DIY backpack meals $4-6 ideas?

[Nick87]

Or if I’m eating fancy View attachment 394096

Bragger.

 

[Aperventure]

You can rotate through a huge variety of meals without getting bored, all while staying well within your $4-6 per meal and 1.5-2 lb/day targets. Happy trails and happy eating.

That was the reason for my question, to get others ideas. Not confirmation. What do you do? I’ve shared a few of my favorites do you have anything to share?

 

[Aperventure]

Couscous is the answer. And you can buy it in bulk at Winco.

Add chicken bouillon, freeze dried veggies, spices, etc- you’ve got a meal. I like the tuna with sun dried tomatoes to add to it.

Lots of recipes online if you look around to fit whatever flavor you’re after.

Good call, I like couscous as a base I’ll try to add different ingredients and toppings to it

 

[Aperventure]

View attachment 394193
About a dollar each.

Seems like this would be good for day packing meals at 1lb per meal. Thanks for the idea!

 

[44hunter45]

Couscous is the answer. And you can buy it in bulk at Winco.

Add chicken bouillon, freeze dried veggies, spices, etc- you’ve got a meal. I like the tuna with sun dried tomatoes to add to it.

Lots of recipes online if you look around to fit whatever flavor you’re after.

There is a Kara & Marcus video about backcountry meals on the cheap. Couscous was a part of it. Look on Randy's YouTube Channel.

@MHMT - Do you have the link?

 

[Wvhuntandfish]

I like to pack the StarKist Tuna Creation packets on hunting or fishing trips. They're light, compact and available in several flavors.

 

[Bigjay73]

Everytime I hear couscous, I think of Jamie Farr. Yes, I am old

 

[Nuts]

If I can find a fish to catch I carry in my back pack some tortilla's and old bay. Maybe some shredded cheese. Grayling is delicious in this. Duck and grouse not bad either. But to your actual question. I do freeze dried but always end up short due to 3 meals a day not being enough. I also add these items to the list

• Soups to me are the ticket. Add a little of this and that and water and you have something. Small beef jerky pieces or bacon bits. Some bullion. Noodles
• Most place I am looking for food is Alaska in the fall. So plain oatmeal and add blueberries I pick
• Egg crystals
• Stovetop stuffing
• all the variety of mash potatoes
• Beef taco filling with tortilla's
• Cream chipped beef mix in a bag
• Pancake mix for a rainy morning stuck in camp-add smashed blueberries
• Anything I buy canned I look into weather I can open it and vacuum seal it. Try to lose the can weight

 

[Vic Colfari]

This guy is a backpacking guru, and has logged 30k miles or more. He has some good recipes that you could tweak to your tastes: https://andrewskurka.com/tag/backpacking-meal-recipes/

Lots of thru-hiking and lightweight backpacking sites have a pile of dinner ideas.
I am pretty lazy when it comes to preparing my own meals for hunts, so I am also a Peak Refuel fan, but I always start my hunts with a couple of bagel/cheese/honey/bacon bunghole delights. Those are calorie bombs, taste great, and get me through the first day or two for lunch.

 

[std7mag]

Most of my use is a day pack. But I sometimes spend the night outdoors.

I'm mostly a water, dried fruits, oat bars, and jerky of some sort.

While I can get these things from the store, I prefer to make it myself.

I do use pork, chicken, beef and deer for jerky. Different seasonings for each.

Wife makes 2 sheet trays of oat/granola bars for me.

 

[kwyeewyk]

I do use pork, chicken, beef and deer for jerky. Different seasonings for each.

Curious what your pork and chicken jerky recipes are?

 

[schmalts]

I don't know about overnight trips but day trips I made Greenhorn AKA frequently banned troll... pretty jealous once when he saw my putting a couple breasts and thighs out of a bucket of KFC into a ziplock bag and into my pack. If available I get a big bucket for the road and a couple day packs. nom nom nom, that chits good cold

 

[std7mag]

Curious what your pork and chicken jerky recipes are?

Pork I have done Teriyaki, and a BBQ marinade.
Chicken I've marinated in Italian dressing, herb and white wine, BBQ and Teriyaki.

Depends on my mood.

 

[kwyeewyk]

Pork I have done Teriyaki, and a BBQ marinade.
Chicken I've marinated in Italian dressing, herb and white wine, BBQ and Teriyaki.

Depends on my mood.

Do you dry like normal jerky or do you have to get it hotter to actually cook it due to trich or salmonella concerns?

 

[std7mag]

Do you dry like normal jerky or do you have to get it hotter to actually cook it due to trich or salmonella concerns?

I set the dehydrator for meat and let it run for 8 hours. Then baste it and put in for another 4 hours.

 

[atlas]

Add .99 c tuna packets from winco to any cheap instant meal and make a tuna tortilla wrap for lunch