SAMPLE MENU

(no cans, no glass jars, few perishables)

All of the items in this menu are readily available at Supermarkets; many are less expensive when purchased from a Bulk Food Store.

Breakfasts

Instant oatmeal; Granola; Toast or bannock with jam and/or peanut butter; Cheese bannock; Pancakes ("complete" mix) with Maple syrup

Lunches

Rye or pumpernickle bread / Bagels / Pita bread / Bisquick or Bannock; Cheese; Dried Salami; Peanut butter; Trail mix; Dried fruit; Granola bars; Hard candies; Chewing gum

Suppers

Main Dishes (Choose as many as needed)

• Hamburgers* (take frozen); Frozen corn* (take frozen and pack next to frozen patties)

• Pita pizza with Tomato sauce (take frozen in a tube* or make with dried sauce mix), Grated cheese, Pepperoni or salami (take frozen* or dried), Fresh mushrooms*, Fresh green pepper* and Fresh onions or onion flakes, etc.

• Pancakes ("complete" mix) with Maple syrup

• Pasta with Tomato sauce (take frozen* or make with dried sauce mix) and Grated parmesan cheese; Garlic bread

• Rice dish (Lipton's etc., available in many flavours); Bannock

• Kraft dinner; Garlic bread

• Mashed potatoes (dehydratated flakes) with Grated cheddar cheese, Vacuum-packed ham or Bacon bits

• Vegetable soup (Knorr, Lipton's, etc. dehydrated mix); Bannock

Desserts (Choose as many as needed)

• Fresh apples or oranges*

• Mixed dried or stewed fruit

• Hot bannock turnovers (cook in the field; blueberry, raspberry, etc.)

• Bannock cake (cook and frost in the field)

• Hot bisquick cinnamon rolls with icing (cook in the field)

• Banana bread (make or buy ahead)

• Fruitcake (make or buy ahead)

• Cookies (make or buy ahead)

• Rice krispie squares (make or buy ahead)

• Instant pudding (make in the field with instant skim milk powder; works best if NOT made during a heat wave!)

• And last, but not least... Marshmallows

* = PERISHABLE AND/OR HEAVY... FOR FIRST NIGHT OF TRIP ONLY

Beverages

Coffee; Herbal tea; Hot chocolate mix; Tea; Gatorade crystals

Staples

Margarine; Salt & pepper; Sugar; Vegetable Oil; Flour; Instant milk powder; Metamucil!

A Note About Other Non-Perishable Foods

• many Camping Specialty Stores and Outfitters sell dehydrated meals that weigh less and are more compact that the items listed above, but are also more expensive, not always as tasty and are sometimes lower in nutritional value

• boil-in-bag type dinners that do not require any refrigeration (e.g. Magic Pantry or Amway entrées) weigh and cost more than most of the above dinners, but have a two year shelf life, taste good, don't require much preparation and don't require any clean-up.

• fresh vegetables, fruits and eggs weigh more and are less compact than their dehydrated counterparts, but can be a welcome treat on the trail. Potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions, turnips apples oranges and eggs are the least perishable in unrefrigerated conditions and are the most resistant to bruising.

FOOD PACKING TIPS

Packing Individual Items

• use plastic squeeze tubes to pack such items as jam, peanut butter and margarine (available in the camping section of most Sporting Goods Stores)

• use small plastic bottles to pack liquids, such as vegetable oil and maple syrup (also available in the camping section of most Sporting Goods Stores)

• sharp, aged Cheddar, Edam and Gouda cheeses keep well without refrigeration; if you will be in the field for over a week, you may want to wrap one-week portions of cheese in cheesecloth and immerse them in melted wax before the trip

• if you wash fruits and vegetables before packing, they will deteriorate more quickly in the field; packing them in brown paper bags will prolong their freshness, as will opening them to the air and keeping them in the shade when in camp

• if you are planning to take eggs on your trip, seal the eggs in a "ziplock" bag and bury them in a hard-sided container full of flour or pancake mix (to cushion the shells against breakage), else break the eggs into a plastic container before you leave and carry them into the field MINUS the shells (thanks to Alexander Trent for contributing this idea) -- NOTE: eggs may not stay fresh as long using the second method

• Take only as much of each food item as you think you will need!!! (e.g. don't bring the whole jar of peanut butter, box of pancake mix or tub or margarine unless your group will need it all...nothing worse than portaging tons of extra food for no reason!)

An Overall Packing System

• seal the staples, beverages, peanut butter and jam in small "ziplock" bags, tubes, etc., as appropriate; pack them together in a large "ziplock" bag and clearly label the bag "staples"

• seal the ingredients for each breakfast, lunch and supper on the trip in a separate "ziplock" bag; be sure to include preparation instructions, wherever necessary

• group each day's food together and pack into larger bags (i.e. breakfast, lunch and supper for Day 1 in one bag, breakfast, lunch and supper for Day 2 in another bag, etc.); clearly label the outside of each large bag with the appropriate Day #

• pack all of the above bags in 20L to 30L "SealLine See Bags" or clear garbage bags (with Day # "last" on the bottom, Day "# second-last" next... and "Day #1 and staples on the top); the drybags or garbage bags can then be inserted into daypacks or backpacks for transport in the field

• we also carry a "ziplock" bag labelled "snacks" in the outside pocket of a pack, where it is easily accessible... at the beginning of the trip it contains a few granola bars, some dried fruit and trail mix; throughout the trip, we add leftover cookies, fruit and granola bars, etc. from each meal to this bag, so they can be finished-up as snack food

• make sure that everyone is familiar with the above packing system, or else assign one person to be in charge of accessing the food during the trip

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