Straightforward DIY Vegan Backpacking Meal Concepts & Ideas (with Recipes!) – Bearfoot Principle

In search of some straightforward DIY vegan backpacking meals? You’ve come to the precise place!

There are a whole lot of methods to eat lately: keto, plant-based, lacto-ovo, paleo… simply to call a couple of. However is it potential to observe your dietary preferences while you hit the paths? As an outside chef, I’m right here to let you know that sure, you possibly can. You possibly can prepare dinner up tasty meals and stick along with your weight-reduction plan, no matter it might be, out within the wild.

I’m Chef Corso, head chef and founding father of Outside Eats and I’m on a mission to raise the outside meals expertise by means of quick, straightforward, and attractive recipes, meal plans, and pocket-sized cookbooks. Nevertheless you’re consuming, I need you to have the ability to persist with your meals beliefs and hold your stomach comfortable as you head into the outside.

I really like mountaineering and backpacking and observed that almost all people are simply boiling water and including it to a bag come mealtime. To me, it is a missed alternative to have a tasty, filling, and thrilling meal that compliments your journey, slightly than simply shoveling down energy that don’t refuel in one of the simplest ways. 

On this publish, I’m going to cowl the fundamentals for simple DIY vegan backpacking meals together with balanced meal planning methods, how to buy components, my favourite vegan backpacking recipes, and extra.

All photographs courtesy of Chef Corso

Concerns When Planning DIY Backpacking Meals

Earlier than you head off to the shop to purchase components, it’s vital to suppose by means of your journey so that you just’re well-prepared. You don’t wish to overpack meals and carry greater than you want or worse, underpack and danger going hungry.

Listed below are a couple of concerns to consider earlier than a backcountry journey:

How Many Individuals Are You Planning For?

Each journey and meal plan begins with one query: “How many individuals are going?”

Planning a solo journey requires very completely different meal planning than a visit with 6 hungry hikers. As soon as you recognize the quantity in your crew, you possibly can work to create a terrific meal plan that will probably be satisfying for everybody.

Whereas I typically see people planning their meals solo even on group journeys, planning as a bunch for most important meals is a enjoyable option to share tasty reminiscences collectively and it isn’t as laborious as you suppose.

DIY vegan backpacking meal prep doesn’t should be a burden. Meal plan collectively and share the load!

How Massive of a Pot Do You Want?

As soon as you recognize your group measurement, you can begin to consider cooking gear. You possibly can select a camp range and pot/pan mixture from the identical firm or you possibly can combine and match.

Listed below are cooking pot capability ranges to focus on primarily based in your group measurement:

• Solo journey: 300-500 ml pot
• 2-person journey: 500 ml -1.2 L pot
• 2-4 particular person journey: 1.2 L – 2.5 L pot
• 4+ individuals: 2.5 L – 4 L pot

Tip: If you happen to combine and match pots and stoves, search for a range that has a burner massive sufficient to assist the circumference of your pot so it has a secure touchdown zone and doesn’t tip over.

How A lot Meals Ought to You Deliver?

Determining how a lot meals to carry might be one of many largest challenges of planning a backpacking journey.

Everybody has completely different appetites and every day on the path can require various vitality wants. For instance, someday of the journey could contain a tough 10-mile hike to the highest of a 14er in Colorado whereas the subsequent day may merely be “hammock and chill” by an alpine lake.

I are inclined to not concentrate on a calorie quantity and slightly concentrate on tasty, filling meals at every time for dinner. All of the recipes I create are supposed to present hearty servings for many hikers.

Every recipe additionally notes what number of parts it makes and is simple to scale up or down primarily based in your journey.

In case you are involved about amount, pack a little bit bit extra of your pantry objects (see beneath) or a couple of extra snacks.

If you happen to do wish to plan your meals primarily based on energy, a basic rule of thumb is 2,500 – 4,000 energy of meals per particular person per day.

At a minimal, you’ll wish to plan breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for every day on the path.

Not each backpacking meal in your journey must be DIY after all, however I’ve included a couple of of my favourite straightforward DIY vegan backpacking recipes on the finish of this publish to get you began.

Ideas for Planning DIY Vegan Backpacking Meals

Now that you understand how many individuals it’s worthwhile to pack meals for, let’s get into some meal-planning ideas.

Begin within the Pantry

For any DIY backpacking meal plan, I all the time begin within the pantry. Test the cabinet for what plant-based staples you may have already got available like:

All of those choices are light-weight, packable, filling, and versatile primarily based on what you wish to make within the backcountry.

Choose Your Protein

Protein is a vital macronutrient to focus on for a whole meal however it may be difficult to seek out plant-based choices that final for days away from refrigeration.

Listed below are a couple of vegan protein choices to take a look at:

Add Taste By means of Spice Mixes

Spices and spice mixes are THE BEST manner so as to add taste with out carrying heavy sauces and condiments.

A few of my favorites are:

Tip: When shopping for spice blends, all the time verify the ingredient listings for the quantity of salt. You need blends which have spices as the primary ingredient, not salt.

Watch Chef Corso select which spices to pack for backpacking

Add Texture & Freshness

Lastly, add one thing contemporary to spherical out your meal. Texture and freshness are key elements to finishing a flavorful dish at house and so they’re simply as vital outdoors on the path.

These key attributes are lacking from packaged meals and I believe they’re vital to focus on when creating backpacking meals.

Listed below are some choices for veggies that final for a number of days on the path with out getting bruised, slimy, or soggy.

I are inclined to concentrate on contemporary for the primary days of my meal plan then transfer to drier, extra secure choices because the journey progresses.

Tip: For freshness, I really like packing alongside a lime or lemon, and a small plastic bottle of apple cider vinegar so as to add that little little bit of pop to my meals. Don’t wish to take alongside liquids? Take a look at Sumac. It’s a dry spice that has a pleasant lemony taste that provides no weight.

Ideas for Packing DIY Backpacking Meals

In case you are not bringing alongside pre-packaged meals, you’ll have to pack up the components on your DIY vegan backpacking meals and hold every little thing organized.

I like utilizing compostable Ziplock baggage (bear in mind to pack them out), reusable Stasher Baggage, and stuff sacks to maintain issues organized. Sometimes I’ll pack every meal into one Ziplock bag after which pack every day’s meals into one stuff sack. That manner, I don’t should go rummaging by means of my complete pack to seek out that day’s dinner.

For liquids like oil, vinegar, and soy sauce, I like reusing previous soda or juice shot containers. They will range in measurement from 1 oz – 16 oz and are an ideal option to reuse one thing you had been simply going to throw away. These 2 oz bottles are good for shorter journeys.

For spices, I reuse washed-out lotion tins or rehydration tab bottles. You possibly can additionally these Humangear Interlocking Containers (medium measurement) for pastes and different taste components.

DIY Vegan Backpacking Recipes

Now for the enjoyable half, let’s dive into the recipes!

Under are a couple of of my favourite plant-based recipe concepts for DIY backpacking breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

DIY Vegan Backpacking Breakfasts

DIY Vegan Backpacking Lunches

DIY Vegan Backpacking Dinners

DIY Vegan Backpacking Desserts

Thanks for coming alongside! If you happen to’re trying to find easier DIY path recipe concepts, hit up outdooreats.com or try my YouTube web page Chef Corso for extra tasty choices.

Get on the market!

What are your favourite DIY vegan backpacking meals or ideas? What questions do you’ve gotten about meal planning for a backpacking journey? Go away a remark beneath!

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