I thought it would be interesting and useful to share some cheap, easy to find, packs small and light foods. So Here's my daily menu to start off.



Calorie levels can of course be boosted by eating more of anything. I boil water in my MSR 400ml titanium mug, then let it simmer in my Vargo titanium sierra cup. I've found the amounts of noodles, smash and porage oats here are ideal for this size.

Calorie levels could also be boosted by swapping the kabanos for ASDA extra special Choriso (around 300Kcal a day for the same weights). I got fed up trying to peel the coating off it, it's a bit of a night mare. Also, it's good with noodles but not so great with Smash and I liked a bit of variety in my day.

If anyone knows an alternative with the higher calorie count but no (or easy peel) skin I'd more than appreciate to hear about it. Also about anything else that may be interesting.

Something else I sometimes do is instead of mixing almonds with my porage I melt in a Snickers bar. You really have to try this, even at home.

David.

My preferred wild camping breakfast nowadays is muesli mixed with Co-Op honey oat cereal and powdered milk, measured out in a sandwich bag. Add cold water and it's pretty good, and with lots of carbohydrate. Saves the faff of heating water for porridge -- and spending five minutes cleaning the pan afterwards.

I tried the meusli thing, but I prefer to have something hot. I wasn't keen on the powdered milk with cold water either, I do like it heated up.

I suppose in a way my porage is is more like hot meusli, I said simmer in my last post, that was really the wrong word. I boil water in my mug, put the oats in my sierra cup (I also pre mix them with powdered milk, I add sugar and tie it up in a sandwich bag too), then add the boiling water to the cup, stick on a foil lid and let it sit for 5 mins. It soaks up and swells rather than fully cooks. This also makes cleaning a quick and simple job.

I used to occasionaly burn it to the cup when I cooked directly in it, I could also only cook 50 grams in it that way.

This way also cuts down on fuel, to cook the above daily menu I use around 20grams of gas each day.

David.

Dave -- I can understand your point about preferring having something hot for breakfast, and not liking cold powdered milk. I get the heat in by having a big mug of tea, and I don't mind the cold powdered milk, especialy since it actually seems to mix in better when blended with the muesli. Each to his own.
I notice you like Snickers bars, but have you tried something like jelly babies instead? They give instant energy and can be consumed little and often as you walk. Also, they don't melt in the heat or turn into jaw breakers when it's very cold.
Like you I quite often take Smash, but prefer it mixed with one of those foil pouches of tuna, or a small tin of sardines. Another staple is 100g of quick cook pasta with a packet of Dolmio tomato and basil sauce.
I sometimes indulge in a pudding -- instant custard with dried fruit or a couple of jaffa cakes is nice.

Strangely enough I've never tried quick cook pasta, if I add boiling water and leave it to sit would it cook in it's own heat? I'm not an aldente pasta fan, I really do like it soft or not at all.

My Smash I like with a little salt and a lot of white pepper, prepped before leaving of course. I've been considering putting some olive oil in it to see what that's like, as soon as I stumble across a small convenient container for it I'll give it a go.

And again strangely enough I don't really "like" Snickers, I don't eat (or like) sweets or puddings at all normally. I only eat Snickers when I'm out because I used to eat loads of shortbread (I really like it) and found it really dehydrating that's why I decided to try something sweet. I gradually stopped eating sweet stuff as a kid and Snickers and Topics were always the less sickening ones that I continued to eat longer. So I can tolerate Snickers easily, jelly baby's I couldn't.

When I was trying different muesli's I tried one of those ASDA's own extra special swiss ones with choc chip. Massive amounts of calories (I find the ASDA web site excellent for browsing nutitional information) but it physically made me feel sick, it's really strong dark chocolate.

I'm good with snickers, and I've actually started to quite enjoy them in porage. It is something I'm very open to replacing though.

The nibble type snacks never really bothered me, I quite enjoy sitting down to eat a few times a day.

David.

With the quick cook pasta I usually boil the water, drop the pasta in, bring it back to the boil and then stick the pan in a pot cosy made from insulation material -- like bubble wrap sandwiched between layers of aluminium foil. Cooks the pasta perfectly in 5-6 mins. I'm not sure it would cook properly without the cosy -- probably the water would cool down too fast. This is also a good way, if you leave the pot a bit longer, of cooking Beanfeast, which is excellent with Smash.
I once tried having dried banana with porridge, but it wasn't a success. The banana chips went like leather and were almost inedible -- had to eat them tho, cos I had no alternative source of carbs for a couple of days.

I've been meaning to get some of that insulating stuff for ages. Maybe I should soon and give it a go, sounds like it would take my porage closer to fully cooked.

The almonds go the same if you cook them in porage, I add them after. I sometimes do the same with freeze dried banana chips. Lovely taste and a bit of crunch too.

Beanfeast, now why I have I never thought of that. I'll need to look up and see how the nutritional info for weight compares to dried sausage. I have a feeling I would need to also start carrying a bigger bowl or pot, this I'd rather not do.

David.

I got a wee surprise with the nutritional info on beanfeats. I thought the protein would be quite a bit lower than kabanos, was I wrong on that! It's much the same, maybe even a touch more.

The calories are a bit lower in the beanfeast, but that's ok as the carbs are way higher by about 50 times the amount, making it more than worth while.

The rough comparison isn't taking water or gas into account. But it wouldn't take much in gas, not quite negligible but as long as 100g does 4 days I'm happy and I have room for play in there.

I recon I'll get some and work out what changes I'd need to make to accomodate.

Cheers for mentioning it.

David.

Hi Dave,
Just thought I'd post a link to Colin Ibbotson's MYOG pot cozy in case you (or anyone else) hasn't come across it. Just scroll down the PDF past the esbit stove details. A durable & practical solution for simmering & saving gas!

http://www.andyhowell.info/Colin-Ibbotson/Colin-Stove.pdf

Cheers,
Dave

Thank you very much for the heads up Dave. That's an excellent idea and very versatile in design options, I'm straight on it.

David