whats the best food to take with you?

[nickidan]

Hi everyone,

What do you think is the best foods to take when you go bush?

The prioritys being size and nutrition. think of it as one of those "if you were stuck on a desert island" sort of questions - what would be the food you would take?

 

[johnnytheboy]

I found that just taking regular ingreidents and making a proper meal is far better than all this light weight tastless junk. Its not much more weight and its much better fun making good food outdoors, it tastes allot better and allot of the time makes the outing!!! (remember that belting currie we had in the great glen etc)

My fishing mentor has shown me how to cook in the outdoors, he looks at a fire or stove just as a heat source just like you have in the house, we have cooked full curries including chipaties etc from scratch!!!

The only time I would consider the size and weight stuff is on an expedition if time is crucial, and you are very remote so weight is important!

 

[nickidan]

The only time I would consider the size and weight stuff is on an expedition if time is crucial, and you are very remote so weight is important!

Thats why im asking...

 

[johnnytheboy]

Sorry you said the "bush" not an expedition!!

 

[Shewie]

I think sitting around a camp fire for a weekend doesn't call for much calories so the menu is pretty open really. If you were heading to the hills or trying to cover some mileage then you'd have to look at it differently. For an average camp in the woods I take whatever I feel like usually, that'll be something hot and stodgy for breakfast, a light lunch and then a decent meal in the evening before breaking the whisky out, repeat for as many days as I'm out. If you're car/canoe camping or just a mile from the road then take whatever you most enjoy, there's no point paying £6 a time for a camping meal if you don't need to carry it very far. If you're looking to get the weight down then for me it has to be dehydrated, whether that's something you make yourself and then prepare or whether you take individual ingredients and knock something up in the field.

 

[nickidan]

Sorry you said the "bush" not an expedition!!

haha Its not an expedition its basically tramping... i need as much good food for as little wieght and size and money

 

[sandbender]

haha Its not an expedition its basically tramping... i need as much good food for as little wieght and size and money

Where do you plan to travel? How many days between resupply points? Will there be plenty water? What will the weather conditions be?

"...think of it as one of those "if you were stuck on a desert island" sort of questions..."

If I was stuck on a desert island I'd take about twenty to thirty goats.

 

[johnnytheboy]

In all seriousness if its just a couple of days real ingredients dont take up much more room, think of something like a curry, or one pot sausage and bean casseroles, dead easy to pack with zip lock bags. If your taking raw meat to BBQ or cook and your taking water, freeze some of your water and pack it next to the meat to keep it fresh until you get there!! Just an idea!!

 

[nickidan]

the plan is north - in 2 weeks time from the lake district - the plan is to jsut start walking.... i dont know when ill resuply or what the weather will be like.

at the moment im thinking things like flour, rice, brew kits, spam... i want to try live of the land as much as possible

 

[Teepee]

My favourite supermarket foods for the pack;

Mattessons smokey sausage
Polish paprika sausage
Block of cheese
Intsant porridge
Squeezy Honey- for porridge and coffee
Packet pasta meals, usually from Aldi
Spicy Cous-cous
Oatcakes
Potato farls
Milk powder
Super noodles
Cereal bars
Dried fruit (bananas, strawberries,raisins)
Hard boiled eggs
Nabisco breakfast buscuits
Dried onions or wheatgerm(health food shops) to bulk up pasta meals and provide the evenings entertainment

 

[tomongoose]

I always take pasties, I get my Mrs to make up a batch whenever I go out for a weekend

 

[sandbender]

"the plan is north"..."i want to try live of the land as much as possible..."

Good luck with that, I think you'll need it.

Have you done this kind of thing before? If you are new to the whole walking for days on end without resupply thing then I'd encourage you to experiment with baking your own breads, creating meals from dry ingredients (rice, lentils etc.). But you should look to Teepee's list for some things to have with you for those moments when you are too tired, wet and miserable to feed yourself properly. Single packet oat breakfasts, especially the ones with added honey are well worth having. Oatcakes and oat based health bars are nice to have. Dried sausage and dried fruits are worth packing.

Have fun.

Edited to add:

If you are heading for northern Scotland at this time of year you should get hold of a fine mesh head net and wide brimmed hat to keep the mesh away from your face.

Edited to add:

Seriously, get a head net, do it now.

 

[nigeltm]

I also go for fresh as much as possible. To make things easier some ingredients I'll prep before I go and pop into ziplock bags. Onions chopped, peppers sliced. One trick is to freeze the meat you'll use on day 2 or 3 and put it in an insulated bag with the fresh meat. It'll keep it all nice and bacteria free.

Bannock mix is also a must. Not just for a basic bannock. Throw in some dried fruit or drinking chocolate and you have breakfast. Hollow it out and put in some cheese and you have a pocket sandwich. I also mix it with curry powder and use it to coat chicken for KFC in the bush.

 

[Siberianfury]

I take:

French Bread
Dairylea spread
Alphabetty spaghetti, 2 tins a day
pasta
beef jerkey

this is what i have always taken, ive never realy changed it.

 

[beenn]

This is not food i take but for the trip you described i would say beef jerky, rice, dried fruits, nuts ect. Stuff that will keep and is easy to carry

 

[nickidan]

thanks for the help guys! thanks for the tip sandbender - i did buy a headnet as i met the british midge for the first time the other day and i must say i didnt care for them. i did not care for them at all

 

[Twodogs]

An old one but a good one,

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45126&highlight=

Twodogs

 

[rik_uk3]

Whatever you take make sure you know how to cook it, practise at home with the stove and pots you will use on the trip. Its worth taking a couple of meals ready to eat, maybe a tin of curry and a packet of 5 minute rice, can of Irish stew and smash, noodles with a can of tuna added, simple food that is easy to cook when you are tired. Pita bread is a good bread substitute, as is German pumpernickel, tube of Primula cheese is good on biscuits, small tub of jam is handy. Packs of salami/chorizo keep well too. The packets of five minute rice are very handy as are the packets of macaroni cheese, lightweight and give you some bulk. A packet of hard boiled sweets last a lot longer than a bar of chocolate and won't melt.

Cooking meals from scratch is great but after a hard days walking a speedy meal, hot brew and feet up are a nice way to end the day

 

[R.Lewis]

I take a cheap pack of noodles (super noodle style but sainsbury or tesco basic) and a tin of Mackeral in chilli sauce. Cook noodles and stir in mackeral when noodle drained, yummy. I usually add foraged greens to the noodles when cooking (nettle tops best) to balance nutrition.

Cooks in two minutes, nutritious, filling and tasty. Takes up little space and weighs little.

 

[NathanG]

smash is good, its very light, very cheap and can be made to taste nice because its essentially a bland mush you can put anything in it! it does need quite alot of water though, apart from that id recommend learning how to make bannock well and taking the ingredients with you, and also look around for cheap instant meals like noodles and couscous

sausages like salami and chorizo add lots of flavour, lots of energy and last for ages, and bacon lasts a long time too.

and haribo, lots and lots of haribo