Are you heading away tramping but don’t know what food you need to take? We all face a common problem when we run away on our adventures. There are so many things to think about when choosing the food you will take with you.
How long are you going for? Is it a quick overnight jaunt to a local hut? Or is it a multi-day expedition?
Do you have any specific dietary needs? Do you need plant-based meals? Or do you need gluten-free meals? Perhaps you are on the keto diet and need a low-carb option.
Do you need a high-calorie diet? Or do you want to run on a calorie deficit?
Arguably, the most important question is: What flavours do you like? Are you a fan of a bit of heat? Or do you like it mild? Do you prefer chicken and fish, beef and lamb, or vegetarian? Mushrooms, anyone…..?
In this blog post, we will discuss all of the above consideration points when choosing what food to take tramping. Hopefully, we will be able to help you decide what food to take on your next adventure.
The first point will help you start planning your meals and snacks. If you are going for an overnight, you can probably happily take some fresher ingredients. If you are going for longer, perhaps some freeze-dried meals with a high density of nutrients for their weight, such as Radix Nutrition, are the way to go. Of course, if you prefer to carry as little weight as possible, other freeze-dried options like Back Country, Real Meals, and Local Dehy are great options for overnights. An excellent in-between option is the Go Native range of ready-to-eat meals; these are easy to heat but can be consumed immediately from the pack cold.
Does your food need to fit a specific dietary profile? Are you living with a condition like coeliac or IBS? Maybe you have been maintaining a ketogenic diet for any reason you have chosen. Or perhaps you love to eat a plant-based diet. These are important to ensure you don’t upset your gut and conscience in some cases. We have a great range of meals that tick these needs. Have a look at our range of Gluten-Free, Plant-Based and Keto tramping foods.
When planning food, it can be important to remember that your calorie burn will be much higher than usual. On a typical day, the average male will burn approximately 2500Cal and 2000Cal for a female. When you are out tramping, this increases hugely! If you are walking around 6 hours per day, you can realistically double these numbers; you’ll need more energy input than when you’re at home. With these numbers in mind, the ‘average-sized’ tramping meal has 600Cal, which adds up to 1800Cal over three meals, covering your daily base calories. This is where you need snacks. You can expect to get a good number of calories from snacks, but you may also need to consider throwing in a dessert, yum.
Now, as we mentioned, this is possibly the most crucial part. Do you like the flavour? I am sure you don’t need us to tell you that you should avoid a meal you don’t like. With the choices available in our shop here at Venture Outdoors NZ, you can rest easy that there is a flavour that you will find appealing. Freeze-dried meals have had much grief for being mush with terrible texture and tastes, but these have improved significantly in the last few years, with the number of brands climbing to our current range. There will be something you like from Real Meals. Don’t like the texture? Maybe the Go Native meals are the way for you.
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