Presents...

For camping or backpacking, may I suggest whole grains and legumes and a thermos bottle? One would be hard pressed to eat 1/2 lb. of dried grains or legumes in a day. It's possible to pack as much as a 10 day supply of food in a gallon sized space. The problem is in the cooking. But with a good thermos bottle one can easily solve this problem. Measure out all your ingredients, complete with flavorings beforehand, and put them in baggies. While camping, preheat the thermos by pouring in boiling water and letting it sit a minute or two. Empty the thermos, then grab a baggie containing your premixed meal. Immediately with the thermos still hot, pour in the contents of the baggie and fill it with boiling water. Put on the lid and place it in your pack. Three or four hours later when you are ready to eat your next meal, it will be ready for you.

Jonathan Rosenthal, from South Africa, has had a lot of experience backpacking and makes the following comments about the above idea.

"The suggestion is good for extended expeditions. But I have found it a bit of a bother in several circumstances.

"You end up carrying water in your soaking jar. On short trips the difference in weight between fresh/hydrated food and dried food which you hydrate during a walking day is negligible.

"On long expeditions the food gets very tedious and it is worth trying to supplement with fresh food on route. An alternative is dried food and nuts for light day snacks. If party members do not enjoy the food they will slowly starve themselves through under eating. Trust me, I have had to coax people to eat and drink enough water on some long trips.

"Another good idea is ground maize meal or müslix breakfast cereal - both are quick to prepare and pack high starch content."

From Mr. Rosenthal's comments it is obvious that your recipes would need to be creative and varied to work well. If there is any interest in this area feel free to E-mail me with your thoughts and perhaps a favorite recipe if you have one. This could become an area all by itself.

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Revised: 18 Dec 1997