Meal Planning

Written by Bo Bonzi

I put myself to the task of planning our food; how to prepare it, how much, and what to bring.

To start off, I figured our families total calorie intake for a day. Some backpackers recommend doubling the number of calories you eat while at home to account for the extra exertion while on the trail.  So I took the advice and chose to double my families’ calories, then added a little more just for insurance. I did not want anyone to be hungry and have low energy. Next, I set out to make a meal plan that had a long shelf life, economical, nutritious, tasty, light weight, and simple to prepare. Foods like pasta and rice are obvious choices. Seasoning is key with pasta and rice!

The Plan:

We decided to only cook at dinner, eat breakfast on the go, and stop for a little break for lunch. We prepared our dinner away from the campsite so critters would go there to look for food and not our campsite. We also put all our food in a 5-gallon bucket with a screw on lid and left it where we cooked dinner. It’s a poor man’s bear container! Considering we would have needed 3 bear containers, I decided I would carry the extra weight of the bucket. The bucket was able to hold enough food for five days for our family.

Breakfast consisted of trail mix containing granola, peanuts, M&Ms, pretzels, banana chips, and a prepackaged trail mix we found at the store. We put a bunch of different food in a bag and hit the trail to see what worked. The M&Ms were a top choice for the kids, of course!

Lunch consisted of crackers and summer sausage. This was another big hit with the kids! Pack extra summer sausageJ

Dinner consisted of pasta salad with chicken and instant mashed potatoes. Yes, this meal is a carb loader. The potatoes can be ready in minutes, are filling, and are really good! The pasta salad takes a bit longer than the potatoes but is delicious. Cook the potatoes first and that way everyone can start eating while the pasta is being prepared. This helps everyone from being grumpy while they are hungry!

We found out that the calorie doubling did not work out for our family. We actually ate less than the anticipated amount. Better safe than hungry.