Reddit mentions of Recipes for Adventure: Healthy, Hearty and Homemade Backpacking Recipes

I own a bunch of books on dehydrating and trail meal prep but this one is a stand out: Recipes for Adventure It is well written by a chef who obviously tested the techniques and recipes thoroughly. I have found that re-hydrating is usually the hard part to get right, especially if cold soaking.

Here are some active Facebook groups that have tons of good information including huge files of practical instruction and guidelines:

• Dehydrating Divas & Dudes
  
• Healthy Gourmet Backpacking Food
  
  From an ultralight perspective, the most common problem with food is bringing too much. No one wants to be hungry. A good article from Andrew Skurka recommends 2250 - 2750 calories per day for his hiking clients, or about 18 - 22 oz per day. article
  
  I used to bring 3000 calories per day (25oz) but I got tired of always packing food out, especially dehydrated food that I had mixed with water but could not eat. I have been dropping the packed daily calorie count on successive trips for a few years now, and 2300 calories (about 19 oz with packaging) seems perfect for me. Everyone's metabolism is different so you will have to experiment to get it perfect. For reference, I am 165 pounds and older.
  
  After you figure out how many calories you want to bring per day, it is easier to get your food's caloric density up to 120 - 125 kcal/oz on average, and then you can stop counting every calorie in each food item and just weigh out oz for each day.
  
  Be sure to test homemade dehydrated meals at home first!
  
  Sliced and dehydrated apples and mangoes are easy, and refreshing trail snacks. Good fiber too.
  
  Dehydrate fruit that is on sale (berries, mangoes, peaches) and make breakfast smoothies with Muscle Milk, oat flour, ground flax seeds, ground nuts, etc.
  
  I found dehydrating bananas to be a ridiculous amount of work, and dehydrated banana powder is cheap online.
  
  Canned chicken and tuna dehydrate well but practice re-hydrating them at home. These both re-hydrate into awesome wrap sandwich staples as well pot style meals.
  
  Experiment with adding olive oil, ghee, or coconut oil to your meals during preparation on the trail for a serious calorie boost of about 250 kcal per oz.

I bought the best book called ‘Recipes for Adventure’ with dehydrated recipes, and have tried quite a few and they’re awesome. And lots of veggie options. We only have a jet boil but have found that these don’t really need to be boiled to eat, you can just pour boiling water into your dish (best if using an insulated mug or bowl), cover and wait for 15 minutes and it rehydrates everything.

https://www.amazon.com/Recipes-Adventure-Healthy-Homemade-Backpacking/dp/1484861345

Just about anything can be dehydrated. Fruits with solid/thick skins may need to be boiled (cranberries, blueberries, peas) to split the skins and allow for dehydrating. Ground meats work very well but you need to minimize fat (fat spoils regardless of moisture content) by using lean cuts. Only dehydrate canned or pressure cooked chicken (canned is always pressure cooked) as it forced sodium into the meat allowing for better re-hydration.

I could go on for hours. I learned most of what I know from this book: Recipes for Adventure

Fantastic. I dehydrate basically everything. I also have his book, which is nothing short of awesome.

1. LIP Smackin' Backpackin' This is written by, Christine and Tim Conners. (there is a vegetarian version offered as well, I have use this book the most because i've had it the longest, it offers a ton of great trail bar recipes, soups and pizza!!!!!!!!!!)
   
   
2. Recipis for Adventures, written by Chef Glenn Mcallister. (this book has the most pictures available, showing you how to layer and how to prepare individual food items)
   
   Both of these books offer a lot of good information how how to store, estimated length the food will last. The pastas offered in Lip smackin' served me many nights on the trail. Hopefully the links work below..
   
   Recipes for adventure
   
   Lip Smackin' Backpackin'
   
   Lastly Andrew Skurka made a 14,000 word (online or booklet) you can order through his site, I haven't looked at it much but I did buy in last year. Hope all this helps. Enjoy your trip and congrats on your wedding.
   
   A. Skurka