What food should you take on a hike? Camping food. General principles of nutrition on a hike

For a long time, during my hikes, I wrote a food layout for the entire hike and all participants.

What products to take with you

1. Cereals (buckwheat, rice, freeze-dried mashed potatoes - now they sell even more or less tasty ones, millet, oatmeal porridge)
2. Meat/fish: canned fish and stew, raw smoked sausage, sudzhuk, freeze-dried meat, dried meat.
3. Butter (necessarily ghee!!! regular butter won’t stand it)
4. Lots of different seasonings - so that the same buckwheat is different and tasty every day!
5. A wide variety of dried fruits - for breakfast cereals, for snacks
6. Hard cheese like Altai - lives well without any refrigerators for about 3 weeks
7. Nuts can also be added to porridge and nutritious snacks
8. Fry slices of black bread in butter with garlic, and simply dry breadcrumbs for white bread.
9. Lemons for tea and as a snack for alcohol.
10. Chocolate
11. Tea, coffee, sugar, salt
12. Dry soups in bags - you can also cook cereals on their basis, or cook them as separate soups, adding potato sublimate, a lot of seasonings, lemon juice, garlic - the result is a puree soup that tastes quite passable and tasty.
13. Garlic.
14. Dried vegetables in vacuum packages (carrots, onions, beets are sold).

It seems like I didn’t forget anything important. All of the above live for a very long time without cold. You can cook something new every day; we managed to not repeat a single dish from these products over the course of 10-12 days!
Such layouts are designed for live fire. (wood, fire)
Gas layout (for mountains or treeless areas) is a little different.
Fresh vegetables are not written because this is a camping menu. No normal person, if he had to carry a backpack for 2 weeks, would take with him a forkful of cabbage, beets or a kilogram of carrots.

What are we preparing from this?

1. “Merchant-style buckwheat” - at the bottom of a kettle/pan in melted butter, fry raw sausage in slices, cover with buckwheat, fry for one minute, add water (with a dry bag of soup diluted in it) and simmer until done. Eat with garlic croutons on black bread.
2. Soup with rice.
3. Potato soup
4. Borsch (vegetables are dried, and potatoes are in powder form).
5. Fish soup made from canned fish.
6. Vermicelli (noodle) soup can be made with milk, if you like (with milk powder), it can be with fish, or it can be with meat.
7. Soup with buckwheat and croutons, if you are not too lazy, take 300g of plain flour in a sealed bag for homemade croutons :-) (powdered eggs are also sold for the same purposes)
8. ..in all soups, first sujuk or freeze-dried meat is boiled in water, cook for a long time until the meat becomes soft, then cook the soup in this broth - very nutritious and satisfying.
9. Buckwheat, rice, pasta, potatoes - with stew, with fried sausage.
10. Potatoes with fish.
11. Mashed potatoes with milk powder and egg powder + ghee.
12. Navy pasta sprinkled with cheese.
13. In the morning you can have sandwiches with cheese or sausage, you can have oatmeal porridge with condensed milk with raisins, nuts, dried fruits and sprinkled with chocolate.
14. etc. and so on.

I really like to cook stew separately as “meat with gravy” and add a handful of finely chopped walnuts.
And most importantly - a LOT of different seasonings! The taste will be different. I cooked rice - generously poured curry into it, buckwheat - all sorts of oriental seasonings, into pasta - usually an Italian set of spices.
I buy the seasoning not individually (this is for the home, for home gourmet), but in combined forms, such as “Italian herbs”. “Seasoning for pilaf”, “Seasoning for soups” - just right for nature! than dragging 25 bags separately and pouring a pinch from each.

Hello friends!

As you already know, I really love mountains. It’s fortunate that I live in Almaty, at the very foot of the city. In winter, however, I’m not much of a fan of mountain treks: when it’s -25 outside, I almost never leave the house. Fortunately, my freelance business allows this.

Just recently I bought it in a fresh powder, my hands were frozen perfectly. A good reason to write a useful article while waiting for the season. This time about what to take from food on a mountain hike.

3 main principles: lightness, benefits and satiety! Moreover, it doesn’t matter whether I’m going for one day or on a multi-day expedition to. I think that it is not at all necessary to carry heavy cans of stew (except maybe a couple...), and a couple of onions can turn any tourist brew into a feast of the gods.

On the first day of the hike, you can have a blast with tomatoes

I will say right away that I do not adhere to any special science in programming and buy all products based on my inner feeling and a written menu.

1. talk with the participants of the hike about the specific preferences of each
2. write a menu for each day
3. based on 2 large meals and 1 snack per day
4. To make it tasty and interesting, I repeat 1 dish once every 3 days.

I definitely include carbohydrates, sweets, fatty foods and vitamins in the menu. For in the mountains the body is exhausted and the only joy of the flesh for it is to eat deliciously. For the latter, I don’t hesitate to wrap even a head of hard cheese in a rag.

Breakfast products

I love hearty breakfasts, no matter whether I'm on a hike or at home. Apparently, the hiking habit forces me to eat heavily in the morning. In action are:

1. Bystoff porridge. 2 packets per person (1 packet is a mockery) with condensed milk and a handful of raisins.
2. Cocoa with condensed milk (tasty and nutritious).
3. Salty sushi with a piece of cheese or smoked sausage (even during the times of vegetarianism in the mountains, I turned into a meat eater, because I don’t care)
4. Instant noodles (1 pack per person) with chopped smoked sausage pieces. In our area, instant “lagman” is a wonderful product and is widely sold in supermarkets. Of all the “noodles” presented, it is most like food: with meat, vegetables and spices.

In a saucepan - wild mushrooms (pasture), on the burner - mustard)

Afternoon snack

In the afternoon, around 12 o'clock, we usually stop for a short rest for tea and a small snack. During it, the following are actively involved:

1. Salty sushi (instead of bread) with sausage, cheese and other variations (lard or, for lovers of Central Asian delicacies, kazy)
2. Less often - canned fish. They must be thoroughly washed down with hot tea. Because after them you really want to drink.
3. Pate made from spare parts of birds (it’s wonderful to spread on salted dryers)
4. If you don’t mind carrying bread with you, it’s better to take thick Borodino bread. It is great for long-term storage and goes great in the mountains.
5. A couple of candies (kozinaki, halva, chocolate)
6. and a lot of tea (this is the main must-have for me on any hike)

For dinner

Dinner, like breakfast, is plentiful and tasty for me. I do not share the ascetic aspirations of some adherents to take as little food as possible on mountain hikes. Still, the body must recover and nourish itself.

For dinner I prefer to cook soup! This is where pre-stocked onions come in handy. And here you can safely throw a can of stew, previously stored in your backpack, into the soup.

Options for a group of 4 people:

1. Soup from a pack (2 packs for four), a can of stew and 1 small onion. If you believed me and didn’t take the stew with you, then without the stew. The meal is wonderful! Liquid, hot in the mountains goes with a bang
2. Puree (not rollton in a jar, but quick-cooking in a pack), 2 packs per person. 2 cans of canned fish. This is only served in 1000+ star hotels near glaciers and mountain passes.
3. Buckwheat (Wheat or Barley) with stewed meat and onions. If you also sprinkle it with spices hidden in your backpack, it will be really cool. True, I stopped carrying buckwheat with me. Even in times of hunger it does not interfere. Therefore, I found an alternative in the form of wheat and barley porridge. Alternatively, some kind of pasta.
4. Ready-made mixtures, such as “bulgur with vegetables”, “masurdal”, etc. A very tasty and nutritious alternative to the endless tourist hell in the form of buckwheat.

Drinks on mountain hikes

There are crazy mountain tourists who basically drink water from streams and eat two Snickers for 3 days. I do not share this approach. Still, I like to go to the mountains with an arrangement.

For drinks I take:

1. Cocoa. A wonderful energy drink (especially with condensed milk), especially in the morning
2. Herbal infusions: I specially brought sagan-dali and good fireweed tea. But I also like to pick peppermint and sweet pepper along the trails.
3. Shu-puer. I'm a big fan. Of course, there is no time for tea ceremonies in the mountains. But it is a great joy to brew good black pu-erh for good people, especially during the day.
4. Traditional tea bags. I drink it exclusively in the mountains, so I usually take the one that is more expensive and tastier. Black (delicious when brewed with milk) and some fruity one (I especially like Summer Bouquet from Greenfield).

As a plus, I always take 2-3 lemons with me on a long hike. They are divine as a snack or in tea! Yes, and they help maintain the body in combat-ready condition. Vitamin Tse, after all.

Mountains and Chinese are one of the most harmonious combinations in the Universe

Layout for one-day routes and direct routes

With one-dayers everything is easier. Food for the hike is taken from home: boiled eggs, sausages in deli pastry, cheese cakes, chocolate, apples, tea (pu-erh, herbal or ginger). If you are a vegetarian, try lavash rolls with cheese and vegetables.

For a PVD (Weekend Trek), you can take some provisions with you from home + add some delicacies cooked on a burner: porridge with Adyghe cheese and crackers, some vegetables, and a lot of tea delicacies.

Not long ago, a basket of fried wings from KFC became a break in the pattern for me. It's really delicious))) Except for the plastic cold fries.

Other life hacks and amenities

• Spices and Maggi cubes. With them, any camp brew turns into ambrosia! As an alternative to regular table salt, take Svanskaya. It wonderfully complements any buckwheat/pasta/cereals.
• You can eat ALMOST anything with ketchup! What is not eaten with ketchup is dressed with mayonnaise and eaten. That. If you take with you a plastic packet of ketchup and the same packet of mayonnaise, you can eat ANYTHING with them!
• Ginger ! A wonderful remedy for maintaining vitamin deficiency, good mood and pleasant warmth from drinking tea.
• Mustard. In our area (Kazakhstan) there are very tasty seasonings “3 wishes”. Their mustard is very strong and at altitudes above 3000m it is considered a special delicacy.
• Coffee . I don’t like coffee myself, but in the mountains I can drink a glass of some instant version. It's hot and wonderfully warm.
• Gummies, like gelatin bears. In conditions of constant stress on the knees, this product becomes not only tasty, but also very useful.

To be honest, even after 10 years, the question of what to take for food on a hike in the mountains continues to be relevant for me. Sometimes I follow the beaten path, sometimes I improvise. So, several times I was able to taste overseas dishes in the form of freeze-dried products. The solution is quite interesting, but not too budget-friendly.

The food issue has been completely resolved. You walk from village to village and eat traditional Nepalese dal bhat.

I myself am not a supporter of total restrictions. Because, as I already said, food on a mountain hike is not only about weight and calories. This is a whole ritual that can bring happiness and unite any group, even the most diverse. Therefore, we need to improvise and look for options. In the mountains, everything is eaten with great appetite! And some, especially advanced ones, are not too lazy to even carry watermelons with them to the peaks.

Of course, I myself have not carried watermelons and there is little that can inspire me to stuff such a berry into my backpack. Everything here is very individual. Therefore, try, improvise! And let your hikes be not only beautiful, but also delicious.

Good weather and good digestion to you!

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Camping food, despite the individuality of the variety of taste preferences, should fulfill the task of satiating the traveler and restoring spent energy. At the same time, it is important not to overload your luggage and choose such products so that the food on the trip does not spoil. They must have a long shelf life, light weight and good nutritional value. Therefore, we change food to dried, quick-cooking and with a decent storage reserve.

Usually, on a hike, you take so much food that there is enough of it - taking into account its duration and the ability to replenish supplies. The size of the group, the presence of children, and your own taste habits are also important - some like sweets, some like meat, some like porridge or vegetables.

Luggage can be distributed among the group so that the weight for each adult is approximately the same. It’s better to get together ahead of time and decide what food to take for each participant on the hike, so that it doesn’t happen that you have to carry extra food, and there won’t be anything important by the middle of the hike.

What is the best cereal to take on a hike and how to pack it

Many experienced tourists advise replacing those cereals that take a long time to cook with flakes - buckwheat, wheat, corn, oatmeal. Enough boiling water to turn them into a full-fledged porridge. The flakes weigh less and cook faster, and in terms of calorie content and taste, such food is not inferior to traditional porridges. You can grab muesli - in addition to cereal, there are nuts and dried fruits.

The exception is rice and legumes; they should be included in the food list - they will perfectly satisfy hunger and saturate a tired body with proteins, carbohydrates and microelements. And there are no problems with cooking lentils, soybeans and rice - just fill a bowl of dry food with water in the evening, and bring it to a boil the next morning to get a complete breakfast.

When packing before a hike, don’t rely on a single bag, otherwise you’ll have to collect any spilled cereal along the bottom of your backpack. There should be at least 3 layers of polyethylene; ideally, it’s all better to put it all in canvas bags. This way the cereal will not spill out and become soggy. Another great option is to fill 0.5, 1 or 1.5 liter plastic bottles with bulk product and transport them in this form.

An excellent solution is packaged noodles, instant soups and cereals.

• Porridges contain milk and sometimes pieces of fruit. If children go camping, they will appreciate these cereals.
• Soups in bags are designed for 1 serving, in briquettes - for several. A variety of flavors will help to dilute a boring camping diet.
• A packet of noodles poured with boiling water becomes either a side dish or something like a soup in 3 minutes.

But experienced hikers do not recommend putting traditional pasta, dry and hard, in luggage - they break the bags, they don’t fill you well and are a hassle to prepare.

Advice! An important aspect - what food to take on a hike should not be decided in a hurry; it requires a responsible approach so that hunger pangs or a meager diet do not overshadow the joy of hiking adventures.

What to take with you on a hike from meat, fish and dairy

When you have to walk for a long time, you should avoid canned food in jars, popular among tourists, due to its decent weight. It is better to stick to dried meat, dried and smoked fish, salted lard, and raw smoked sausage.

Ready-made cuts in vacuum packages - sausages, fish - will help out. They are easy to carry, satisfying and versatile - they will go in soup, as a main course, or on sandwiches for tea.

If the hike is short, then canned food is quite appropriate - they are added to porridge, first courses, and eaten as an independent product.

Advice! Stock up on dry broth - even with crackers, a cup of hot, satisfying drink will satisfy your hunger, warm you up and restore strength without overloading your stomach. You can make a delicious soup based on it.

If you are planning to go to nature for a short time to take a break from the bustle of the city, and dream of a picnic, then you can’t do without marinated meat - what’s a picnic without kebabs?

As for dairy products, in camping conditions only hard cheese and powdered milk or cream are acceptable. The rest of the products are unsuitable even for a short outing - they spoil too quickly.

What fats will you need on your hike?

Oddly enough, you can do without fat even on a long hike - food is fried over an open flame or boiled in a pot, that is, you don’t have to fry the food in a frying pan. However, adding fat to soup and porridge will not be superfluous. Therefore, you can take a bottle of vegetable oil and salted lard with you, but there is no point in carrying butter - it will go rancid, melt, and spread.

• To avoid having to carry a glass jar, lard can be packed in several bags, preferably made of foil.
• Vegetable oil should be poured into a small plastic container.

Don’t want to carry oil on yourself for kilometers of travel? Then when deciding what to take with you on a hike, grab foods containing fats - lard, fatty meat in dried, jerked or smoked form, dry broth, raw smoked sausage with lard, powdered cream. These products will cover your fat needs.

What vegetables and fruits to take for a hike

This question depends on the duration of the walking trip. If it lasts for a long time, then you should look for a mixture of dried vegetables in stores ahead of time, or, as a last resort, dry it yourself by cutting it into thin slices. If it is short-lived, then it is permissible to take fresh, but not perishable ones.

It is difficult to do without potatoes and onions on a hike. If opportunities permit, it’s a good idea to grab carrots and cabbage. But tomatoes and cucumbers are suitable for a weekend picnic, because they wrinkle, choke, and spoil.

Fresh fruits should be replaced with dried or dried products - they can be a good snack, because they are a storehouse of glucose, microelements and vitamins, or you can cook compote from them.

Advice! Do not give up raisins, dried apricots and prunes - these dried fruits will not take up much space in your luggage, but will give you the energy that is so necessary on a hike.

What spices will you need on your hike?

The main products on the hike are sugar and salt. In order not to carry a supply of sugar, you can replace it with xylitol, which is many times sweeter, or a tablet substitute. This will save space in your backpack and make it easier to carry.

Some take a bottle of vinegar essence, but it can be replaced with a packet of citric acid, poured into a convenient plastic container.

The rest of the spices - pepper, seasonings, bay leaves, so that they do not become damp and crumble, are recommended for camping trips to be packed in small plastic jars, for example from photographic film. After all, once a bag is opened, it is difficult to protect it from spilling out the contents, and moisture will penetrate.

Bread and sweets on the go

Bread, if there is a long journey ahead, is replaced with dried bread and crackers. Biscuits are used to make crackers, crackers, and waffles.

For those with a sweet tooth, caramel, kozinaki, grilled vegetables, nuts, and toffee help out on a hike - that is, hard, non-perishable, satisfying, sweet foods. It is better to avoid chocolate - it melts in the heat, weighs a lot, and makes you thirsty.

What to drink while hiking

Tea over a campfire is a classic of camp romance. Take the packaged one so you don’t have to mess with the tea leaves. Coffee lovers should grab disposable sticks designed for one cup - they are easy to transport without worrying about dampness or the integrity of the packaging, and they weigh little. 3-in-1 coffee sticks will immediately solve the problem of milk and sugar on a hike.

It is also worth taking cocoa on a hike - with powdered milk or cream it will be a nutritious chocolate drink. Children, if they come with you, will also enjoy jelly - the product is sold in bags for 1 serving and can be prepared instantly.

But the main component of quenching thirst on a hike is water. Take care of its sufficient reserve, and additionally do not forget the reagents for turning low-quality water into clean drinking water.

When preparing for his first trip, a tourist rightly asks the question: “what food to take on a hike?” Food on a hike, for obvious reasons, is one of the main points and should be given due attention. Organizing meals on a camping trip involves properly planning and preparing a food list in advance. In this way, the tourist tries to optimize his weight, that is, take only what he needs on a hike, so that he doesn’t have to roll potatoes down the mountain, throw away spoiled food, and carry half a backpack of glass containers home.

If, when you mention the phrase “food while camping,” Bear Grylls appears before your eyes, devouring alive everything that moves, then relax :) Tourist food is basically no different from what you eat at home. Just when planning your diet, it’s worth considering small features. It's simple, let's figure it out.

Meals on a hike, as at home, will consist of breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus small snacks (the body consumes a lot of calories during physical activity and we will replenish them in appropriate quantities).

Breakfast. In the morning, tourists usually prepare various porridges with canned food or muesli. The main thing is that breakfast is nutritious and high in calories. It's the most important meal of the day, and there's always a challenging road ahead. It’s not for nothing that they say: “Eat breakfast yourself, share lunch with a friend, and give dinner to your enemy.” It’s a little different during the hike, but still. Don't forget about tea or coffee with sweets (glucose). Often for breakfast they eat leftover food from yesterday's dinner.

Dinner. As a rule, lack of time forces most tourists to refuse a full lunch. I mean, cooking for lunch is too time consuming. Therefore, sandwiches, sausage, cheese, canned food and other ready-to-eat products are used.

Dinner. An evening meal is most often a feast, because you really want to relax after a hard day and unwind your soul. You can prepare various soups, cook cereals or pasta, etc.

Snacks. During short stops, eat candied fruits, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, cornbread, chocolate, etc. The goal is to refuel the body with energy.

Remember to drink plenty of fluids during your hike. This is very important for the proper functioning of joints and the entire body as a whole.

List of products for the trip

You can eat whatever you want on a hike, just like at home. But usually tourists prefer a simple and nutritious menu. You will still make a food list according to your taste, I will just give you direction.

• cereals (buckwheat, rice, oat flakes)
• pasta
• canned food (stew, fish, pates)
• sausage (raw smoked)
• lard (salted)
• potatoes (only for soup)
• onion garlic
• salt, spices
• Tea coffee
• sweets
• nuts, seeds, dried fruits, candied fruits, kozinaki, etc.
• ready-made meals from home such as cutlets, chops, etc. (only for the first day of the trip)

Pre-pack various nuts, seeds and dried fruits into bags. During short stops, you can quickly refill your body with the necessary energy.

What is not advisable to take? These are actually the little features that I talked about above. Take them into account when planning the diet of tourists. No need to take on a hike:

• perishable foods (dairy products, eggs, boiled sausage, prepared salads, raw meat and fish). All of this can be taken to eat on the first day.
• heavy products. For example, potatoes for boiling or frying. Its weight is simply unjustified; take potatoes only for soup. It is also not advisable to take food in heavy containers with you. Glass jars and bottles are best left at home.
• alcohol (in large quantities). Do not forget, .

How to plan tourist meals

Now let's talk about proper food planning for a hike. Discuss everything with group members. The layout of products will depend on factors such as the presence of settlements and, accordingly, shops along the route, vegetarians in the group, the tastes of people and, of course, the size of the group.

First you must analyze the upcoming trip. Let's say the duration is 4 days and 3 nights, there are 4 people in the group. Serious cooking on a hike is usually done only for breakfast and dinner. On the first day, the hike begins, for example, in the middle of the day (there will be no breakfast), and on the last day we go home by dinner. It turns out: 1 day - 1 preparation; Day 2 - 2; 3 day - 2; Day 4 - 1. In total, we did 6 full meal preparations, plus lunches and snacks from ready-to-eat foods. Let's prepare soup 2 times out of 6 times, pasta 1 time and porridge 3 times.

Now you just need to package the necessary products. We are all different people, and we eat different amounts of food, so you yourself must determine the amount of provisions for a hike. Do not take cereal with you in packs unless you need it. For example, we cooked half a standard 300 gram mug of buckwheat or rice for two people and added stew or something like that to it. Measure out the required amount at home. Using a similar principle, calculate ready-made food for lunches and snacks. Before the hike, distribute food among group members.

And if you are planning, then you shouldn’t have any difficulties at the preparation stage, because you approximately know the level of your gluttony and are now familiar with the basics of organizing a tourist’s meals.

P.S. Burning cans in a fire is a bad idea. Do not forget that tourists should leave only trampled grass behind in the parking lot.

Organizing meals on a hike is a whole science. The layout (as the nutrition plan is usually called) depends on many factors: the nature of the hike (hiking, horseback, water, mountain), its location, the local climate, the number of days, the composition of participants, and so on.

Therefore, let’s make a reservation right away: this article is not addressed to people who have been involved in tourism for a long time, who are members of clubs, and so on. Professionals will not find anything new here. But those who go hiking occasionally or are just starting to master tourism can use this material as a reminder that outlines the basic principles of preparing for camping meals.

Main

What you need to pay attention to when creating a menu for a hike:

• Set of required calories
• Balanced nutrition, getting the required amount of proteins and fats (with carbohydrates the situation is simpler)
• Saves space in backpacks and weight

Important. In nature, with physical activity, you will want to eat anyway. You can take 5000 Kcal per day per person - and it will still seem like you are going from hand to mouth. You will only die under backpacks.

What kind of hike are we going on?

Any for low or medium difficulty categories. We don't take mountaineering into account. This system is quite suitable for kayaking and catamaran trips, bike rides, and “pedestrians.” It is also suitable for a horse trek, but this type usually has experienced organizers who plan meals for both people and animals.

This menu organization system is also suitable for ordinary trips into nature, for example, to the river bank with tents, or fishing - for a week or more. Even if you drive a car, you still don't have an endless amount of free space to fill with food. In the case of a car, there is only one advantage - you don’t have to think about weight, you can take with you more vegetables that can be stored longer, and fresh meat for the first 2 days.

Human factor

Before planning a hiking menu, you need to find out whether the camp participants have allergies, food intolerances, or perhaps someone does not eat any foods for ideological reasons. All these points must be taken into account, otherwise one of the participants may remain hungry, and the trip will be ruined for the whole group.

Skeet Chief

It is most convenient if one person does the meal planning. He will draw up a menu, calculate how much food needs to be purchased, and distribute who will buy what.

It is best to give this person unlimited power regarding the distribution of food. In field conditions, those on duty must obey him, his word must be considered law. The caretaker can stop all disputes in the distribution of products. He must decide all global issues related to nutrition (and take responsibility for his decisions, of course). Such unlimited power while you are in the city in your kitchen may seem ridiculous. But in the forest, this approach will help avoid quarrels. Especially if the hike is quite tiring and difficult.

Water

There's nowhere without her. And when planning the entire hike and route, you must definitely think about where the group can get water. Depending on this, you need to designate places for days and overnight stays.

Meals

Usually the layout is calculated for three meals. Breakfast and dinner are the most satisfying. Lunch is easier, especially if you move around during the day, then you need to spend as little time as possible on lunch.

If the hike involves serious physical activity, then the most high-calorie meal is breakfast. It should contain meat. Dinner can then be made with milk.

Who cooks

Organizing food preparation and distributing food into backpacks is extremely important. You need to pack everything so that it’s convenient to take it out during the day. One of the most effective systems is duty. They are usually on duty in pairs (if the group does not exceed 25-30 people, if more, then perhaps three of them are more convenient). The responsibilities of those on duty include: collecting firewood, lighting a fire, preparing food, washing dishes (for all or just boilers, as agreed).

The days of the hike are divided by the number of pairs on duty. Each day has its own menu. Each pair of attendants purchases, packs and carries food for “their” days.

Most often, duty begins in the evening: dinner, breakfast, lunch, and in the evening of the next day the duty officers change. This is due to the fact that most often the group arrives at the site during the day, and it is more convenient to immediately assign people on duty for the day.

Calorie content

Let’s take the average – 2500 Kcal per person per day. This is enough for a not too difficult hike, with small transitions. If the hike is supposed to be on foot, then the calorie content should be higher, 3000 or more Kcal.

By weight, take 500-600 g of dry product per person per day. With a certain skill of the caretaker, this weight of dry product will approximately cover the calorie content of 2500 Kcal. This weight is optimal. More - it’s hard to drag, less - you won’t have enough strength for the hike.

Proteins fats carbohydrates

It is necessary to maintain the ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates as 1:1:4. In no case should you neglect fat and fatty foods. It is very good to think about products - sources of protein. Here's what you usually take on a hike to get the right nutrient ratio.

Squirrels. Meat, namely stew. This is the most important product for a hiker. The bad thing is that iron cans are extra weight. Sometimes they take canned fish, they can be put in pasta or in soup. Dry and dried meat is a good source of protein, and there is no ballast, but it is difficult to prepare and can spoil during transportation in the summer. Smoked sausage and smoked brisket are excellent additions to the menu; with high-quality packaging, they last for two weeks and do not spoil. In addition, they help gain fat. Processed cheeses are very well stored and transported. Ordinary cheeses are stored somewhat worse, so in hot weather you should count on them for no more than 7-10 days. In addition, powdered milk and egg powder are sources of protein foods.

Soy products and meat would be an excellent source of protein, there is one “but” - soy protein is extremely poorly digestible.

Fats. Ghee and vegetable oil, cheese and sausage. When planning, you need to pay special attention to fats, since they are always in short supply.

Carbohydrates. Various cereals, sugar, dried fruits, chocolate, crackers and cookies. Carbohydrates, especially simple ones found in refined foods, are easiest.

Vitamins. Usually they use fresh onions and garlic. It is best to eat them fresh, finely chop them into porridge, or even put onion rings on sausage. This way you will get more vitamins. You can take with you dried herbs, dried vegetables (carrots, beets, tomatoes) - add all this to porridge and soup. The only negative is that you need to spend some time drying it before going on a trip.

For one meal

It is believed that about 60 g of dry cereal is consumed per person per meal (summer norm). Then this amount is superimposed on the amount of food containing proteins and fats. And the caloric content comes up.

Sources of calories: for breakfast - cocoa. An indispensable thing for active tourism. Dried fruits, chocolate, cheese and sausage - all this will diversify the menu and make it more nutritious.

Freeze-dried products

They are good for everyone - both nutritious and healthier than concentrates and bouillon cubes, and just right in weight. The only bad thing is that it’s very expensive. In addition, few people have access to it. Sublimation companies exist only in large cities, and even then not in all.

But if you have access to such products, you can sublimate meat or broth. So as not to sit on bouillon cubes and concentrates the entire trip.

"Unregistered"

Everything that was taken in excess of the layout is called “unaccounted for.” It goes into a common pot and is divided among everyone. For a holiday (after all, there is always a holiday during a hike, for example, you have passed the most difficult part of the route, Neptune’s day, etc.), you can take a couple of cans of condensed milk and pancake flour and make pancakes. Collect berries in the forest - this is how you get the sauce.

Where can I buy

With stewed meat and cereals it’s more or less simple. They are sold in any store. Before going, you just need to test several manufacturers of stewed meat and choose the best one (usually the stewed meat of each manufacturer has its own characteristics, some have more fat, some have almost no fat). It’s good when there is a lot of meat in the jar, but you shouldn’t give up fat with the broth either, since in this case the porridge will turn out dry. Yes, and you can fry onions and vegetables in fat, if you have them, add it all to the porridge.

Ghee is sold in stores, sometimes under the name "Russian". But there are problems with egg powder. It is very difficult to buy. It often happens with those companies that are engaged in sublimation of products, if you have access to such, the problem is solved. You can try making dried meat yourself. Dried vegetables and crackers too.

Package

Products should take up minimal space. They should be easy to get out. The most effective thing is to put everything in the meals and sign it. All store packaging is out. Products must be packaged in such a way that their packaging is guaranteed not to be torn. An excellent way for bulk products: put it in a plastic bag and wrap it tightly with tape on top. Before going on a trip, sausages should not be divided into parts for a meal: they will last longer in a whole package. Plastic bags are also not for them - they can suffocate. Wrap the sausage and cheese in a clean cotton cloth.

Pasture

When preparing for a hike, you shouldn’t count on it. Since there may be no mushrooms and berries, the grass may all be dry, and the fish will refuse to be caught. But while being in nature, you need to take advantage of every opportunity to diversify your diet. Nettle, plantain, dandelions can be added to soup, porridge, or made into a salad of herbs and berries. Mushrooms – fry, boil, add to soup and porridge.

Dishes

Be sure to take cauldrons (for tea, soup and hot food). Check that the cauldron contains the amount of food prepared for all group members + reserve for 2 servings. You will also need a ladle and a large spoon to stir and arrange (you can get by with one, but often there are two dishes, you don’t have to run around washing them every time), two good knives, a can opener, a fish tray, some kind of tablecloth or just a piece of polyethylene to lay out the cheese and sausage, to make an impromptu table.

Each participant in the hike takes his own personal utensils. A mug, bowl, spoon and personal knife are the bare minimum on a hike. The dishes should be durable and light.