[Cyclopath]

I had to bail on day four because I couldn't stomach any more freeze-dried food. I had variety and it was good stuff (pack it gourmet) but it all had that salty, out-of-a-bag taste (except the smoothies, they were sugary instead of salty) and the same soft consistency. Something in the polenta made me a little nauseous. The stuff is delicious and wonderful on overnighters but after a few days I just couldn't take anymore. Does this happen to anyone else? How do you deal with it?

[evergreen199]

That happens to me too after a few days, I think something about all the salt/other preservatives just gets to me... For trips longer than one or two nights I have started dehydrating my own home-made meals. It is more work but they taste better, are often lighter (for me), and I am always interested in eating them. Lots of threads on here about recipes/how-to do it.

[mbtigger]

I have a dehydrator and prepare my own meals as well. I get to craving fresh veggies and meat after a few days, but I usually look forward to whatever dinner I have packed.

[kbatku]

Smoke more weed - it helps (so I hear). On a more serious note, try mixing it up - not so much dehydrated food. It takes more imagination and planning, but store brought "regular" food can be readily adapted for backpacking and gives a pleasant break. On our last hike I took those bacon wrapped, shrink wrapped filet mignons along (frozen when the hike started). I fried them, and had mac & cheese as a side. Highly recommended. Anymore, we only have the freeze dried for lunch, because we used to eat bars and nuts and sausage and stuff for lunch, but like the break and the hot meal that dehydrated provides.

[Conrad]

Agree. My "main dishes" aren't freeze-dried at all. They're mostly cheese, summer sausage, peanut butter, Triscuits, flour tortillas. Don't know if the OP would like that stuff any better though. Also, maybe not the OP's problem, but I lose my appetite just from the exertion, I think. I've discovered that when I'm tired, starting with some candy really helps stimulate my appetite, and then I can eat more real food.

[coldrain108]

[DIYSteve]

Prolonged exercise often suppresses one's appetite. If freeze-dried food is the problem, stop eating it. I haven't have a freeze-dried meal in my last 100+ days of backpacking.

[pikahika]

If you are having trouble with your appetite on the longer trips, don't even pack a stove and fuel. Save the space in your backpack and instead take bars (powerbars, clif bars, trail mix bars, etc), sport chews, pb & honey tortillas, etc. Sometimes it's the heat combined with the exertion that will cause appetite to diminish in the summertime, and staring at a hot stove with food in it will only make the situation worse. I hiked about 500 miles of the PCT in 1997 and stopped using my stove after day 5. I was frequently hot and sometimes dehydrated and all I could stomach were my powerbars. That did leave me under-caloried and I did lose weight, but my performance was not adversely affected to any significant degree. Oddly, I did not get tired of those bars. The company has since changed the recipe, unfortunately, and I don't like them much anymore. I still take bars backpacking, but I usually use clif bars (original and mojo) because they are tasty enough and they don't melt. The sport chews like Clif shot blocks and Powerbar chews are even easier to eat than bars when you're not hungry, and they don't melt, either.

[ranger rock]

Could it have been elevation sickness?

[Cyclopath]

Sounds like a consensus that you can't take 100 % of your calories from freeze-dried food for several days. And the exercise probably doesn't help the appetite, either. So I need to carry real food. (I kept day dreaming about iced tea with lemon slices and mint leaves, and bread with olive oil and vinegar the whole 10 miles out to the road...) This is going to be heavier than I'm used to, right? No avoiding that? Will I need to carry extra cooking gear, beyond a pot to boil water and a bowl?

[Brian Curtis]

I've never had a problem eating freeze dried on long trips. But we have always caught fish and sometimes kept some for dinner so never had freeze dried every night. We also have nuts and a drink then instant hot soup before the freeze dried course.

[RichP]

Though it's heavy, I bring some fresh fruit for the first few days of a long trip. There is nothing like a crisp and juicy apple in the backcountry to me.

[Ingunn]

For me it doesn't even have to be a long trip - I lose my appetite if it's too hot, if the elevation is high (above 9000 or so), or if I overexerted myself (which sucks, because that's when I really need to eat). The one thing I always seem to be able to stomach when everything else sounds revolting is potatoes, so I make sure I always bring some salty mashed taters...and potato chips.

[Cyclopath]

[Randito]

I've had an opposite experience. On day 12 of a 14 day trip, we had some freeze dried beef stew that really hit the spot. We liked it so much that we brought that same meal on a weekend trip - then it was so foul that we could barely choke it down.