matt and i are big into hiking and backcountry camping. one of the things we have learned through our experience is that LIGHTER is BETTER. when you're hiking 10, 12 km to a campsite, you want to cut back on the weight in your pack as much as possible. but, that being said, it's also really important to bring enough food - you burn a lot of calories doing trips like that, and it's important to eat enough to keep up your strength (never know when you'll have to fight a bear!! okay, that doesn't happen... yet?)
things like trail mix and granola bars (and holy shit, chocolate covered pretzels - why did nobody ever tell me how amazing they are???) are great nutrient-dense, easy trail foods.
since i'm slightly obsessive about making things myself, and because i feel a heck of a lot better about eating things when i can pronounce all of the ingredients, i have been making my own granola bars!
they are really easy to make, keep well, and are such a great on-the-go snack. you can wrap them in plastic wrap or tinfoil (or better yet, reusable plastic bags!) to grab in a pinch.
ingredients:
1/4 c natural peanut butter
1/4 c honey
8 dates (1/3 c) soaked in water to cover
1 c oatmeal (gluten free if you are)
1 c corn flakes (or other flake-format cereal)
1/3 c oat flour (or gf flour such as brown rice, or almond flour)
1/3 c pecans
1 T ground flax seeds
1/2 c dried fruit (i used blueberries, cherries and apples)
to make:
soak dates in water for an hour or more.
throw dates and honey in a food processor and process until smooth. it doesn't have to be perfect, some chunks are okay as long as they're smallish! add some date-soaking water by the tablespoon if needed.
mix date/honey mixture in a bowl with peanut butter.
add oatmeal, flaky cereal, flour, pecans, flax seeds and dried fruit.
mix well.it should be moist and sticky, but not like dough.
oil an 8x8" or 9x9" baking pan. i use spray olive oil...
press the mixture into the pan. i used a silicone spatula, you could also use your hands with a little oil on them.
bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
let the bars cool completely in the pan, then pop them out onto a cutting board.
and cut them into whatever size/shape you desire. i cut mine into 12 snack-sized bars.
store in an airtight bag or container at room temperature!
Hey Harmony! Dave and I are going on our 17 day camping trip and I am going to make these as well as some granola, inspired by your recipe. Do you ever dehydrate fruit or veggies at home (I only have access to an oven) or any other ideas for easy camping food that doesn't spoil without refrigeration?
ReplyDeleteI love this blog btw :)
Missy
mmm, glad you are enjoying!! that camping trip sounds like a blast, where are you heading?
Deletefor camping food, i often take the easy route and buy those freeze-dried meals at MEC, which are great... also i found some really great soup mixes at planet organic (there aren't planet organics in ontario, but if you have a big organic grocery store with a bulk section you may be able to find them, or something similar) they were split pea, lentil curry, black bean, and corn chowder soups (all vegan, which is awesome for me... i would guess they may have meaty ones too though). thus far i would say they are great, but bring a spice wheel as they can be a bit bland. also, the bulk barn is a good place to look for dried soup options... if you were feeling really adventurous, you could even do something like naan bread (http://harmonyhomeslice.blogspot.ca/2012/03/fluffy-naan.html) and just mix everything beforehand and add water. that would be a fabulous treat after a day of hiking/swimming/canoeing, etc, and can be cooked in a frying pan!
other stuff we bring would be lots of nuts and seeds, chocolate, oatmeal for the mornings (you could just bring a bag of instant oatmeal with additional stuff: sugar, seeds, hemp hearts, coconut, cocoa powder, etc to add in as you like), pancake mix, wraps, pitas, or other long-lasting breads, pudding mix (recipes on the blog!)...
as for dehydrating, i have done an assload of reading about it, but have not yet tried it. to my understanding, you should be able to do it in your oven. the tricky parts are:
- your oven needs to go sufficiently low (140-170 degrees) to just dry the food, but not cook it.
- i would recommend using a silicone baking sheet. actual food dehydrators have rubbery sheets that you spread the food on, and this will make it far less likely to stick.
- i am not sure how the whole eggs thing i saw on facebook will go. you want things to be sliced thin, or things like thick soups that can be spread out evenly. perhaps scrambled eggs would work better?
like i said, i've done a lot of research, but always for vegan style food, since that's what i can eat... so i'm not sure how long meat/eggs would last, or if there are any special considerations you'd need to be aware of. if you happen to have any silica gel packs (like from pill bottles) laying around, throwing those in with the dried food will help to keep it for longer, jut remember to remove it before cooking ;)
i am planning on trying to make fruit leather this week, and i'll let you know how that turns out!
http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/HikingCamping/Food.jsp that is the mec page about bakcountry food options. all of the products have ingredients listed on them, so may have some good inspiration for meals you could try!
Thanks for the advice! Dave and I are heading to Lady Evelyn Lake in just over a week, so it's really crunch time on preparing the foods.
DeleteActually, I did attempt to scramble and dehydrate half doz. eggs. By whole eggs, I meant whites/yolks, which I couldnt find at the bulk store. They took about 6 hrs in the oven, which was probably set around 150. I then powdered them with a coffee grinder. I never thought to include the silica gel packs, that's actually a great idea! I am most worried about the humidity ruining the dried foods.
Besides fish, which I will be catching, I dont eat beef/pork/poultry but Dave does so I think I might just cheat and try to find some prepared meat dishes. It would be pretty shitty if I gave him food poisoning in the bush.
Fruit leather is happening today or tomorrow. Let me know how yours turns out. You have a wicked little blog, and I love seeing what you're up to. It's pretty inspiring to see what you can come up with. :)
i dunno where your closest mec is, but they do actually have (in that freeze dried foods section) options that are JUST meat, which could then be added to just his portion of things... i don't know how picky dave is, but using non-meat options like dried lentils (they cook super fast which is why i'd recommend them over other dried beans) or TVP would probably be a safer way to go than meat. it would be the worst to get sick on your lovely camping trip.
Deletei assume you are car camping, is that correct? if so you can also bring things like canned beans (or even canned meat, if that is a thing that's not terrifying) just as a little treat for now and then!!