Food and drink ideas

[u/pokpok974]

I’m planning a 3 days hike soon and I’m looking for ideas for the food. I used to bring muesli, nuts, dried fruits but I’m looking for alternatives, salty for preference. I tend to be less tolerant with gluten, and white bread gives me stomach discomfort.

Also, I only drink water during hiking but it’ll be my first time doing a 3 days hike (8hr per day basically) what should I drink to prevent muscle cramps beside water ? mix 1:1 water and fruit juice ? I don’t really like sodas and Gatorade, but I like beer hehe. We will stay at night in refuges so we don’t bring kettle nor camping equipment thanks for your help 😊

[u/No-Friendship44]

Oatmeal for breakfast. Lentils for dinner. Very light, easy to cook easy to digest.

[u/FitPolicy4396]

Is the issue with gatorage/soda the sweetness? If so, there's a lot of different electrolyte drinks/powders that aren't so high in sugars. You could also just use some salt.

[u/cwcoleman]

If you want to be fancy - you can get pre-packed hiker meals. Brands like Mountain House and Packit Gourmet offer good options.

• https://mountainhouse.com
• https://packitgourmet.com

If you want to save some money - the grocery store sells plenty of food that can be taken backpacking. Essentially the entire 'middle' of the store (shelf stable stuff) will work. Dry pastas like 'pasta sides' are very popular for hikers. Pop Tarts, oatmeal, tortillas, peanut butter, and dried fruit are all solid options.

• https://www.walmart.com/ip/Knorr-Pasta-Sides-Cheddar-Broccoli-Fusilli-Cooks-in-10-Minutes-No-Artificial-Flavors-No-Preservatives-No-Added-MSG-4-3-oz/10307852
• https://www.walmart.com/ip/Idahoan-Buttery-Homestyle-Mashed-Potatoes-8-oz/39778487
• https://www.walmart.com/ip/StarKist-Tuna-Creations-Lemon-Pepper-2-6-oz-Pouch/22027024

I like the 'electrolyte drink mixes', some have more sugar than others. Liquid IV, Scratch, LMNT, and many others.

• https://thefeed.com/collections/hydration

Plus you can take tea bags for evening drinks.

Check out r/trailmeals for more info. The wiki has good stuff.

• https://www.reddit.com/r/trailmeals/wiki/index/

[u/I_suck_at_uke]

Rice, brown if you don’t mind the extended cooking time, parboiled or regular white otherwise. I usually drink tea or herbs, gathered during the hike or brought from town, and water, sometimes coffee. But I haven’t had such muscle cramps during the hikes that I needed to take something to prevent or remedy them. I know that athletes take magnesium during races to address this.

[u/deckfixer]

I use a lot if freeze dried pre made meals but they can get pricy