Trail Food: Market Pantry Nutrition Bar

Midway in our 2011 section hike of the Appalachian Trail, we lost our appetite and felt a bit lethargic. If you followed our adventure in our TrailJournal, you'll recall we were concerned about a lack of nutrition. We thought perhaps we were too low sugar and low salt and the wilderness EMT suggested low potassium.

We've long noted the nutrition bar aisle at our local Target department store. Looking through the racks of various nutrition bars we noted that calories and content varied. We long wanted to taste test some of these, but recall our first taste of Gatorade many decades ago. Foul! Salty! Since then we have shied away from anything related to sports nutrition and went with everyday nutrition as practiced by ordinary citizens.

So, it was with some trepidation that we selected and purchased a Market Pantry nutrition bar. Target provides individual nutrition bars for purchase, so we were relieved not to have to purchase an entire box, only to find us holding an expensive box of what we refer to as "wood chips". To improve the chances of our taste buds accepting the strange new food, we opted for a nutrition bar marked "chocolate peanut butter".

The wrapper on our bar stated it contained 210 calories, so we decided to eat half one day and half the next. Late in the day when we normally have a wee bit of carbs we tore open the wrapper and bit in.

Not bad. Not bad at all!

This was certainly not the nutrition food of our 1970's youth.

Our first taste was similar to a less sweet candy bar. After two or three bites, we definitely could taste the difference.

We do note the taste was not so inspiring that we weren't able to resist folding up the remaining half of the bar and leaving in front of us until the next afternoon.

Bottom line: Its a keeper. We plan to buy two boxes of the bars for our planned 2012 section hike in CT and NY. We'll update you on our field results after our trip.

UPDATE 5/31/12 - We bought one box of bars for our upcoming 10-day section hike of New York. Plan to eat them on one long day and the three ending mountainous days. Most will be mailed ahead in a resupply dropbox.


Disclosure: We select and purchase the product(s) reviewed. We have no material connection to either the manufacturer nor the retailer(s).

Trail Food: Justin's Honey Peanut Butter

While shopping at a local Target department store, we were browsed the food aisles looking for possible backpacking fare. While standing in front of a wall of peanut butter, we noticed some small boxes with individual packets of peanut butter. From the four boxes we selected a small packet of Justin's Honey Peanut Butter to sample at the office. Today was the day.

The packet of peanut butter stated to knead before opening. Being a military veteran, this brought back memories of little green packets of peanut butter in the ubiquitous Meals-Ready-to-Eat (MREs). We once failed to knead and were punished with oil and a thick peanut flavored nougat. We rolled the packet between our palms rapidly.

Finding a small nick along the side, we opened the packet slightly and squeezed a dollop onto a waiting cracker. We definitely tasted peanut butter, but not a heavy taste of peanut butter. On our second dollop we distinctly could identify the taste of honey. Finally, we tore open the pouch and dug in with a small plastic spoon. The peanut butter was tasty, but a bit mealy feeling in the mouth. Perhaps we had not spent enough tie kneading it before use.

The packet indicates Justin's Honey Peanut Butter is kosher and gluten-free. A 1.15 oz. (32 grams) packet provides 190 calories. The very high calories to weight ratio and the good taste makes packets of Justin's Honey Peanut Butter a new inclusion on our backpacking meal plan this year. Last year we flagged a bit after a few days out, so we'll toss in some peanut butter packets to see if that helps us maintain our appetite around day four.

UPDATE 5/31/12 - We bought ten packets of Justin's Honey Peanut Butter for our upcoming 10-day section hike of New York.

Disclosure: We select and purchase the product(s) reviewed. We have no material connection to either the manufacturer nor the retailer(s).

Hiking Food: Chocolate Chip Chewy Granola

Laying on the desk atop a pile of used food wrappers is the blue and white plastic from a Sunbelt Fudge Dipped Chocolate Chip chewy granola bar. We've been meaning to post some reviews of hiking foods we've tested, so here's our review of what's become our favorite granola bar for hiking and at the office.

We really like these granola bars. They're preservative free and a 1.5 ounce bar provides 210 calories for 140 calories per ounce. Not as high a calories to weight ratio as Snickers or Butterfingers, but higher than many other popular hiking foods.

You'll want to keep these in the cool area of your pack until consumed as they are fudge dipped and the fudge gets quite messy with warming from a pocket or laying in a sunny spot on a table.

These granola bars aren't for everyone. The package warns for the following food allergies: soy, peanuts, almonds, eggs, milk and wheat. Also, other tree nuts may appear from time to time.

Give these a try. In this day and age when all the food makers are trying to see how low calorie they can go, its nice to discover someone making a good old fashioned high calorie food for hiking.

Disclosure: We select and purchase the product(s) reviewed. We have no material connection to either the manufacturer nor the retailer(s).

Backpacking Food Reviews: Yelp List of Appalachian Trail Businesses

We started a new resource for sections hikers: an  Appalachian Trail list of Yelp reviews for delis, grocers, and other similar attractions along the AT. We've added a resource or two for WV, PA, NJ and NY so far. We have a couple more reviews to add and we'll be caught up with all of our past hikes. We'd like to encourage you, our fellow hikers, to add your reviews for these businesses and for any others you have used.

Appalachian Trail

What's this?

Hiking Food For Long Distance Backpacking - 5,000 Calories Per Day

We discovered this good overview video on hiking food on YouTube. Most of what the narrator describes is what we also take on our section hikes along the Appalachian Trail. We differ in packaging. We like to pack complete breakfast and dinners along with snacks into distinct ziplock bags for five days of hiking. ( we mark our bags "Day 1", "Day 2", etc. We also toss in hand wipes and quarter sections of paper towels along with condiments.

 

 

Feel free to add your hiking food tips and recommendations in the comments.

Bear Container: BearSaver Bear Box

One of the pleasant surprises hiking the Appalachian Trail through New jersey was the discovery that a bear container wasn't absolutely necessary. When we discovered that official backpacker site after backpacker site hosted a BearSaver bear box, we felt a bit foolish toting our expensive and somewhat bulky Ursack.

We saw our first BearSaver bear box at the backpacker camp just south of Sunfish Pond. That's the one in the photo. We took some time to examine it and become familiar with how it works. The right side door features a release mechanism that is cleverly hidden to foil both bears and clever raccoons. One inserts one's hand upside down in the bottom of the mechanism and squeezes a release lever.

The standard BearSaver bear box is quite large. We were able to stuff our entire large backpack inside with plenty of room to spare at both the AMC Mohican Outdoor Center and Pochuck shelter. The bear box at Mashipacong shelter held two large 5 gallon water containers and still had lots of room for food bags.

While the sign on the left panel instructs hikers that these are not trash cans, we often found trash inside. We suspect a contributing cause is that trash cans have mostly been removed from all parks in New Jersey. Pack it in, pack it out is the general rule. The most egregious mis-use of the bear box was at the Rutherford shlter in High Point State Park were we found not only large amounts of nasty, fetid garbage inside, but also a stack of oatmeal encrusted plates and metal silverware. Eww! We packed out much of the refuse since we knew we would be stopping by the park HQ shortly after departing, but we didn't take on the extra weight of the hard goods.

In addition to the water we found at Mashipacong shelter, we found other trail magic inside several bear boxes. At Pochuck shelter we found several packets of M & M chocolate candies. So, don't forget to stop by all the shelter and backpacking sites and open the BearSaver bear box doors. You may be pleasantly surprised. (This also works in reverse: you can be the one to leave trail magic inside a bear box for other hikers. Just saying.)

The longest distance between bear boxes in New Jersey was the 14 mile stretch between the AMC Mohican Center and the Brinks Road shelter. If you decide to stealth camp between those points, you will be in bear country and will need to bear bag your food. We recommend an UrSack or using the PCT bear bagging method.

Disclosure: We select and purchase the product(s) reviewed. We have no material connection to either the manufacturer nor the retailer(s).

Appalachian Trail: Food Planning for 10-Day Hike

We have already begun buying and building our meal packets for our upcoming 10-day section hike of the Appalachian Trail in New Jersey and New York. Our menu last year was largely successful, but we learned a few lessons which we are applying this year.

Food Resupply Along Trail

We are starting from Delaware Water Gap, PA. Our planned resupply is on day five in Unionville, NY. So, we'll be carrying five days of food with an estimated weight of 8-10 pounds. We have a digital scale this year and will actually know the weight of each days food before departure. Last year our five days food lasted seven and we had uneaten food to boot. Excess food equals excess weight.

We have also decided to test re-supplying with a drop box on this section hike for the experience. Future sections will eventually require a drop box. If High Point State Park HQ is still accepting drop boxes, we'll pick up our drop box there on day four.

FOOD PLAN

Breakfast:
2 packets instant oatmeal
1/2 packet freeze dried apples
1 packet hot chocolate
1 packet Fig Newtons

Breaks:
Trail mix
Chocolate chip granola bars
Beef sticks
Freeze dried bananas & strawberries
Propel

Lunchs:
Flour tortilla with Genoa salami
Lunches from delis and farms along trail

Dinner:
1 packet Pork ramen soup with crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup tea
1 entree

Entrees:
Tuna in sunflower oil with mayonnaise, salt and pepper
Salmon
Vegetarian chili tacos
Chipotle bean dip burritos
Instant mashed potatoes (garlic, fully loaded)

The above selection provides enough choices for sudden changes of appetite. We have eaten mashed potatoes for breakfast along with salami or enjoyed a packet of extra oily tuna at mid-day.

Packing

Each days meal is packed in a gallon ziplock bag. Each bag is labeled with "Day 1", etc.

A days meal bag contains one quart freezer bag with all breakfast components, one quart freezer bag with all dinner components, 2-3 packets of Propel, two granola bars, 2-3 beef sticks, salami packet, and trail mix.

The breakfast and dinner freezer bags also contain a wet wipe (toilet or bath), 1/4th paper towel (napkin). Hot water amounts are marked on outside of freezer bags.

Trail Food Lessons Learned

We discovered that most distance hikers lose their appetites for the first 2-3 days. You will probably not eat as much as you think.

Food tastes change on the trail. We couldn't stand Snickers bars last year and gave most away to thru-hikers. Eventually, we couldn't tolerate Fig Newtons.

Drink Propel during active hiking. One tube per liter is diluted just right.

Eat something when you drink, it helps you tolerate the water.

Take three drinks every 20 minutes.

Leftovers are consolidated into an empty day's gallon ziplock bag. We consume most of the leftovers on the long bus ride home.

Update 2011

We had good appetite the first 2-3 days, but had trouble eating days 4-5. We scored some hot oily meatloaf and orange juice in Unionville, NY and our appetite returned to normal. Extra protein or fats?

Double check your hiking schedule and meal plan. We miscounted our hiking days (11 vs. 10) and were short food. We compensated by buying pizza slices for that evenings dinner and the next day's breakfast.

Bear Bagging: Ursack Bear Bag

One of the most important skills for a section hiker to master before setting off on a section hike of the Appalachian Trail is bear bagging. Losing one's food to a bear is very demoralizing and has caused more than one hiker to abandon their hike. In areas like the 100 Mile Wilderness, losing one's food due to improper bear bagging could result in immobilization.

During our past 2-week section hike, we spent an inordinate amount of time (15-min/day = 2.5 hrs = 4-5 miles) selecting a suitable tree and branch to set up our bear bagging system. We used the Pacific Crest Trail or PCT bear bagging system, which uses one rope, a bag, a carabiner and a stake/stick. While standing beneath the selected tree and attempting to swing our rope up and over the desired branch, we often wished for a better solution. We were very excited to receive an Ursack bear bag as a Christmas gift.



Its one thing to watch a video showing a bear attempting to get into an Ursack, but its another to hold one in one's hands and examine it thoroughly. The sack is larger and stiffer than we had imagined. We can easily bag our cook kit and at least five days of food plus even more. Our problem is likely to be trying to stuff a very full Ursack into our small $30 Walmart backpack.

The instruction card mentions crossing the cord, which is rock climbing grade kernmantel rope with about a 5,000 pound breaking strength. Looking inside we saw that the installed cords do cross. We then pulled the bag closed and tied a double overhand knot as instructed. Not only does the bag keep out bears, but there was very little gap for even a mouse to enter. After tying the overhand knot there is plenty of rope to pass around a 5-inch branch or tree trunk and still tie a figure-8 knot as recommended.

This is a well made product and we look forward to trying it out on a scheduled weekend shakedown overnighter this spring. We'll update this post with anything new or interesting we discover.

Trail Food: Starkist Tuna Salad

Restocking the office pantry a week ago, we grabbed our usual half dozen pouches of tuna. We like tuna pouches for both office and trail due to their ease of use. Just rip open a pouch, add condiments to taste, and eat! While we have seen the new flavored tuna pouches, we noted a new tuna product from Starkist - tuna salad. We tossed a pouch in our cart for review here on the blog.

Starkist tuna salad is premixed tuna and condiments in one convenient pouch. The ingredients list tuna, water chestnuts, celery, dill relish, white vinegar, sugar, salt, onion powder and egg yolks. With the exception of the water chestnuts and vinegar, the ingredient list reads much like the tuna salad our mother made for us many years ago.

We ate our tuna salad much like we would on the trail. We started with some hot pork ramen soup, which we always have with trail dinners. We then ripped open our pouch of tuna salad and dug in. Crunchy. Definitely crunchy. We could taste the celery and the bitter bite of the vinegar. As we hadn't yet read the ingredients, we assumed the crunch was celery, of which we are not fond. It was only when we paused to examine a fork full of tuna salad we discovered the pearly chunks of water chestnuts and relatively little celery. We decided today at lunch that we are not a fan of water chestnuts in our tuna salad. In fact, we decided that we would rather stick with packing pouches of plain tuna in water or oil and then seasoning the enclosed tuna with mayonnaise and pepper to our own taste. Sorry, Charlie. We like you just as you are/were.

As we know that individual tastes differ, Starkist tuna salad maybe just what you want in a trail food. We can see the advantage of one piece of trash to pack out versus multiple condiment packets. As the cost of Starkist's tuna salad is about a dollar, we recommend you buy a pouch on your next grocery run and give it a taste.

Disclosure: We select and purchase the product(s) reviewed. We have no material connection to either the manufacturer nor the retailer(s).

Appalachian Trail Pennsylvania: Henicles Market

During our 2010 section hike along the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania, we resupplied at Hennicle's Market in Fayetteville, PA. Henicle's is located less than a mile off the Appalachian Trail, just down the street from Caledonia State Park. We first showered and cleaned up a bit at Caledionia S.P so as to not render undue suffering on customers. Showers are just $3 at Caledonia State Park.

Arriving at Hennicle's Market, we dropped our packs outside by the two grocery carts. The door in the middle is the entrance and the door to the left, which I first entered, is actually the exit. Locals will be entering through the middle and circulating counter-clockwise. Best you go with the flow also.

Henicle's is a small compact store with a bit of everything. After entering and turning right, the first area has disposable cameras and some limited hardware.

Moving up the same aisle you'll find fresh fruit and vegetables to your right. Henicle's had small tubs of sliced melon for just sixty cents the day we were there. We also found oranges priced at three for a dollar. Bananas were available and reasonably priced.

At the back of the aisles and store, you'll find the deli and meat case. Henicle's offers a number of sandwiches and sides. The day of our visit found a quarter roasted chicken (leg and thigh) priced for less than two dollars. We also found some hard salami in the meat case and bought a half pound for our trek. We kept the salami cool in our Bubblelope freezer bag cozy.

The middle two aisles contain most of the groceries. Propel is available in three flavors; we bought lemon. Tuna is also available, but most was in cans. There were also packets of tuna, but those available were family sized and priced at about three dollars. We bought a can of tuna to be consumed within the first 24 hours. Ramen is available in flavors of beef, chicken, and shrimp. We dearly love pork, but bought several packs of beef ramen. We found instant potatoes in the middle of the aisle and only two packets were still available. We bought one packet and left the other for hopefully another hiker.

We looked for beef sticks, as in the larger, meatier ones that can be sliced and added to potatoes and soups. The best we found were some small cans with small and very dry bits of beef. Some jerky was available nearby. We recall the dried meats being on the end of an aisle.

The last aisle which aligns with the exit door has frozen foods and dairy products. We found several local brands of orange juice and tea very reasonably priced and bought a pint of each.

Checkout was very friendly and fast. We spent about $22 to resupply for five more days on the trail plus a very nice Memorial Day feast to share with a thru-hiker.

Outside Henicle's Market you'll find a pay phone, just in case you wish to reach out and touch somebody while waiting for a lift. We didn't wait very long before a local with a pick-up truck offered us a ride back to Caledonia S.P.. Kudos to trail angel Paul.

If you're planning thru-hike or a longer section hike, consider adding Henicle's Market as a resupply point. If anything, stop by Henicle's and grab something luxurious to add to make your time at the famed Quarry Gap shelter more special. You'll be glad you did!

Henicles Caledonia
7798 Lincoln Way East
Fayetteville, PA 17222
717-352-2487
http://heniclesonline.com

Henicle's Market accepts Visa, Mastercard, EBT/SNAP, Discover and American Express Cards

Store Hours:
Monday through Thursday 8 am - 8 pm
Friday & Saturday 8 am - 9 pm
Sundays 9 am - 8 pm

Backpacking Food Ideas: Instant Mashed Potatoes

We were at Big Lots the other day and saw some packs of Hungry Jack Cheesy Homestyle Easy Mash'd Potatoes for just sixty cents. While instant mashed potatoes is not a new backpacking food idea, cheesy flavored mashed potatoes is a newer backpacking food idea.

We recall back in the 1970's when we started backpacking that only unflavored potato flakes were available. We would fortify our spuds with texturized vegetable protein powder and powdered milk and add a crumbled bullion cube or powder to the mix for "gravy". Just add water! Revolutionary at the time. Problem was, after instant potatoes twice daily for a 3-day weekend trip, one was "mashed out." We were so mashed out we didn't even backpack instant potatoes for several decades following.

So we bought a bag to try at lunch.

As we are close to our upcoming section hike, we lunched as we would on the trail. We grabbed the mess kit, potatoes, water bottle, and a pint-sized plastic cup. The details on the spuds said to add to two cups of hot water. We poured a pint (2 cups) of water into our pint cup and microwaved it. (Didn't think the boss would appreciate letting our super cat stove blaze away in the break room.) While the water was heating to a near boil, we transferred the spuds into a freezer bag and mixed. Its looks like the cheese and potatoes are added separately at the processor as there was segregated white stuff and orange stuff. We then placed or freezer bag in our homemade packing envelope cozy ad got out our plastic measuring cup. We measured out two cups of hot water and stirred the potatoes with our trail spork per directions. The potatoes quickly began to thicken. Once it looked like the water and potatoes were well intermixed, we zipped our bag shut (the zipper failed - a first. Good thing it was thick potatoes and not runny soup.) We waited the requisite 5 minutes and discovered that these potatoes, like tomato sauce, has thermodynamic properties for retaining heat.

The potatoes were delish! As the day is cold and wet, the overly hot potatoes were a welcome treat. We did discover that the bag makes four servings and that between serving two and three, one has probably consumed all the instant potatoes one can stand, even if they are cheesy. For trail use, we'll probably split a bag in half with two servings being one meal.

Also, knowing that the potatoes have a tendency to be monotonous when eaten alone, we diced up a cheddar cheese stick and a beef stick and mixed them into the potatoes. While the cheese added little to the taste, the beef stick really brightened things up. Rather than cubing the beef stick, next time we'll try thin slices so there are more beef bits.

We'll probably take along one bag of Hungry Jack Cheesy Homestyle Easy Mash'd Potatoes for two suppers. Likely we'll also pack a beef stick to slice into each bag.

Disclosure: We select and purchase the product(s) reviewed. We have no material connection to either the manufacturer nor the retailer(s).

Trail Food: Freeze Dried Strawberries & Bananas

After lunch today we rummaged in our office food cache for something sweet for desert. Among the various little foil pouches from our recent grocery expedition was an individual sized pouch of Disney Freeze Dried Strawberries and Bananas. Remembering with fondness the freeze dried strawberries that we sometimes found among our MREs years ago, we decided sure, why not?

Ummm... Freeze dried strawberries. All the deliciousness without the sticky, staining juice. After crunching a few of the flat crisp strawberry sections, we opted for some banana. While the strawberries were our favorite, we do prefer freeze dried bananas to the hard dried banana chips that we have previously packed along the trail.

Unlike the freeze dried apples we reviewed earlier, we're a bit pressed to come up with ways to integrate the freeze dried strawberries and bananas into our meal plan. One thought is to open the bag up and separate the two fruits. Then, repackage the freeze dried bananas with some instant banana pudding mix and some Nido powdered milk for a more robust banana pudding. As for the strawberries, our only thought is to pack them along separately and later rehydrate them with water and sugar to form a chunky strawberry syrup to drizzle over a Twinkie for an improvised strawberry shortcake.

To summarize, we liked Disney Freeze Dried Strawberries and Bananas. We liked them so much we ate the entire bag in record time. We'll probably take a bag along on our section hike, but probably as ingredients in other entrees.

Disclosure: We select and purchase the product(s) reviewed. We have no material connection to either the manufacturer nor the retailer(s).

Trail Food: Disney Freeze Dried Real Sliced Apples

Today's trail food experiment was a "two fer." We combined two experiments into one. The trail food candidate was Disney Freeze Dried Real Sliced Apples that we found in the fruit section of our grocer. The freeze dried apples come in individual serving sized bags for about $1 ea. Each serving contains about one and a half apples for about 40-50 calories.

As we do for all taste tests, we opened the sealed bag and tasted the apples directly. Our first thought was "Oh, look! Little pieces of apple flavored foam." The bag was about a third full of little thin crisp wedges and looked as if a foam plate had been shattered. Fine. Not the most appealing look, so how do they taste? Munch, munch, munch... They taste vaguely familiar for those of us having dined on freeze dried peaches in meals rejected by Ethiopians (MREs). There was a bit of apple taste, but not overpowering.

We then proceeded with our "two fer" experiment. When we bought the freeze dried apples for trail food, we thought they would likely be good for supplementing the small bits of apple that come in our flavored oatmeal packets. So we added our remaining apple crisps to a quart freezer bag containing two packets of instant apple flavored oatmeal, one of our favorite trail foods of all time. We noted there seems to be more apple in the oatmeal packets than we remember. Nonetheless, we placed the quart bag in a bubble wrap padded envelope and added about a cup of hot water. (The padded envelope is the two in our two fer. More on that experiment later.) Minutes later we stirred everything; waited another minute or so; then chowed down. Yum! The now rehydrated apples were a welcome addition to the oatmeal. The meal seemed heartier and more satisfying both in taste and amount.

Disney Freeze Dried Apples makes our menu for the upcoming section hike, at least until the first resupply point. We plan to combine the freeze dried apples with two packets of Quaker apples and cinnamon oatmeal in a quart freeezer bag. That will be a major portion breakfast for the first five mornings, along with protein fortified hot chocolate and snack size fig newtons. So, our next trip to the same grocer in two weeks will include five bags of freeze dried real sliced apples.

Trail Food: Knorr Taco Rice

Another grocer, another load of trail food candidates. This trip netted us a good selection of "add hot water" products from Knorr, which we will be reviewing over the coming weeks.

Looking through our office larder we decided to go spicy and try Knorr Taco Rice. The package states that one bag contains two servings, so we poured out about half into a bowl and added the requisite amount of hot water. As we were using an uninsulated bowl, the liquid cooled down and was not completely absorbed by the rice. We took a few bites of the now al dente rice. It had a pleasing taste and after a full days hiking would probably have wolfed the rice down.

We then nuked the rice for 1-2 minutes in the office microwave. (Yes, I know there are no microwave ovens on the trail.) The additional heat caused the remaining water to be fully absorbed and the rice was soft and clumping. This time things tasted much better.

One blogger mentioned the Knorr rice products being too much to eat at one sitting, so he split the bags in half. He also added 1/4 cup of minute rice to each half and said that provided just the right amount to satisfy his hunger. So that will be out next experiment. Put the remaining serving in a freezer bag with 1/4 minute rice, add hot water, wait a bit, and eat. Watch for an update below.

By the way, we like Knorr Taco Rice and it made our menu for the upcoming section hike of the Appalachian Trail. Combined with the chipotle black bean dip and the vegetarian chili mix we reviewed earlier, we're thinking Mexican night along the trail somewhere. Hopefully, somewhere is near a can of cold beer.

Trail Food: Honey Peanut Butter

At lunch today we tried Justin's Organic Honey Peanut Butter, which we found at a nearby Whole Foods. Justin's Organic Honey Peanut Butter is available in individual sized foil packets for about sixty cents per packet. We're not a big fan of peanut butter, unless its mated with some Concord grape jam between two pieces of white bread and accompanied with a glass of cold milk. But, we are a fan of honey and have even kept bees a few years, so Honey Peanut Butter struck a sympathetic chord and we tossed a packet in our basket.

So, after lunching on some Armour potted meat, (we're after the 3oz. can to make a Super Cat alcohol stove, but that's a future post), we decided to sample Justin's Organic Honey Peanut Butter. The instructions say to knead the packet before opening. Hmmm... Just like the ubiquitous MRE's we once lunched on. They too had little foil packets of peanut butter, or cheese, to knead before consuming as there is sometimes some separation of the ingredients. Also, our experience has been the friction from kneading also warms the peanut butter and makes it easier to spread. Having a plastic knife available, we ignored the suggestion to oen just a corner and squeeze. We took a big swipe of creaminess and smeared the awaiting soda craker. Nice color and easy to spread.

We were a bit disappointed at our first bite as we didn't detect any sweetness nor a distinctive honey taste. The lack of sweetness was likely due to being organic, as most organic food products avoid the excessive sugar ladened into non-organic foods. To be fair we ate three crackers and finally said; "Enough!"

While we're not a fan, Justin's Organic Honey Peanut Butter might be a love connection for your taste buds. Its inexpensive, so buy a packet and give it a try.

Trail Food: Chipotle Black Bean Dip

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! Simply Organic's Chipotle Black Bean Dip mix made the cut for being trail food on this year's section hike. To quote a well known Canadian comedian with a green face: "Yummy!"

Taste testing began with opening the foil packet and pouring in hot water. The instructions call for adding 1/2 cup of hot water and 1/2 cup of sour cream. As we're unlikely to have sour cream on the trail, we just eyeballed it on the hot water. At first we thought we had over did the water and made a chipotle black bean soup, but after stirring several minutes the solution thickened. So much so, we needed to add a touch more hot water.

We had two standard burrito size flour tortillas which we smeared with a layer of the reconstituted bean paste. The dip is a dark brown without the sour cream and looks more like a molé. We rolled our tortillas up burrito style and took a bite. Ummm, savory! The chipotle flavor came through with just a touch of heat. We had some Taco Bell sauce packets standing by, but like the vegetarian chili mix we reviewed this week, its not needed.

The only complaint was spooning the mixture out of a packet which is almost twice as large as the finished dip. Next time, we'll open the packet a bit lower, leaving about 1/2 to 2/3 of the packet. Enough to hold the water, but low enough to easily and neatly spoon out. Don't be surprised to find yourself licking out the packet if no ones around. Simply Organic's Chipotle Black Bean Dip is that tasty.

Trail Food: Split Pea Soup

Today we sampled Nile Spice Split Pea Soup for lunch. After being somewhat disappointed with Nile Spice Red Beans & Rice Soup earlier this week, we had lowered expectations for their split pea soup. We were pleasantly surprised.

Following the instructions, we added hot water, stirred and waited 5-minutes. Unlike the Red Beans & Rice soup which was thin, the Split Pea Soup was thicker and this was noticeable during stirring. The soup retained heat and had a pleasing green color and consistency.

The ingredients listed include split peas, potatos, onions, carrots, and celery. We're not a fan of celery, but the celery taste was not noticeable, nor was the garlic. We did chance across the odd diced carrot from bite to bite. What was noticeble was the potato. The soup seems to use dehydrated potato flakes, a trail food staple, as a thickener. Unfortunately, after each sip and/or spoonful, we were left with that annoying gunk between our gums and cheeks. You know the stuff. We needed to sip some water and swish and swallow between gulps.

The amount that comes in Nile Spices single serving cups is rather sparse. With their Red beans & Rice soup we were confident of adding more minute rice to make a heartier dish. Their Split Pea Soup is a bit more challenging. Perhaps more potato flakes could be added to make a heartier, split pea flavored, mashed potato side. We may try that experiment sometime in the future, but probably not before our upcoming trip. We like our mashed potatoes with butter, salt, and pepper; not with split peas.

If you're looking for something light and gourmet for a hot trail lunch, Nile Spice Split Pea Soup fills the bill. But for dinner, we'll stick to heartier ramen soup with added veggies, meat, etc.

Trail Food: Vegetarian Chili & Tacos

Today for lunch, we sampled Whole Foods Vegetarian Chili Mix. In their bulk bins, Whole Foods offers a dehydrated vegetarian chili mix that needs only water to complete - about 2-1/3 cups water to one cup chili mix. The chili mix uses texturized vegetable protein in place of beef. Their bulk products brochure recommends adding chopped onions, drained kidney beans, and/or stewed tomatoes to make a heartier chili. Whole foods does carry sun dried tomatoes that could be chopped and added to the mix pre-trail.

As Whole Foods recommends reducing the added water to make a thick taco filling, we decided to start there. We added enough water for the mix to rehydrate to a thick paste consistency, smeared it onto a tortilla, and rolled ala burrito. The mix is tasty and has a bit of fire. We added a packet of Taco Bell's Fire sauce when rolling, but the sauce isn't needed, unless you want a Taco Bell flavor. Personally, the taco needed cheese, but was satisfying.

We next added more hot water until the chili had some "juice". We located a spoon and dug in. The texture was similar to a chili without beans, perhaps a bit chewier. As we make a turkey based chili at home, we found the texture almost identical. Again, the Whole Foods chili mix contains sufficient spices that no additional heat is really necessary, unless you just want to distract your aching feet by torturing your taste buds.

Overall, we thought the chili mix was a winner and we'll be including at least one ration on our trip. Perhaps two, as we are unlikely to find a similar product at our planed resupply point, Henicle's Market Caledonia.

Trail Food: Red Beans & Rice Soup

A recent trip to our local Whole Foods market netted us some possible candidates for tasty, satisfying trail food. One product was Nile Spice brand Red Beans & Rice Soup. This "just add water" dry soup mix comes in a cup and weighs 1.8 oz. A single serving is about 170 calories, its low fat - just what long distance hikers don't need!

So, at the office, we added the recommended amount of hot water and let it stand the full 5 minutes. After the alloted time, we dug in. The rice was a bit crunchy and not softened. The beans were softer than anticipated. There was good flavor, but a bit mild. We added some red chili flakes from our office larder. The amount of rice and beans was a bit disappointing, but the cup does say "soup" after all. Seems a few of the reviewers on Amazon agree.

We think this product is worth a second shot. We plan to add the soup mix to a cup of minute rice along with some chili flakes. We'll add one cup of water per the minute rice instructions and see if the soup mix doesn't make for a heartier and higher calorie Red Beans and Rice entree. We may also slice a small pepperoni stick into the thicker rice. Small dried shrimp from the local asian market might also be a nice addition.

Appalachian Trail Food: Trail Kitchen Video

Just added Sarah Kirkconnell's trail kitchen video on YouTube to the video slide show in the right-side information pane. Sarah is the author of Freezer Bag Cooking: Trail Food Made Simple and authors the Trail Cooking blog that you should visit.

If you liked Sarah's trail kitchen video, there's a longer video of Sarah demonstrating freezer bag cooking to prepare easy gourmet trail food. Note Sarah's use of her freezer bag cozy, one of the secrets to enjoying warm food on the trail. The kitchen video mentions her freezer bag cozy, but underemphasizes the cozy's importance in preparing trail food.

Sarah also has several more good trail cooking videos demonstrating how to make various trail food that you might take some time to view. Anyone that carries a lightweight peppermill on the trail is someone I want to hike with.