Seven Day Hiking food <600g per day

[KateRock]

Hey crew

I did a little video of the food I take on a seven day hike. I take more fruit and veg on shorter hikes but seven days had me cutting the heavy stuff out. I'd also love to hear what you take on these longer sections.

If you are interested please check out my video
https://youtu.be/MBtzcItd7cY

I'm also working on a gear video for my hike.

I'm not trying to get people to copy me I'm just super excited about sharing what I do and seeing what others do. I find I learn a lot from watching what other people do.

Cheers

[Zapruda]

Mod note: Just a reminder that we appreciate active participation on this forum. Self promotion of blogs and YouTube channels is fine as long as you post more than just links to your videos. Thanks.

[ChrisJHC]

Hi, Kate,

For most people, 600g per day will be the absolute lower limit and would cause weight loss for most.

Not great for extended hikes but no issue for short ones.
On the other hand, for short hikes weight isn’t such a concern and I find it’s often worth adding in a few small luxuries.

[ChrisJHC]

Here’s my shorthand list for 14 days:
Breakfast:
• Cereals
• Powdered milk
Lunches
• Protein (usually tuna or salmon sachets with different flavourings)
• Biscuits or Mountain bread
Dinners
• Dehydrated dinners (mostly Strive but a few others for variety)
• Chocolate bars
• Cup-a-soup
Misc
• Trail Mix (home made to taste)
• Coffee / hot chocolate
• Hydration tablets

Vary the selections in each category and you’re good to go.

[flingebunt]

There are a few tricks to boost the calories per gram in your back.
- Look for the supplement powders. Things like almond meal, LSA etc. These over have over 500 calories per 100 gram. Some are good with cereals, others might go well in your dinner.
- Some people take some olive oil and add it to meals. Oils are 800+ calories per 100 grams. Remember, if you are not used to eating oily food, it can have a negative impact on your digestive system (eg, give you the runs when you are walking).
- Nuts are good, as they are calorie rich. You can also look for crackers and other things that are very high in calories. The "health" food section of your supermarket have lots of crackers and biscuits that are loaded with calories (sorry, I mean nutrition, well that is how they sell it, but they are just giving you a calorie dump) which is great for hikers.
- In the US, lots of hikers use a lot of peanut butter. You can put it on flat breads, crackers or mix with with oil into your noodles. Aussies are less keen on peanut butter, but you can get ones without sugar or make your own.
- Meal replacement products have been around forever. Forget the trendy ones like Solyent and try Hospital Formula Sustagen. Mix them with powdered milk and maybe add some other supplements as well. They include this in the Australian army rations.
- Or go for the multi-vitamin tablets

[Warin]

No chocolate nor after dinner sweats ??? Essentials for me.

This guy has a lot of good info on food and now on water requirements. I have found one error and one gross omission (humidity in the water topic). I have watched it all through once, but will be doing it a second time and taking notes on it. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCflIoV ... DDw/videos (Note .. not me ... looking up all those references ... and the table is from USA.) He covers oils, chocolate, coconut .. many things. Including what to eat within 30 minutes of stopping.

Fruits?
I dehydrate kiwi fruit - 3 mm thick slices @ 55C. The green ones are sour, the gold ones sweet. Bananas similar but coat with lemon to stop browning. The shop ones have way too much sugar. Someone here had an apple crumble recipe.. have to look for that, dehydrated apple + other bits.

Veg..
I like broccoli, the stems don't dehydrate at the same rate - thick ones slowest. So I just take the very tops and do with them.

Breakfast.
Someone here put me on to Coles Toasted Muesli - cal dense .. and tasty to eat.

How much to take?
For cold weather I'd want more.. at least 700 grams per day. More important that weight is how many cals/joules your consuming. Along with the rest for some balance in the diet.

Last edited by Warin on Thu 27 Aug, 2020 7:26 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Tortoise]

For most people, 600g per day will be the absolute lower limit and would cause weight loss for most.

Not great for extended hikes but no issue for short ones.
On the other hand, for short hikes weight isn’t such a concern and I find it’s often worth adding in a few small luxuries.

I've got my food weight down to a smidge under 400gm/day for anything up to a 10 day walk. I note that Kate is female, as am I (and a lot smaller than you, I expect). Most of my female bushwalking friends would have no trouble managing on well under 600gm/day.

[Tortoise]

There are a few tricks to boost the calories per gram in your back.

Great ideas that helped me drop my food weight a lot.
I don't think you mentioned coconut milk powder from the supermarket. Light, calorie-rich, and yummy.

[flingebunt]

I don't think you mentioned coconut milk powder from the supermarket. Light, calorie-rich, and yummy.

My local supermarket doesn't seem to sell coconut milk powder, I have been trying to find that for a while. It is a great alternative to milk powder.

[Tortoise]

I don't think you mentioned coconut milk powder from the supermarket. Light, calorie-rich, and yummy.

My local supermarket doesn't seem to sell coconut milk powder, I have been trying to find that for a while. It is a great alternative to milk powder.

Bummer! It's not often that we can get something in Tassie that's not available somewhere on the mainland. I'm sure you would have looked there, but it's in the Asian section with the coconut milk. At both Woollies and Coles.

[flingebunt]

I don't think you mentioned coconut milk powder from the supermarket. Light, calorie-rich, and yummy.

My local supermarket doesn't seem to sell coconut milk powder, I have been trying to find that for a while. It is a great alternative to milk powder.

Bummer! It's not often that we can get something in Tassie that's not available somewhere on the mainland. I'm sure you would have looked there, but it's in the Asian section with the coconut milk. At both Woollies and Coles.

I will look again. I probably just walked past it, or maybe it is too popular and being an import, was sold out when I looked.

[commando]

Include a big stick of Danish/Hungarian salami... you will thank me for it.

[Moondog55]

Coconut flour is also sold in the baking section, while not exactly the same it works well enough for making sate sauce etc.

[Ms_Mudd]

Coconut flour is also sold in the baking section, while not exactly the same it works well enough for making sate sauce etc.

It does! I also use coconut flour to make my own low carb (high healthy fats) porridge. Bit of LSA, coconut flour, hemp and chia seeds, flaxseed powder, sometimes I even blend sesame seeds into a powder to add in. If on a longer walk, I will also add a scoop of collagen powder to it which adds sweetness, calories and obviously protein. I usually chase breakfast with a tube of peanut butter too that you can buy from Coles. Yummo.

[Tortoise]

Coconut flour is also sold in the baking section, while not exactly the same it works well enough for making sate sauce etc.

It does! I also use coconut flour to make my own low carb (high healthy fats) porridge. Bit of LSA, coconut flour, hemp and chia seeds, flaxseed powder, sometimes I even blend sesame seeds into a powder to add in. If on a longer walk, I will also add a scoop of collagen powder to it which adds sweetness, calories and obviously protein. I usually chase breakfast with a tube of peanut butter too that you can buy from Coles. Yummo.

Interstwesting, Muddy! I'm having another think about going low carb for a while. I need to shed those extra kgs soon, so I'm not lugging as many up the mountains this summer. I wondered what I might do for brekky. I'll check it out!

[flingebunt]

Interstwesting, Muddy! I'm having another think about going low carb for a while. I need to shed those extra kgs soon, so I'm not lugging as many up the mountains this summer. I wondered what I might do for brekky. I'll check it out!

Low carb is not the same as low calories. Study after study has shown that the amount of calories you eat is more important than the form you get the calories in. Yes, low carb is trendy at the moment, but and maybe there is some psychological benefit of getting your calories from protein, but whenever they do calorie controlled experienced, reducing carbs to reduce caloric intake is not different from reducing calories from other sources.

[Tortoise]

Interstwesting, Muddy! I'm having another think about going low carb for a while. I need to shed those extra kgs soon, so I'm not lugging as many up the mountains this summer. I wondered what I might do for brekky. I'll check it out!

Low carb is not the same as low calories. Study after study has shown that the amount of calories you eat is more important than the form you get the calories in.

Hmm. I've seen some impressive evidence to the contrary. I appreciate that there are other points of view, and am happy to agree to differ at this point.

[north-north-west]

It works well for some people. Low GI food is a thing. But I wish the obsessive Low Carb crowd would remember that, just as there are good fats and bad fats, there are good carbs and bad carbs.

[Tortoise]

And I love the bad carbs the most.

[flingebunt]

And I love the bad carbs the most.

I love good carbs, the wholemeal ones, that reduce your chance of colon cancer and are a good part of a weight loss diet. I also love saturated fats, which are a good way of dying of a stroke before colon cancer takes hold.

[rslt]

Watched your video, thanks for the info.
Did you dehydrate the mince you made? If so, any tips, if not do they last longer being vacuum packed?
Ta

[Miles Prower]

Nice vid. Love the tomato wheels.

[Neo]

One can also go no carbohydrates to lose weight and be a fat Burning furnace. Sorry no toast or hot chips

That is no wheat, no spuds, no lollies. But you can have all the cheese meat eggs butter cream and aboveground veg.

[commando]

Its fair to say everyone has food preferences likes and dislikes no single food assortment will please multiple people.
for me, i can live indefinately on condensed milk, dried pears, salami and noodles.