Food Facts: Backpacking Food Facts

To begin, it is helpful for backpacking to choose "calorie dense" food.

For one thing, it provides the higher calories needed for being active and outdoors in the elements. It provides more strength and more staying power. It is helpful in cold weather. It also requires less space per useful calorie inside the backpack.

Individually, the items appear to be not particularly appetizing alone. However, the goal of having "calorie dense" food for backpacking isn't entirely unappetizing. Once you choose to fortify a recipe from the "calorie dense" list, you have seen how to do it.

The "calorie dense" foods list appears here.

Notice that candy and cookies didn't even make the list?

That is the meaning of empty calories.

I have added the almost "calorie dense" selections of cheese and of chocolate because cheese and chocolate are at least more "calorie dense" than cakes, cookies, or other candies and cheese or chocolate are an easy add-on if packaged well or already included in a recipe.

Many backpackers will select sausage, cheese, crackers and chocolate. Nevertheless, you ought to have actual "calorie dense" food for longer treks or for extreme weather.

I suggest, begin by selecting "calorie dense" food items from the list for add-ons to be added to side dishes and entrees.