5 Day Menu

[hooky]

I just shut off the dehydrator about 3 hours ago.

There are 3 of us and a majority of the meals came out of dehydrators (the units)

Breakfasts:
some bars and instant oatmeal for 2 of us, but my son is eating sweet potatoes and sausage from the units.

Lunches:
Beef jerky and various fruit leathers from the units.
I think there are some instant soups for a weather delay option, but I'll hold back some jerky and fruit leather.

Dinners:
Almost everything from the units.
Pasta and meat sauce, Shepherd's Pie, beef & bean burritos, and chili from the units. (we're doing Idahoan mash for the top of the shepherds pie and homemade tortillas for the burritos, so they aren't from the units.)
Fortifying an emergency dinner of knorr pasta with broccoli, ground turkey and peppers out of the units.

Most of it is pantry style, so anything with fat is held separately until we start rehydrating.

[Ingo]

Sounds great! This summer's trip was the first time I made some dehydrated meals--worked out great, much better than the standard MH meals. As a dehydrating newbie, I'm still experimenting and looking for new ideas. So far I have three go to's: spaghetti, hash, and backpackers Thanksgiving. Also strawberries and angel food cake crumbles for dessert. I'm not a big fan of fruit leathers, but apples and strawberries worked well for lunches.

[hooky]

Once you get it figured out, you'll leave MH behind. I started figuring it out with https://www.backpackingchef.com

[Ingo]

Once you get it figured out, you'll leave MH behind. I started figuring it out with https://www.backpackingchef.com

That's a great resource!

[hooky]

I started reading that website quite a few years ago and realized that you could dehydrate just about anything. It all comes down to how long it lasts and how well it rehydrates. I ate my last freeze dried entree around 2014. Full Disclosure: I still buy the MH freeze dried ice cream.

[Bobcat1]

I use my dehydrator all the time, and usually have several meals of grab-and-go stuff waiting in the freezer. One of my favorite lunches is hummus on crackers, and I dehydrate the store-bought hummus, throw it in the blender to get a fine powder, and it's ready to go. Breaks up the monotony of summer sausage or peanut butter every day!

Some dinner entrees I make: Burrito filling from rice, beans, corn, and salsa. Lentils and Rice base that then gets different meats, veggies, spices, etc added as I rehydrate. Shepherds Pie seems to be a favorite. Pasta and sauce - another easy favorite. Several types of vegetable stews.

[JerryB]

I am very jealous. For the last few years I have been unable to eat almost anything on backpacking trips. Not just loss of appetite but gagging. This May, I try again. More focus on electrolite replacement (although i have no idea if that is a cause of this). Someone suggested fritos and peanut butter and I will try that too. Just to prove I am totally loony, I am also including some SPAM because in the past I was (oddly) able to stomach that. Who knows? I am hopeful that my fist two days will not be as bad and i will try to eat as much as i can then. Any ideas, short of psychiatric referrals, are welcome!

[Bobcat1]

JerryB, No telling what is causing your eating issues, and not giving medical advice, but......I had a friend who I hiked with in a group in California who was wellknown in the group for dropping out after 2-3 days on longer hikes because he couldn't eat - sound familiar? For several years he had self-diagnosed as low-grade altitude sickness. He and his doctor finally sorted it out as (not sure the spelling) hyponatremia which basically means he was drinking so much water (and peeing it out) that he was depleting his electrolytes and getting all unbalanced. His solution was actually to drink less water! He was still drinking a lot more than I did. So, you may be on the right track with your focus on electrolytes. I've heard the rule of thumb for every gallon of liquid you drink, 1/4 (1 qt or 1 liter) should be electrolyte drink and 3/4 should be water. As always, ask your doctor. Good luck figuring it out!