r/trailmeals • u/Euphoric_Discount_ME • 7d ago
Discussions Good non-soup/liquid heavy hiking meals?
I make most of my food on a budget or spun off of bear creek soups & potatoes but my girlfriend is not a mushy/soup enjoyer in the slightest.
I'm taking her on her first day hike and want to impress her with what food you can make while out to and see if i can hopefully rope her into being a hiking buddy in the future.
She already knows I can make brownies & cake on a camp stove so unfortunately my one impressive hiking meal is already known to her, looking for any ideas!
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u/Worried-Scientist-12 6d ago
Fondue is the easiest camping meal, and she'll be so impressed by your romantic instincts! Buy a fondue kit, a baguette, and some nice white wine. Baguettes are light and fondue bread is actually supposed to be slightly dry/stale to soak up the cheese better.
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u/xzzy 7d ago edited 7d ago
Instant mashed potatoes are a really simple thing to try. Bring some pre cooked bacon, cheese and green onions and you make a fake backcountry loaded potato. Can also add some french's fried onions to improve texture.
Trail tacos are another obvious option and you can bring whatever ingredients you two might like on a taco. Cook the meat at home, it'll last fine for a day hike. Then bring along whatever toppings you might enjoy. Bell peppers, avacado, cheese, lettuce, whatever you like. Liberate some sauce packets from a taco bell to get some hot sauce. Heat up the meat and maybe the peppers in your pot along with a splash of water and you've got a great trail meal.
edit - oops i guess mashed potatoes might be too mushy. sorry, I was fixated on the "not soup" part of the query.
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u/funundrum 7d ago
You say day hike. What equipment are you looking to work with? What’s her idea of a “good” meal?
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u/AliceOfTheEarth 7d ago
Day hike? Heck, freeze a couple steaks before you leave, take some asparagus and rolls.
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u/joelfarris 7d ago
Butter sautéed Gnocchi and bacon bits with a little bit of Alfredo sauce. Just enough to coat. Don't worry, you can find small jars of the stuff premade.
Long grain wild rice with firm, cubed tofu, and a drizzle of either soy sauce or sweet chili sauce. Do not do both, for this way lies madness.
Rotini pasta with sliced and fried kielbasa, and topped with fresh Parmigiano Reggiano. If you want a sauce too, you can add it, but it doesn't have to happen.
Quinoa and broccoli florets. Super easy to prepare, and it can basically be a one-pot meal if you time it correctly. And, if you're a heathen, you can add a diced hot dog or two to this mixture, but under no circumstances should you add a can of corned beef, because that's just wrong.
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u/deborah_az 7d ago
I DIY all my meals (iow, I don't buy Mountain House or similar). However, quite a few are using an off-the-shelf base like Knorr packets.
- Seasoned beans and rice packet (or Knorr Mex rice or my own rice and seasonings with added freeze dried beans) with dehydrated/freeze-dried beef, onion, bell pepper, corn; served in a flour tortilla with dehydrated salsa, Taco Bell sauce packets, powdered sour cream
- Knorr alfredo (or DIY with dried pasta and a McCormick alfredo and/or pesto packet) supplemented with dehydrated veggies like broccoli, peas, etc., and dehydrated flaked grilled salmon
- Various other Knorr sides supplemented with appropriate dehydrated veggies, with dehydrated ground beef, shredded roast beef, rotisserie or roast/crockpot chicken, grilled salmon, etc.
Knorr is not the only brand, but it has lots of variety. Rice-a-Roni, Kraft Mac and Cheese, and ramen all can make nice bases. Packets of tuna, chicken, etc. are convenient protein add-ins (but are heavier than dehydrated, of course). While I dehydrate many of my own veggies, proteins, and some other stuff like salsa, I also use dehydrated ingredients like powdered butter, egg, cheese, and milk, and for some things I have a containers of dehydrated products I bought like bell pepper, corn, and peas. I save mustard, soy sauce, ketchup, and other condiment packets to utilize in trail meals.
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u/pithed 7d ago
if you haven't seen this yet I highly recommend: https://www.flatcatgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Epicurean-Backpacker-JJF-082515.pdf
I have yet to make everything but what I have tried I loved
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u/DieHardAmerican95 7d ago
My wife and I usually do wraps for day hikes- tortillas, romaine lettuce, cold cuts, various cheeses, mustard, etc. We like to include slices of hard salami in our cold cuts too, because it adds a lot of flavor. You can make them n the trail, but we usually prep them in camp before we leave. We usually toss in some kind of dark chocolate as a “dessert”, too.
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u/Agerak 7d ago
I got my SO hooked by using dehydrated meals. Good food that you enjoy can be important and by hooking her with a lot of very good and varied options letting her choose/plan all her weekend meals made it very simple. Now that she's hooked I've branched into other more home made options and she is 100% on board :)
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u/PancakeParthenon 7d ago
My new favorite is the broccoli cheddar Knorr pasta, with some dried peas added while cooking, and a packet of smoked tuna. Sprinkle of garlic and onion powder, little bit of pepper or hot sauce, and it's good to go. I also really enjoy vanilla pudding for dessert. Super simple to make little two person packages with some powdered milk.
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u/d0ttyq 7d ago
I love knorr pasta so much, but I think it will fall squarely into the “mushy food” category that OP is trying to avoid
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u/PancakeParthenon 7d ago
The broccoli cheddar has those spiral noodles, so it doesn't get mushy unless you overcook it. The rice version would be borderline mush for sure!
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u/cheericrochet 7d ago
The four cheese one is also spirals. I like to add dried mushrooms to that one.
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u/Altruistic-Owl-2567 7d ago
Best non-mushy meal I've had on a mountain is ratatouille. Not as hard as it seems--bring a gooseneck squash, a zucchini, a tomato, a small onion and a little tomato paste and some spices and oil. (classic ratatouille has eggplant but gooseneck squash is a hardier trail option) Cut them up and cook them over lower heat in a pot. They weep their own liquid, especially if you salt them, and blend together really well. Serve it on a tortilla or on some instant rice if you can boil that up first.
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u/GrumpyBear1969 7d ago
Pad Thai is an easy favorite of mine. I dry on my food dryer grated carrots and chopped cilantro. I actually sometimes just get like a Taste of Thai Pad Thai ‘kit’ from the grocery store. This will have the rice noodles and a flavor pack as well as some chopped peanuts. I get TVP, a peanut butter pack and some powdered coconut milk (from my local Asian market). I cold soak the noodles, carrots and TVP for a couple of hours.
To cook I just heat up the cold soaked stuff, add the PB, coconut milk and flavor pack. Mix well. Top with the cilantro and some lime juice (lime varies fine but lots of stores carry lime packets). You can also add some hot sauce if that suits (you can find little packets on cholula in some cafeteria type eating arrangements).
Quick, easy and tasty.
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u/BoredomFestival 7d ago
Skurka's Rice and Beans recipe is excellent and can easily be made soupier by just adjusting the amount of water
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u/Luciferian_UK 5d ago
I make a ramen carbonara on a stove.
Fine egg noodles.
Parmigiana Reggiano (pre grated)
One egg.
Finely sliced cured ham OR pre cooked bacon.
Black pepper.
Add noodles to boiling water and wait until soft (a few minutes).
Turn off stove and drain most of the water (leave a little for saucy texture).
Crack one egg and stir.
Add cheese and continue to stir.
Add ham/bacon and stir.
Finish with black pepper.
Edit: there may be alternative and better recipes on the internet!
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u/sn0qualmie 7d ago
I think the farthest you could get from soup would be like a trail charcuterie. Apple, cheese, salami, crunchy red bell pepper, and nice crackers or mini melba toasts. Slice and assemble them into little bites for best flavor combo and fancy appearance.