Food

You guys give me your ideas on food.

Good for ya... unless ya eat too much!

As far as food goes we have dehydrated our meals in the past. Just about anything that you eat at home can be dehydrated. We have done chilie , soups, spagatti and such. This a experimental thing. You can try it first with leftovers. Sauces and such when dehydrated end up with sharp eges and you need to be carefull that they don't puncture the freezer bags. There is alot of info on the web about this and food in particular.

We also have some freeze dryed meals. We in the past have bought some when we found them on sale or had a dicount coupon. I can speak for first hand knoledge that the Mountain House Lasagna with meat sauce for two is VERY Good!! I had EDDy and Mark both sample it last weekend evry one agreed that it was great.

Well I don't really know what else you need, if you want more just ask.

OH

Yes! Dehydrate. It is easy and lighter because you aren't lugging around a bunch of water. Also, I will echo the Mountain House Lasagna and add the mexican beans and rice (with tortillas of course ). However, due to the price, I now try to shy away from these meals. I realized that, when I do cook, I can just dehydrate the leftovers and have meals for backpacking. Get a dehydrator and actually use it (I didn't use the one I have for a long time after it was given to me), and it will pay for itself. Plus, like OH said, there are tons of sites dedicated to this art.

Now if you're looking for something like a menu, thats a whole new post.

Any recommendations on brands of dehydrators, what features should it have and where to buy one?

My mom is getting me one for Christmas (last). She got me a coffee maker but took it back. She knew it wasn't the one I had talked about (wanted the Senseo type) but couldn't find it. She got me a nice two cup travel type and it's not that I was ungrateful. I was very appreciative, but because I don't take coffee with me all that often, she said she'd take it back to find the one I mentioned. But then I got the idea about a dehydrator because of my renewed interest in backpacking. Anyway, she was researching them but if you guys can share your wisdom, that'd be great! Sorry for the lond winded explanation and tmi...

We have an Organic Co-op in Fayetteville that Amanda and I are owners in. It is called Ozark Natural Foods, and they sell a lot of dehydrated soups/foods there in bulk bins. The prices are really reasonable, and I enjoy making my dehydrated vegetarian chili from there. I do not have a dehydrator, and a big reason for that i how easy it is for me to go thereand get it already done.

If I go solo though, I usually just take bars and trail mix for the day. Once I stop for the day is when I usually cook something nice. I have been thinking of a neat way to make red beans and rice using summer sausage, and other neat hearty foods for this cold weather. Burrito really likes easymac on the trail, boil water, soften the noodles, add the cheese mix, and viola, easymac

IDAHOAN POTATOS.
Any flavor will be just great. You can add canned or dehydrated meat to this. Even a little dried gravy mix works well.
Good ol' Ramen noodles with a foil pouch of tuna or chicken tastes great.
I am also a big fan of dehydrated foods and I use a Nesco brand dehydrator to dry our dinners. You can find these at Wal Mart.
Breakfast is usually fast and simple. I premix granola cereal, dried blueberries, and Nido dry milk in a freezer bag before leaving the house. In the mornings, all I have to do is add a little water and enjoy a great high-calorie cereal.
Lunch is usually Slim Jim beef sticks, dried mangoes, and trail mix. I will usually snack on these at each rest stop throughout the day so as to keep my energy levels up.
Hope this helps,
UL

There are many opinions on "good" dehydrators. Two features that make the whole process easier: a fan and the ability to control the temp. This is a great place to begin learning about dehydrating and cooking on the trail. There are some great recipes on here too!

Kyle,

very good site, as far as the dehydrator goes I also have a Nesco. Mine doesn't have temp control but I haven't really missed. Nice plus but you can get by without it. In fact in a pinch you can get by with a oven set at it's lowest timp setting.

OH

I had heard that you could use the oven, but I'm not confident enough in my abilities to use the oven. And I agree, you don't need the temp control (mine actually doesn't have it either), but one of my buddies has one that has it, and it is nice (to dang expensive though!).

Cheap is good!

OH

I buy Mountain House and repackage into 1 quart ziplock bags just before the trip. (Don't repackage much before the trip though.)

It saves space as ziplocks are not as bulky as the MH bags, and you can pour boiling water directly into the ziplock.

My MH favorites: Lasagna, Beef Stroganoff, Scrambled Eggs and Ham (for breakfast).

www.freezerbagcooking.com all the way... no mess, no fuss and NO or little cleanup.

Well that should answer my question. Thanks everyone. The website are great.