I have alot of backpacking cookbooks. Probably 5. (Lipspakin' Backpackin', Lipspakin' Vegetarian Packpackin', Pack Light Eat Heavy, Simple foods for the pack, and another I can't remember.) So I have plently of recipe ideas. The problem is finding good ones. It's time consuming, expensive, and fattening ;) to try all these recipies and trying them on the trail for the first time isn't a good idea either. So I would like to use this thread as a petition for BPL to add a regular recipe column. Seems like that would be a nice edition to the online magazine. Is there an interest in that?

What I look for in a recipie is: 1) Can be cooked in a ziploc, 2) Tastes good, 3) Good weight:calorie ratio, 4) Not much work to assemble ingredients (read, don't have to dehydrate yourself.)

On another thread, what is your favorite recipie? Here is mine:
Prepare at Home:
1) Put 1/2 cup Uncle Bens Instant Brown Rice and 1/3 cup Fantasic Foods Black Bean mix in a Zip lock bag. Package seperately 2 oz cheese, your favoite hot sauce, and 2 tortiallas.
On the Trail:
1) Add 1 cup hot water to the ziplock bag, close, check for leaks, and then wrap up in your jacket for 15 minutes.
2) Add the cheese and hot sauce to the bag. Mix up.
3) Spoon into Tortillas and wrap up.
4) Eat. Yummy.

Its not really a recipe but My favorite meal in the back country is a feast with turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, and anything you would see at the thanksgiving table.
it is a little heavy, but it is often times worth it.

how you may ask,
well it was my dads idea, but what you do is, get a food saver vacum packager (you can get these at walmart, I think...) and seal up your left over food and freeze them. then when you are on the trail, just boil the closed bags and open and you have a wonderful backcountry feast.
I only do this in the winter so the bags will stay cold and the food dosent spoil.
you will also need a larger cookpot.
I have only done this with canister and white gas stoves, wood stoves may work too, but esbit and alcohol wont cut it.

P.S. package the different foods in seperate packages to preserve taste and dont try to vacum pack the gravy, just seal it. and before you lave make sure the packages will fit in you pot or you will have a hard time cooking your dinner.

I only do this a couple times a winter. Tthe rest of the time I eat freeze dried food, or dehydrated food, (I cant really tell the difference), and that is good too, but cant compare

Edited by ryanf on 11/21/2005 14:13:25 MST.

Ryan,

Great idea! I'll have to try that. What do you think of the idea of BPL adding a recipe column? Is that something you would be interested in?

Anyways, your idea reminded me of my other favorite meal. I do this on the first night when taking out friends.

At Home:
Place about six inches of Kielbasa, some sliced onions, and sliced red pepper on a piece of tinfoil about 14 inches long. Then fold the foil over length-wise and roll up the 3 sides, pressing them flat. Repeat with another piece of foil and then put the "hobo-pack" in a ziplock bag. Package a hoagie roll separately (usually I keep it in the top pocket so it doesn't get crushed.)

The Kielbasa is fully cooked so it lasts a day fine in the pack. If going on a long drive, I usually keep them in a cooler till we get to the trail-head.

At camp:
Make a fire, wait till you have some hot coals, and then throw the foil pack into the fire and wait about 20 minutes. Then take the pack out of the fire and let stand for 10 minutes. Put on hoagie roll and enjoy.

tin foil dinners, I forgot about those.

I used to eat those all the time when I was a younger scout and we only camped. never thought of bringing one backpacking. I like to just cut up potatoes, carrots, hamburger meat, onions, and anything else, and put some salt on it, wrap it up in tin foil and throw it on some hot coals, after a while turn it over to cook a little longer, take it out and enjoy.

Edited by ryanf on 11/21/2005 14:33:52 MST.

Bob..I could be cruel and tell you that my Freezer Bag Cookbook is going to press right now ;-) It will be out for sale in about 1-2 weeks ;-)
And I tested all the recipes..burp.

If ya all want recipes, just ask me-I'd give a recipe a week ;-) It is my hobby. I got so good at it this past year I can look at traditional cookbooks and figure out how to "change" it into a trail recipe in a few minutes.

That and all the recipes up on my website are tested also..I try not to eat blechy food on the trail ;-)
www.freezerbagcooking.com

Edited by sarbar on 11/21/2005 14:43:01 MST.

Sarbar,

What do you think about teaming up with BPL to create an official weekly column. Each article could have the nutrition information, weight, description, instructions, and a picture of the cooked meal (in a bowl for display purposes.)

I don't know if they would want to do this, but it seems like it would be a worthwhile additional to the magazine IMHO.

Bob

Bob,

2nd that.

If I was asked, I'd do it :-)
It is something I love a lot.

Maybe if BPL doesn't do it, put it under a new thread under Make Your Own.

Sabar: I love your site -- its a regular stop before every backpacking trip.

I think everyone would love to have regular contributions from you.

Will you book (which I will buy) have nutritional information? I really struggle staying on my medically-required diet when backpacking so its helpful to see how badly I'm "cheating" (sodium and protein content are the things I'm supposed to limit).

David..I feel your pain..I was diagnosed with Menieres Syndrome today....and along with my high blood pressure, I am now on a (wahhh) low sodium diet. So...what I am doing is going thru my site and am going to start a low sodium page of recipes. This is a goal that we will have good food to eat!! I have been tagging all the acceptable recipes..and yes, nutrional info is something I hope to work on this winter-for both the site and version 2 of the book :-)

I'm REALLY sorry to hear that. I'm not familiar with Menieres Syndrome; so I pray its not too serious.

But hang in there! Sodium free diets are difficult but not impossible (sodium is added to almost everything we eat). For non-backpacking meals, check out http://www.saltfreelife.com/
Its a subscription site ($29.95/year which also includes a salt-free magazine subscription. I've found some good recipes here.

Good luck!

Thanks for the link-I had seen that site but wasn't sure if it was worth the $.
Menieres Syndrome is an unbalance-vertigo is one the affects, fortunley so far mine is handable, and with low sodium, exercise and dieting (ie weight loss) and taking meds I should be able to suppress it most days.

Just a quick warning: When I first started my sodium free diet and meds, I noticed that I got dizzy a lot more often; especially when standing up. This mostly cleared up after about 6 months.

I only mention this because while it may SEEM your symptons are getting worse at first, it may just be a temporary effect of your new healthy lifestyle.

Hang in there! You've got friends!

Before I continue to "clutter" the site with non-backpacking medical stuff; please always feel free to contact me by email at:
david at dwhite.org (yeah, the "at" means @ -- just keeps the automated internet miners from cluttering my email box with more spam)

Edited by davidw on 11/22/2005 17:42:55 MST.

Last threadjacking ;-) Thank you, and I understand the lack of sodium=dizziness. I never know what is causing it...but hey, knock on wood, no vertigo for 2 months!

>>"dizzy/dizziness"
talk to your Doc. in this case sounds like orthostatic hypotension. often occurs when rising up suddenly to a standing position. you can pass out, fall, injure yourself. cause = low BP or a sudden drop in BP. understandable, due to change to low Na diet and the meds (meds = a guess, since i don't know precisely what they are, but can make an educated guess). the low Na diet & meds could cause hypovolemia (low blood volume) which could acct. for the lo-BP. meds causes could be vasodilators or diuretics which can lower BP. there are other causes of dizziness, but based upon the info in your posts, this might be the most likely starting point. again, talk to your Doc. your Doc will know if a med/dose adjustment is req'd or if something else could be the cause. until you talk to your Doc and get instructions, sit down (on the floor if necessary) and lower your head (lay down if you have to) if you become dizzy. don't keep on standing or fight it. you could pass out and fall.

also, keep in mind taking some OTC meds (particularly, in this case, some cold meds) and herbal/naturopathic (sp???) remedies may not be advisable when taking Rx meds. make sure your Doc knows if you're taking any, so can advise of any interactions. for example, if you're taking vasodilators then your Doc may tell you not to drink Ephedra leaf tea which contains a chemical that stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, in a manner somewhat similar to adrenaline. one effect (there are other effects also which i won't mention unless you're interested) of which is vasoconstriction - the opp. of dilation - just one example.

Edited by pj on 11/22/2005 19:38:50 MST.

what would any of us do without you pj? you seem to know everything. :-)

Ryan(F)

Edited by ryanf on 11/22/2005 18:51:00 MST.

>>"what...do..."
call your Doc.

>>""know...everything..."

i know that you don't mean this literally. however, just keep in mind, anyone who has a little more knowledge about something than someone else can always appear to that person to know everything. this (i.e. "know everything"), obviously, is never true. the older you get the more you realize how little you know (and in my case how much i've forgotten).

in this case, my concern is that i just don't want anyone to fall and be injured.

Edited by pj on 11/23/2005 01:20:28 MST.

Hi Sarbar,
I've had Menieres Syndrome for 20 year. I don't know how long you've been experiencing symptoms, but be wary of a Menieres diagnosis. I won't threadjack anymore, but maybe a Menieres thread is appropriate in Chaff. If you'd like, my mail address is chiknham@aol.com
Paul

Yes, I am defintely wary of the diagnosis....it is a wait and see thing in my book. (I was diagnosed with severely high BP 2 months ago, after having two very bad bouts of vertigo a month apart. I have been thru 2 Drs at this point, I am on 2 meds currently, a beta blocker and a dirutic. I saw an ENT yesterday who obvisouly couldn't diagnose what caused my issues-but gave me the old M. Syndrome label. I have no hearing loss now, but when my BP is up, I go almost deaf in my left ear. For now I am following my meds, and a very low sodium diet (my vertigo cases preceded eating high sodium meals) and exercising daily. My balance is off many days..but if my BP rises, my fluid in my ears changes.
I figure if I can go another 2 months without a case of Vertigo (I have gone 2 months) then I will sweat less. The biggest thing I have done so far is lose 10 lbs...another 30 or so to go!

Thank you guys, so much for the advice and tips....didn't mean to hijack the thread :-)

Just scary being 32 and having this affect me-I hiked this past weekend for the first time since early September-and it felt so good-I felt alive again!