(Part 2) Best products from r/trailmeals

Umteenthing Propaine. In addition, there are "prepare ahead" recipes that make dinner prep something easy and on a road trip snacks are amazing.

In addition, if you're road tripping when it gets close to supper go get yourselves a rotisserie chicken with some sides, and have yourselves a picnic. Still cheaper than most places for dinner.

Also, breakfast oatmeal is banging when you put all the dry ingredients in a thermos, add boiling water, and seal it up overnight.

Resources:

There's a subreddit for campground recipes and another one for trail meals

There's also a really good book that I personally recommend. It is for people who can't just throw money around for camping food so there are recipes and directions on places to buy components. Link here

Also, I don't buy books until I know know I will like and use them.

Libraries are awesome. Cookbooks are 641.5, but you'll specifically want Camp Cooking which is 641.578

One thing I like to do is get shelf stable chicken chunks (foil for backpacking, can for car camping) OR cook this the first night of camping with real chicken breast. It makes a pretty good chicken in peanut sauce, and if you get powdered coconut milk to add to what's already there it becomes a rich delicious meal. I use 1 pouch/person because we were burning calories.

If you have questions PM me, I have done a fuckload of camping and feeding people in the field.

Trail staples like peanut butter, Nutella, trail mix, hard candies/chocolates will all keep really well without refrigeration. Things like Spam Singles and tuna singles are really shelf stable and versatile. Instant oatmeal is also an easy breakfast and pretty negligible in terms of weight, especially since all you need is some hot water. I like taking instant polenta for the same reason - fills you up, takes 3 minutes to cook and is great with some salami or cheese mixed in.

There's also a supermarket chain in Iceland called Bonus and there are quite a few of them around the place. They have a huge selection of things like salami and hard cheeses which were staples of what I carried while I was there (spent 3.5 weeks hiking/camping the whole country basically). Tortillas are light and easy to pack and would definitely last you a week.

I am haul my 6.5" cast iron. I have a cook set with a pot but i needed a frying pan. I usually camp with my SO and we love to cook. We decided that the 6.5" pan would be worth bringing because we could cook two dishes at the same time (without bringing two stoves or extra fuel) one over the fire and one on the isobutane stove. This is our luxury item.

As far as what to cook that is entirely up to you. I love good food and if you plan your meals properly the sky is the limit. Everything you make at home can come with you if it is properly planned/packaged for the journey. Hard bread, hotdogs, pizza mix (transport sauce in a small bottle of dressing), bake cake in an orange, raw meat (if you freeze it the night before), pre-cook a steak very rare and finish cooking it when you arrive, fire roasted vegetables, stuffed peppers, pasta.

If you're near water (and it's legal to do so) fishing is a great way to pass the time. You don't need a fishing pole you can wind the line around your water bottle. Or make one with a stick and a few small eye screws like this. You could also use a slingshot to "cast".

And remember you can just bring the bits you need. I like mine better for the weight actually, and have 2 different kits:


https://www.reddit.com/r/CampingGear/comments/2h32ru/picked_these_up_at_the_store_for_1495_and_1995/

I reeally like them and when i go by myself i just take the small one, and when 3 people I take them all and 2 stoves. I have an older pocket Rocket clone but got this little baby a few months ago for $10 or 11 bucks:

https://www.amazon.com/BRS-Ultralight-Camping-Outdoor-Cooking/dp/B00NNMF70U

I just try to be cheap thrifty so I do tend to look for sales and "clones". My buddy just bought the whole kit he needed for JMT and is in over 3 grand. My kit is pretty good and I am in for maybe $500-600.

I can always go back and buy the super expensive gram saving thing if I find I want to loose more weight from my pack down the road. But i figure at this point a diet will do more for trail weight than fancy gear.

There's also this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Camp-Propane-Grill-Stove/dp/B000W4VD8C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462296264&sr=8-1&keywords=coleman+grill+stove

I like that because you can also get a flat top griddle, so use the grill for burgers, steaks, chicken, etc. then use the griddle for eggs, bacon, pancakes, etc. etc.

The only downside is if you want to cook something in a pot the burner is a bit small and seems to be primarily designed for just boiling water in a kettle, but we've managed to cook up all sorts of stuff without issue, sometimes I have to fold back the one side of the windscreen to fit the pot if it's too big.

We just upgraded to the Jetboil Genesis cooking system (thanks to dividends and 20% off from REI) but haven't had a chance to put it through the paces yet, but in our limited testing it seems pretty great. A lot more expensive though... a lot.

That grill you posted looks huge, I can't imagine taking that unless we had a big van or a trailer or something. It's also 3x the cost of the Coleman stove or grill+stove along with being less portable. Also I can't tell from the picture if it just uses those standard small fuel canisters you can get from anywhere, or if it requires a bigger tank. If it does use the small size I'd be curious how quickly it burns through the fuel.

They make freeze dried tofu, but I think it tastes like cardboard sponge.

This shelf stable tetra-pak silken tofu, on the other hand, is great! I use it at home in soups or stir fries. It may be a bit heavy for lightweight backpacking...but so is beer, and I bring that 🙃.

https://www.amazon.com/Mori-Nu-Silken-Tofu-Extra-Ounce/dp/B000LKZ86K

Don’t have any recipes but TVP will probably be a great addition because you only have to barely bring water to a boil and stir. Add some taco seasoning and your good to go.
Also this book will probably be of great use.
https://www.amazon.com/Lipsmackin-Vegetarian-Backpackin-Lightweight-Trail-Tested/dp/0762785020/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=lip+smacking+vegetarian+backpacking&qid=1565379203&s=gateway&sprefix=lips+smacking+vege&sr=8-1&utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app

For chicken I like Valley Fresh Premium White Chicken Cuts It mushes up real nice to become shredded. I mix it with a bit of tabasco and put it in soup.

Libby’s Seasoned Beef Crumbles are good in chili.

The Progresso Chili's are good Red, White. I like to ad a pouch of one of the above meats for more meatyness.

I have also pre-cooked ground beef to be added to a can of chili. I like doing that because I can add a onion, and seasoning. I freeze it before it goes into the cooler. It is defrosted by the second day.

if you go for this style for car camping, (and you absolutely should, as they're a joy to cook on as long as weight doesn't matter), then get the propane adapter.

Not only does it make cooking on the stove a joy, the cost is lower too. Coleman fuel costs a mint, and you need to fill and pump the tank. You could buy the Unleaded gas version, but you would still need to pump.

There's got to be a million good used stoves like this out there, they're built like tanks. Mine's like 50 years old and the only maintenance I do is oil the leather gasket on the piston pump once a year, just to keep the Coleman white gas option open to me.

So, I love Molly Katzen's Peanut Sauce - from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest.

I decided that I'd make a rice dish this weekend that sort of mimics the recipe, although I had to sub out some things.

Ingredients (for 1):

1 packet Uncle Ben's (or other) "Microwave Rice" - or "Boil-in-Bag" rice

1/3 c dried mushrooms, I got a ton from Costco

Sauce:

2T peanut butter

1 tsp rice/apple cider vinegar (sub regular white vinegar in a pinch)

1/2 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp honey - the recipe calls for blackstrap molasses, which makes for an excellent sauce. I didn't have any, and honey worked out great.

2 dashes cayenne pepper (next time I'll use five dashes ;) )

1 dash dried garlic

Prep:

Put all 'sauce' components in a small snack size ziplock baggie. Zip and then knead with your fingers to incorporate the liquids into the peanut butter. Place mushrooms in a zip bag and crush a bit to make bite sized pieces. Pack everything together.

Cooking instructions:

Boil water (enough to cover the bag of rice at least halfway + 1 cup). Pour 1c boiling water into a bowl with the mushrooms and cover (I used my pan cover because my rice didn't fit in the pan with the lid on!). Add the bag of rice to the boiling water as-is (don't open up a steam vent like it directs on the package).

Boil for about 4 minutes, turning as needed to evenly heat all the rice.

When rice is about done, drain the mushrooms of their excess water and squeeze the sauce mix into the bowl. Add 1/8-1/2 cup water (I added about 1/2 cup and wished I had added a bit less), depending on how thin you want your sauce. Stir in hot rice and enjoy! You're also left over with hot water as long as your rice packet wasn't dirty ;).

Additional Add-ins

I marked this as a lunch because it's what I ate it for. I like my dinners to have more protein and typically they're a bit more labor-intensive than this. It would be awesome with the following:

Foil/Canned Chicken

Peanuts on top

Fresh Broccoli

Dried peas (I can't find them, but I know they're out there)

Onion flakes (with the mushrooms, so they rehydrate)

Tofu

I've been very impressed with the Primus OmniFuel. It's not cheap and requires priming when using liquid fuels, but it's effective and very reliable. But I second the recommendation to get separate backpacking and car-camping stoves: if you can afford the space and weight, something like this will make camp cooking far easier - much more stable than a tripod-mounted backpacking stove, and the second burner won't hurt :-) OTOH, if you're car-camping for long periods then you'll probably want one that will run on gasoline: these appear to be more expensive, alas.

Have you considered TVP?
It is Textured Vegetable Protein. It takes the place of meat in most dishes, but I would not consider it a meat substitute as it is truly "its own animal" and doesn't mimic any meat very well IMHO. Great in sauce based dishes.

This little brewer works pretty well.

Primula Brew Buddy Portable Pour Over, Reusable Fine Mesh Filter, Dishwasher Safe, Single Cup of Coffee or Tea At Any Strength, Ideal For Travel or Camping, Red https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0087SPTLC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_zQVXDbDHSHP1G

Get on Amazon and buy some of these.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0001MS3DI/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1462935978&sr=8-2&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=half+sheet+pan+and+rack&dpPl=1&dpID=41PBvlflBmL&ref=plSrch

And an equal number of these.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000G0KJG4/ref=pd_aw_fbt_79_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=18X6H5MZZ2GQTT8RGT0D

Put the one in the other and put whatever you're drying on the rack and put one on each rack in your oven. Set the oven to the lowest temp possible. Prop the door open with a wooden (not plastic) spoon and wait.

Ovens are usually a little hot for fruits to do well so you can go on for an hour, off for an hour, etc... Until it gets dry to keep from cooking as you dehydrate. Ovens work well for meats and jerkys as I feel most home model dehydrators don't get hot enough to dehydrate meat.

Also get one of these.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B019DT4EBE/ref=mp_s_a_1_17?qid=1462936323&sr=8-17&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=mandoline+slicer

Makes uniform slices and you can julienne things like carrots and potatoes.


These really help for doing fruit as well.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00629K4YK/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1462936445&sr=8-2&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=silpat&dpPl=1&dpID=41MTUhWaO%2BL&ref=plSrch

If you do something that's really sticky like pineapple or mango, put the slices on this in the sheet pan. You'll have to turn your pieces a few times but they'll make cleanup so much easier.

If you're gonna buy a dehydrator. Get this one.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001K246KW/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1462936599&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=lem+dehydrator+10+tray&dpPl=1&dpID=51XOjbSNSdL&ref=plSrch

Has 10 trays, easy to clean, all stainless, and has a thermostat. It's pricey, but if you make all your meals for one or two trips instead of buying freeze dried, it will pay for itself.

I make all my meals for big trips for 4-6 people for 6+ days. Mine paid for itself the first trip.

find the all stainless steel ones. plastic + heat+ food is not a good combo

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0756ZSV6S/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_prE2Cb9709KTV I have something like this, expect it to be in celsius and the buttons takes like 10 pushs to set the programming. other than that its bomber

Why not find some space efficient, maybe even stacking, Tupperware?

Edit:

I just found this on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/ECO-Friendly-Resistance-Vegetables-Microwave-Dishwasher/dp/B0796HJGQQ/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=backpacking+food+storage&qid=1571771645&sr=8-7#customerReviews

I'm in the same boat as you; trying to ditch the freezer bags. I might get these silicone bags. You won't get to ditch them like the paper sack idea, but they will last a really long time.

I use these:

GSI Outdoors Halulite Boiler Cooking Pot, 1.1-Liter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GP1GSAO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_gGI0CbV08N5W5

BRS Outdoor Camping Gas Cooking Stove Portable Ultralight Burner 25g https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NNMF70U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_HFI0Cb57SJ66E

Total weight: 135g or 4.76oz; Total cost: $47

You can get stuff that weighs less but I’m cheap.