[sarbar]

obladi, www.justtomatoes.com sells freezedried tofu. Good stuff!

[obladi]

That's a nice link for backpacking foods. Thanx Sarbar.

[nuclear_eggset]

add their freeze dried veggies and tofu to some boxed broth, and you've got a tasty, filling soup. alternatively, water and boullion, for the more versatile weight cost.

[hikermike]

I'm a diabetic and most of the above is not appropriate. Have to make many changes and adaptations and one day may write them down. Will check out the site to see what might be used. With this all in thought, I wonder if the typical hiking diet is even good for non-diabetics? Afterall, there once was a time when I wasn't a diabetic. (It was the chips though!)

[jenjen]

[peppersteak'n'ale]

[jenjen]

Well, good backpacking food is sort of a relative thing. Most of the meals I happily swallow in the backcountry wouldn't pass muster at home. Basically, if it's sort of edible in the comfort of my own house, it'll taste just awesome in the backcountry after a full day of hiking and sweating.

[sarbar]

[nuclear_eggset]

I'm gluten and dairy intolerant, and hypoglycemic, so I feel your pain trying to find 'friendly' things to pack. I find, actually, that a number of the energy bars (if you search carefully) are high enough in fat and protein to not affect my blood sugar badly. (Of course, I realize it depends on how severe your particular case is.) Besides beef jerkey, I also like to take flax crackers. You can buy them at some stores (the ones I prefer to take I get at Whole Foods and have dried fruit, but are otherwise flax and sesame seeds with a bit of brown rice syrup) and they provide a lot of protein and fat. Or you can make your own out of nothing but flax seeds, water, and a touch of soy sauce if you want some saltiness. There is almost no carbs in that though, so you want to be aware of that for your energy levels during a hike. (There's also a LOT of fiber in that, so if you're not used to that, don't first start eating them on the trail. ;-) )

[Starjumper7]

[hambone]

Tasty Bites Indian food, actually from India, precooked in a pouch. Good stuff! Food doesn't need to be freeze dried, there are plenty of lightweight foods out there if you look. Cliff Bars are nice too, especially the ones with caffiene. Don't forget the herbs!

[Foist]

First of all, I've already given this plug in another thread, but again, I HIGHLY recommend Mary Jane's Farm Backcountry meals. They all happen to be vegetarian and organic -- I could care less about that stuff, the point is they are all DELICIOUS. I especially enjoy the Santa Fe Pasta and Kettle Chili, but I have yet to try anything that wasn't at least good. I never buy any other brands anymore. It's available at REI, but maybe once you try it, consider getting it in bulk on the website linked to above. It's MUCH cheaper, you just don't get the cook-in pouches. But that's no big deal, I "cook" the meals in a lexan plastic bowl and cover it with a plastic bag. As for everything else, my own take: I hate eating lunch in the middle of hiking -- eating significant food in the middle of exercise makes me nauseous. In addition to the freeze-dried meals, I take trail mix (mixed nuts and rainins), Clif Bars (my favorite because it's the only brand that's not really sweet or otherwise strong), and instant oatmeal for the morning. Yeah, sometimes I kinda have to force the oatmeal down, but I never have a strong apettite in the morning yet need the carbs for the impending hike. If you have a little extra weight to give, you don't need to bring dried egg -- you can actually bring EGGS! REI sells these yellow plastic egg holders, and they really work. The eggs do NOT break. And eggs in their natural shells (i.e., do NOT break them open into a container and carry that) keep for quite a long time without refrigeration. Last year, I ate fresh eggs every morning on a 4-day trip in August.

[captain jack]