I can't wait until all of the food is packed for this trip....I finished up about 40 meals of oatmeal today-that just scratches the surface.  My mind swirls around questions like "Is that going to be enough?"  "Is that too much?"  "How much more of that do I need to buy?"  "How much is it here versus somewhere else?"  "Will we like that enough to eat it so much?"  "How much olive oil is 1/2 ounce?"  "Is this nutritious enough?"  "Should we cook this in a bag, or in the pot?"  "How many zip-lock bags will I end up using?!"       Oi....

Well, I must admit that I've gotten good at being an assembly-line worker.  Music makes all the difference (Thank you Brandi Carlile, Mariah Carey, Josh Groban and Goo Goo Dolls).  :)

Even-though it's a lot of work, it is empowering and satisfying to be in charge of what we're eating, instead of being at the mercy of the convenience store.  I think especially when we get to those resupplies where we've decided to buy everything, we might be even more thankful for the amazing resupplies we packed ourselves. Such good quality food...but we shall see-in about three weeks!!

Yesterday, the 16th, marked three months until take-off...

For the last few weeks, (not constantly, but here and there) I've been wading through backpacking recipes, trying to figure out what kind of food to pack for this journey.  I've read a lot about food on the trail and what some people's preferences are...Some simply buy all of their food along the way, some diligently pack everything at home, dehydrating food for months on-end.  As with most choices in life, there are pluses and minuses to both of these.  We need some balance here.

Jason and I kind of feel like we fall in the middle of these two choices, and are therefore planning accordingly.  We'll pack some of our food at home (things that are harder to find), and then leave our bodies to decide what we'll pick up along the way.  The health of our bodies is worth the cost of shipping and time.

I value nutrition over convenience, so I'm willing to put in some work to make sure that atleast part of our diet is something that I can be proud of.  For five months, I'm not willing to only eat poptarts, snickers, ramen noodles, and a host of other "convenience foods" mostly found in the mini-marts along the way...so dried vegetables and fruits, probiotics, whole grains-these are what I'm shooting for in this pre-pack portion of our preparations.  I even know how to sprout and soak, so watch out backpack world!   

Last time we went shopping, we bought some different boxes of Couscous and picked one out for dinner.  We both ate one bowl with salsa, one with spaghetti sauce, and one just plain.  Then we gave each dish a star-rating that I penned onto the box for later reference!  I don't know!  We have to start somewhere and why not taste-test some of these recipes first!

One of my favorite tips for cooking on the trail involves putting together a meal in a zip-lock bag at home in which you just have to pour hot water into on the trail, and allow to rehydrate/cook.  There is some waste involved, that's for sure-I balance this thought out with the idea that we'll probably generate less trash than we would if we'd be at home for the same time period.  But no pot to clean and simple preparation makes these meals more than just enjoyable to eat!

Since I'm gathering information still, do you have any favorite backpacking meals that you'd like to share with us?  Easy dessert recipes are highly welcome... 

Links:
Freezer bag recipes                
Freeze-dried and Dehydrated food items