Food to Go – Food to Go
1
Food to Go – Thank You!
Thank you for downloading the sample chapter of Food to Go. We really hope you enjoy it! Breakfast is just a small part of planning meals for your next adventure. In fact, this sneak preview is only 8 pages taken from the whole 132 page eBook.
Rather than boring you with what we think about the book, we have included a few independent reviews from people who have purchased Food to Go: I just bought the book and I can’t believe how much information is there! It covers everything, in detail, with lots of references, and pictures to guide every step of the way. I am already impressed. I can’t wait to tell you how it all tasted. Thanks for sharing it. - Janine
What I like about this book is that it logically takes you step by step through the whole menu planning process. This is an onerous task for a long trip yet it seems easy when it’s laid out in the format they suggest. It’s obvious that the authors are sharing years of experience and are trying to help the reader avoid their mistakes. I particularly like the fact that 13 people have provided sample menus from diverse countries – Australia (that’s why you see wallaby jerky as a snack item!), New Zealand, the UK, the US and Canada. You get the full range of what people like to cook. – Leigh – Hike Bike Travel
Food to Go – Thank You!
Thank you so much for all the fantastic info within this book. I have been wanting to get a dehydrator for AGES for our hiking trips, now I have the recipes, I have no choice! Congrats on a wonderful book. – Lisette
The Food To Go authors live in Australia, but this guide will help you no matter where you live. We all want to be prepared, eat tasty food and enjoy ourselves in the outdoors. This book is different than a lot of the other backpacking food guides and cookbooks that I own, in it provides step by step instructions on how to plan a multi-day menu that has a lot of variety and is easy to pack and/or cook. The truth is that backpackers need to eat more than 3 square, augmenting their diet with snacks throughout the day. We all do it, and this book helps you understand how to put them all together as a complete nutritional system. Philip - Sectionhiker.com
Downloading the book is a simple process. Once you have it you can read it on the screen, print out the whole book or just print the sections you need. We really appreciate you checking out the sample and hope you eat well on your next trip! Frank, Sue and Deb
Breakfast Early mornings can be minefields. Some people are bright and chipper merrily producing a hearty feast to break the fast. Then there are those of us who prefer to silently begin the day with a quiet cuppa and a rollie while sitting on a rock contemplating the dawn. Tolerance of others’ needs and the production of a positive outlook for the day ahead is usually easier with a full belly.
4
Below is a list of different breakfast ideas gathered from people with whom we have shared the start of the day.
Cereal If you are very ‘cereal’ about the first meal of the day you are confronted with the challenge of carrying several days worth of delicate flakes so that they do not become reduced to crumbs. Remember when preparing your rations to measure out the amount you eat each day into a zip-loc bag. This means that you can have your portions exactly determined and the right quantity prepared for the trip. Measure what you would eat at home, maybe add 20% for your added energy use and package in a Ziploc bag Fresh fruit is impractical to carry, especially soft fruits – kiwi, strawberries and the like. Consider taking some dried fruit to cut up finely or a separate bag of prunes and add to the cereal each morning. If you like to have sugar on your cereal add it into the daily portion. There, that’s one less thing to forget.
63
Food to Go – Breakfast
Measure out with your normal bow l; add a bit extra and then the sugar
Dried fruits or nuts are a great addition to pack more energy
You can also carry cereal (any flaky or grainy product that will fit thru the pouring spout) in a 2 litre plastic milk bottle. The container can usually hold 8 days worth of breakfast cereal. This method of storage is terrific as the flakes don’t appear in your bowl as crumbs. It takes a bit of gentle persuasion to get it in there but I think it’s worth it.
Porridge For those who prefer something to stick to the ribs there is always porridge. There are a couple of options. • The supermarket supplies a ready-made oat product wrapped up with flavourings in individual serves. The serves are smallish for an adult hiker-be sure to try before the hike for flavour and size. • You can also find less expensive unflavoured instant oats in larger packages. These cook exactly the same as the pre-measured ones. When packing at home you can add dried fruit, nuts, spices, oat bran (if you like more fibre) and sugar (brown, white, raw, maple or any crystallized variety) to your taste. It is recommended to add a tablespoon of powdered milk (skim or whole, your choice) at this point. Zip and give a little shake to mix the ingredients. You can see that by varying the ingredients you can enjoy a new taste sensation each morning.
64
Food to Go – Breakfast • There are many other grain porridges such as wheat hearts, rice, buckwheat, semolina, polenta and quinoa. You may have a regional favorite such as Red River or grits.
Instant oats There are two methods of preparation for instant oats. Bowl - there is no need to really cook the porridge; just put it in a plate/ bowl, add milk powder if you desire, pour boiling water over it and cover it for a few minutes (stirring occasionally). This pretty well cooks it and stops the high sugar content burning solid on the bottom of the pot! Add some powdered milk if you like a creamier mix. Bag - To avoid the pot scouring altogether try this. You may wish to practice at home to get the amounts correct.
Measure out the porridge or other ed cereal; add a bit extra, some powder milk and then sugar to taste.
Seal in with some dried fru its or nuts. Ready to pour in a pot an d cook.
Place the unzipped one serving bag of porridge that you packed in your bowl or pot. Cover the porridge with boiling water. Stir, zip the bag and let sit for a few minutes then stir. Eat directly from the bag. Ta Da! Wash only your spoon.
Muesli (aka Granola) Muesli may be eaten cold or cooked the same as porridge. Look for a good balance of taste and nutrients. Add powdered milk and mix with water later.
65
Food to Go – Breakfast
Bircher Muesli Ingredients • 1 cup oats • ½ cup milk • ½ cup yoghurt • ¼ cup fruit juice • small handful of dried fruit (optional)
Method
Bircher muesli, prepared at home and dried for a trip
At home
Mix all ingredients and keep cool over night. In the a.m. check consistency and add more milk if necessary. Dehydrate and add a sprinkle of brown sugar.
Alternative Method Add oats, yoghurt leather and powdered milk to a zip loc bag. Add brown sugar to replace the fruit juice. At camp
Bircher muesli, bagged, labeled and ready to go
Add enough water to mix the dry ingredients into a wet porridge consistency. Let it soak overnight adding more water or milk in the morning.
Rehydrated Bircher muesli
Yoghurt Yoghurt can be dehydrated as a leather. At camp set the yoghurt to rehydrate overnight and add to cereal, porridge or muesli.
66
Food to Go – Breakfast
Cooked Breakfast Breakfast Burritos
Take flat bread, spread with refried beans (dehydrate these and rehydrate as needed), rehydrate some dried eggs and scramble - add to flatbread, maybe some bacon or ham or cheese, onion, peppers, corn ‌ Roll up and either toast in fry pan or eat as is - yum. Very filling and due to the protein content long lasting in the satisfaction department.
Baked beans Dehydrated baked beans are a hearty, fibre filled option if you are not a cereal person or you are just looking for some variety. Rehydrate in the bag with hot water. The time it takes and the amount of boiling water will vary according to how dry the beans are. It is an option to set the beans rehydrating the night before. Remember to stir them several times during rehydration but do it gently so as not to make mush.
Before: In dehydrator-egg white, yolk, baked beans
After 4 hours: Ready to cool and bag
Pancakes Great idea. Keep it simple by mixing in the plastic bag. If you have brought oil, use it as these do tend to stick to the pan.
67
Food to Go – Breakfast
The simplest method is the store bought ‘just add water’ variety. Remember to decant into a zip loc bag with cut out instructions. This reduces the weight you carry and also the volume of rubbish that you will have to lug around.
Eggs Commercial In Australia you can purchase 400 grams ( 14.1 oz) of freeze dried eggs from Pace Farms. This is the equivalent of 32 eggs. To make the equivalent of two eggs you require 25 grams (0.9 oz) of powder to 62 mls water Alternatively, Backpackers Pantry has a variety of egg products, including whole egg powder
Dehydrate your own The most successful method to dehydrate eggs is to: •• Separate the yolks and the whites. •• Whip whites until they form stiff peaks. •• Whip yolks until light in colour. •• Place on solid tray of dehydrator . •• Dry at top temp until whites crumble and yolks are parched leather.
pancake photo by Young Yun
68
Food to Go – Breakfast •• The yolks reconstitute better if you chop them very finely. •• Package separately if you wish.
To Reconstitute: •• 2 Tbsp powdered whites + 2 Tbsp powdered yolks = 2 eggs. •• Add 1 Tbsp warm water/1 Tbsp dried egg (either white or yolk). •• Allow to sit about 10 minutes, often.
stirring
•• Best cooked as an omelet or as scrambled eggs. •• Add some bacon or chopped up ham or salami, don’t forget salt and pepper from your spice pack.
Other Breakfast Options •• Hard boiled eggs - Cook before you leave home. They will last a couple of days if the weather is cool. •• Breakfast bars, cereal or granola bars (watch the sugar content!) •• Pop tarts – raw or cooked over your burner to warm them up. •• Bagels (they pack well for a couple of days) take a tiny tub of cream cheese and some packet jam or jelly. •• Cereal or granola bars. •• Bread – best to take a heavy rye or pumpernickel as a loaf and slice it as required. It can be toasted over your burner or heated in a fry pan with sliced cheese or just add toppings such as jam, honey, vegemite or cold meat.
69
Food to Go – Contents
Contents
Introduction...............................................i Planning your Menu...............................1 1. Party Size............................................................................. 1 2. Number of days out............................................................... 2 3. Season................................................................................. 3 4. Location............................................................................... 3 5. Preparation Time................................................................... 4 6. Budget................................................................................. 4 7. Special Diets?....................................................................... 4 Menu Plan............................................................................... 5 Menu Ideas.............................................................................. 6 Matthias Siegel - Matt Down Under ............................................ 8 Nik Sands - Bushwalk Australia.................................................. 9 Rebecca Sowards-Emmerd - Calipidder........................................ 11 Deb Hadskis – Co Author............................................................ 14 Georgie Bull – Queensland Fruit Guru.......................................... 15 Clare Wall – Outdoor Educator ................................................... 16 Darren Christie – U.K. Outdoor Blogger........................................ 17 Michelle Waitzman - Author........................................................ 18 Steve Cockburn – Queensland Bushwalker................................... 19 Caitie Moncur – Outdoor Educator............................................... 20
iii
Food to Go – Contents Adam Holbrook – Wilderness Photographer................................... 22 Philip Werner – Section Hiker..................................................... 24 Leigh McAdam – Hike Bike Travel............................................... 27
Tips to get organised.............................29 Remove Excess Food Packaging.................................................. 29 Reduce Food Weight.................................................................. 30 Store your food well................................................................... 31 Share basic items...................................................................... 34 Food Packing............................................................................ 34 Nutrition/Energy........................................................................ 35 Variety..................................................................................... 36 Spare meal .............................................................................. 40
Dehydrating your own meals............41 What is dehydrating?................................................................. 41 Dehydration Unit....................................................................... 42 Nutritional Notes...................................................................... 43 How long does it take?............................................................... 43 Conditioning............................................................................. 44 Storing.................................................................................... 45 Dehydrating Fruit and Vegetables................................................ 47 Rehydration.............................................................................. 55 How to dehydrate and rehydrate a meal - step by step instructions.. 58 Quick guide to great dehydrating................................................. 62
iv
Food to Go – Contents
Breakfast......................................................63 Cooked Breakfast...................................................................... 67 Other Breakfast Options............................................................. 69
Lunch............................................................70 Sandwich Type Ideas................................................................. 71 Filling Ideas............................................................................. 72 Cooked Lunch........................................................................... 75
Dinner...........................................................77 Supermarket options.................................................................. 77 Commercial or store bought meals (freeze dried or dehydrated) ...... 80 Products on the market.............................................................. 81 Home cooked, dehydrated or prepare in camp............................... 95 Vegetarian................................................................................ 95 Fresh Meat Dishes..................................................................... 121 Salmon/ Tuna Main Meals.......................................................... 125
A Sweet Ending........................................134 Custard and Dried Fruit.............................................................. 134 Berry Cobbler........................................................................... 135 Custard and fruit cake............................................................... 136 Instant pudding........................................................................ 136 Cheesecake.............................................................................. 136 Pancakes with choc chips.......................................................... 137
v
Food to Go – Contents Fruit rice pudding..................................................................... 137
Snacks...........................................................138 Scroggin, GORP and Trail Mix..................................................... 138 Alternative Snacks..................................................................... 140 Fruit cake................................................................................ 142 Leathers .................................................................................. 142 Popcorn................................................................................... 143
Drinks and Hydration.............................144 Flavouring................................................................................ 144 Milk........................................................................................ 145 Coffee/Tea/Hot chocolate............................................................ 146 Soup....................................................................................... 146 Alcohol.................................................................................... 147 Water and Hydration.................................................................. 147
Cooking Gear.............................................150 Stoves..................................................................................... 150 Pots........................................................................................ 155 Other pot options...................................................................... 157 Additional “kitchen” gear........................................................... 157
In Conclusion.............................................159 Further resources...................................................................... 159
vi
Food to Go – Contents Thanks and acknowledgements................................................... 159 Disclaimer................................................................................ 161 Copyright................................................................................. 161
vii
Food to Go – Thank You!
So what do you think? If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email frank@ ourhikingblog.com.au. We are happy to help you out. You can download the full version of Food to Go by clicking the “Download Now” button below.
You will be transferred to a secure site to enter your details and receive Food to Go immediately. Alternatively, click here to return to Our Hiking Blog. Thanks for your time and enjoy your next adventure. Frank, Sue and Deb