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TrailGroove Blog

A Blog by the TrailGroove Team

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Entries in this blog

Food

Backpacking and Hiking Jargon: Freeze-Dried Meals

A staple technique used in pre-packaged backpacking meals, freeze-drying is a process by which food (typically already cooked or a product that could be eaten raw) is frozen and the pressure in a chamber lowered. As a result moisture in the product is almost completely removed and foods that are freeze-dried can last years or even decades without refrigeration. A commercially available freeze-dried meal prior to rehydration. Freeze-Dried Pros and Cons Compared to at-home or
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Food

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Food

Trail Tip: Backpacking Freeze Dried Meal Fill Lines

Why every freeze dried meal out there doesn’t already have a fill line on the packaging is a bit of mystery, but luckily we can memorize our own. For example, most Mountain House meals call for either 1 ⅓, 1 ½, or 1 ¾ cups of boiling water. Instead of having to precisely (or imprecisely) measure out that exact amount of water to boil, or worse yet attempt the dreaded cups to milliliters conversion without the help of the internet in the backcountry, we can remember and make our own specific fill
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Food

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Food

Apple Crisp Backpacking Dessert Recipe

Fall is in the air. The nights are getting crisp and the moist leaves on the ground have a pleasant and earthy odor. It is a wonderful time loved by many backpackers. Here’s a quick and simple yet yummy dessert that conjures up visions of autumn. Apples, cranberries, and cinnamon spice….all flavors of the fall. This backcountry apple crisp is a tasty treat for two or a decadent dessert for one. This backpacking dessert is a perfect complement for chilly fall weather. Ingredients
PaulMags

PaulMags in Food

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Food

Backpacking Fruit Crisp Crunch Breakfast / Dessert Recipe

This crunchy fruit crisp makes a sweet ending to a strenuous day of hiking. However I prefer it as a sweet beginning and this is one of my all-time favorite trail breakfasts. For a quick-start morning you can add boiling water to the fruit the night before and allow it to rehydrate overnight. Save on clean-up by using the zip top bag as a bowl liner, adding water directly to the bag and zipping it closed to rehydrate. Add the topping in the morning and then you’ll be energized and ready to hit t
Karen Garmire

Karen Garmire in Food

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Food

Mediterranean Couscous and Chicken Backpacking Recipe

In the American West, forest fires have sadly become a common occurrence. Often, the lightweight backpacker’s favorite of an alcohol stove is not allowed for various reasons. When these open flame bans occur, a person has to use a canister or a white gas stove instead. There is another choice. A choice that works well with not only open flame bans but also with the hot weather often found in conjunction with these stove bans: Going stoveless. Going stoveless is another tool to have in the backpa
PaulMags

PaulMags in Food

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Food

Banana Nut Rice Pudding Backpacking Dessert Recipe

Another winter backpacking trip. The pack is heavy with gear and clothing, the climbs are steep and the breaking of trail through the fresh snow takes longer than expected. But a wonderful day is had skiing deep into the backcountry. The skies are a bright blue. And the winter sun reflected on the snow covered peaks. Beauty surrounds everything. Soon, a suitable campsite for the evening is spotted. A sheltered area among the trees with a view across the frozen lake. Camp is quickly made. The sto
PaulMags

PaulMags in Food

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Food

Hungry Hiker Backcountry Pasta Salad Backpacking Recipe

Although this recipe is heavy on the weight, it is absolutely huge on the flavor and was one of my favorite meals from my backpacking trips this summer. It serves two hungry hikers – the amount of pasta used is double what is typically suggested, so you might reduce this if you typically have a small appetite. However, since there is no thick and meaty sauce involved, the pasta makes up for this. This pasta meal offers plenty of freshness that is typically lacking in backpacking cuisi
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Food

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Food

Tex-Mex Style Backpacking Couscous and Cheese Recipe

After many hours of bushwhacking through pick-up-sticks and talus in the Ferris Mountain Wilderness Study Area, I was hungry. The mile an hour pace through this rough terrain certainly made me want a hearty meal. But also one that would cook quick. And would go down easy. I had just the meal in my food bag. Something would be just what I needed after a rewarding, but tiring, day. I’d have a TexMex-style dish in the backcountry. Some cheesy bean goodness with a bit of a spice kick. A long da
PaulMags

PaulMags in Food

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Food

Oatmeal Cookie Warmer Backpacking Dessert Recipe

Fall is upon us. The days are sometimes cold and wet. The wind whips over the mountain pass. Your rain gear and thermal layers are a bit wetted out. But you hike on. The snow comes in wet and large flakes. Your shoes and socks are wet. An hour before dusk, you gratefully reach camp. The shelter is erected. Your dry sleeping bag is fluffed up. And the stove is broken out. A filling meal is eaten. A hot drink is gratefully consumed. But the edge of hunger is still there on this chill ni
PaulMags

PaulMags in Food

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Food

Pad Thai Noodles with Jerky & Avocado Backpacking Recipe

This is a great meal in the shoulder-seasons as it warms you up and the citrus from the lime offers fresh flavors and really enhances what might otherwise be a fairly mundane dish. Clean up is easy, too, as you only need one pot for this dish. This has become one of my preferred dishes for dry camps since the water required is minimal compared to most pasta or rice meals or freeze-dried dinners. It also offers options for tailoring it to your tastes, since the type of jerky you use can change th
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Food

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Food

Spicy Thai Noodles with Peanut Sauce Backpacking Recipe

This high energy quick prep meal loaded with protein makes spicy Thai noodles with peanut sauce a good choice for dinner at the end of a long day of hiking. There’s very little advance prep for this recipe that uses a simple sauce of just three ingredients, but still has the feel of a home cooked meal. Spicy Thai noodles can be made at a fraction of the cost of similar commercially freeze dried meals and is a much tastier option. This meal can either be made backpacker style, or for s
Karen Garmire

Karen Garmire in Food

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Food

Creamy Beef and Mushroom Soup Backpacking Recipe

This is one of my favorite recipes. I love everything about this soup from the easy five minute home prep to the uniquely satisfying earthy aroma of mushrooms simmering in a rich broth at the end of a perfect day in the woods. Ingredients are easy to find in any supermarket. Dried mushrooms are sold in one ounce packages, typically in the produce section or readily available online. Beef broth powder (or beef soup mix), found in the bulk food section, combines with whole milk powder (Nido m
Karen Garmire

Karen Garmire in Food

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Food

Curried Chicken Ramen Noodles Backpacking Recipe

For cold weather backpacking, nothing hits the spot quite like a soup. The broth heats up a person from the inside and is welcoming. And if the dish is on the spicy side? Even a little more heat to warm those winter or even early spring nights. Here is a meal that is quick to make, fills the belly and has a bit of heat to keep a person warm during cool weather backpacking trips. This recipe takes ramen noodles to the next level, and especially hits the spot on cold weather backpacking
PaulMags

PaulMags in Food

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Food

Ramen Curry Chicken Stew Backpacking Recipe

Ramen noodles. The fifty-cent a pack wonder found in the grocery store aisle in every college town, seemingly in every office vending machine for those corporate workers who work late into the late hours while in a beige box, and found in gargantuan packages the local megamart. Ramen noodles are cheap, filling, and quick to cook. And ramen noodles are many backpackers’ “got to” meal for something that fills the stomach, if not overly tasty, when out far into the backcountry. But here’
PaulMags

PaulMags in Food

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Food

Mountain House Chicken Fajita Bowl Review

Towards the end of any backpacking trip and after a few days of freeze-dried and shelf-stable meals with quite limited fresh food if any at all thrown in, the post-trip meal is something we all start to look forward to. For me, a burger, pizza, and Mexican food typically make up my top 3 choices. While I still haven’t found that suitable freeze-dried substitute when it comes to the pizza or burgers, Mountain House has a couple choices in the other category that allow you to get your fix not at a
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Food

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Food

Backpacking Recipe: Tuna Pasta, Spinach, & Mushrooms

This quickly became one of my favorite backpacking meals and has been my traditional first night meal for almost a decade. The fresh vegetables are a treat and the ingredients are fairly lightweight. It uses about the same amount of water as a freeze dried meal and the clean-up is easy, especially since you can use the paper towel you packed the mushrooms in to wipe out the pot. This pasta also pairs well with a pinot grigio if you’re up for packing in the extra weight! Makes one hearty serving.
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Food

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Food

How to Make Backpacking Quesadillas

This delicious recipe involves packing in some fresh vegetables, cheese, and other heavier-than-usual ingredients and cookware, so it’s probably best as the first night’s meal where the hike in isn’t too long or arduous. When paired with a Mexican rice side dish (with jerky tossed in, if desired) this is a very filling dinner and the quesadillas are great appetizers. Depending on your appetite and how many you make, they can also serve easily as the main course. You can dress them up
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Food

0
Food

How to Make Backpacking and Camping Pancakes

Pancakes are a tried-and-true breakfast dish, but they aren’t a common dish for backpacking. While I typically opt for oatmeal when on my backpacking trips, from time to time I like to add some variety by starting off my day with pancakes. Since this dish requires a skillet and spatula, I usually plan to make it when I’m having quesadillas for dinner during the same trip as I will need the skillet for that meal. Before or after the pancakes, the skillet can also be used for making scrambled eggs
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Food

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Food

Mountain House Buffalo-Style Chicken Mac & Cheese Review

While this new meal from Mountain House wasn’t quite released in time to make our full backpacking mac & cheese roundup in Issue 51, it seemed almost a necessity to test out this new meal given the recent release of our previous article. This take on the dish from Mountain House definitely shakes things up however, as a mac & cheese with freeze-dried chicken and Buffalo wing sauce now added. While most everyone likes mac & cheese and I’ll personally go for some Buffalo chicken most d
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Food

0
Food

Mountain House Kung Pao Chicken Review

When it comes to pre-made backpacking meals, manufacturers understandably often seem to be trying to come up with meals that are compatible with as many palates as possible. Right away, this typically leaves meals that should be spicy toned down and even perhaps, bland. Luckily, by packing a small bottle of hot sauce or hot sauce packets and / or bringing some spices, this can typically be easily remedied. That said, as someone who has never called a meal too spicy, having a meal check off this
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Food

0
Food

The Backpacking Spice Rack: Packing Spices for the Trail

Whether you’re a freeze-dried meal aficionado or if you prefer to custom make each of your meals for the trail, most backpacking meals will rely on dried and pre-packaged ingredients, with little in the way of fresh ingredients to bring life to meals. The result? Many times meals are good, but need…a little something. Spices are a backpacker’s best friend in this regard as they’re already in dried form and weigh next to nothing while packing a punch in the flavor department. Packing your whole s
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Food

0
Food

How to Make Your Own Dehydrated Backpacking Meals

You like to hike, or you would not be reading TrailGroove, America’s finest hiking magazine right now. And you probably like to eat good food, because you are a human. But for far too many people, hiking and eating well do not seem to go together. When I share a camp with fellow hikers, I often cringe to see the awful dreck they gag down: ramen, instant mashed potatoes, quinoa. If I ate that stuff day after day I would lose my will to hike, and perhaps my will to live. Many hikers, especially lo
HappyHour

HappyHour in Food

0
Food

Backpacking Mac and Cheese: Options for the Trail

A staple for many off the trail, mac & cheese at first seems so simple but can come with a few challenges when adapting this dish for backpacking. Since it’s relatively easy to get at the store and packs well, I’ve always held off on the pre-made, just add hot water commercial backpacking options that are out there. But in reality, this usually means that the mac & cheese is just left off my backcountry meal menu entirely. And for several reasons – cooking traditional mac & cheese in
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Food

0
Food

Mountain House Veggie Chorizo Breakfast Scramble Review

A newer meal from Mountain House, the Veggie Chorizo Breakfast Scramble Meal is a meal based on eggs, a plant-based chorizo-flavored crumble, hash-style potatoes, and bell peppers. Each pouch has 580 calories and is ready in 9 minutes after adding 1 1/3 cups of boiling water. This vegetarian and gluten-free meal has a well-rounded nutritional profile, and has a shelf life of 30 years. The Veggie Chorizo Breakfast Scramble meal from Mountain House offers 580 calories in a vegetarian an
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Food

0
Food

10 Best Freeze Dried and Dehydrated Backpacking Meals

Let’s be honest; not every backpacking trip provides the time for us to prepare a nightly gourmet meal, and not all of us are ready to embrace, or perhaps we have yet to have a discussion with, our inner hidden chef. While I like to create backpacking meals from scratch at times and when I can, if you’re like me, after a long day on the trail I simply often find myself wanting a sufficient amount of calories that taste great, and I want that meal as quickly and as easily as possible with minimal
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Food

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