Enjoying an overnight backpacking adventure takes advance planning, especially when it comes to food. Your choices should sustain you for the duration of your trek, as well as provide plenty of nutrients without weighing you down. Backpacking grub should also be convenient to eat, on the go or at a camp, with a minimum of cooking equipment.
Weight
The first thing backpackers consider with food planning is weight. Carrying heavy canned goods, glass or plastic jars or boxed beverages will put strain on your shoulders and hamper your enjoyment of the trek. Plan on bringing dehydrated foods made especially for ultra-light backpacking: these just-add-water meals weigh only a few ounces when dry. Dried fruit and vegetables, soup mixes and powdered beverages are also handy.
Nutrition
Because backpacking is strenuous, the food you bring should provide calories as well as essential nutrients. Consider foods with a balance of complex carbohydrates, proteins and fats for a boost of energy. They don't call it trail mix for nothing: a blend of dried fruits, nuts and seeds provides a convenient source of nutrition on the road. Powdered protein drinks with added vitamins and minerals weigh little before you add water and can tide you over until you reach camp.
Ease of Preparation
Backpackers often carry only minimal equipment for preparing foods--pots, pans and camp stoves are heavy. Easy foods to prepare with virtually no fuss include pouches of dehydrated meals, boil-in-the-bag pasta or rice mixes and any type of powdered food that can be reconstituted with water in a single pot.
Make Your Own Foods
Experienced backpackers may dehydrate their own foods to make custom meal mixes. Combine dried vegetables, legumes or meats with uncooked rice or pasta, season with dried herbs or spices, and seal in a plastic bag for your own gourmet trail food. These packets reconstitute with the addition of water. Make soup mix with bouillon cubes, dried beans, macaroni and dried veggies; or create vegetarian cheesy mac with dried textured vegetable protein chunks, pasta, dried milk and powdered cheese.
What to Avoid
Some foods just don't travel well, including squish-prone breads, fresh fruits susceptible to bruising, and crackers or cookies that end up as crumbs at the bottom of your pack. Avoid bringing any foods that require refrigeration--they'll spoil quickly. Never bring raw meats; they can harbor bacteria that cause food-borne illnesses, as well as contaminate the other foods in your pack.
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