veggi food for longer trip

[Andy]

My plan was to fill up any spare volume and carry as much weight as possible. As far as walking goes my body seems to take it rather well.
You could come too after all two veggies are better then one (plus yuo sound like you are a better cook then me)

 

[Emma]

I'd love to, but I just don't have the money.
And as for my cooking... I can follow recipes, I know which bits I can skimp on and which to replace with cheaper items, and I can make sure it's still edible and even tastes almost OK after that. I wouldn't say I was actually good at it. I currently eat to survive rather than to enjoy the taste.
You should probably do a bit more cooking before going.

How much weight can you take? A whole month's supply is a lot when you're not hunting...

 

[Andy]

I'd love to, but I just don't have the money.

I don't either but to hell with it we're young and free

I wouldn't say I was actually good at it.

please note use of word better :roll:

How much weight can you take? A whole month's supply is a lot when you're not hunting...

I don't really know.

Does anyone know what sort of beans and buts you can buy up there. broths would keep me going ok

 

[bambodoggy]

Andy, sorry Mate...I've just spent the last two and a half hours looking up info on foraging for veggies in Scandanavia (that's veggie foraging not actually seeking out veggies! ): ) all over Google and I can't find a thing!

I did find loads of other interesting stuff but nothing to help answer how much we'd all be able to find to eat on top of what us corpse crunchers can pull out of the river.....if we catch nothing we'll all be in the same boat....so to speak!!! lol :rolmao:

I'm still not convinced it's going to be an issue for you....meat based dishes are just as heavy so you should be ok with dried veggie stuff.

As regards to what you can carry....a rough guide is not to try to carry more than a third of your body weight.....that's not to say that you can't carry a lot more but this is supposed to be enjoyable! If you're a young strong fit lad and have trained you may be able to comfortably move this up to half your body weight (hope that's not patronising but I have no idea what you look like or have done exercise wise!!!).

I'll keep looking for the veggie foraging as there must be stuff out there but just no luck so far Mate!

 

[Danzo]

Dunno how you'll feel about this next suggestion andy, but in Mr Mears programme about the real Heroes of Telemark he described how they ate the contents of the stomachs of the reindeer they killed to get their vegetable intake...........

:shock:

Danzo

 

[Paganwolf]

Dunno how you'll feel about this next suggestion andy, but in Mr Mears programme about the real Heroes of Telemark he described how they ate the contents of the stomachs of the reindeer they killed to get their vegetable intake...........

:shock:

Danzo

Kill an animal to get a veggi meal Hmmmmmmmmmm me thinks reindeer bile will be off the menu some how :rolmao:

 

[bambodoggy]

:rolmao: That's soooo funny! I can see exactly where Danzo is coming from and it's just the sort of suggestion I tend to make.... but it does slightly defeat the object of being a veggie doesn't it? ):

That's so cheered me up!

I don't think any of us will be killing Reindeer (permits, weapons issues etc) but if we did and we eat the meat....Andy would you try the tummy fudge then?

I'm still searching the web for info on foraging.....reindeer moss is all I can find so far!!!!

 

[Paganwolf]

tummy fudge!! :rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao: :You_Rock_

 

[arctic hobo]

If you're up for surviving on rather nasty vegetables that will keep you alive but not much more, you can boil every plant you find. Sometimes only the stalk is worth eating, but there's plenty of tasteless tough vegetation if you want it! And tundra berries, which are nice, but quickly rather boring. This is based on my experience in land that is similar but with less trees, so maybe there will be a few more interesting things :?:

 

[bambodoggy]

Lol...let's hope so or we'll all get pretty bored of Salmon pretty soon and the veggies even sooner!

Can any of our Scandinavian member help us out a little here with their knowledge? ? ? Pretty please....Gerd, viking and the others? ? ?

 

[zen]

Hi Andy,

I hope this is helpful and not patronising, but then, (I think it was Bambodoggy who said this first), I don't know what you know already.

Maybe we could look at it from a different angle and ask the question what will your body really need during the trip?

Assuming that (with the exception of animal / bird / fish flesh) you will be eating more or less the same as everyone else does, and that they will all be getting a fairly balanced diet, then all you are missing is a couple of hundred grams of protein a day. This is not so big a deal if you are watching tv on the sofa all day, but if you are man-hauling heavy packs across vast distances you are going to really need to ensure your protein intake is up their with everyone elses. You'll also be consuming more food in general than you normally would.

I am assuming that you are veggie and not vegan? If so then you should try to make sure there was at least some milk / cheese / eggs in your diet at regular intervals, and preferably in good sized portions.

Vegetable protein can be obtained by mixing grains and beans or lentils or nuts. This ensures that you get all 8 essential amino acids, though you'll need to eat more than the carnivors to get enough protein. But go easy on the nuts, it's not so great to eat more than a few handfuls a day as they're 50% fat. Same goes for the cheese.

I would also consider taking some of the protein supplements that body builders use. You can buy them in big tubs of powder and in the form of chocolate bars. This could be a useful addition to your diet and many of them are veggie as they are mostly whey.

If I was doing the trip I would be looking at this kind of stuff:

Breakfast: Some kind of porridge with dried or fresh fruit and nuts, can be made with milk and you could add a boiled egg or two to the menu.
Lunch: Eggs or cheese with some kind of bread.
Dinner: Rice with beans or lentils and vegetables.
Snacks: Anything high in energy and in protein. (Meusli bars / snickers cruncher / chocolate).

Of course there are a hundred different variations on this theme but it's basically 40% grains (carbohydrate), 30% Eggs/cheese/nuts/beans/lentils (protein) and the rest fruit and vegetables. (Vitamins and minerals).

To add some more detail, most of the common veggie burgers / sosmix / TVP etc would all come under 'beans' because they're mostly made from soya.

So, if that's what's good to eat. How are you going to get it?

Well, I'm no expert but I'm guessing that like most things it's going to have to be a compromise. You'll probably have to carry a lot, be flexible about what you eat, and use every available opportunity to stock up.

Finally, if you can get hold of an army veggie 24 hour ration pack at least you 'll know what they survive on. Though there's no chance of carrying 30 of them as they weigh a fair bit

 

[arctic hobo]

Thanks Tom, I think you had advice for us all in there. :biggthump
As regards bodybuilder supplements, on the advice of a friend I once took creatine monohydrate while training for an expedition, and when on the expedition. I'm a bit skeptical as to how healthy they are, but I can definitely recommend it. It gave me a lot more 'go', and motivation, although I can't say I noticed my muscles getting any bigger! It tastes quite nice too - I was taking powder mixed with fruit juice four times a day.

 

[Andy]

Thanks a lot Zen and everyone else . It's been really helpful. My trick with cooking is that if it tastes ok eat it and if it doesn't add tabasco source and then eat. I guess a couple of kilos would be ok to carry above other people.
I'm guessing we'll have to buy a few things along the way so I'll keep an eye out for beans.
I can keep a diet going for a normal life without any problems and I just used to add more protein and carbs when biking. This is a lot more prolonged though so I was a bit unsure.
I just rememberd that my brother in law used to be veggi and since he's been a canoe instructer he'll be able to help out.

Guys it looks like yuo get my humour for the whole trip ):

 

[Lithril]

GREAT NEWS Andy.

Must admit protein isn't too difficult to find in the wild (not including meat) its carbs that I think are going to take up the bulk of any food we take.

 

[Andy]

YAY

I've talked to my folks about this and they haven't once suggested I don't go. My dad sems to like the idea of fresh samon though.

 

[arctic hobo]

Fantastico! ):

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

I missed if your vegan or vegetarian :?: How MUCH you consume is only matched by WHEN you consume it. If dairy is allowed add a big spooonfull of butter to your evening tea. This little booster will keep your sleeping metabolism nice and warm. People also tend to become dehydrated in cold weather, mug up frequently.

 

[Mikey P]

I just remembered, there's also some stuff called IVP I think?

Yup - it's TVP or Textured Vegetable Protein. It's like dehydrated mince meat an is pretty good for bulking up meals.

I lived for 3 months on the 4 vegetarian options of US army MREs (Meal Ready to Eat) in Spring 2003 but, while the food is good, they are bulky and heavy for what you get and with a huge amount of waste to carry/dispose of - not great from an environmental perspective.

You could also try things like SOSMIX or Beanfeast (Holland and Barrett are a good source for these), but we're back to the weight/volume issue.

Do you have any idea how much access to fresh food, shops (?), you may have while you're there? In canoes you will have a bit more space to carry stuff. But, what will everyone else be eating? I assume that you won't be on your own and that the others in the party will not be eating an exclusive diet of meat and fish with nothing else?

Here's a long shot: about 15 years ago I went on an expedition and we prepared a load of food before hand and got a company to freeze dry it for us.

One more solution is to eat more of the veg/fruit that others will be eating as well but, as someone suggested above, take stuff like chilli powder, tomato/garlic paste, a few select herbs and spices and that. I've been veggy for about 5 years now and there's always a way!!! Good luck.

Oh - nearly forgot!!! Rather than look at body building supplements, you need to look more a carbs (most of your activity will be aerobic and not anaerobic); therefore, look at what endurance athletes use. I would recommend things like energy bars and gels (High 5, SiS and Powergel are all good - the High 5 caramel-flavour sports bars are awesome and taste fantastic!). Also, as you will need to keep hydrated throughout the day, high-carb sports drinks (which come in powdered form, ready for you to mix) would be perfect in maintaining energy levels and hydration; again, I'd recommend something like SiS PSP-22, or similar. If you are worried about protein, specific protein-enhanced sports bars and recoverey drinks, like SiS REGO will target both stocking up your glycogen carb reserves and providing easy digest proteins to help with muscle recovery. Hope this helps.

 

[BIG-TARGET]

Ramein noodle soups do the same thing, but it also gives some flavor

And lets not forget foraging for edible plants like dandelions, morels, etc. :biggthump

 

[bambodoggy]

I'm still not sure what the foraging will be like up there but all the northern mosses are edible and high in carbs....

Don't know about anyone else but I'm a little freaked reading the below posts....I'm sure it's not that bad but it sounds like Andy will be carrying a pharmacy with him.....this power bar and that drink mix etc etc..... There's GOT to be a natual way to do all this.....all those processed chemicals sounds horrid to me!

Chris's tip with the butter is a good one....remember the Tibetan's all drink butter tea....and it gets a bit nippy where they are!

Zen's post was very good too....didn't have all the supplements in it! ):

None of my business what people take in to their bodies (I'm a smoker) but potions and pills scare me! :yikes: