Dehydrating food is simple and fast Dry it — you’ll like it!

is essential to maintain circulation to the fingers and flexibility of the wrists and elbow. An improper lean can decrease core muscle engagement. A certified instructor teachesproper techniques for getting the full benefits from a Nordic walking program.

You will also learn how to use heart rates to monitor your level of activity and plan a program to target your fitness goals. It’s important to understand proper warm-up and cool-down exercises to decrease the chance of injury, too.

An instructor can advise you on pole size and explain the different qualities of poles. With poles costing between $80 and $130 a pair, walkers will want to be sure they have the right set for their needs. Nordic walking poles are available for rent in Ottawa at Calm Connections, and Trailhead offers them for rent or sale.

Nordic walkers who engage in activities that put stress on wrists and elbows — such as computer work, painting, playing golf or racket sports — may want to spend the extra money to buy a pole with an ergonomically designed handle.

“PILATES ON THE GO”

There is a strong link between Pilates and Nordic walking. Pilates teaches postural awareness and realignment through core strengthening, and Nordic walking engages the core muscles of the body while focusing on upper and lower body alignment. The poles reduce the impact on the spine by lifting and propelling the body forward. Not surprisingly, Nordic walking is also known as “Pilates on the go.” Nordic Walking is fun, especially when done with a group. It can get you out of the office and into the sunshine and parks. A walk at lunch time, after work or on the weekend lifts the spirits as well as your stride. So grab a friend and try putting a new bounce in your step. Catherine Chatham is a certified Nordic Walking Instructor, Pilates Instructor and Registered Massage Therapist. She owns and operates Calm Connections Massage Therapy and Pilates Centre at 42 Holland Avenue, where she has recently introduced a Nordic Walking program. Catherine can be contacted at 792-3223 or info@calmconnections.com

BY MAX FINKELSTEIN

A CANOE TRIP RUNS ON ITS BELLY.

What did paddlers on long expeditions eat before the age of freezedrying and packaged food? In the days of the fur trade, the entire enterprise was fuelled by pemmican, dried peas and cracked corn. Pemmican is dried buffalo meat, pounded between two rocks and mixed with an equal amount of melted fat. Marrow and dried Saskatoon berries were often added “for superior quality,” according to fur trader and explorer Alexander Mackenzie.

Pemmican keeps for months and even years. It was eaten raw in chunks, or mixed with flour and water and cooked into a stew called “rubbaboo.” Just a pound and a half of pemmican — equivalent to eight to 10 pounds of fresh meat — would sustain a hard-working voyageur all day. Packing in lots of calories per pound is all about dehydration.

I’m a great fan of drying your own food. Commercial dried foods are expensive, the serving portions are small for hard-working paddlers, and sometimes they taste a bit strange. Drying your own food is simple and it’s the most efficient way to preserve food. It takes one-sixth of the space and it’s nutritionally superior to canned food. No preservatives or chemicals need to be added, and carefully dried foods will keep for years.

I use a commercial food drier (American Harvest — Harvest Maid) to prepare most of my trail food. The unit is simple to operate and I can dry a prodigious amount of food in a very short period of time. Up to 11 trays can be dried at one time. Or, you can build your own solar or electric food dehydrator (see Agriculture Canada Publication 1739/E), or use your imagination. Opportunities for drying can be found at any heat register. The key is to have good air flow and to dry foods at temperatures below 110º F.

Trekkers have the option to prepare dried food meals by cooking the meal in advance, spreading it out on the trays, and turning on the dehydrator. Or, simply buy commercially prepared spaghetti sauce, salsa, canned beans, frozen vegetables, and other foods at the grocery store, and spread them out on the drying racks.

When dried, spaghetti sauce and salsa resemble the sole of an old leather shoe. They rehydrate in hot water in a few minutes and bear a remarkable resemblance to the original. Don’t buy cheap spaghetti sauce — it tends to be more watery, so it takes longer to dry and there’s less “leather” at the end of the process. Sometimes “yuppie” spaghetti sauces have large pieces of vegetables, which dry more slowly than the liquid portion. If the sauce is lumpy, run it through a blender before drying for the best results. The same principle applies to drying salsa, which is a real treat that spices up any camping meal.

Dried canned beans are amazing. Standard beans in tomato sauce rehydrate exactly as they came out of the can. But don’t stop there. Take advantage of the great variety of canned beans available and try adding rice or another grain for a very nutritious and tasty meal.

Fruit leathers can be quickly made from fresh or frozen fruit and canned or bottled apple sauce (again, avoid the cheap brands). Blend or squash the fruit with the apple sauce, which contains pectin. It will bind the goopy mess into a tough sheet of “leather” when dried. Spread the mixture onto the dehydrator’s custom plastic sheets or use plastic wrap on the drying trays. The leather can be eaten dried, but I like it better rehydrated into a sauce for bannock or pancakes.

Vegetables are important for adding nutrition, variety and colour to your meal. I buy good-quality frozen vegetables — peas, beans, corn, and carrots all dry very nicely. Simply open the bag and pour the contents onto the drying racks. No preparation, no washing, and no chopping is necessary. I also slice up plenty of onions and add them to the mix.

For my carnivorous friends, I will make up a batch of beef jerky. I simply use lean ground beef, add my favourite spices, and press flat into 1/16- inch strips. Cheap, good and simple! However, I have had a few failures. My attempt to dry coleslaw resulted in a gooey glob of green mush. In an inspired moment, I tried drying frozen orange juice to make a super-concentrate. Don’t waste your time on this one. And I will admit that sometimes my dried peas are a little chewy. But, the only real limit is your imagination. Drying is fun. Just dry it. You’ll like it.

My fuels of choice for long expeditions are oatmeal, bannock, noodles, beans and grains, with liberal quantities of cheese, peanut butter and dried fruit.

Some great food comes already dehydrated from the store. I pity the people who travel with me if they don’t like oatmeal, because that’s what they get every morning. I mix up the oatmeal at home, adding dried fruit and powdered milk to the mix. The secret to creamy oatmeal is to start cooking it in cold water, and heat it slowly over a fire. It can be cooked over a camp stove, but constant vigilance is required to avoid burning. Don’t worry about cooking too much. If there is any left over, add some flour and fry it up for lunch. I get about eight kilometres to a cup of oatmeal.

Bannock is my other main staple. Bannock is trail bread, made with flour and baking soda. I’m not sure who invented bannock, but it has been a staple trail food for almost two centuries. Everyone has their own particular method and recipe for baking bannock.

Inuit folks I’ve travelled with use lots of oil, so the bannock bakes quickly. It’s deep-fried like a giant doughnut, very filling and satisfying on a blustery day in the Arctic when your body’s cells are crying out for fat. Bannock is a great source of energy because flour, after all, is simply dried seeds. I get about 16 kilometres per cup of flour when it’s baked as bannock. Don’t overlook the power of flour to add dumplings to stew for packing in lots of extra calories. Paddler, author, environmentalist and raconteur, Max Finkelstein works as the Communications Officer for the Canadian Heritage Rivers System. He has paddled over 22,000 kilometres in North America, Europe, Africa and Australia. He is the author of Canoeing a Continent: On the Trail of Alexander Mackenzie, and Paddling the Boreal Forest: Rediscovering A.P. Low.

HERE’S A SAMPLE LIST OF FOOD FOR A TWO-WEEK SOLO TRIP: SUPPERS:

Ó Noodles, parmesan cheese and dried spaghetti sauce (1,750 mL bottle, dried = three meals) Ó Dried kidney beans (1.3 cups = four chili dinners) Ó Fantastic Foods Chili Mix (one bag) Ó Dried black beans (one heaping cup = three meals of beans and rice) Ó Rice (three cups – bring extra “minute” rice to add to soup at lunch) Ó Couscous and lentils (2 cups = three meals) Ó Three boxes Kraft Dinner (1.5 boxes fills me up, but bring extra for extra-hungry nights, or one for lunch) Ó Oil (one small bottle) Ó Spices: curry, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, garlic Ó Add to each meal:

Ó Dried onions Ó Dried tomatoes Ó Dried peas Ó Dried green beans (from the garden)

Ó Dried corn Ó Sultan brand Crispy Fried Onions (available at Brian’s

Food Basics)

DESSERTS:

Ó Tapioca and custard powder mixed with dried fruits and fruit leather Ó Pop Tarts: they pack a load of calories into a small package and can be fried up over a fire — you’ll be amazed at how the sugar frosting doesn’t melt!

BREAKFASTS:

Ó Oatmeal with dried fruit (raisins, dates, apples, apricots) and milk powder Ó Brown sugar Ó Granola (to sprinkle on top)

LUNCHES:

Ó Peanut butter (one pound) Ó Honey (one squeeze tube) Ó Jam (one squeeze tube) Ó Dried soup (one serving each day) Ó Bannock mix — flour, baking powder, salt (8 cups = eight single-portion loaves) Ó Tortillas (package of 10) Ó Dried humus (available at local health food store) Ó Butter (one squeeze tub, about ½ pound)

SNACKS:

Ó Gorp (I mix my own) Ó Chocolate bars: Mars Bars are the densest and my choice for cold weather. Eat More bars don’t melt and are my choice for hot weather trips.

DRINKS:

Ó Tea, coffee, powdered milk, lots of hot chocolate, juice powder, and hootch.