Hi All- Happy Father's Day! What makes today so special for me is the two beautiful girls who have given true purpose to my life. I love my little girls! OK, they may be in their 30's but they are still my little ones. Thank you Han and Scoot for brnging me so much joy!
One month and counting...Yikes! I'm starting to get a little nervous about the trip. Do I have all the equipment I need? Am I physically and emotionally ready for the challenges ahead? Will my food preparation provide the caloric intake I need to sustain? Only time will tell and all I can do is my best.
In today's post I want to share a little about my food preparation. I have determined that I will need trail food for 40 days. Most experts agree that the average person will burn approximately, 3,000-3,500 calories per day when backpacking. That is a lot grub to plan and prep for!
In order to keep my backpack as light as possible, I am dehydrating as much of my food as I can. On past trips, I typically used recipes from a couple of good outdoor cookbooks where they have you mix and match pre-made foods from the supermarket. These recipes are light and tastey but not light enough for a trek of this magnitude. I looked at buying premade dehydrated meals from outfitting stores but the cost was prohibitive. On average, $12 per meal! So instead I purchased a inexpensive dehydrator ($50) and have been watching dozens of videos on Youtube to learn the ins and outs of dehydrating.
Here is my dinner menu for the 40 days:
4- American Chop Suey with ground bison*
8- Spaghetti with ground bison and marinara sauce
5- Ground turkey burrito with rice, refied beans, and salsa
5- Ground bison burrito with rice, refried beans, and salsa
5- Veggie chili
5- Spanish rice and chicken
3- Chicken pad Thia
5- Corn chowder
*Every meal will include a quarter cup of a veggie mix that includes carrots, broccoli, stringbeans, kale, and onions.
Here are some pictures of me making and dehydrating American chop suey:
This last picture is of dehydrated ground bison or what is referred to as gravel. To help meat rehydrate from a gravel state you add a half cup of ground bread crumbs for every pound when you cook it. To help the meat taste more natural, you drizzle a little olive oil on the meal once it is rehydrated.
Once I had the meals dehydrated, I vacuum sealed them in bags for long term storage as seen in the pictures below:
Below is a rehydrated meal... I wish! Once rehydrated, the meals are really pretty tastey...At least trail tastey anyhow.
I feel so fortunate that I can afford to take on this incredible trip. But I am humbled by the fact that there are so many kids in America who don't know where there next meal is coming from. Please help me help these kids by supporting End 68 Hours of Hunger. Donate what you can to:
http://www.end68hoursofhunger.org/find-your-community/new-hampshire/exeter/
Best, Night Screamer
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