From: Jack Young

We usually grab a rice cake with tahini & hummus mixed w/hot sauce or mustard and break camp early in the AM. Then about 10 we stop for tea and brew-up making a hot water meal then. We hike to noon stop for another quick cold snack then have another hot meal at guess what time---yes 4 o'clock tea! Hike on until we camp and have another cold snack and maybe a pot of ginger tea.

Our hot meals are a stew of some kind. We use instant bean flakes, dried shrimp or jerky for protein, instant rice or quinoa for grain, a dried vegetable mix we buy in the bulk section of the co-op, along with maybe some dried mushrooms or peppers, and a block of commercial organic broth powder. And then the tablespoon of olive oil before eating. We've started mixing each meal at home, in waxed bags, so it's basically just dump when the water boils. We put in our spices at home, too, the curry, garlic powder, whatever, but we also take containers of lime juice, hot sauce, garlic powder & salt

We make our own gorp using dried shrimp, 3 kinds of seaweed, roasted pumpkinseeds and puffed millet.

Most of our ingredients come from the bulk section of our local food coop so
we are able to keep the costs down. Our real trick is the Asian and Middle Eastern food markets. These are cultures that developed foods without
refrigeration and they have a lot of great tricks. The Middle Eastern foods
and Indian foods are often lite, as these are nomadic cultures.

I used this on my section hikes last year. All were about 60 miles and 4
days. I did AT sections in central VA and one in southern VT. I simply
cannot eat sweet foods until I've been out for a few days, then I am
actually interested in them. Generally, when I'm done hiking or on a town
stop, I seek out the biggest salad I can find -- that's always what I want.
After I've met that craving, I start to think about cheeseburgers and pizza.
:)

dried cherries
favorite dried fruit. Not a staple, I just carry
maybe 2 oz.
Almonds, unroasted
Again, not a staple. My favorite nut though, so
I usually carry maybe 3-4 ounces.
Dense, whole-grain bread
I usually make a loaf of my own pumpernickel.
For 4 days, I only need 1/2 of it.
Ramen noodles
Only one meal out of four, so usually just one pack.
If it's chilly, they make a quick hot lunch
Smoked tofu
I have dried tofu to try this year, but the smoked held up well,
even in summer. Obviously, it's heavier than the dried. I eat
it on it's own and add it to the ramen mix to balance out the
carbs.
Seaweed, wakame
I add it to the ramen and sometimes the soup
It weighs practically nothing, adds complex flavors
and is full of trace minerals.
YVES Deli Slices
Usually pepperoni. I tend to crave salt.
I was a vegetarian then, I am not now, so I may carry regular pepperoni,
but the yves stuff was fine in my pack, even when it was warm.
Butter
for my typical 4-day trip, I bring 1/4 cup in a glad ware to eat on bread
and put in the oatmeal.
McCann's Steel Cut Oatmeal
I truly hate instant oatmeal. I soak this overnight in a nalgene I carry
specifically for soaking things. I add butter to it, and if I've got them,
a UHT creamer (MiniMoos!) or two. I often don't want to cook breakfast,
so I just bring one dose of this for a cold/lazy morning. Usually, I eat
nuts, cheese, bread, whatever else looks good at the time.
Taco Filling, dry, Fantastic Foods
Tacos are my absolute favorite trail dinner. Even though I eat meat now,
I'll stick with this brand -- it's very tasty. I usually bring some
packets of taco bell fire sauce to go on them.
Tortillas
Corn or flour -- whatever I feel like at the time.
Olive oil
I add it to the taco filling and the concocted soup (below)
Lentils, pink, raw
Barley, pearled, raw
Knorr vegetarian bouillon
I soak the lentils and barley during the day in the aforementioned soaking
container. It's carrying a little more weight, I know, but it's worth it.
I add oil and boil it all up for an excellent soup.
Tuna
Historically, I have gotten the little pull top cans that come with mayo
and relish packets and a few crackers. Now I would take those nifty vacuum
packs and some mayo and relish packs collected over time from the cafeteria
or as a side-product of deli purchases (I just take an extra or two --
they add up over time).
Cheese
String cheese works *very* well -- it doesn't throw grease when
it gets warm and it's individually wrapped. I have taken cheddar
cheese, edam cheese, all kinds of things, and outside of high summer
I'd happily take cheddar. I *always* take cheese. In the summer,
you can reduce the messiness by cutting of your day's portion of
cheese in the morning when the cheese has cooled to solidity. I
also bring mustard packets for the cheese. Smoked cheese is often
more solid and less greasy.
Veg chili
dry, fantastic foods brand. It has TVP in it, and I don't
add any freeze-dried beans.
powdered tomato sauce
to add to the chili instead of a can of tomatoes.
an apple
usually a granny smith
a carrot or two
peanut M&Ms
not a lot, but very occasionally, I crave something sugary.

I used to try to keep my food weight down, but all the processed food didn't
seem to do me as much good as it should. After reading "Beyond
Backpacking", I came to agree with Jardine -- never skimp on food and bring
as many fresh foods as possible. My pack without food and water weighs from
10-12 lbs. I usually bring quantities to equal about 2500-2700 calories per
day. I typically burn about 1900-2000 at home with my normal lifestyle.

On a long trip with town resupplies, I can get the tuna, cheese, bread,
apples, M&Ms, carrots, ramen noodles, lentils, tortillas, buillion, mustard
and the fats. I'd need someone to split the fats with though since the are
sold in too large a quantity for me to carry around. In the absence of the
taco filling, I'd probably switch to quesadillas. I would sub beef jerky
for the smoked tofu and mixed dried fruit for the cherries. I would use
some kind of instant soup instead of the (much better) soup. If I were
looking at at a thru-hike, I would buy a good multi-vitamin to *attempt* to
make up for the lack of fresh/whole foods.

> I didn't comment because I got the impression that for your
> second diet you weren't on the trail long enough to give it a good test.

Unfortunately, my 3 month hike was done the old way (heavy on carbs, light
on fat and protein), so I'm not sure how my tastes would evolve from this
diet on a longer trip. I wish I had that kind of time now -- I do so much
more mileage than I used to.

I can tell you that the best re-supply I did on my 1999 trip was a total
punt at a gas station in South Mountain, PA. I bought a loaf of rye bread,
a jar of mustard, a brick of cheese, some tuna snack packs and some ramen.
That got me two more days to a real grocery store. I ate sandwiches for
breakfast and/or lunch and the ramens for dinner. I still had some seaweed
to throw in the ramen, which is a nice improvement. After that, I wound up
giving away all my gorp and breakfast cereal from my maildrops in favor of
the bread, cheese and mustard. I don't think I would use maildrops again,
especially now that I'm an omnivore.