What fresh food do you take on longer walks?

[Robbo]

I don't mind how good dehydrators are, nothing tastes as good as fresh vegetables. Weight and storage are issues however, so I was wondering what you have found to be the best?

I have found that capsicum, carrots and cucumber to be the best fresh vegetables to take on extended walks. They seem to last quite well. The capsicum I carried with me on the Western Arthurs was still tasting fresh and edible when I finished it on day 6 - I used a bit every day with my lunch storing it in zip-top plastic after each meal.

What have others found?

Robbo

[corvus]

Robbo,
Interesting food for a 6 day walk are you willing to share your menu.

[tas-man]

I have taken to including a shrink wrapped (Lebanese?) cucumber on recent extended trips. Slice it thinly with my salmon on Vita Wheats for lunch - the crisp, crunchy, fresh food taste and texture is a great treat and I have managed to get up to 5 or 6 days lunches from the one cucumber, unless I share it around I just throw it in my food bag and it seems to handle the rough handling OK.

[corvus]

tas-man, leb cucumber would add interest to my cheese vitawhatever lunches,and may well be the gourmet addition to eat out of the bag meals (just concerned with the weight ) it might even act as a concentrated water supply,good pick I would never have thought of that.

[Robbo]

Interesting food for a 6 day walk are you willing to share your menu

I didn't mean to imply that I don't carry or use dehydrated food, Corvus. Just that something fresh is worth the extra weight.

As with Tas-man, I have found cucumber or capsicum sliced on vitawheat or salada, with a bit of vegemite or peanut butter quite good.

Robbo

[Damien]

when we walked the Overland track in April we took a lot of fresh food.

salami (sliced, vacuum sealed)
proscuitto (vacuum sealed)
5 oranges
5 apples
5 mandarins
3 avocados
2x packets of 'moo cow cheese' - it's in a round white packet and portioned in to 8 pieces

In hindsight we probably took a bit too much excess food as my pack weight was roughly 25kg for most of the walk

Damien

[Natt]

In hindsight we probably took a bit too much excess food as my pack weight was roughly 25kg for most of the walk

Damien

Eeek! can't help but comment - by the last day my pack was around 9 kilos and hubbies 14 or so .

Wow you must be fit!

[corvus]

Damien was that for one or two ??

[Damien]

Corvus,
that was for two people, myself and my girlfriend.

[Gippsmick]

Something that I would never contemplate bringing along on a hike, although grateful that my hiking partner did, was a lamb roast! I kid you not. He carried a full leg of lamb along with foiled spuds and corn for the first day of a 7 day along the Wilderness Coast Walk in Vic. Luckly fires were allowed and drift wood was plentiful. We spit roast it for several hours in the rain. Tasted great but way too much work, weight and fire wood.
Mick

[TruBlu]

A couple noone has mentioned yet are snow peas, salad leaves and sprouts.

Snow peas are excellent. They last for ages and don't mind getting bumped around.

Mixed lettuce and salad leaves sold in those sealed bags are also good if kept in the top on the pack where they won't crush, but not in the summer time. Other seasons, they are just fine and again last for a long time, especially if you can get them with a long "best before" date to start with.

Sprouts that you grow yourself are great for really long bushwalks. If they are just sprouted when you leave, you only have to rinse water through them a couple of times a day and tuck them in an outside pocket upside down so they drain as you walk. I use an old plastic container with a screw lid that I drilled holes into. By the time all your other fresh fruit and veggies are gone, the sprouts are ready to eat.

[tas-man]

The mention of "grow your own" sprouts brought back memories of an Australian Nutrition Foundation article from 1999? that first introduced me to this idea. I did a search for it on the ANF website but it no longer exists there, but a copy still resides here which may be of interest to BWT readers. http://au.geocities.com/redlandbushwalk ... g%20Energy
It is a useful article about bushwalking food. A summary of the article says:

ABSTRACT
"PACKING ENERGY"
BY - Australian Nutrition Foundation
"Going backpacking or trekking for a few days?
Using your body as a pack-horse, carrying a 15-20kg load up and down mountains, over rough ground and wading through rapidly flowing water, expends greater amounts of energy than suggested by the RDI. Even if the terrain is not so arduous you still need more energy than for an average day in the suburbs or down on the farm."

This article outlines food selection issues you need to be aware of when preparing for a throughwalk. It contains suggestions for equipment and types of food to take. It includes nutritional guidelines and suggestions for each meal, with additional ways to bring variety into your throughwalk diet.

[Lynda Moir]

We took fresh runner beans on our last extended walk. They handled the conditions well and tasted remarkably sweet. We picked them fresh from the garden as we were leaving. Also capsicum travels very snuggly in a mug and lasts well.

[Robbo]

"grow your own" sprouts

Thanks Tas-man. I was not familiar with the quoted article. A number of the suggestions noted are things that I have picked over the years, mostly by observing what other, more lateral thinking, people have dreamed up.

Tony Robinson

[luke.870]

Oh yes, cucumbers are the most amazing discovery ever, I totally love them. I eat them all the time, even when I’m not walking. Other than that, I like cheese, sausage and apples when I’m on a walk… they keep you full and they’re practical to take along with you on a long hike. Love the story about the lamb roast, though! I wouldn’t try it, but hey, I wouldn’t say no to a nice lamb roast after a day of walking…

[Son of a Beach]

Pork Pies!!! (Forth Valley)

You can get these from some butchers or delicatessens (not sure about the supermarkets?). They're heavy of course, but they come in large, medium and small sizes (150g). Makes a tasty and hearty first day's lunch, then you only have to carry them for half a day (and don't risk them going off).



Good hearty food is terrific when its cold and raining!

[corvus]

Alas Forth Valley Butcher "has gone fishing" Nicholls may have taken on the mantle now but as they say in the classics "you gotta shop around"

[the_camera_poser]

Nik- you don't look too impressed with that pork pie- it looks a bit like you're horrified by it!

I always take heaps of apples. Sugar and juice.

[Andrew]

We never leave home without Mung Beans on extended walks. Easy to sprout, grow in a day or two, just keep soaking overnight and walking as drain. (Just be careful there isn't one or two that don't sprout as can crack teeth).

ALWAYS
Mushrooms
Capsicum
Snow Peas
Spinach (don't buy cheap coles brand in square box, get Coles brand packet at $4 as keeps better)
Rocket (same) (Keep spinach and rocket in drinking mug as any damage will go off)(Best to buy spinach and rocket seperately as if one goes off affects the other)
Garlic
Chilli
Herbs

MOSTLY
Broccoli (cut bits off and don't take stork)
Caulieflower (we cut flowerettes of at home)
Beans
Blueberries

SOMETIMES especially if 1st day is not far etc.
Zucchini (small ones go a long way)
Asparagus (break so not hard stalk)
Okra
Some Cabbage
Raddishes
Banana
Tomato (high water content)
Carrots (heavy)
Cucumber (if my wife makes me - I don't like them)
Cheese
Boiled Eggs

Cheers,

Andrew

[corvus]

Wow Andrew no wonder you are using a LW pack, by the looks of things you may be vegetarian ,how do you keep all this heavy food fresh and edible on your extended walks.
I guess you are aware that "eat out of the bag " ultralight freeze dri meals are available to suit vegetarians which could save you grammes on your extended trip both in food and fuel.

[Andrew]

Hi Corvus,

Yes vegetarian but will eat fish especially if we catch them (and they taste particularly good if we have walked for a day or two to get there) or at a restaurant with nothing else suitable.

We do use the freeze dried meals as well but I find all the chemicals can upset my system as I am not used to them. Depending on the walk we try and take as much fresh food that will last and not be too heavy and obviously eat the heaviest food first. Easy to have veggies with cous cous, pasta or rice.

Can make mushrooms, capsicum, snow peas etc. go a long way to at least add some fresh food to freeze dried or pre-made pasta dishes. They seem to keep OK when kept in a pot but haven't done an extended walk at low altitude for a while.

The mung beans are the best for extended walks as they don't weigh a lot for their sprouted size.

Cheers,

Andrew

[corvus]

G'day Andrew,
We were vegos /eat fish about 35 years ago but it all became to hard and expensive so we lapsed and re joined the carnivores .
As to chemicals in Freeze Dri meals as far as I am aware Back Country Instant Mixed Vegetables and their plain Rice dont contain any additives.
corvus

[Andrew]

Hi Corvus,

I turned temporary carnivore. Walked/fished at New River Lagoon and South Cape Rivulet last week and just got home. My wife didn't come so I took some old Back Country FD meals that were in the cupboard and some left by some mainland friends all bordering on use by dates. Also took some on a fishing trip a while back so here are my ratings:-

Pasta Vegetariano 10
Babotjie 9
Roast Lamb & veg 8.5
Mexican Chicken 8
Nasi Goreng 8
Classic Beef Curry 8
Thai Chicken Curry 7.5
Beef Teriyaki 7
Sweet & Sour Lamb 6
Lamb Fettuccine 5
Honey Soy Chicken 3
Beef & Pasta Hotpot 2

Put snow peas, broccoli, red capsicum and mushrooms in cold water and then boiled on Jetboil then poured into FD meal once boiling. After 10 minutes fresh veg was cooked just right. Only did the first 3 days wih the frsh veg but it was good.

Called into new Anaconda store on way back and bought some vego Backpackers Pantry FD meals. They even had some marked organic. They are cheaper than Back Country - wonder if they are any good. Unfortunately there were no fish on the menu. Saw a few but my fly wasn't attractive.

Cheers,

Andrew

[dee_legg]

Backpackers are waaay nicer... bigger, have a clear bottom and a zip lock top for easy rehydration. and they taste about a million times better.