Compact Foods

[Flounder]

I have been a bikepacker for years, but I have a big trip coming up in less than two weeks. I'm doing a rather ambitious route on my Salsa Bucksaw in Iceland and have one section with an 8 day unsupported stretch I need to plan for. I'm starting to max out my carrying capacity.

Anyone have favorite ideas for high calorie, light and compact meals/snacks?

It has to be customs compliant.



 

[Racingguy04]

cheese

[Adam Alphabet]

*Nature Pro protein powder
*Organic salted cashews, organic salted sunflower seeds, organic walnuts, mixed together.
*Salted dried cured sausages, landjagers for example. Jerkys as well.

Your trip sounds amazing, I've been fortunate to tour in many beautiful places but Iceland is definitely way up there on the life list for desirable locations. Any info on your trip posted anywhere, or anywhere you'll be journaling?

Best of luck out there!
Adam.

[Flounder]

*Nature Pro protein powder
*Organic salted cashews, organic salted sunflower seeds, organic walnuts, mixed together.
*Salted dried cured sausages, landjagers for example. Jerkys as well.

 Any info on your trip posted anywhere, or anywhere you'll be journaling?

Thanks for those suggestions. Jerky has a pretty low calorie/ounce count, but I did pack several Epic Bars. I also packed almond butter packets.

Any other suggestions, throw them at me. I'm lugging about 6 pounds of camera gear so, this will get interesting.

As for journaling, I'm the senior editor for Overland Journal and Expedition Portal. If I get good images this trip will appear there.

[bmike-vt]

olive oil
eric's (revelate) cookie dough mix (can't locate the recipe)
 

[bmike-vt]

thought eric parsons posted his recipe somewhere here. here's a variation:
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=375.msg4351#msg4351

here's mike curiak's version:
http://www.adventure-journal.com/2011/10/dirtbag-gourmet-wanna-win-the-iditabike-it-starts-with-a-steady-diet-of-cookie-dough/

Scroll down:
http://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/blog/fast-food-on-the-trail/

[AlasdairMc]

Pringles are meant to be pretty high calorie, but are bulky unfortunately.

I'm a big fan of eating regular food where possible, so if you can get hold of pork pies (a British thing) then you'll do well. A mix of protein, fat, salt and carbs, in a tasty and portable package. 4 of them equals around 1100 calories.

[Adam Alphabet]

As for journaling, I'm the senior editor for Overland Journal and Expedition Portal. If I get good images this trip will appear there.

Look forward to this. Best of luck.

+1 on the pringles. Not too bulky if you're ok with eating them crushed up. Salt and Vinegar chips too! ahh the bikepackers diet.

[Wandering by Bicycle]

I'm putting in my vote for boxed mac and cheese with butter. If you boil about 11oz of water for one box, all the water is absorbed, so there's no draining. If you add too much water, or just want some more food, just add some dehydrated mashed potatoes to the mix. Light, cheep and lots of calories. For snacks, I'm a fan of Fig Newtons; filling, but not so good that you'll eat the entire package at one time.

[Area54]

Bonk breaker  bars for a prepacked snack, or osm bars (one square meal)

[Flounder]

I'm taking as many ProBars as I can fit. They pack 370 calories per 85 gram bar. I'm also taking Epic Bars which have 14g protein per bar, plus a little savory meat flavor.

I think I'll mix up a little cookie dough for a little morning kickstart.

Several years ago I started calculating my calorie intake by the number of hours of daylight and time in motion. I'll have 19 hours of daylight on this trip, and as a result will be covering more miles. That's almost doubled my normal calorie calculations for other trips. Should be interesting.

Bonk breaker  bars for a prepacked snack, or osm bars (one square meal)

[steelisreal4130]

Ha, Im leaving for Iceland on Monday for a three week fat bike/bikepacking trip with friend.

I'm in the came boat on the space/weight thing. I'm bringing way more Pro Bars than care to think about eating, and a bunch of backpackers pantry's for dinner.  I like tortillas as a carrier for just about anything (peanut butter and gram crackers, dried hummus, cheese etc...) for lunch. Packs pretty well and has a lot of calories.

The cookie dough sounds like a great idea. I might make up a batch before I leave.

Have a safe trip. Maybe well see you around Iceland somewhere.

[Flounder]

Small world. I'll be doing a big loop starting and ending in Vik. The plan is to ride counter clockwise around Katla into the Fjallabak and then down through Skogar back to Vik with some side trips. I'll be on the road on the 20th through the 2nd. Maybe I'll see you out there.

Save some tortillas for me.

Ha, Im leaving for Iceland on Monday for a three week fat bike/bikepacking trip with friend.

I'm in the came boat on the space/weight thing. I'm bringing way more Pro Bars than care to think about eating, and a bunch of backpackers pantry's for dinner.  I like tortillas as a carrier for just about anything (peanut butter and gram crackers, dried hummus, cheese etc...) for lunch. Packs pretty well and has a lot of calories.

The cookie dough sounds like a great idea. I might make up a batch before I leave.

Have a safe trip. Maybe well see you around Iceland somewhere.

[flanagaj]

I would say that Nuts (Protein + fat) and flapjack (carbs) type bars will give you both carb and protein.

I have a bag of nut and seed mix here on my desk and 100g provides

50g fat
28g protein
6g carbs
610 Kcal!

The fats will be good fats and the mix provides plenty of protein and large amounts of calories

[nepbug]

Hostess fruit/pudding pies always packed a good punch.  400-450 calories each and can be eaten in 30 seconds.

Before I found out I was celiac they were a constant staple in races for me.



Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[steelisreal4130]

I think there is a good chance we may see one another. We are riding around the Langjökull glacier and making our way over to Landmannalaugar/thorsmork. I'm flying back the on the 1st.

Small world. I'll be doing a big loop starting and ending in Vik. The plan is to ride counter clockwise around Katla into the Fjallabak and then down through Skogar back to Vik with some side trips. I'll be on the road on the 20th through the 2nd. Maybe I'll see you out there.

Save some tortillas for me.

[adelorenzo]

My top compact, calorie dense foods are:

- Pre-cooked bacon, 5.4 cal/g
- Trail mix with M&Ms 5.2 cal/g
- Peanut butter, 6 cal/g

A few other things I use:

- Olive oil, 7.9 cal/g (use it to boost calories in dehy dinners or other foods)
- Ground flax seed, 5 cal/g (use it to boost calories in oats)

Although I haven't used it yet, for an upcoming trip I will be making pemmican which serves up a whopping 6.5 cal/g in a very compact form.
 



 

[Flounder]

I imagine I'll be

I think there is a good chance we may see one another. We are riding around the Langjökull glacier and making our way over to Landmannalaugar/thorsmork. I'm flying back the on the 1st.

That's a big ride! I estimate I'll be in the Fjallabak/Landmannalaugar/thorsmork area around the 24th. Skogar around the 26th. I'm taking a crap load of camera gear, so I'm not planning to cover many miles per day.

[Flounder]

Well...I didn't starve, but it was close. My go-to food, one that will be with me on every big ride, was a jar of Justin's Maple Almond butter. It contained 14 servings at 200 per serving, with 6g of protein. It was such a treat when I was getting peckish. I also consumed quite a few Epic Bars and while I was seriously low on food by the final day, couldn't bring myself to eat the last two ProBars I had. I was so damn tired of picking flax seeds out of my teeth, I finally just chucked them. Never a ProBar again.

I also ate a Backpacker's Pantry Peanut butter oatmeal pack every other day, which had a good dose of calories, and every night I ate a two serving backpack meal. It was tough getting all of those (9 days worth) in my pack. I did have one meal of real food, and great food at that, at the hut station in Thorsmork. I was able to buy some $5 candy bars there to boost my supplies a tad.

I also ate a little sausage I had purchased right before departure. That was a nice lunch treat.

[Yagi]

ProBars.  Yecccchhh.  I'm with you on that one.  Justin's Nut Butter - yes, please.  (Kinda sounds weird.)  Only other thing I really don't like is dehydrated eggs. 

Your trip looked truly epic.  I'm looking forward to more pictures and write-up!