GROCERY STORE BACKPACKING FOOD | Cheap & Easy Dinner Ideas

dinner on trail is my most favorite meal of the day it's the meal i look forward to the most it's the time of day on trail where i always cook my meal because having a warm meal at the end of a long day full of hiking is super satisfying today i'm going to share with you some cheap and easy backpacking food dinner options that can be all found at the grocery store before we get started be sure to subscribe to my youtube channel and hit that bell icon to get notified any time i add new videos hey guys my name is kathleen former pct through hiker avid pacific northwest day hiker and the hungry hiker here on youtube and this is tucker in this video i'm going to focus on dinner my most favorite meal of the day when out on trail i'll feature over 10 different options that are cheap and easy to make and can be found at any grocery store by the way i'm not sponsored by any of the brands mentioned in this video these are all dinner options i enjoyed myself either while going on overnight backpacking trips or meals i ate while through hiking the pacific crest trail alright let's go instant mashed potatoes are a staple in any backpackers food bag they're cheap come in a bunch of different flavors are easy to cook and found in every grocery store i like to take instant mashed potatoes up a notch by adding a gravy packet and some jerky here's how to make instant mashed potatoes first add two cups of water to your pot boil the water remove pot from heat and add in the entire packet of mashed potatoes then once the potatoes are mixed add in a powdered gravy packet and some jerky and enjoy one trail serving of this contains an entire packet of mashed potatoes and one packet of powder gravy this one comes to 3.88 cents per serving for a total of 520 calories since i've already created a video featuring the one pot thanksgiving dinner recipe i'll put a link to the video in the description below as well as in the top right hand corner the one pot thanksgiving dinner recipe comes out to six dollars per serving with jerky and about four dollars per serving without the jerky for a total of 538 calories nor's rice and noodle sides are another cheap and easy food option that's always found in most grocery stores not only are they cheap and easy to cook but they come in a bunch of different varieties to switch this one up and for extra calories and protein you can always add pre-cooked sausage just throw them in with your side when cooking and instead of adding milk or butter to the side substitute it for either a carnation breakfast essentials packet which is pretty much milk anyways or add coconut milk powder and throw in a packet of olive oil or coconut oil for extra flavor and calories here's how to make noor's rice noodle sides first add 2 cups of water to your pot boil the water add the entire packet of noor's rice or noodle sides to the boiling water and a packet of coconut oil or a tablespoon of olive oil and mix together if desired add in 4 tablespoons of coconut milk powder and a half a cup of water and mix this together before adding to the nor rice or noodle side cover and let simmer for a couple minutes after a couple minutes remove the pot from the heat and let sit covered in a stove cozy for about 10 to 15 minutes allowing the rest of the meal to rehydrate and cook without using a bunch of fuel after 10 to 15 minutes remove the pot from the koozie give the dish a stir and enjoy this one comes out to 2.47 per serving for a total of 700 calories which includes the coconut milk powder and the extra oil the idahoan hearty soup mixes are kind of like instant mashed potatoes only in a soup form similar taste different texture to mix this one up you can add a half a cup of instant rice jerky or precooked sausage when cooking the soup i'd recommend splitting the bag into two ziploc bags for two servings here's how to make the soup first add two cups of water to your pot boil the water add in half the package of soup mix and mix together remove from heat cover the pot and let this one sit in the stove koozie for about five minutes after the five minutes are up remove from the stove koozie or heat and let sit for a couple minutes to cool down then enjoy one trail serving of this contains half a package of the soup this one comes out to 1.34 cents per serving for a total of 380 calories who needs those super expensive freeze-dried meals when you have similar cheaper options in the grocery store take a trip down the soup aisle and you'll find a wide variety of soup mixes in bags including bear creek's darn good chili in addition to adding water you will need tomato paste which you can get in a tube making this very backpacker friendly to get really fancy add in a pre-cooked sausage and top this one off with cheese and avocado since this one has to sit in the pot for about 20 to 25 minutes before eating i'd recommend start cooking this one before you set up camp for the evening here's how you make the chili first divide the bag up into four servings each bag has eight servings so one serving equals a third cup of dried mix for trail serving i like to double that so add two thirds cup of dry mix to each ziploc bag mix together the dry mix one cup of water three tablespoons of tomato paste and an optional sausage to your pot boil the water once water has come to a boil remove from heat cover and set in a stove cozy for about 20 to 25 minutes while the chili does its thing in the pot this would be a great time to set up your tent and sleeping system for the evening after you've set up your tent and sleeping system it should be time to uncover the chili and eat want to get extra fancy and some more calories top off the chili with cheese and avocado adding in a pre-cooked sausage avocado and cheese will add extra calories a slight extra cost a little extra weight in your food bag and lots of extra flavor without the extra fixings this one comes out to two dollars and five cents per serving for a total of 280 calories [Music] the tasty bite pre-prepared indian entrees are a wee bit heavier and the most expensive option on this list but they're really tasty have interesting flavor profiles are easy to make in your pot and have a decent number of calories and they're also pretty filling if you're looking for more calories add a pre-cooked ready-to-serve rice packet my favorite is the seeds of change organic 7 whole grains want to make this meal super hiker trash and get in a few more calories wrap the entree with rice in a tortilla something which you'll probably already have in your food bag here's how to cook one of these pouches on trail open the entree pouch add contents to your pot turn on the heat and cook for about three to four minutes until hot add the rice packet and heat until boiling then let this one sit covered for a couple of minutes this one can either be eaten directly from the pot or place contents from the pot in a tortilla and enjoy this one comes out to be 7.48 cents per serving for a total of 690 calories ramen is a staple in every backpacker and through hiker's diet it's cheap easy to make easily accessible in most stores and it's versatile starting with the traditional ramen variation add two cups of water to your pot boil the water add one package of ramen to the boiling water cook for about two minutes remove from heat add the seasoning packet and mix and then enjoy from here you can switch up the flavor profiles and increase the calories for this meal by adding either chicken creation chicken packet for more calories and protein or two tablespoons of powdered peanut butter to make the sauce thicker and into a backcountry pad thai variation with even more protein and calories just for the ramen alone this one comes out to 39 cents per serving for a total of 380 calories in my previous video featuring cheap and easy grocery store backpacking food lunch options i featured a few different ramen variations click the link in the description below to check out that video mushroom miso ramen is another easy to cook ramen variation you can put together out on trail here's what you'll need for this one two tablespoons of miso paste two tablespoons of soy sauce two tablespoons of rice vinegar two tablespoons of sesame oil two cups of water a fourth a cup of sliced mushrooms prepped ahead of time one package of ramen two tablespoons of chopped green onions prepped ahead of time and one egg to cook add the miso paste soy sauce rice vinegar sesame oil water and mushrooms into your pot turn on the stove and heat to a boil simmer for about two to three minutes and then add the noodles cook until the noodles are done and then scramble an egg and add to the broth to cook then garnish with green onions and enjoy this one comes out to 4.79 per serving for a total of 795 calories i've been getting a lot of questions from people asking what they can do with the leftover seasoning packets they don't use when cooking ramen here's an idea add 1 cup of water to your pot boil the water add 1 cup of either instant rice or couscous remove pot from heat cover and let sit for 5 minutes preferably in a stove koozie uncover and add ramen seasoning packet mixed together and enjoy in addition to using leftover ramen seasoning packets you can also make this one with taco seasoning packet this one includes two servings of either instant rice or couscous and a packet of ramen and comes to about 65 cents per serving for a total of 400 calories ramen bombs are notorious on long distance trails this is when hiker hunger hits and no matter how much food or how often you eat you're always hungry ramen bombs combine a few different easy to cook items from your food bag into one pot for a calorie heavy meal to make a ramen bomb variation number one add two cups of water to your pot boil the water add ramen seasoning packet and one ounce of beef or turkey jerky mix together and let simmer for two minutes add a half a pouch of the instant mashed potatoes and stir remove from the heat and let sit covered for a couple more minutes and then enjoy this one comes out to 2.86 per serving for a total of 515 calories to make ramen bomb variation number two add two cups of water to your pot boil the water add ramen seasoning packet and a chicken creations chicken pouch mix and let simmer for two minutes add a half a cup of instant rice and mix then remove from heat cover and let sit for five minutes and then enjoy this one comes out to 3.26 per serving for a total of 630 calories pro tip want to use the right amount of water on trail for your recipes but don't want to bring measuring cups before getting on trail measure out water in measuring cups and add it to your pot most pots will have measuring lines on the inside so note where a half a cup of water comes up to or one cup of water and then that way when you're on trail you can eyeball the right amount of water need it in your pot without needing to use a measuring cup want to see more grocery store backpacking food videos i've put together videos featuring my favorite cheap and easy breakfast and lunch options all of which can be found at the grocery store check out the description below for links to these videos enjoy this video give it a thumbs up yeah and if you haven't already subscribe to my youtube channel and hit that bell icon so you're notified each time i add a new video thanks for watching and i'll see you in the next one happy trails and keep on trucking i'll feature over 10 different options that are cheap and easy to make and can be found in any grocery store i love you too do you want to be on youtube are you a good boy say hi to youtube tucker tucker is modified hiker trash tucker is my spirit animal we feel the same way about food we get very excited sometimes there's a little bit of filming at the mouth we like treats huh we love oh i love you can you give me a high [Music] five [Music] you

Channel: The Hungry Hiker

Views: 119,202

Rating: 4.9459567 out of 5

Keywords: Grocery Store Backpacking Meals Cheap, Backpacking, backpacking meals, backpacking meals at the grocery store, cheap backpacking food, cheap backpacking meals, backpacking food, hiking, camping, dinner, easy backpacking meals, meals for backpacking, easy hiking meal, backpacking food ideas, grocery store, what to eat while backpacking, camping food, easy meals for camping, cheap camping meal, make your own backpacking meal, backpacking food from grocery store

Id: YKjfpztwLGw

Length: 11min 46sec (706 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 09 2021