essential foods in your pack

[Lewi]

as with survival kits you would pick items that have many uses, what would you pack foodwise on a weekend trip to keep to maximise space and why?

[AdrianRose]

Salami, salami and some salami. There is nothing better on a spring and summer evening than being sat in a woodland, listening to all the wild birds and munching on a freshly cooked green stick salami kebab.

Ade

[Ben Casey]

Kendal mint cake :)

[rossbird]

At this time of year.
Porridge, great to warm you up in the morning and filling.
Chorizo, tasty easy snack.

[jus_young]

But looking at your post Lewi, are you pointing more towards possible foods that have more than one use such as sustenance/medicinal?

[BushcraftAndSurvival]

beef jerky, weight hardly anything, tastes good, can be added to other food or eaten alone and lasts ages

[Proventurer]

as with survival kits you would pick items that have many uses, what would you pack foodwise on a weekend trip to keep to maximise space and why?

Taking a lead from Monty Python, Spam, Spam, Spam and Spam!
Also big favourite/essential out here, Biltong.

[happybonzo]

Haribo

[Humakt]

Barbecue Pringles for me.

[Fletching]

My essentials are:

Home-made biltong/jerky
Home made dehydrated veg + protein powder
Electrolyte powders
peanut butter (in a squeezy tube) - more palatable than pemmican
blackstrap molasses + brown rice syrup + honey (in a squeezy tube)
condensed milk (in a squeezy tube)
bannock mix
flapjacks
Tea
Coffee

My non-essential are:

spam
chorizo
thunder berries (baked beans)
powdered soups
chocolate
3 min noodle mix
dehydrated soreen malt loaf - add to milky hot water for a sweet pud
any meat and veg desired for the duration that will last for the duration...

Steve :)

[jbrown14]

I died a bit inside seeing Spam in the responses above...though it does conjure lovely visions of Vikings sitting in a cafe.

A few of my essential foods:

Pepper Jack cheese sticks
Pepperoni stick
Mini Pita breads
Pepperoni pizza flavored Combos
Chocolate in some form

I've got a large percentage of energy from fat in there, as well as high salt content which tends to replace electrolytes that I lose when I sweat. The chocolate is great for quick energy, but also has fat content to feed the furnace in the middle of the night. It's all very packable, good energy to weight ratio in my opinion. Tasty too!

Later!

Josh

[Lewi]

Some real good things there, i was just looking at what stuff doesn't take up too much space and can use for a few different meals, and don't go bad so quickly, so the jerky and chorizo and salami are all things i was thinking. not really keen on buying these dehydrated packs of food they seem quite expensive for what they are.
I want to forrige for food but think it would be more an opportunistic thing as i'm out hiking, I don't have enough knowledge of the wild foods out there to rely on them (however i have got a little book to look at but still need to be absolutely certain). i like the peanut but in a tube idea not seen them.

[Fletching]

...i like the peanut but in a tube idea not seen them.

Coughlan's Squeeze Tubes. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coghlans-Squeeze-Tubes-2-PK/dp/B004BPCWWY)

:)

[AdrianRose]

I want to forrige for food but think it would be more an opportunistic thing as i'm out hiking, I don't have enough knowledge of the wild foods out there to rely on them (however i have got a little book to look at but still need to be absolutely certain).

Foraging is my thing, if I was never allowed to do any form of bushcraft again the main thing I would miss would be wild foraging. A superb book is Richard Mabeys "food for free". It's the bible of all foragers.

Cheers
Ade

[Roadkillphil]

Mead..... :D

[Roadkillphil]

Haha! Just kidding :D I always take raisins and dark chocolate out in the woods. Most of my food is noodles/rice/pasta, due to weight.

[jus_young]

Definately into the rice meals at the moment. They are supposed to serve two as part of a main meal but are ideal as a one person meal with a bit of steak or sausage thrown in. Have completely gone off the noodles though. I also take some form of fruit bars, cereal bars, raisins, maybe a bit of chocolate but I am concious of the calorie intake as I need all I can get!

[jus_young]

Ooo, and Pear Cider :D

[Tony1948]

Ar yes dont forget the Cider,:happy-clapping: LoL

[Merman]

There are two very important items:
Strong coffee
A good single malt

And as for food:
Home cured pancetta (posh bacon cubes)
Cured sausage
Cheese
Potatoes (boiled, mashed or jacket)

I am a sucker for tinned stuff too, I know there heavy but you can't beat a can of heinz beans with extra Tabasco outside on a cold day.

The above to be supplemented with green stuff found lying around.

[Dan XF]

I just tend to take the extra value noodles from ASDA at 11p a pack. Crush up 2 packs and put them in a large plastic mug then add boiling water to the top of the cup and leave for 4 mins. A meal for 22p, result. I also take dried cous cous packs and good old malt loaf which makes a great breakfast with hot chocolate. Like Roadkillphil I don't eat meat and i'm always on the look out for cheap veggie options. The curry pouches from ASDA are often sold as 2 for £2 and with the packaging removed they weigh about 300g per pack. I will often put one in the pot as I heat the water then eat it from the pouch while the noodles soften. Many years ago I looked at the fat content of chocolate and found that Galaxy had the highest so I carry that as well. It was mentioned earlier that fat burns well in winter to keep you warm and it's so true. Rannulph Fiennes and Mike Stroud did the last bit of their walk to the S Pole eating the butter sticks they had in their rations and the fat energy was key to their success. For me the key thing with the foods I carry is that they can be eaten from the pack or in a mug. The only thing I want to clean is my mug when I'm outdoors. I also tend to take Redbush tea as it tastes as good without milk so just a quick rinse out of the mug when finished.

[Dan XF]

I started my last bit with the words "I just tend to take" which if you read on is rubbish as I also take tea bags, choccy,malt loaf, instant hot chos c sachets and sometimes even pouches of curry. Don't know why I started it with that.

[Lewi]

Foraging is my thing, if I was never allowed to do any form of bushcraft again the main thing I would miss would be wild foraging. A superb book is Richard Mabeys "food for free". It's the bible of all foragers.

Cheers
Ade

Yeah I have that book but still find it hard to be certain

[Fletching]

Yeah I have that book but still find it hard to be certain

In that case, avoid. When you're a bit more confident, use your sense of smell and taste - the old rule is to separate the plant into its constituent parts and taste each part separately - allowing sufficient time for any reaction to occur.

Steve

[Norseman]

Oh, U all make me hungry..:-)

[andy202wr]

Apart from the tea, dried milk and bannoc mix I normaly pack.

1. Porridge.
2. Noodle's.
3. Dried fruit and chopped up mars bars in a zip type plastic sandwich bag to put in the Porridge and nibble on as you walk as a snack.
4. Smoky bacon.
5. Salami sosage's.
6. Dried mixed herbs.
7. Raisens.
8. At least 3-4 pints of water, unless you have a clean water supply where you are going.

4,5,6 and 7 can be put into the bannoc mix to add flavour and they also make them sweet or savoiry.

Also any road kill I pick up on the way (only if its fresh).

[andy202wr]

Coughlan's Squeeze Tubes. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coghlans-Squeeze-Tubes-2-PK/dp/B004BPCWWY)

:)

Cant find them anywhere on a uk based website.Amazon are out of stock and dont look like getting any in for a while

[Silverback]

Primula squeezy cheese

[Marvell]

dehydrated soreen malt loaf

Incredible!

[FishyFolk]

Fruit soup.
Nothing like firing up the multi-fuel, preferably while still in the bivvi bag and boiling up some of that as a starter. Gets you instantly warm and fills you with instant energy. Also it comes as one of those freeze dried powder packs so does not take up much space. Just add water and bring to boil, and let simmer - finished. Tho feel more bushcrafty - eat with your self made birch spoon ;-)

Also what I miss the most from my army days is my very own chocholate cream cheeze on toast....toasted in the ash drawer of the the tent oven. But cant find that cheeze anymore...lol

[alvino78]

noodles, pasta mug shots,sachet beans,cumberland sausage,sachet irish stew,old jamaica choc and a malt!!!!!:D

[AL...]

A good trail mix is M&M's salted Peanuts and rasens Throwen into a ziplock bag and kept in yer jacker pocket.

Cheers
AL

[comanighttrain]

I nearly always have yorkies!

Beans and Sausage rat pack in cold, meuslie in warm weather...

rice pudding as well...mmm...

[Marvell]

A good trail mix is M&M's salted Peanuts and rasens Throwen into a ziplock bag and kept in yer jacker pocket.

I like to chuck a few seeds and other fruits in there too, but you're right, it keeps you going.

[jbrown14]

A good trail mix is M&M's salted Peanuts and rasens Throwen into a ziplock bag and kept in yer jacker pocket.

Cheers
AL

No argument here. Nothing like "GORP" on hand, or "good-'ol-raisins and peanuts." I change it up every time, but chocolate, raisins and peanuts are the three essentials in Gorp. Good stuff.

Josh

[GwersyllaCnau]

I take these as a boil in the bag meal. Instructions say microwave but works just as well as boil in bag. 450 calories per pack about the same as a wayfayrer meal but at the moment are on offer 3 packs for £4.50 in tesco.

42444245

[jus_young]

Thats the ones I used to use but went off the taste. As the packs are wet they are also a little heavier to carry. I tried these ones instead, a lot tastier and only 64p.

4251

[Hushwing]

In that case, avoid. When you're a bit more confident, use your sense of smell and taste - the old rule is to separate the plant into its constituent parts and taste each part separately - allowing sufficient time for any reaction to occur.

Steve

...or if really stuck and not sure - eat the book!! ;)

[Fletching]

...or if really stuck and not sure - eat the book!! ;)

You'd expend more energy eating it than you'd derive from it. :)