High calorie light weight food

[beth]

This is probably well in to Benson territory or nutritionist, but any one welcome to give their thoughts....

I'm thinking, well planning, on some long walks next year, duration up to 5 days, maybe longer if I can find a way of carrying enough calories that don't weigh too much. IIRC fat is the most calories per pound, but I am not eating blocks of lard! - that is the preserve of arctic explorers!
What I've made do with so far on my (few) trips out is pasta and small tins of fish, with homemade flapjacks (sort of chewy bar thing made with oats, sugar/honey and fat). But for more than a day or two the weight adds up too quickly.

So for meals I plan on dehydrating everything I can: veg - like grated carrot, meat - homemade jerky to avoid the commercial stuff is marinated in, maybe even fish! tho not sure it wont smell like Bombay Duck! That sort of stuff I can experiment with and kind of have a few ideas of what I can do. It's making sure I get enough of the right sort of energy that's my concern. I'll need to get close to 3000 calories with as little weight as possible.

Before I was diagnosed I loved the Honey Stinger Protein Bars because they gave a good energy hit that didn't just disappear within a half-hour. I believe it was the combination of honey - simple carbs, with the whey protein and some fat in there to keep the energy from just tailing off.

So rather than looking at just eating enough jerky/veg/rice/pasta I'm looking at a bit of technology to help me cut down my pack weight and keep up energy... The complication is I'm intolerant to many of the ingredients of the off-the-shelf energy gels and bars, which is where Benson comes in as you might well understand the issues.

I cannot have dairy in any form, so whey protein is out. And no maltodextrin - the longer acting sugar of choice it seems. There are loads of other protein powders and stuff out there from websites making all sorts of dubious claims. And statements like you can or cannot cook or heat up stuff with some of the powders in as it 'destroys' it?! So is there a way around this minefield, point me in the right direction please!

Hmm. I seem to have wittered on. Does that set the scene? thoughts...

 

[Guestly]

Hey Beth,

Just wanted to say WOW! You are an INSPIRATION! Talk about getting out there, I have to psyche myself up to lift my butt off the sofa at the moment.

Sorry - I wouldn't know where to start on diet - just wanted to say I think you are really cool to be planning this after all you have been through!

Looking forward to hearing all about your adventures!

Lishyloo x

 

[beth]

Nah, I'm just barking mad!

 

[katiesue1506]

Peanut butter is high cal, high protein and a jar of it would yield many servings per weight.

 

[BWS1982]

Peanut butter is high cal, high protein and a jar of it would yield many servings per weight.

This.

If you can tolerate Peanut butter, especially the natural ones that don't require refrigeration or mixing and have simplified/natural ingredients, it's somewhere around 4000 calories in a 25 oz jar.

You want the healthy fats, but yes, fats are 9 Kcal/gram, whereas carbs and protein grams have 4 each (alcohol has 7 calories/gram, but I don't recommend that one)...So MUFA's and PUFA's (Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) are best, as they're still fats, but have healthy benefits for your heart and skin and the likes, as well as usually contain nutrients too (peanut butter has a lot of magnesium, niacin, and Vit. E). It's also quick with spoons, and you can wash it down with a lot of water. Having a bit of sugar in there too will help (like 3-4 grams per serving).

Beyond that, fish is very healthy, but so low in fat it can have the opposite facet, and be lean and low in calories, but in most cases that's a good thing, as it's nutriional value per its weight is dense. I'd still take some if you can.

It's hard to say on protein bars and the likes, because they're often regional/national products. If you find one that has a focus on great taste and soy-based protein, you'll have higher calories (from the fats and sugars added for "great taste") and a lack of whey. Those might work, you'll have to shop around and see.

Nuts in general are akin to peanut butter, but can be difficult for Crohnies with the roughness.

Egg protein is another one, though, but often it's based on the egg white, which is nearly void of any fat.

If it were me, I'd center it around peanut butter and packaged items that I can buy locally that meet my criteria (your criteria in this case, no dairy, maltodextrin, etc..) and I'd probably pick some granola bars. We have Nature Valley ones here that have a few grams of fat because they contain granola (which has high fat for a "cereal") and are convenient.

Unfortunately, yes, some protein *can* be destroyed in heating, but it also depends on the protein and the source/temperature of heat and length of time of exposure, and it's actually hard to do. Really what's happening is usually denaturing, and its internal structure is "unfolding" (some bonds break)...Vitamins are more apt to be destroyed in heat though. Microwaving is the worst because of the radiation (the way it works is by making the water molecules vibrate, but as a scientist you know that ). This actually happens more often with powders than real foods because of the refined status of the powder, though, and all that's really happening is the protein is becoming more broken down, but not "destroyed" until a lot of heat for a long time (beyond what most of us cook for) does so. It happens less than it's often touted, though, and some foods, like eggs, actually get an increase in assimilation when you cook them. Raw eggs have less usable protein than cooked ones, but eventually, most nutritive value is decreased with over-cooking. I wouldn't worry so much about the "destruction" of any protein, it's difficult to do with "normal preparation methods".

Also to add, you can try some "no bake" options, I never tried it, but I knew people who made brownies and pie and the like with whey protein powder in recipes that don't call for cooking, only "setting"...you could try this with soy or egg or rice protein powder, but it will probably change the texture.

 

[Jeff D.]

I agree with everything Benson said. Base your meals around peanut butter. The great thing is that you can eat it while walking around and not have much mess.

If you can tolerate peanuts you may want to consider making a nut brittle, not just peanut, and throw some peanut butter in their as well. You may also want to make some of your own cashew butter as it will have a little more nutrition and a similar fat content as peanut butter.

If you get in a pickle you can always find some termites.lol Pound for pound they have more protein then chicken...yeah I wouldn't really recommend that one though, although they may be good chocolate covered. Sorry for that

 

[beth]

Termites in the peat bogs of Scotland! lol! I like that one.

I can't do peanut butter. However I can do cashew butter, at least in small quantities. So sounds like I need to do some proper volume testing! - mucg more expensive tho! Might have to see if I can find some cheap cashews as the commercial made stuff is pretty expensive per weight.

Thanks for the info on protein powders. I'll see if I can get hold of something at a sensible price and just experiment.

 

[My Butt Hurts]

I probably shouldn't even chime in here, I have no real knowledge of nutrition, but I did have a few ideas.
The first thing that I thought of was those prewrapped cheese slices. They don't have to be refridgerated. Since you can't have dairy, I didn't know if they make those in non-dairy form. OO! They do!
http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/non-dairy-cheese-460808
I can't tell if they need to be kept cold though.

When my husband goes hunting, he takes a little pop-top can of Vienna Sausages.
http://www.armour-star.com/products_vienna_sausages.html
You'd have to check the other ingredients of course, but it seems like high calories packed in a little container.
I am thinking that whatever kind of dry cereal you could eat might be light enough for you to carry a large amount of it.
Are you carrying water with you, or purifying your own along the way? Are you carrying toilet paper??
Sounds like a cool thing to do Beth , be safe and I wish you luck.

 

[dustydshook]

Beth I am planning on taking a one hundred mile hike on the appalachian trail through the shanandoah mountains, VA in june. Any advice or good ideas that you happen upon would be great if you can share. I buy a soy protien powder from wal mart that packs a lot of calories. I use it only because is is so hard for me to consume enough food to keep my motabolism on an even keel. I never thought about using on the hike but it is a good idea as is the peanut butter ( which i can eat till my hearts content. Some outfitting stores offer prepackage dried food but they are expensive. Fish is a good idea for protien but not enough calories or fat depending on the kind i guess. Let me know if you get any good ideas.

 

[beth]

Yes, MBH, there are cheese slices but pretty hard to get round here. We did find them on one trip up north tho. They do need refrigeration but then Scotland isn't exactly warm!

And yes, water is no problem, I have a filter that is pretty good, the burns and the peat bogs are always about with water in them. As to TP, yup I have to carry that in! but either burn it or bury it as appropriate. In winter there is a facility at the Cairngorm center to use special biodegradeable bags, and a container that can then be emptied into the sewerage system, so the snow-holers can 'pack out' everything. There is a major problem with high numbers of people in limited areas of the hills just 'going' in the snow which is pretty horrible when the snow melts in spring.... Just me in the wilderness is okay to bury responsibly.

dustydshook: I have some dehydrated soya protein mince, but it's pretty horrible, imho. I'm hoping Father Christmas is going to bring me a dehydrator in a few weeks so I can make my own dried meals and stuff - it's the way to go for getting your food ration down in weight.

Things I carry already are home-made bars called flapjacks here - I forget what they are called in the states as flapjacks to you are biscuits? Anyway, solid oat bars made with butter or margarine, with sugar. I have already experimented with adding things like ground sesame seeds - Tahini - for the protein and fat, largely use honey rather than sugar as it's much better for you than sugar and gives a more sustained hit. These are used to bump the calories up, probably about 400kc a bar, and give a on-the-move pick me up. absolutely vital when the energy is flagging in the pouring rain!

Have fun on the AP. Awesome looking trail.

 

[katiesue1506]

our flapjacks are pancakes (like your crumpets)

your biscuits are actually cookies to us

Our biscuits are your scones.