Cook it yourself!

There is nothing worse than bad food out on the trails.

The best way to enjoy tasty and nutritious food out on trail is to cook it yourself. I have experimented for years and had some great results, and some absolute disasters! There are a few basics you must remember when prepping your own food but once you have those sorted there will be no stopping you.

Below are some of my most requested recipes. In time I hope to get all of my recipes up but I am too busy bushwalking to be on the blog ;P

* You will note I haven’t put exact quantities of ingredients in each recipe. This is because everyone eats a different amount out on trail. Simply go with the amount that suits you.

The important bit: The easiest way for you to figure out what a serve is after a meal is dehydrated is to first weigh a single serve wet. Then, place that single serve on its own tray in your dehydrator. The rest of the food can be spread out however you want on the remaining trays. Once your food has finished dehydrating re-weigh your single serve. You now know what a single serve weighs/looks like and the difference in weight is roughly how much water to add back in at camp!

All these meals are designed to heat and eat - no cooking. Simple pour boiling water into the zip lock bag containing your meal. Re-seal it and then sit in a HMG RePack (or similar) or keep warm for 10-15 minutes before consuming.

Mash it up!

Whilst Deb Potato is ok and a great quick option making your own variety of mashes is simple and they taste amazing out on trail! Once made store your powder or leather in the freezer and grab out a single serve or two before hitting the trail. P.S - Also a great way for lazy teens to have quick veggies when you are away! I prefer to steam all my mash vegetables rather than boil them to retain the nutrients and flavour. And remember to taste each step of the way!

Sweet Potato Mash - Simply steam or boil sweet potato until soft. Once cooked mash with a small amount of vegetable/chicken stock, add in a small amount of ground cinnamon and some pepper. Spread thinly on baking paper and place in your dehydrator. Once it is dry enough to peel off the paper, remove the paper (keeping it for your next batch) and flip the sheet of sweet potatoe over. Continue to dehydrate till dry and crackly. Once dehydrated cool and then pulverise into a powder using a coffee grinder. Store in a zip lock bag in the freezer until ready to use.

Pea & Broccoli Mash - Simply steam or boil brocolli and peas until soft. Once cooked mash with some vegetable/chicken stock, add in salt pepper and fresh or dried mint. Spread thinly on baking paper and place in your dehydrator. Once it is dry enough to peel off the paper, remove the paper (keeping it for your next batch) and flip the sheet of mash mixture over. Continue to dehydrate till dry and crackly. Once dehydrated cool and then pulverise into a powder using a coffee grinder. Store in a zip lock bag in the freezer until ready to use.

Cauliflower & Potato Mash - Simply steam or boil cauliflower and potatoes until soft. Once cooked mash with some vegetable/chicken stock, add in a small amount of salt and dried parsley and chives. Spread thinly on baking paper and place in your dehydrator. Once it is dry enough to peel off the paper, remove the paper (keeping it for your next batch) and flip the sheet of sweet potatoe over. Continue to dehydrate till dry and crackly. Once dehydrated cool and then pulverise into a powder using a coffee grinder. Store in a zip lock bag in the freezer until ready to use.

** Pro tip: Adding some dried parmesan can lift the flavour of all your mashes. Add it to the bag of powder before storing it in the freezer. Just make sure you use the shelf stable parmesan found in the pasta section of the supermarket.

Never ending vegetables…

The handiest way to bulk up your meals out on trail is with some veggies! And the easiest way to do this is to prep a whole lot at the same time. Store them in individual freezer bags in the freezer and use a mix of whichever ones you want when prepping your meals. I.e peas in one bag, carrots in another, mushroom in another etc.

Make a quick pasta dish by grabbing some dried pasta, a few handfuls of your dehydrated veggies and a sachet of flavoured Tuna. Or a lovely lamb stroganoff using just mushrooms, dehydrated lamb, risoni and some sauce. A great last minute meal.

Vegetable Prep - Simply boil or steam large chunks of vegetables - they do not need to be cooked through. The pre cooking is only to stop case hardening when dehydrating. Then cut the chucks of vegetables into pea sized pieces. Obviously peas and corn do not need chopping. Lay the vegetables out on your dehydrating tray and dehydrate until mostly dry. Then give them a bit of a stir around and separate any that are stuck together. Finish dehydrating them and then store in individual bags in the freezer.

Beef Cheeks & Jus

One of Benders favourite meals out on trail is Beef Cheeks with Sweet Potato Mash and Jus! It sounds complicated but it is so simple! With a freezer full of home made mashes and various veggies it just leaves the meat to be prepped. We prep large batches of the meat and store that in the freezer too. Same with the jus/gravy. *Note pressure cooking meat ensures it rehydrates quickly and tenderly! Meat that is not canned or pressure cooked will take longer to rehydrate and stay tough.

The Beef - Into a pressure cooker add your beef cheeks, tomato paste, a can on tomatoes, mixed Italian herbs, garlic, salt, pepper and a small amount of beef stock. Pressure cook until falling apart tender. Lift the beef cheeks out and set aside to cool. Pour the juices into a sauce pan and allow to cool.

Once the meat is cool to touch, shred it and place into the dehydrator. Shredding is easier than cutting and it rehydrates better. You don’t need to shred it too fine. you want some nice bites of beef in your meal!

Once the juices have cooled (speed it up by placing in the fridge) scrape any congealed fat off the top. Pop it on the stove and add in some red wine and beef stock. Simmer reducing for a few minutes and then if you like thicken with a small amount of corn flour. Pour your jus onto baking paper lined trays, dehydrate and then pulverise into a powder for storage in the freezer.

When you are ready to hit the trails grab some of your beef, an assortment of your veggies and add them to a zip lock bag with some of your jus powder. Take along a bag of sweet potato mash and you will be eating like a king!

Scrambled Eggs,Baked Beans & Polenta

I often just take a bag of Museli for breakfast out on trail in summer. in winter I prefer a hot breakfast but cant be bothered cooking all the time! This is one of my favourite breakfasts.

Safely rehydrating and dehydrating pure egg is almost impossible. Egg powders are ok but they are expensive and have a weird texture. I want real food, not weird food! I guarantee you will love this dish.

The Eggs - Place about 8 large eggs into a bowl and scramble. Cook 3/4C of Polenta in 3 Cups of water till soft. Allow to cool until room temperature. Combine Polenta and eggs with some salt, parmesan and chives. Whisk well.

Pour into a baking dish and bake in oven at 180 degrees for around 30 minutes, stirring half way through. Once cooled break into bite sized chunks, spread on your baking paper lined dehydrating tray and dehydrate (about 145 degrees) until dried. Store in the freezer.

Baked Beans - Any beans that have been pressurised/canned will work for this recipe. Mix canned beans with tomatoe paste, canned tomatoes, chilli, herbs, salt and pepper and simmer until beans and sauce have thickened slightly and the flavour has been imparted. Spread onto baking paper lined trays and dehydrate.