Ok this actually came to me in a dream last night. Time to focus on my other hobbies a bit more...

Here's the idea: I've been using powdered skim milk in various backcountry dishes and drinks for a long time. I like the richness and the protein that it adds, and of course it's reasonably calorie-dense.

Recently I've found a supplier of powdered whole milk, and while not cheap it is a decadent backcountry food and adds welcome fat at mealtime and before bed.

So, continuing this progression towards more nutrient- and fat-dense powdered milk products, how about baby formula?

Being 27, I'm personally still a few years away from, err, reproducing myself. And as the parents in the crowd have probably just discerned I don't know a thing about babies or their foodstuffs.

Does this stuff taste good? Okay? Disgusting?

I looked up similac and enfalac this morning; they actually come in a lot of varieties. There are regular, high-iron, soy-based, and toddler formulas. They have lots of types of fats in them as well as vitamins that I assume don't come in cow's milk.

Unfortunately they don't post empirical nutritional information. Does anyone have some of this at home who could post the calories-per-gram, plus the breakdown of fats and vitamins?

I'd love to know if it's healthy for an adult to consume this stuff and what it tastes like. But I am still too stuck on my own hangups to go buy a can!

Edited by bjamesd on 02/27/2007 14:37:15 MST.

Try it.

Just don't whine when you gag ;-) Hehheh!!

Baby formula is the nastiest stuff around. You know why baby burps smell so bad? Yeah, formula burps. AHHHHH!!!!
Also, BF is low in sugar often, so it is pretty plain overall.

Go get some Ensure ;-)

I can't say I've ever smelled a baby burp!

I can't put Ensure in my 7-grain cereal or my coffee... but it sounds like baby formula is out too. Thanks for the info; you saved me the price of a can of Similac.

I wonder why babies like it...

Stick with the powdered whole milk, IMHO.

The lucky babies get the natural stuff

and, believe it or not, no bad smell from either end

Just thought I'd mention this for your future reference

: )

If I had some of that at home, the problem would be solved.

But then again I probably wouldn't have time to go backpacking anymore now would I. Plus the department of Family Services would want to know why there was b milk in my dehydrator.

Yah I think I'll stick to whole (cow's) milk. It's delicious and lacks the unsettling Freudian overtones...

Edited by bjamesd on 02/27/2007 19:54:52 MST.

Hey Brian, my level of baby food knowledge is right around yours, so I can't help with your specific query... but I am interested in the topic.

I too bring powdered skim milk on backpacking trips, and similarly have been looking for a more calorie dense and nutrious option. I've been looking for a supplier of powdered whole milk or powdered soy milk, but can't find anything. It would be great if people could share if they have any online resources...

Edited by btomsky on 02/27/2007 19:06:54 MST.

The store I buy from sells skim, 2%, whole, and even buttermilk in powder. They have just about every nut, grain, seed, legume, and spice available in whole, cracked, ground, and powdered form. They also have a tonne of different dried fruits, and mixes such as soups, 7- and 9-grain cereals, and quickbreads. It's a backpacker's paradise, really, but unfortunately it's in the Vancouver area.

Ben, you can get powdered soy milk by Better Than Milk! It is sold on Amazon in a number of varieties - and is good stuff!

And yeah, mama milk is much better ;-) But for you guys with no babies around...babies don't have a taste for overly sweet or salty foods. They learn to like them! Been a while though...my son is 9 ;-)

Brian,
Sorry to hijack your thread for a second but I have been PMing you and not sure if they are getting thru!
Let me know if you are getting them.
Thanks,
Larry

OK back to baby formula!! ;-)

I'll differ on this... babies naturally like sweet.
and agree Formula is nasty stuff made from the cheapest oils available, and often contaminated too (go ahead google formula recalls) yuk

Baby formula tastes horrible! You would be better off to go to the health food store and get some powdered whole milk!

The soy formula is absolutely revolting!

Having had 5 kids and 2 of them on various formulas, I know what they taste like!

Larry, I emailed you. Sorry for the delay.

Okay, onto the good part of the post. Guess what I just drank? One can of "Similac Advance with Omega-3 and Omega-6". Yes I did.

And I think we might be onto something here folks.

I had to pick up a parcel at the drug store last night, and I'm afraid my curiosity got the better of me. They sell this stuff in single-serving cans! After reading the nutritional information I couldn't resist:

PER 100mL (3.38 fluid ounces) "baby serving) of the mixed product:

285 Calories!
3.7g fat
1.4g protein
7.2g carbohydrates
16mg sodium
71mg potassium
44mg chloride
203IU Vitamin A
41IU Vitamin D3
2.1IU Vitamin E
0.0055mg Vitamin K1
6mg Vitamin C
.068mg Thiamine
.101mg Riboflavin
.71mg Niacin
.041mg Vitamin B6
.010mg Folic Acid
.00017mg Vitamin B12
.304mg Pantothenic Acid
.003mg Biotin
53mg Calcium
28mg Phosphorus
4.1mg Magnesium
1.2mg Iron
.51mg Zinc
.061mg Copper
.0034mg Manganese
.0041mg Iodine
.0015mg Selenium
10.8mg Choline
3.7mg Taurine
3.2mg Inositol
7.2mg Nucleotides

This stuff has some of everything, including vitamins and aminos you need to replace when exercising. The can I drank was 235mL (8 fluid ounces) and it contained 669 calories -- talk about calorie-dense.

The taste?

Surprisingly good. To my palate, just fine. Mild, milk-like. Way better than Boost and Ensure. And in my opinion, better than regular powdered milk mixed up with water; whole or skim.

I was expecting the worst, so I refrigerated the can overnight. I'm sure that this is why it tasted so mild. It's probably not as great at room temperature or warm, the way that almost everyone has consumed it. Or, maybe they've made advances in the flavor of formula recently. Either way, and for whatever reason, it tasted good!

One caveat is that I bought the no-mix stuff. I don't know what the powder tastes like; I was hoping someone else could take the plunge on that one!

I want to try the powder in oatmeal, coffee, and hot chocolate. This stuff seems like a real, superior alternative to the powdered whole milk that everyone has a hard time finding.

Who knows? Maybe in a year we'll see a can of Enfalac (now called Enfamil) in every thru-hiker's pack!

Edited by bjamesd on 03/02/2007 11:22:23 MST.

I can tell you what the powder tastes like - gross... get a product called Nido (only available in the US - I get my friend to mail it up to me from Georgia). Nido has 26% milk fat - is great for making wicked creamy sauces and hot chocolate. You'll find it in the mexican foods section and it is made by Nestle.

If you are in Canada and can't find it - let me know and I'll see if I can't get my friend to send up an extra can next time.

Guys: just avoid soy-based products all together. The phytoestrogens may "protect your heart" per the hype of the soy industry, but they also shrink other valuable parts and decrease testosterone levels overall. Check out the book "The Whole Soy Story" by Dr. Kaayla T. Daniel for more details.

Laurie, thanks so much for the offer. I live 2 hours north of Seattle but I don't know if the customs officers will believe I went to the states to buy powdered milk!

As for the soy thing, that's scary. I think I read somewhere that women from cultures that eat a lot of soy don't have the terrible symptoms of menopause that North American women do.

That said, when I'm hiking in the winter there are times I'd kill for a hot flash!

Brian

Brian,
I don't mean to be a nit picker, but how do the Similac folks come up with 285 cal/100 ml with a content of fat=3.7 g, protein=1.4 g, and carbohydrate=7.2 g? Is this a misprint? I only bring this up because if you use it in the backcountry, you might come up short at a bad time, especially in the winter.

Milkman also has fat added back to it, making it more nutrient dense and tastier. However, that also shortens the shelf life.

Ben Tomsky wrote:
[quote]
I too bring powdered skim milk on backpacking trips, and similarly have been looking for a more calorie dense and nutrious option. I've been looking for a supplier of powdered whole milk or powdered soy milk, but can't find anything. It would be great if people could share if they have any online resources.[/quote]


At Walmart SuperStores in the Hispanic foods section you will find:

Nestle NIDO

Dry Whole Milk

14 Oz cans. They are yellowish with a picture of milk splashing into a glass.

Serving size 1/3 cup powder makes 1 cup milk (8 Oz)
150 Cal per servine, Cal from Fat 70

Better than dry skim milk.

Nido does rock! It is very good tasting and IMHO very close to the real milk. Much better than that blah and watery Milk Maid product.

I have not found it in our Oregon Wal-Mart super stores - however you can order it from Amazon.com. It is fairly cheap at roughly $5 for a good sized can.