Meat, Its What's For Dinner

Let them eat meat!

Cans of meat! Really? Cans with meat in them? Beef, Chicken, Sausage, Ham! Woo hoo! What? How is that ultra-light?

One of the problems I face while considering hiking for five months is the monotony of eating out of a plastic bag for weeks on end. Especially dinner. I like lots of different foods and variety in my everyday life. Pizza, fish and chips, hamburgers, pot roast, salads, enchiladas, Thai chili stir-fry, and on and on. The thought of sitting down to another bag of tasteless pre-packaged freeze-dried food is probably the biggest hurdle I am mentally struggling with as I prepare.

Last year on my two-week hike through Southern California I tested alternatives to weeks upon weeks of Mountain House dinners. Don't get me wrong, I am not bashing Mountain House. Their dinners are far better than some of the other suppliers of light-weight food. In fact, of all of the different ones I have tried, Mountain House is my favorite. If the trip was only going to last for a few weeks, I'd do Mountain House. But, this is not just two-weeks. We are talking months and months, it's enough cause a person to start throwing out the food that they have purchased and carried and start eating snacks. This problem affects morale and energy levels. It becomes a serious drain on mental fortitude if I can't get enough calories because the taste has become so repulsive that  that I can't eat it. So what's the plan?

Like I said, last year I tried something different. I don't know if it's going to work for my entire trip but it is a strategy that I believe will at least get me to Donner Summit. I have read through Brenda L. Braaten's PACK LIGHT, EAT RIGHT research over and over. I have coupled that information with my own testing to come up with a plan that I hope will keep me looking forward to eating my dinner. I did a ton of web searching looking for light-weight meals. Most of the readily available options, such as the side-dishes that you can buy in the supermarket contain lots of sodium and boring flavors.

 Last year I discovered Harmony House Food' TRAIL READY Gourmet Soup & Chili Pack. What I like about this is that there are twelve different flavors in one pack. The challenge is that they are all vegan/vegetarian and low fat. I am not a vegan/vegetarian and according to Dr. Braaten, I need fat. So my plan is to use these meals as a basis for my meals but supplement them with other ingredients, such as meat. I found meat in cans! Thank you Honeyville. It's freeze-dried so most, if not all of the water has been removed. I plan to open the cans at home and re-package single serving portions into vacuum-sealed bags. The bags are just the right size to hold about two-cups of water. I will pour the soup or chili of choice into the bag with the meat, add either minute rice or ramen noodles and I have a nutritious, calorie packed meal ready in a few minutes. That, at least, is the theory. During my testing last year I found it acceptable. I like the fact that there is variety and options. I just bought enough canned meat to get me started. Only one hundred and four days more days to start.