Preferred mid day Menus

[RockyMountainHi]

What are your mid-day meals?  Is it a light breakfast or just caffeine and then sandwiches or do you go with trail mix, energy bars (and which ones you prefer & why), etc.?  I have gone to a homemade trail mix of cashews, smoked almonds, dried cherries, dried blueberries (Costco carries them), dried strawberries and bits of English toffee (bulk item at grocery store).  I will typically bring a chunk of salami and several energy bars.  My favorite flavor is the Trio bar (lots of nuts and about 230 calories) and will also use Wilderness Athlete, but the taste is less than ideal.

 

[mallard79]

Breakfast is usually a pop tart or granola bar and a soda sinceI don't drink coffee. Mid day, if we actually take a break, is beef jerky, granola bars and some kind of energy drink like 5hr energy or maybe just gatorade or water if I am feeling good. I tend to snack at almost every stop we make so that there is no long breaks in hunting and I feel it helps me keep my energy level more even throughout the day.

 

[COLOelkman]

For me it depends on whether I'm road camping or packing in.  If road camping and staying out all day, I prefer making a real sandwich with a firm roll (vs bread) and triscuits or other cracker.  If I've packed in, then it's usually jerky, "energy bars", trail mix, apple, candy bars, and raisins.  They also now sell individual serving size cup of peanut butter that is great on a roll or tortilla.  Lunches are certainly more challenging when packing in since it's more limited by weight.  Costco also now carries a product similar to Jerky but it's thicker steak strips which I like the texture better than jerky.

 

[farmboy]

Energy bars and pb&j sandwiches

 

[rose-n-arrows]

What we ran out of on the Idaho backpacking hunt:  Snickers, Pepperoni, Jerky, granola bars, fruit chews, corn nuts, cheese nips.  What we came home with: Clif Bars, Milton's trail mix bites, fig newtons.  Granted, we packed way too many Clif bars and trail mix bites.  The pepperoni and cheese nips always hit the spot.  We also carry emergen-c for a nice boost.

 

[RockyMountainHi]

So where are the Peanut Butter, Bananas/Honey and Bacon sandwich lovers?


My partner turned me on to wraps for sandwiches and I will share a couple of the versions--pretty darned tasty and doesn't squish like bread.


The Thanksgiving--flat wrap, cream cheese spread, turkey breast and cranberry sauce or jelly.


The Domino Delivery--flat wrap, pizza sauce, salami, pepperoni, mozarella and/or pepper jack cheese


The Elk Club--flat wrap, mayo, sliced peppers & onions, turkey breast, ham slices, roast beef/elk thinly sliced, pepper jack cheese, spicy mustard


The Greenie--flat wrap (spinach flavored), mayo, mustard, turkey breast, roast beef, pickled asparagus spears, sliced red/yellow peppers, gouda cheese


The options are infinite and these have been a hit when we hunt out of a base camp.  Make them after dinner, put them in ziplock bag and grab them at 0darkThirty.....

 

[RockyMountainHi]

What we ran out of on the Idaho backpacking hunt:  Snickers, Pepperoni, Jerky, granola bars, fruit chews, corn nuts, cheese nips.  What we came home with: Clif Bars, Milton's trail mix bites, fig newtons.  Granted, we packed way too many Clif bars and trail mix bites.  The pepperoni and cheese nips always hit the spot.  We also carry emergen-c for a nice boost.

+1 on the Snickers--gotta have them

 

[elkcrazy]

I also go with the peanut butter bacon honey sandwiches, granola bar, and an energy drink.

 

[Kmbingham92]

Peanut butter and bacon sandwiches ever since Cam Hanes wrote an article and talked about them. I love them and they are packed with the right stuff. Only good for about 5 days in a row. I have tried to eat one a day for 7 days on a pack trip and they dry out and do not taste any good anymore. I have started taking the energy smoothie bars which are packed with all the good stuff. Trail mix and jerky are always in my pack as well. If I am at a base camp I usually eat my main meal for the day between noon and 3 PM. Usually consists of Mountain House meals.

 

[enigmatic]

Couple of Bud Lights and then its back to the hillside...only recommend this for highly tuned athletes such as myself, that trains with 12oz curls.  If I must eat something, I will forage in a loin cloth until I can capture a squirrel or other light meal like frog or perhaps a brook trout...don't want to get all bloated and heavy for the evening outing!

 

[radmansciteach]

here is the assembly line...throw em' in the pack with a few Cliff bars and I'm off!

 

[linds1007]

OK I have to ask what is the importance of the bacon with pb&j?I havent heard that one.

 

[Bucklucky]

Most of the time its jerky and fruit snacks. If I take time I will throw a sandwich in , more than likely Peanut Butter and jelly.

 

[RockyMountainHi]

OK I have to ask what is the importance of the bacon with pb&j?I havent heard that one.

A lot of people swear by it, but not for me (sounds like Cameron Hanes is a fan of them).  Peanut butter is not my favorite after growing up with peanut butter & lettuce sandwiches (OK, my mom had a weird sense of taste ??? ) and then adding bacon to it (which I love with eggs) just doesn't seem appealing.  I gotta have the sweetness of jam to get the PB down.

 

[Kmbingham92]

On the mountain it's all about caloric intake and as much protein as you can get. Peanut butter and bacon get the job done? How many just use bread? I toast my bread and let cool before adding the peanut butter. How many days does everyone eat them in a row?

 

[archery288]

I usually eat oatmeal or a cereal bar in the morning with some coffee.  Then I'll snack throughout the morning if I have time on a granola bar, power bar, or something like that.  Then for lunch I usually eat a sandwhich if I'm hunting from a base camp each day and some beef jerky or something of that nature. 

If I'm in the backcountry I have made freeze dried meals for lunch depending on how many I brought.  Somedays I'll eat peanut butter and crackers or something along those lines.  Then mid-afernoon I usually eat a protein bar.  Then wait until dinner for my mountain house meal. 

 

[john503]

MRE.....or Jerky and trail mix....

 

[Backpack Hunter]

I'm always packing in so it is usually peanut butter and bacon tortillas for the first couple lunches then Mountain House meals from then out. I snack with homemade trail mix or bars quite frequently as well.

 

[dplumlee12]

Hard to go wrong with energy bars and PB&J!

 

[Jimbow65]

This it the contents of a food bag for one day.
-2 oatmeal packs for breakfast and coffee for breakfast.
-dark chocolate cover coffee beans
-Balance bar
-3-cookies
-trail mix bag with almonds, peanuts, pineapple slices, dates, Brachs candy pumpkins, yogurt covered raisins.
-Drink mix, also included but not shown Starbucks via iced coffee.
-pasta and salmon for dinner with a rice crispie treat for dessert. and tootsie rolls for snacks t/o the day
The dinners changed each day to maybe mashed potatoes and tuna, or tuna salad on a tortilla shell. or rice and salmon or spam on bagel.
each bag weighd about 1 1/2 pounds
the cost was about the same as eating at home.