[Critter]

"Are you having a hard time planning meals or trail food? I became a vegan a year and a half ago. I have been getting even more excited about vegan backpacking meals and trail food lately. It sounds like you my be looking for protein and you are on the right track with protein mixes. Nuts are good too. Soybeans, but I think they are too dry. Things like Larabars and banana chips are good while hiking. Use TVP(texturized vegetable protein) to replace ground beef in dishes for tons of variety. You could even make something like hamburger helper, if you eat that. TVP is like dehydrated meat made from vegetables. For breakfast you might have 1 cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch. It has 38 grams of carbs and lots of whole grains. I can eat that every day for breakfast for a while. You can get freeze dried meals that are marked vegan from different companies. I love the Louisiana red beans and rice.(Backpackers pantry) I'd also like to know, what some of your favorite vegan food ideas are that you have come up with. So I might expand my own backpack pantry." -This was my reply on another post so I figured I might start a new topic. I will be blowing it up with plant based bars, meals, and mixes. But I'm really interested to see what other vegan backpackers consider their staples on the trail. You'll hopefully not read a bunch of detailed recipes here because there is a thread for that called 'vegan backpacking'. Here are some examples.

Chili made from TVP, which is from vegetables but more like dehydrated meat. I added a large amount of dehydrated beans and tomatoes. I followed the directions on the packet.

Tall rock wind screen.

Things like gels and gu, if vegan versions exist, but I know that gelatin is extracted from the skin, boiled crushed horn, hoof and bones, connective tissues, organs and some intestines of different animals. I'll start it off with this.

Some vegan options for protein.

Things like protein mix, nuts, TVP, quinoa, cooked and dried beans. Just gotta dry the tomatoes and apples.

[Survivor]

So some what you're looking at in that jumbled up picture are things like baked whole food bars, organic KOYO ramen, natures path organic bars, quinoa, and TVP. All of which you can find in the healthy section and bulk foods section at Fred Meyers. Here's something.

Not super cheap but fast and light. Just pour in boiling water. One pack can actually fill me up after a hard day hiking, but sometimes I need a snack while I'm preparing it. It's a little spicy but I like it. A little sweetener will make it less spicy.

I know this thread isn't really for recipes but I have this.

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[Critter]

You can do this, if you have time for something more than just grabbing some banana chips.

This device is a Victorio apple peeler.

If you hike a lot, you can have a lot of trail food like this.

When you see apples on sale buy them. Tart apples in Perfect condition, like yellow apples, work well.

[Mystical Critter]

Instead of hamburger meat you can use TVP for your meat dishes. TVP is texturized vegetable protein. It looks like bread crumbs and it becomes like meat when you mix it with water(a few ketchup packs make it even better). You can't really tell it's not meat in dishes like tacos. TVP has a protein content equal to that of meat and it has all 8 of the essential amino acids, making it a complete protein.

[fox212]

And then there were three...

[Critter]

The easiest meal to make might be ramen noodles with fresh or dehydrated veggies added. I bring a couple soy sauce packets or salt for the extra veggies.

Soy sauce packets for ramen and veggies. When I got better I stepped up to quinoa or brown rice and veggies.

[contour5]

Those single serve packs of soy sauce are mighty handy. I get mine at Panda Express, a kind of Asian hybrid strip-mall fast food outlet. They have a dispenser with packets of soy sauce, chile sauce, and my favorite- chinese hot mustard. I can't verify the vegan credentials of these commodities, but they seem like reasonable facsimiles at least. I like them. I actually like the sugary meat entrees at PE, so the free condiment packages are a nice bonus. There is a minor ethical issue about how full one should reasonably be allowed to stuff one's pockets with condiment packs. I usually settle for a few of each on any given visit. Maybe a few little packets of black pepper, as well. Straws and napkins are also available. Mary Janes Farm still has a fairly robust selection of vegan/organic hiker food products listed among all the other junk on their hideously redesigned website.

[sarbar]

I won't scare you all with how we eat now. When I started Trailcooking/FreezerBagCooking all those years ago, I ate pretty much everything. Now, 10 years down the road we eat a near unprocessed plant-based diet. Our youngest is severely allergic to peanuts, cashews and eggs (and lord knows what else) so yeah, Iam even further limited. I eat a PBD/vegan diet anyhow....but most might go running from it. Lol.....

[Critter]

Sabar, do you have any good ideas for trail food. I've tried to ask you before but guess you didn't see. Carbs are no problem for me but I was wondering about protein. How do you chose to get your amino acids and proteins on the trail? I'm having no problem getting aminos and protein when I arrive at camp but while hiking I could do better.

[sarbar]

I eat a lot of beans - cooked and then dehydrated. Overall, I just strive for a balanced diet - lots of fruits, veggies, beans, whole carbs and so on Let me think about it some more.....

[Critter]

Here's a hint to what I'm looking for. Soybeans have all of the amino acids but I try not to eat just soybeans. Sometimes I bring a premade quinoa salad on a hike because quinoa is a complete protein. Nutritional yeast is a complete protein but I only know how to use it in camp food. I don't know how to use nutritional yeast in trail food unless I bring premade food. I'm calling trail food the food you eat on the trail and camp food the food you eat at camp. Thank you for your help.

[Mystical Critter]

One cup has 36 carbs. I ate one dry cup of this everyday for a week, for breakfast, on one trip. Somedays I'd eat it on the go, after breaking camp and while hiking.

[sarbar]

I can't do too much nutritional yeast, I get a bad flush from it (which isn't dangerous, just don't like it - it is similar to the Niacin flush people get from Niacin pills). Having said that, you can roast nuts or seeds in it, making a savory treat. I also use it in sauces, queso dip and more.

[Critter]

Using nutritional yeast as a coating, or whatever, is a great idea thanks. I might try using it in my homemade Kind bars or, better yet, make the Kind bars with almonds that have been roasted in nutritional yeast.

[Survivor]

Or you could simply buy vegan bars.

There are tons of vegan bars available, some are amazing. Wait till you see the cookies that you can buy.