Backpackers menu

Lightweight menu planning starts at home. Try a dish in advance; find out if you can cook it easily, how long it takes to prepare, amount of fuel used, cooked quantity and if you like the taste.

• Bring a small plastic bag for your rubbish.

• Leave surplus or unnecessary packaging at home. Cut out cooking instructions and repack food in lunch boxes.

• Mark commonly used volumes, measures, on the outside of food containers. How much does your mug hold, your cooking pot?

• Pack all items for one meal together; this saves searching through rucksacks to find the necessary items.

• Plan to avoid monotony - take along a selection of ‘extras’ to add to the meal, e.g. condiments, salt, herbs, soya sauce, an Oxo cube.

Lightweight fresh food, such as peppers or mushrooms. • 35mm film canisters can be used for oil, butter, soya sauce etc.

• Use the space inside the stove to store small items. Keep weight and bulk down, but eat well and drink lots.

• Avoid long cooking times which use up fuel.

• If possible add fresh and homemade foods, but keep the packs light.

• Snack food for eating on route is an important part of backpacker’s menu.

Food On long trips the weight of your food can become a problem. That’s when specialist dehydrated and freeze dried foods are a good idea. There is a large variety of these available from most supermarkets Backpacking is hard work, so more calories than usual are needed. Therefore reckon on about twice your normal intake.

Foods that cook in a few minutes are best. That way you get a meal quickly and save on stove fuel. However, quick-cook meals aren’t noted for their taste and it is nice to add some fresh ingredients