I wish I could claim to be an expert and begin spouting scientific facts backed by precise caloric justifications. But instead of some essay with numbers and statistics, you get to hear about how some 20 year old survived her vacation. Hopefully my experience can offer some insight.
When my soulmate and I decided that we were going to take a bus from Montana to Arkansas, attend a 5 day music festival and then hop back on the bus, I was excited by the extreme challenge I was faced with. We've been making almost everything from scratch for about eight months, and our adventure to Wakarusa would be no exception.
My internet searches for an organic, all natural meal replacement bar recipe led me mostly to dead ends. I found lots of recipes, but all of them called for oats and some sort of protein powder. At the time of my research, I was having some issues with grains and didn't want to use oats in such an unstable environment. The last thing I wanted was to get sick. I also wanted to avoid the use of protein powder (although I would have gone with hemp) just because I have no idea what process the protein goes through to become a powder.
Basic Culinary Arts class taught me that protein provides more nutrients than carbohydrates. Protein also takes longer to digest, which I translate into being fuller for an extended period of time. These two facts were the only basis for the plan that I devised, and it barely worked.
I spent too much time trying to craft "bus foods", carb based super snacks for the bus ride to Arkansas. And after about 24 hours, I realized how badly I needed meat.
SO...
Here's a base list of the food I made.
-Veggie Rolls: Cinnamon Roll dough with cheese and a vegetable/seed filling (I used asparagus, garlic, hemp seed and carrot, onion, sesame seed). Delicious when fresh, however they are extremely perishable. If I wanted to use the same ingredients and take these incredible rolls backpacking, I would put the filling (cheese, veggies, seeds) in the dough.
-Cinnamon Apple Rolls: Cinnamon roll dough, shredded apple, cinnamon, hemp and sesame seeds. Again, fantastic but doesn't travel well. In order to adapt this dish for backpacking I would put the apple, spices and seeds in the dough.
-Cinnaminis: Mini cinnamon rolls. I wish I had an exact recipe, but I throw things together until the dough is the right consistency (I use sourdough instead of yeast). Let it sit overnight, roll it out, brush with an egg wash, sprinkle on spices and super seeds then bake at 350 until firm. They were super yummy and lasted the whole trip.
-Crackers: I wish I had made a few more batches of these instead of spending all that time on rolls. They're incredibly tasty, lasted the whole trip and you can add any ingredient you want to make it a super cracker.
-A basic cracker is flour, water, salt... I add a pinch of sugar and a dollop of sourdough
-Add in cheese, veggie puree, seeds/nuts to taste
-Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, depending on what you put in your crackers. I've found that crackers with sourdough take longer to bake fully than crackers without
-Failed Fruit Leather: I tried to make some fruit leather, but neither the flavor nor the texture turned out quite right so it became something that I spent time on when I could've made something better. If I had succeeded I probably would suggest that everybody who has ever considered camping should make a batch. I learned that consistency is key and that mashing soupy frozen fruit in a bowl is not the same thing as pureeing frozen fruit in a blender or food processor.
-Noodles: It was too hot in Arkansas to try and make during the festival, but we tried my homemade, organic version of ramen a week after we got back and they were amazing. The noodles would be best prepared fresh instead of prepared and dehydrated, but this is worth the effort.
-Take a basic egg noodle recipe and dehydrate the noodles. (Lowest temp on your oven is fairly sufficient, leave the oven door open for ventilation)
-Bullion Crackers: I wanted to make bullion cubes but I rushed through it and made broth crackers. You can eat them like crackers or you can crush them up a little bit and mix in boiling water to make broth.
-Skim the fat off your stock (I used chicken)
-Melt stock, add in salt, spices, salt, I ground up some dehydrated vegetables and added that, even a small pinch of wheat but that's entirely optional.
-Pour mixture on a lined baking sheet (the thinner the crisper) and bake at the lowest temp with the oven door cracked until there's no moisture left.
** Jas. Townsend and Son, Inc has a much better tutorial on how to do this. I will definitely use this method the next time I make this.18th Century Portable Soup
-Breakfast Bars: I should have spent more time and money on these delicious treats. It's possible to do with a decent knife and some dedicated rock chopping, but it won't be the same end result you would get if you threw the ingredients into a food processor. I learned that better, more nourishing carbs come from fruit as opposed to grain (painfully obvious to me now but we have to go through these experiences to learn I guess) If you want to experiment with whole foods backpacking take more fruit than grain.
-Trail mix: It's simple enough, but again, fruit is necessary. Any pleasant dry fruit is perfect. I found that without enough fruit the mix was too dry.
I researched and planned for months, only cooked for about a week and a half. We made it 36 hours on the food that I prepared, which I found impressive because at one of the bigger depots we saw an Amish family eating bus stop chicken sandwiches.
However, when we got to Fayetteville, it was time for a burger. If you are ever in Fayetteville, AR and want to eat somewhere with great food, incredible service, beautiful plating, decent prices and organic ingredients please stop by the Greenhouse Grille. We split a salad with grilled chicken and both got fat burgers with sweet potato fries. It was the best food I've had at a restaurant.
By that time I had fully realized that we didn't bring any tuna or jerky or anything. We had to buy some store brand tuna, checking the labels diligently to find something without soy. It is possible to go from organic to budget, but I wish I had planned in advance. Don't forget your meat of some kind when you're backpacking. It'll be expensive in one way or another, but it's so nourishing (unless you've figured out how to go without, you get a gold star ^-^)
We were able to buy some produce (and more tuna) in Ozark while we were at the festival, which made it easier. The night before we got back on the bus, we made a salad and found a can of organic chili.
It was on the way home that I realized more breakfast bars would've been awesome. If I could do it again, I'd be much more prepared now.
Some other things we did to prepare for our trip included eating a large, colorful veggie stir-fry the night before and eating (sharing) a decadent homemade pizza the day we got on the bus.
It's not impossible, it takes planning, and I had to take a few last minute short cuts, but preparing your own organic, wholesome foods to take on a long trip, or even a day outing is rewarding and not even that difficult if you have enough time.
