making some on my own.

to add calories I carry a stick of butter or evoo to add to noodles and anything else. There is a big difference between eating calories to eat calories and eating good calories that will fuel you on a backcountry trip. One must understand that they are going to have calorie deficit while they are doing such grueling activities day in and day out for a week or longer.

Tuna packs are great, lightweight, and come in different styles.
Put That on a cracker dude!

 

[Deleted member 28227]

The world needs more backpacking food options. I'm not a MH hater, just a big boy who needs energy. At 500 calories a meal for MH or most backpacking meals, I'd need to eat 5 or 6 a day, at 9 bucks a meal, that gets expensive

You can find dehy's that are 1000-1200. Peak/MH etc. I don't really pay attention to "flavors" and just buy the highest calorie options. Also bring things like extra nuts/cheese etc can help you boost calories.

Generally speaking I find I can do pretty well with bars/dehys and some lunch meats.

You also might consider buying the one's that come in a giant can then scooping them into gallon zip locks. This is my buddies move, he then has a used/ cleaned out mountain house meal ‘bag’ he uses for cooking. He's able to then triple the portion without adding much cost... like a 20 serving can for $25.

MH is also ridiculous high in sodium. Heck, even some Peak meals sugar contents are off the wall high.

Lol true, though for backpacking that's more of a selling point for me than a negative.

 

[BackofBeyond]

Need more calories, add another 1/2 cup of water to your MH and dump in 1/2 a package of instant mashed potatoes. That's my usual go-to after a long hike, about to crawl into the sleeping bag.

But honestly, MH plug me up something fierce. Have to offset it with a big bag of dehydrated cherries, and two bottles of kombucha (which my 3 year old calls "go poop juice") waiting in the cooler for the drive home.

 

[David658]

MH was too much $$$ when I was a kid in the '70s, and is still spendy as a a fully employed, empty nest adult. However, via Costco, it becomes a bit reasonable. With the exception of Chili Mac (oh, the painful experiences with Chili Mac), their meals are really tasty. I can supplement with other stuff, but the over all mmmm-goodness of MH is a luxury I allow myself. Shoot, we will sometimes go lazy in our trailer and do MH (we keep it on board for emergency food).
Zataran's rice dishes (Cajun rice-a-roni) are good bases, with other meats able to be mixed in. You can tote sausages, or dehydrate ground beef or sausage to go with it. The Jimmy Dean sausages in a box are fully cooked, so they work well. For that matter, Kroger has fully cooked sausage patties in the freezer compartment - fully cooked is the key.
Depending on how far in you go, things like carnitas or pulled pork work well, too, since they are fully cooked - just package well, they won't go bad. These aren't as good weight-wise as freeze dried, but they can work. I have found in my old age that I don't just like to choke down calories, I like to eat something that is fun. And which ain't Chili Mac.....

 

[BenInMT]

Pinnacle Foods based right here in Montana.

 

[dgc1963]

I do some of my own dehydrating add meat/ venison to noodles or potatoes with diff powdered gravy,cheese
One other thing I carry is powdered protein powders adds calories,protein,vitamins,minerals seems to help me with sore muscles too

 

[Nemont]

I always crave sweets and this is my go to

Meyer Lemon Cheesecake

The Lemon Cheesecake is well balanced with sweetness and tangy lemon, and topped with a gingersnap pecan crumble. If you love the refreshing taste of lemon, then this luscious lemony cheesecake will knock your socks off after a long day on the trail!

www.packitgourmet.com

It is very good. Not on the cheap side but nothing from Packit gourmet is cheap but it is all high quality.

 

[PrairieHunter]

I eat a lot of meal replacements and have found the Huel product to be great with my digestive system. They are easy to make with just water and a shaker, contain 30-40 grams of protein and lot of other good stuff. I prefer the unflavored and un sweetened. Cost is around $3 per meal. They also have hot meals if you prefer. https://huel.com/products/huel-hot-savoury

These are a great way to supplement protein in an easy to digest form while on the go.

After thinking about it a bit I am not sure why more backpackers don't use powdered mean replacements as they are as light as it gets, easy to pack, easy to digest, and inexpensive.

KaChava, Orgain, Plant Fusion, garden of life, vega, muniq, huel, etc are all good options to consider for a hunt.

 

[PrairieHunter]

MH is also ridiculous high in sodium. Heck, even some Peak meals sugar contents are off the wall high.

It's so hard to avoid sugar these days. I try to stay under 10 grams to account for things like BBQ sauce, ketchup, etc... but even that is hard. We were at Odells in FT Collins this summer and they had lemonade for the kids, 70 grams of sugar in a 12 ounce glass. Insane.

You see some hunters try to use sugar for energy during hunt's and I have no idea how they do it as eating candy bars, granola bars, gatorade, little debbies, etc you can get hundreds of grams of sugar quite easily.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

Granola bars, trail mix, tuna packets and a tortilla work really well. You can eat a whole day for like $6.

I take lots of almonds, walnuts, and dried apples/cherries/prunes to supplement my main meal.
Nuts have high calories/fat per ounce.

 

[longrunner]

I'd check out some of the fast pack/through hike forums for meal ideas.

Some basic meals are instant mashers, Ramen, couscous, instant grits, oatmeal. Fortify with foil pack meat (chicken, tuna or salmon)- one small pack split between two is a big improvement, salsa packs from fast food restaurants or Amazon and some fat (I've been using butter packed in a plastic screwcap container). All these can be added to freeze dried meals as well for huge improvements.

 

[geewhiz]

@Sytes

Those knorr sides are nasty IMO

 

[TN_Rifle_Junkie]

Knor (mushroom rice) with chicken or tuna added with dehydrated Harmony House vegetables makes our dinners in the backcountry.

With a wife who is highly allergic to onion and black pepper, we are extremely limited in the OTC meals and usually find it easier to make our own.

Supplement with individual Tillamook cheese, trail mixes, hard salami/summer sausage for me, and nuts for her. We do pretty well.

Our goto sugary afternoon snack is twizzlers red licorice or M&M's (I am plain she is dark chocolate).

Coffee is a must and we are still searching for a good brand. Right now we tolerate Starsucks packets, but are always in search of a better brand.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Coffee is a must and we are still searching for a good brand. Right now we tolerate Starsucks packets, but are always in search of a better brand.

Coffee is tough, everyone has their preference, personally I don't really like starbucks but I've tried pretty much everything else and they are the only one's I can tolerate.

 

[R.K.]

Coffee is tough, everyone has their preference, personally I don't really like starbucks but I've tried pretty much everything else and they are the only one's I can tolerate.

I go cold turkey on coffee in August and I don't start drinking it again until January. I'm not sure if it's the best option, but it's what I do.

 

[BackofBeyond]

Coffee is tough, everyone has their preference, personally I don't really like starbucks but I've tried pretty much everything else and they are the only one's I can tolerate.

Tried the Trader Joe’s instant this year in a recommendation from a friend. I no longer consider him a friend. Don’t try that crap.

One thing that I did this fall for a little extra jolt was mix chocolate covered espresso beans into my overnight oats. Not going to replace your morning coffee by any means, but took me from a required 3 cups to a cup to get going.

 

[Benjamins]

Not the lightest thing to pack but I always bring a can of spam. I love that stuff. I'll cube it and throw it in with some instant potatoes

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I go cold turkey on coffee in August and I don't start drinking it again until January. I'm not sure if it's the best option, but it's what I do.

I’ve done that as well, I always put caffeine pills in my pack to deal with headaches, or if I don’t have time for coffee.