Food & nutrition

A near weekly dinner at home for Amanda and me during the colder months is chili. It’s particularly gratifying to make with DIY elk meat and homegrown peppers and tomatoes. It seemed like my chili recipe could be converted for backcountry use, and I asked David last spring to develop a recipe. On its maiden…

A classic oatmeal breakfast (or worse, an instant packet) consists of simple grains and sugar, and not much else. I find that it gives a quick sugar rush, but I’m often hungry within an hour or two. For last season, David developed a recipe that sticks better to my ribs, combining an oatmeal base with…

This dinner recipe is a sleeper. It’s much simpler than Peanut Noodles, and it lacks the obvious cheese and Frito goodness of the Beans & Rice, yet it’s rated as highly as both by our clients. Meal stats To increase the caloric density, which is already high, add more olive oil, more noodles, or more Parmesan.…

This Italian-themed dinner recipe is very filling, making it ideal for long days and late in a trip, when appetites are big. It’s unique and flavorful. Meal stats Like instant potatoes, polenta absorbs a significant amount of water, at a 4:1 volume ratio. So this meal cooks bigger than the two-ounce serving would suggest. Those…

This breakfast recipe has been a staple on our guided trips since 2015, when Amanda set out to create a savory dish to help balance sweet options like oatmeal or Quickstart Cereal. The ingredients and ratios have been tweaked multiple times based on feedback, and I believe we now have a real winner. Among 100+…

To get out of camp as early as possible, the most ideal breakfast item is an individually wrapped bar (or several): granola bars, energy bars, protein bars, breakfast bars, etc. They require no prep and can be eaten on-the-go. But there are downsides to this approach. First, they’re not very satisfying. Second, they probably constitute…