Food General Advice on Food
Everything you decide to take with you adds to the weight that you have to carry no matter how small or light something is, it will become an extra load. That said, the people who suffer are those who think they can do without food. Plan, evaluate and re plan is the key to good food choice!
Camping food needs to be light, quick to cook, tasty and have as little waste with it as possible. If you follow these principals, canned food is out, fresh food can be heavy and can go off quickly on hot sunny days, while dehydrated food is lighter.
Many stores sell camping meals, in my opinion most are little more than tinned food in an expensive bag. There are also camping dehydrated meals, unfortunately many of these are also expensive and can be an acquired taste! For a DofE trips normal everyday food is fine, things like pasta, rice, couscous and noodles are all good, and as they have had the moisture taken out they are lighter than none dehydrated foods but need some flavour added to them. Cuppa soups can provide this however many dried foods also come with flavours already added. It’s not that light, but cooked flavored rice like Uncle Bens is a big favorite of mine. Army ration packs are full of stuff you won’t use, some meals taste great some don’t and they are all heavy.
I like puddings in the evening; things like Nutra Grain, Soreen or fruit bagels with custard are great as are many chewy bars. In the morning I really like porridge, this can be made with water. If you really want to spoil yourself take some Condensed Milk, it comes in a squeeze bottle and can be added to puddings, breakfasts and coffee in the morning, I love it!
For lunch I revert back to malt loaf and bagels with dried fruit and nuts to nibble on throughout the day. For a quick pick me up I also take a small bag of sweets.