Duke of Edinburgh expedition - Food ideas

grumswifie

Hi there most knowledgable peeps,

Eldest of on her first DofE hike and looking for ideas for one night and two days food.
Quick cook porridge and bagels for breakfast. Plenty of hot chocolate and shortbread for snacks. Doesnt like soup, thinking about a quick cook pasta and pitta bread for evening meals. Have a wee toasting rack.
Her rucksack already seems to weigh a ton. Who knew sleeping bags would take up half of the bag! They wil have a stove to share.
All suggestions welcome

wiogs

Power bars.
Spaghetti or linguine - takes up less room per weight in bag
Dried fruit n nuts
Ditch the toasting rack, just need something to boil water, the shared stove

Lilyplonk

A bar of chocolate is a must when hiking!

Something like Opal fruits - can't think of their 'new' name - are good at helping to keep the mouth moist when liquids are at a premium. She can open the bag and stuff 'em in her pockets to save space in the rucksack - wouldn't do that with the chocolate though .

EstherH

The nuts and dried fruit idea is definitely right.super noodles or similar don't take up much room. Those sliced cheeses or triangles that don't have to be in the fridge will add some protein. Kendal Mint Cake if she likes it. Definitely chocolate although one bar has to be saved till the finish for emergency rations.

Try tying the sleeping bag outside the rucksack to the top of it.

Wait till she reaches her gold with five days to carry and provide for.

Esther x

Horace

You can buy packet camping food (good hearty meals in fact - the brand I use is Wayfarer) which can be boiled in the bag on a camping stove or eaten cold as they are pre-cooked. They take up less space than tins and are therefore a lot lighter. Biscuits get broken so don't pack them. Take Kendal Mint Cake - it is very sweet and can be used to give an extra energy boost and it is warming. Opal Fruits (I also cannot remember their new name) are bad because they make you thirsty so avoid them. Take nuts and seeds (high in protein). Do they need to take their own pots & pans too - in which case use billy tins as they can be used over the stove and for eating from.

Strap the sleeping bag to the top of the rucksack and to keep it dry cover it with a bin bag.

[Deleted User]

Flapjacks, marzipan, battenburg cake,brownies, porridge and chocolate raisins for breakfast, pasta and stir in sauces for luch,trail mix, nuts and dried fruit to snack on, hot chocolate, cream crackers/oatcakes and cheese, oatcakes and jam/chocolate spread/peanut butter, bars of chocolate for instant energy. If she's taking meat of any kind bear in mind that it will sit in a rucksack carried by a hot and sweaty person for the whole day unrefrigerated so best only on the first day if at all and PROPERLY cooked (DD1 runs D of E and they don't like kids with food poisoning) in the evening. I believe they need 3,000 calories each a day minimum, hope that helps, Lyn xxx.

Kendal Mint cake very good for instant energy but tends to melt in very hot weather.

nuatha

There's some useful suggestions and good advice in this thread

vikki_louise

I know nothing about hiking or camping but I saw a thing about those tins of dough that you turn into pan-a-chocolat wrapped around a stick and held over a fire. It looked tasty and a real treat (plus calorific!)

skogar

Avoid things in tins they weigh a ton. Go through the rucksack and remove everything that is not necessary. Usual problem is kids taking too much and struggling to carry it. Especially limit amount of clothes.

Food should be as light as possible. Wayfarers type meals are good but expensive. Quick cook pasta rice, instant polenta and instant mash are all good fillers. Only take the amount of food you need. Portion up into bags. Oatcakes last well.Cheese is goodand if free range (seem to have tbicker shells than some of the value eggs) and carried carefully in an eggbox I've found eggs survive pretty well. Nothad one go yet. Getsomeone who goes backpacking to lookat your kids rucksack.you'll find they remove a lot of it.
.

Definately do not need a toaster rack. IThe d of e kit list is good guidance but somethings on there can be cut back on. Nightware for example don't bother with it. Weighing things can be good motivation for leaving them behind. You can get away with taking meat. Vac packed bacon will be ok if it is not too warm till the evening of the firstnight. I freeze itbefore I take it so it is still defrosting.

[Deleted User]

If it's on the kit list, they need to have the equipment and clothing with them no matter what the weather. DD had Gold and Silver out last weekend with an external firm who actually wanted to fail a whole group because one of thier number didn't have a couple of items on the kit list actually with them and that would have meant that all 6 failed. It may seem like excess weight in the rucksack but you wouldn't want the youngsters tofail because of not having an item with them that was listed. DD managed to buy and send said items on the next minibus down and the group passed with flying colours, would have been a shame to fail for want of a sunhat, yes?

skogar

The tins of dough type things sound similar to dampers (plenty of recipes online) which are very cheap to make SR flour and water plus sugar if you want sweet ones. Unfortunately d of e groups usually use stoves for cooking not. fires.