Some thoughts on food for the Te Araroa Trail

Trail food as fuel or a source of enjoyment?

I have seen some TA trekkers eating truly horrible food and I cannot understand why. Sure there are issues with weight and the availability of suitable ingredients in remote locations, but this doesn't mean you need to eat like a savage.  Personally, I want to enjoy my trail food, so I take meals that are going to be tasty, nutritious and enjoyable.

Typical hikers gruel; rice, porridge.....who knows?

With a bit of thought and good pre-planning you can both eat well and still be light weight. 

Eat well to maintain condition

You need to eat properly when on a long distance tramp, this means including all of the basic elements of a "off trail" diet to maintain peak condition.

A quick bit of lunch on the trail...

I use 24 hour rations utilising whole foods, dried foods and freeze dried meals. What I am looking for in my tramping food is:

• high calorific density, a lot of calories per weight
• light weight ingredients, small compact size
• has taste variety, and
• easy to prepare. 

The calories you consume should be around 15% proteins, 50%-65% carbohydrates, and 20%-35% fats. You also require a complex mix of minerals and vitamins. While you can take supplements, these should primarily come from your food. Trace elements become even more important when trekking for any period as you are slowly depleting the reserves of these in your body.

Weight is important, too much food weight = hiking failure. This tends to limit your food choices to dried items, salted/cured meats, powdered items and small packets of ingredients.

A days worth of meals... 

Here is a look at my typical daily tramping diet; this provides me with the sustenance I need to keep me walking for 6-8 hours per day. I have three meals a day: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, dinner is often my only hot meal of the day.

Breakfast

A good breakfast is especially important when doing a multiday tramp. You need the energy of the food you consume to keep you going for the first 3-4 hours of the day. 

Days meal for the St James Trip in February 2015

Typically I have:

• Cereal: Not breakfast cereals,  instead think of porridge (I like Uncle Toby's instant oats), cream of wheat, muesli (all with sugar, dried fruits and reconstituted milk powder). I have also started eating rice porridge, which is very nice. These all contain the classic trinity: carbohydrates/protein/fats all in one.

Cream of wheat is good!

• Sometimes I have baked items: breakfast biscuits or fruit digestives with jam (in the army we used to layer them with raspberry jam and condensed milk, messy but good). Crossiants/bagels/sandwiches also feature. Toaster pastries are a good choice as a quick no cook breakfast option. 

Pop tarts for breakfast...I like cherry flavour!

• Freeze dried single serves: if I will be having a long or hard day a single serve of a freeze dried meal goes down a treat. Freeze dried dessert items are also excellent breakfast options. Just need hot water and no mess to clean up as you just eat it right from the bag.

A Backcountry single serve meal

• Protein: a few slices of salami, some beef jerky, a cheese wedge/slice (Babybel are very nice), bacon slice etc.

Babybel cheese wedges

• Drinks: Lots of people don't brew up in the morning but I need a big mug of tea to get going. I always drink black Earl Grey with a sugar substitute. Very occasionally a coffee with a big dollop of sweetened condensed milk in it, it is a valued kiwi tramping tradition and so delicious. I also hydrate with at least a litre of water if possible.

Having a brew on the QCT, February 2015

Lunch

Some people can get by with a muesli bar and a swig of water for lunch, but if you are walking for 6-8 hours this is not going to provide you with the calories you need. Generally I will be eating my lunch sitting on a rock/log somewhere so it needs to be portable. 

Tuna and crackers are a stable of my tramping meals

My lunch tends to consist of:

• Carbohydrates: Bread, crackers, bagels, wraps, tortillas, Tararua biscuits, instant noodles if it is cold and I'm in a hut/tent
•  Protein: Salami, sliced meat, smoked chicken, tuna, cheese, pate, peanut butter, smoked fish
• Extras: An occasional treat like olives, sun-dried tomatoes, spreads/dips/pesto etc.

A standard lunch would be 4-5 crackers with a slice of cheese, salami or peanut butter on them. If I have chocolate then lunchtime is when I will eat it. My current favorite is spinach wraps with tuna/salami, sliced tomato and cheese.

My favourite brand and type or lunch wrap: Farrahs Spinach

I have found a source of small tins of shelf stable pate that weigh only 47 gms each, I keep these for the end of a tramp.

One of the Henaff range of French Pate's

I try lots of other things but this is what I always come back too:

Tuna again, on the trail between Christopher and Anne Hut, 2014

I normally drink water at lunchtime but will also occasionally have a powdered Iced Tea or fruit drink.

Snacks

You need a few snacks during the day to keep you going, or as an energy boost if you start flagging. I tend to be quite pedestrian in this area as there are only a few things I like to snack on.

 My main go to snacks would be:

• peanut M & M's/fruit and nut chocolate/LCM bars
• jerky/salami sticks/salami strips
• small packets of olives (oh so good, multiple varieties now)
• Raisins or dried apricots/pineapple/apple/dates etc
• Nuts (they must be salted) including peanuts, cashews, brazils or pecans

My favorite snack- Raisins!

I have been taking individual packets but you end up with a lot of waste paper & packaging. I will be carrying these items in bulk from now on. 

Dinner

Some people have their main meal at lunchtime but I prefer to have a hearty meal at the end of the day, almost as a reward for completing that days journey. Generally my meals are home-made freezer bag meals, easy packet meals or freeze dried items.

I'm assuming you are a through hiker from another country you don't have a food dehydrator and aren't able to bring food items into the country with you.

But first.....

...Start with soup 

I always start my dinner meal with some soup; it is quick, nourishing and delicious. When I am long trail walking I will carry packets of dried Cup of Soup. If I was tramping I would still take soup, but it would be a dried variety that needs 5 minutes of simmering.

Either a Cup of Soup, or...

...a dried Simmer soup

Miso Soup paste is something I also enjoy...it is great for replacing salt lost during the day and I find it to be quite soothing on the stomach.

Then have your main....

 Below are a variety of dinner meal ideas you could try including freezer bag, commercial freeze dried and packet meals. I have included the percentage of each I nominally carry.

1. Freezer Bag meals (60% of the time)

I like to make my own "freezer bag" meals, they contain dried ingredients inside a freezer bag hence the name. These can be eaten in the bag or from your pot.

A selection of freezer bag meals

If you own a food dehydrator you can go bananas and dehydrate anything: pork, lamb, beef, vegetables, fish heads, whole meals - go for it.

Some blanched cabbage going into the food dehydrator...

Feel like a Dolphin fritter with an Herbe vegetable medley - yuck, ya sick bastard, but if you must...

All meals will include the following elements: carbohydrates, protein and flavoring.

 Firstly the Carbohydrates:

Into a sandwich sized freezer bag add:

• pasta (only 3 minute quick cook varieties)
• noodles (instant/soba/udon/rice noodles)
• instant rice (freeze dried variety, just add water)
• cous-cous, tabbouleh, falafel etc.
• cracked wheat, quinoa (or some other easy cook grain)
• or instant potato (Maggi is good so are Idahoan if you can find it).

To these I add some form of protein:

• tuna/salmon/smoked fish ( I really like kippers and tinned herring),
• salami chunks, smoked chicken, sausage, bacon
• dehydrated pork/lamb/venison/beef pieces
• reconstituted jerky 
• Texture Vegetable Protein (TVP, this is usually soya based)
• cheese (hard cheeses last a lot longer than the soft variety
• and freeze dried mince.

Then some vegetables for vitamins, such as:

 Surprise brand peas/beans, freeze dried mix veges, dehydrated corn/cabbage/capsicum, mushrooms, dried onions and fresh garlic/ginger/carrot shavings.

Freeze dried Surprise Peas

For flavour I add:

 Dried soup powder, cheese sauce powder, low MSG bouillon, dried shallots, olive oil, spices and herbs to taste. 

A really excellent book on this method is by Sarah Svien Kirkconnell, Freezer Bag cooking: trail food made simple, there is also a website.

Freezer bag cooking, Sarah Svien's book

Have a look on-line, there are a lot of sites showing you how to make these kind of meals.

2. Packet meals (20%)

I eat these occasionally, this group includes Continental/Maggi pasta packs, rice sides, Diamond/Kraft Mac and Cheese, Italian inspired pasta meals and Asian style pre-packaged noodle meals. I also occasionally use the Indian boil in bag offerings from MTR, they are tasty.

Paneer Butter Masala: one of the MTR ready meal range

Because these all require simmering I usually only take one of these meals on a trip longer than 4 days. Again I will chuck some salami, tuna, chicken and vegetables in with them.  

Continental Pasta sides

Leave all the packaging behind and just chuck them in a ziplock bag with any required instructions.

3. Freeze dried meals (20-60% depending on trip length)

Back Country Cuisine (BCC) are a New Zealand company who make a wide variety of freeze dried meals and they are delicious, lightweight and just need hot water.

Some of the BCC freeze dried range

They are expensive ($10-$17 NZD each), and most people find that they require a 2 person serve to feel full.  If I am using Backcountry I will only use the single serve packs as I just cannot finish a whole larger serving by myself. 

A large serve of Jamaican Goat Curry....she's a spicy...!!!!

  I occasionally take these freeze dried meals with me, usually one per 5-7 day trip.

My favorite ones are:

• Honey Soy Chicken
• Spaghetti Bolognaise, go a bit short on the water or it is very soupy
• Roast Lamb with vege's & mashed spud (damn fine)
• Lamb Fettuccine
• Chicken, Tomato Alfredo
• Moroccan Lamb (more like a cous-cous Tagine and really tasty...)
• Smoked Fish Pie
• Cooked Breakfast...I like it but most people do not!

Eating a BCC meal in Hawdon Hut 2014

BCC also make freeze dried mixed vegetables, instant spuds, minced beef and instant rice which are all really useful as additives to your own meals. They also have a range of instant soups which with bread or crackers make for an excellent lunch.

BCC Chicken, corn and noodle soup at Black Rocks Shelter, QCT in 2015

Another freeze dried company here in New Zealand are Outdoor Gourmet Company and Real Meals, these are not as easy to find as they are much smaller businesses.  The Outdoor Gourmet meals are much nicer than Backcountry Cuisine but they cost more...if you can find them cheap buy them.

Chowing down on an Outdoor gourmet meal and Dutch Curry Soup, Abel Tasman Coast Track

The Real Meals is a newer company based in Nelson and their entrees are available in a variety of stores across the country. Their Cheesy Mash is gorgeous as is their Wilderness Stew, both are recommended. Real Meal desserts make great breakfasts I especially like the Apples with Rice Pudding.

Some of the Real Meals range

You can also bring your own from your country of origin but check with NZ Customs to make sure you are allowed to bring them into the country.

Drinks

I always finish my meal with a brew; usually black tea with sugar substitute plus a powdered fruit drink or an Iced Tea mix. 

A complete meal: Miso soup, BCC Roast Lamb and fruit drink

Powdered fruit drinks are great as you will soon get sick of drinking multiple liters of plain water each day. I tend to use ones with artificial sweeteners as they are lighter. Brand names include Raro, Vitafresh, and Nestle. 

One of the flavors in the Vitafresh range

Flavored electrolyte powders are also available in New Zealand, the main brand is Vitasport.

An example from my own journeys...

Here is five days worth of food laid out ready for the food bag. As you can see I like to carry my meals as a 24 hour ration, a hold over from my army days.  This is from my 2015 hike of the St James Walkway, part of which is on the Te Araroa.

Meals for 5 days tramping packed

 Have a look at the article about this menu on my general tramping blog.

A days ration laid out prior to a tramp...

A days food or "ration" is in its own plastic bag, containing everything I will need food wise on that day. The average of these meals is 650 gms which is within the accepted weight range for roughly 2500 calories a day.

  Other considerations

 Here are a couple of other things to consider when planning trail food. 

Salt/Pepper

This is slightly controversial but you need to salt your food when you hike long distances. Salt contains a variety of trace elements your body needs to work, if you do your normal thing and skimp on the salt you are going to get muscle cramps, muscle spasms, headaches and nausea.

Salt/pepper catering sachets

 Don't go crazy, just a sprinkle will do, I take those little sachets of salt you get from fast food restaurants. If you do start having salt induced problems take about 150ml of water and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar as an electrolyte fix. 

Pepper is good on everything, as is hot sauce, Worchester sauce, chilli and olive oil!

Fresh Vegetables

A selection of sliced vegetables

Yes, of course take fresh fruit and vegetables but bear in mind they are much heavier than the dried varieties. I recommend apples, oranges, onions, capsicum, garlic, chillies, carrots and ginger all of which survive well in a pack.

Some further ideas...

I have included a link to the Gustofrenzy site which has a great article on the actual foods this couple used while walking the Te Araroa Trail.

Great article about TA food from the Gustofrenzy website

And here is another trampers interpretation of these same guidelines, this is from fastforwardlife.

Fastforwardlife interpretation of these food guideline

So there you go, a few ideas for meals while you are walking the TA.