Trail Food: Dinners

These are just a few of the meal options I use for dinners when I’m backpacking. These meals are very versatile and can be adjusted to your tastes and needs. I adjust my serving portions based on whether I am going to be exerting a lot of energy hiking or if I am going to be staying around camp and spending more time fishing. Generally you are going to want to be taking in more calories if you are hiking all day long.

Meal 1: Hearty

1-2 servings of Instant Potatoes (You will need to add powdered milk as well)

½-1 cup of Dehydrated Vegetables

Dehydrated Meat or Tuna Fish Pouch

Butter Packet (optional)

Just add to hot water when you’re ready eat

*Write how much water you are going to need for the meal, on the baggy when you package it

Meal 2: Soup

1-2 cups of Dehydrated Vegetables

Chunks of Dehydrated Meat or TVP for Vegetarians

Any seasonings or spices you would like

Add to plenty of water to make it more of a soup consistency

* You can also add chunks of potato to make it more like a stew (carry a fresh potato) or Rice

*If I have any dinner rolls left I like to eat one with my soup

Meal 3: Sweet and Sour Chicken and Rice

1-2 servings of instant rice, cous cous or some sort of grain (I prefer Brown Rice)

Some Dehydrated Chicken or TVP

½-1 cup Dehydrated Vegetables

1-2 Sauce Packets (sweet and sour, soy sauce etc.)

Add to hot water when ready to eat

These are just some basic recipes to give you a basis with which to start making your own trail dinners. Think of these recipes as a launching point. You can adjust them and vary the recipes in many ways. You can add different meats, vegetables and spices or sauces to make for many different meals. You can also add arrowroot (healthier than corn starch) to your soup to make it thicker for more of a stew consistency. Test these recipes out and have fun adjusting them to your tastes. All my meals are interchangeable, meaning that sometimes I might use a breakfast meal for lunch or dinner or I might use a lunch for breakfast or dinner etc. Have fun with your meals and make them flavorful. You don’t have to eat bland boring food just because you are not in a kitchen. What kind of homemade trail meals do you use? Have you ever put together you own meals for backpacking/camping? I suggest testing any homemade recipes out ahead of time. It’s easier to make any adjustments that need to be made, at home, than it is on the trail. If you work out all of the bugs ahead of time, you’ll end up with easy, healthy, tasty, homemade trail meals that you made yourself.