Meal suggestions for hikes

When hiking a lot more energy is used by or bodies than in everyday life. 
Thus, energy-rich food should be brought on a trip. Of course there are 
differences between individual people – while for some 800g extra noodles 
per week is more than enough for two people, for others that will be just 
enough to feed one. 

Apart from its high caloric values, the food should be quite light-weighted, 
as you have to carry it on your back for the time of the hike. Usually it is 
thus recommended to take dry or dried food with you. For example many dishes 
contain dried minced meat. You can find instructions on how to dry meat here 
further down this page.


Breakfast

Hot porridge is a great breakfast on hikes, along with instant fruit sauce or 
juice. Apart from that bread, butter, cheese and sausage are good add-ons for 
breakfast. It’s best to divide the porridge into daily portions already at home, 
as it may be quite difficult to do on the hike. Instant porridge is a faster and 
less fuel-intensive choice, and thus recommended.

Shared breakfast
- About 4 dl porridge (+ some salt)/2 persons/day
- Muesli
- 0.5-1 instant fruit sauce/day
- Butter (good in autumn) or margarine (spreadable also in deep frost), 
  e.g. 200g/2 persons/week. Should be packed in a stable plastic container
- Tee

Personal breakfast
- Bread and crispbread, e.g., 500g rye bread and 300g crispbread for 5 days
- Sausage, about 200g/week
- Cheese, about 500g/week
- Snacks (raisins, nuts, chocolate, candy)


Lunch

Travel lunch should be quickly made and not to heavy. During winter hikes lunch 
can be prepared in the morning in thermos bottles for the day. This is especially 
useful on Kaamos hikes, as there are only few hours of light and much frost 
outside.

Lunch examples for 2 
- Noodles: 2-3 packages of instant noodles, dried meat or soya added
- Soup: Instant soup + extra noodles, dried meat or soya added
- Pasta: 1-2 packages of a pasta meal, dried meat or soya added


Dinner

Dinner is the most important meal of the day. At camp you have time to prepare 
even more complicated dishes.

Dinner examples
- Sausages, meatballs, spinach-pancakes, mashed potatoes: The food for the 
  first day can be a little heavier, and conservation is not a problem either. 
- Instant sauce and mashed potatoes: Add dried meat or soya to the sauce of 
  your choice. You should only need to add water to the mashed potatoes, 
  a 5 servings bag is usually enough for 2 people on a hike.
- Tortellini and instant sauce: Dried tortellini goes well with instant sauce. 
  Boil the tortellini first and add the sauce-powder to the pot when the 
  tortellini is about done. 150g tortellini per person is a good suggestion.
- Rice meal: Buy an instant rice meal and add some more rice and dried meat/soya 
  when preparing it. Per person 1.5 dl extra rice are recommended.
- Freeze-dried meals from the outdoor store: You only need to add water. 
  Easy to prepare but quite expensive.
- Self-dried food: You can also dry food yourself, and then you have more 
  choices for your meals.


Drying minced meat

Minced meat can be dried in a conventional oven. As fat becomes easily rancid, 
it is recommended to use low fat meat. If you choose to buy cheap meat with 
more fat, it is better to dry it immediately before the hike starts.

1. Cock the meat in a saucepan at medium temperature until the fat sizzles out.
2. Spread the meat on an oven tray covered with paper, set the oven to 50°C 
   and open the oven door a bit
3. Dry the meat for about 10-12 hours