Hiking Food

The summertime is meant for fun. One of the fun activities I love is hiking. There are so many enjoyable hikes near where we live and where we go for vacation. They are all part of the Rocky Mountains. The views are so inspiring. There are short hikes and long hikes. There are easy hikes and demanding hikes. Each requires easy to organize food that provides healthy sustenance and the right amount of calories for the length and difficulty of the hike.

I always tend to over eat on hikes because you snack along the trail to help replenish the energy you have used up as you climb. It is easy to munch on protein bars, granola, nuts, dried fruit and chocolate candies. None are bad alone but cumulatively the calories can quickly add up!

As part of my Lifestyle shift to Healthy Solutions I thought it would be important to think about my up coming hikes and pre-plan the food I would eat on hikes. The criteria has to be that the food needs to be portable and "durable". It has to be tasty and provide a variety. There has to be enough to last through out the journey...up...and...down the trail. The key was to not deny myself anything or make me feel deprived of traditional hiking foods. I also wanted to create a number of menus to fit different hikes and to also create variety of choices. One thing I really know about myself is that I get bored when I have to eat the same thing over and over again...sure red flag for me to find the excuse to go "off plan". So I spent some time thinking through the options and planning to calories between 600-500 calories and then lighter menus from 500-400 calories, depending on the magnitude of the hikes. Check out my following posts that outline these menus...let me know what you think and if you end up using any of them! Oh, and don't forget to take lots of water for the hike!