5 Day Menu

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hooky
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5 Day Menu

Post by 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.
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Re: 5 Day Menu

Post by 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.
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Re: 5 Day Menu

Post by hooky »

Once you get it figured out, you'll leave MH behind. I started figuring it out with https://www.backpackingchef.com
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Re: 5 Day Menu

Post by Ingo »

hooky wrote: Mon Sep 05, 2022 11:22 pm 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!
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Re: 5 Day Menu

Post by 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.
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Re: 5 Day Menu

Post by 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.
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Re: 5 Day Menu

Post by 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!
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Re: 5 Day Menu

Post by 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!
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Re: 5 Day Menu

Post by JerryB »

I am revisiting this string to update on my total loss of appetite on hiking trips (see above). Maybe this will be helpful to those who have suffered from the same. I did great on my last trip! Unfortunately, I changed so many things I have no idea which really helped. In any case, here are the modifications I made:
1. I drank a bit less water, while making sure I was, in fact, safely hydrated.
2. I added powder to my water every single day.
3. I still ate just a little, but just so as not to push me over the edge.
4. I am down 20 pounds from last year (body weight)
5. Pancakes with dehydrated blueberries in syrup was great
6. Precooked bacon was great (bacon and PB on a tortilla is one of my favorite sandwiches)
7. Ramen noodles with dehydrated ground beef worked well.
8. Fritos ended up being a perfect snack, sometimes with PB

I hope no one else ever has to deal with this but perhaps my note will help someone
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Re: 5 Day Menu

Post by torpified »

JerryB wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 12:46 pm I am revisiting this string to update on my total loss of appetite on hiking trips (see above). Maybe this will be helpful to those who have suffered from the same.

I have the same problem, especially on higher altitude trips, and three things on your list---ramen, fritos, and drink powders---are among my very small collection of mainstays. Also Werthers, which I dispense to myself on hikes up to passes at a rate of one candy every 500 vertical feet . . .
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