Ingredients & substututions:
Wondering what something is? Can you use something similar? Where can you expect to find this product?
Chicken, Ham, Tuna, Seafood & More:
What to always carry in your "kitchen":
The good thing about freezer bag cooking is usually your food is going to be ready to go taste wise...but you never know how your taste buds might be day in and out. So carry with you in a small bag:
Building your "outdoor" pantry:
I always keep on hand in bulk or boxes:
Savory foods:
Deserts, Breakfasts:
Links for harder to find items mentioned above:
Many of the food items can be found at Wilderness Dining online.
Chicken, Ham, Tuna, Seafood & More:
- Canned chicken comes in cans from 3 oz size, to 5 oz size and also 10 oz's. The 5 oz size is good for 2 person meals. The broth in the can has good flavor for the meals. Do not drain it! You can also use the 7 oz foil packets of chicken if you like more chicken. Be sure to get the cans with pull tops. While you might think that cans are heavy, once empty they weigh about the same as the foil packets. Stomp the can hard with your boot, and it will fit nicely in your garbage bag.
- Ham comes in 7 oz foil pouches in some areas. You can also find it in small cans, look for pop tops.
- Tuna comes in foil pouches. 3 oz size is perfect for one person, the 6 oz size for two. Albacore is the better choice. If you are doing long days, use the oil packed version. Tuna steaks are now available in pouches.
- Salmon: The small pouches are great for 1 person-larger pouches are good for 2 persons. Canned can be used, make sure it is boned and skin free.
- Seafood: Shrimp, Clams, Crab, all come in small pouches.
- You can always substitute canned products. Just look for pop tops. The liquid can always be used in your meal, so no draining needed.
- Hamburger: Precooked and dehydrated at home. Directions are in the drying section.
- Freeze dried meat: There are many choices, and it can be an easy way to carry meat on long trips. Freeze dried meats are not inexpensive though, but if you are trying to save weight and space, they can be worth it. For a large selection online, see Wilderness Dining and Be Prepared.
- Couscous: It is tiny pasta, full of protein and carbs, and needs only water added. You can find whole wheat also. You can find this at grocery stores near the rice mixes, in bulk sections, natural food stores.
- Coconut Cream Powder:A high fat/calorie powder that makes coconut cream. We carry packets of it in our store. It is also found in Asian stores and some larger ethnic sections in grocery stores. Used in curry dishes to make creamier.
- Instant Hummus is a powder you mix with cold water, to make a spread. Made from Garbonza beans and spices. Can be found in natural or ethnic section at grocery stores, in bulk, natural food stores.
- Instant Refried Beans (Flakes): They come in brown or black bean. Can be found in bulk, in grocery stores, in natural food stores. Sometimes sold as "bean soup" mixes...but can be used to make refried beans. Use more water than the box calls for-as refried style, they can be very thick.
- Veggie Flakes/Dried Veggies/freeze dried veggies: Tiny shreds of dried veggies. Usually is a mix including carrots, celery, onions, parsley, sometimes also tomato, potato, peas, beans, etc. Found in the bulk sections of grocery stores or natural food stores, sometimes sold as "soup starters". You can also find this online through some retailers. You can make your own by dehydrating a 16 oz bag of frozen mixed veggies (small cut), then chopping up in a food processor or blender. Find them online at Wilderness Dining.
- Dried Bell Pepper Flakes: Dried, in small flakes, these rehydrate quite fast. Either in green or red. Some natural food stores carry, or at spice and herb stores, as well as online stores.
- Dried Onions: You want the smaller pieces (some places carry two sizes). Find at grocery stores, in bulk sections, at club stores, online, etc.
- Dried Tomatoes/Powder: You can find dried tomatoes (sun dried, no oil) in bulk herb sections & gourmet sections. If you cannot find powder, you can run tomato pieces thru a mill, coffee grinder or food processor. You can also dry tomato paste and powder it.
- Dried Carrots: Online, spice & herb stores, in natural food stores sometimes. If you dry your own, just run through the blender or food processor till flaked.
- Instant Milk Powder: Non-fat milk is widely found, whole milk (Nido®) can be found online, at Walmart Supercenters® or in gourmet cooking stores in the baking area. Wilderness Dining carries Whole Fat Instant Milk and Whole Fat Instant Milk. For higher protein, you can use soy milk powder, found in tubs in the soy milk section of your grocery store.
- Soy Milk Powder: Instant dairy milk can be used instead. Find the soy in your grocery store in tubs, in the soy aisle. Usually is 2 Tbsp per 8 oz of liquid, so in many recipes if it calls for 1/2 cup dairy milk powder, use 2 Tbsp instead. Much higher in protein than dairy. Better Than Milk® is an excellent brand.
- Freeze Dried fruit: Look in club stores and in your grocery store. Just Tomatoes® makes great freeze dried fruits. You can also find a limited variety at Trader Joe's, that changes often.
- Making Your Own Oatmeal: Take 1 minute "Quick" oats...and run through a blender or food processor till it looks like instant oatmeal. Use just the same as the instant packets, adding spices, sugar, fruit, nuts, etc.
- Low Sodium Chicken Bullion: The brand I use is Herb Ox®. This is one of the best commercial brands you can find. If you use it and like salt, add a pinch of salt to your food. At the start of recipe sections online, I have recipes for making vegetarian "chicken" bullion, which is very good. By using low sodium, you can control the salt to your liking.
- Salt: I use kosher salt in all my recipes, if needed. Sea salt is also nice to use. Table salt can be used, but tends to have a "saltier" flavor.
- Instant Rice: basic Minute Rice®. In any rice recipe you can use instant brown rice. As a hint I always add a Tbsp extra rice to the bag, as sometimes instant rice can be a tad soupy.
- Cheese Sauce Powder: You can find this in bulk at some grocery stores, or online. You can always sub cheese powder packets from mac and cheese boxes or use a cheese of your choice (1-2 ounces). Look in organic sections for faux cheese sauce powder as well.
- Salsa can be easily dried at home on a dehydrator (see drying section) but can also be found as easy prep mix online and an easy to make corn salsa.
What to always carry in your "kitchen":
The good thing about freezer bag cooking is usually your food is going to be ready to go taste wise...but you never know how your taste buds might be day in and out. So carry with you in a small bag:
- A couple salt and pepper packets from a fast food place.
- A couple packets of Parmesan cheese.
- I like a couple snack size baggies with some herbs/spices such as thyme, garlic, dried parsley, etc. If you are planning on making soups in a cozy...it never hurts to carry some instant mashed potatoes to thicken if it is too watery. If you are making a lot of rice dishes it doesn't hurt to carry a little extra instant rice, in case it is too thin. Or add about 2-3 packets Parmesan cheese to help thicken.
Building your "outdoor" pantry:
I always keep on hand in bulk or boxes:
- Instant Rice
- Couscous
- Instant refried beans
- Instant hummus mix
- Cheese sauce powder
- Dried minced onions
- Dried veggie mix
- Dried bell peppers
- Dried tomatoes, flaked
- Dried mushrooms
- Soup mixes
- Gravy packets
- Stuffing mix
- Pouches of tuna, salmon, cans of chicken, turkey, dried hamburger or flavored TVP.
- Crystal Light To Go® packets.
- Celestial Zinger® packets.
- Ramen noodle pouches.
- A
vast assortment of packets of condiments.I keep them in sandwich bags
by type. Whenever I eat out I always ask if I can have triple what they
give me.
Savory foods:
- Dried thyme, garlic, dried parsley, fresh ground black pepper, dried chives, dried rosemary, pizza and spaghetti blend herbs.
Deserts, Breakfasts:
- Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, pie spice blend.
- A favorite item for me is candied ginger. If you buy it in bulk, it is very affordable. Dice it up and add it to your oatmeal.
Links for harder to find items mentioned above:
Many of the food items can be found at Wilderness Dining online.
Online Sources:
- Ursack: An excellent way to protect your food from bears and many critters-and be lightweight. I have used mine for over 3 years and so far I haven't lost any food. Some will say things about how your food can get crushed...well, most of my food I am eating isn't fresh or liquid food so it really doesn't matter if a bear sits on my Ursack! Best of all, the Ursack bag is flexible, so you can fit your food, your spoon & cup, and your pot cozy inside at night. I use the liner that comes with it to put my freezer bags in (I put my breakfasts in one gallon freezer bag, lunch in another, etc...) and then put my garbage in another gallon freezer bag, that I slip between the liner and the Ursack at night. I sleep soundly at night now. I have heard animals attempting to get in quite often, but no winners so far!
- Gladware®: An excellent lightweight alternative to a bowl if you like them. They can take boiling water poured in, they have a lid, and you can put them in the dishwasher over and over. And they are super light! I like the Rubbermaid Takealongs also.
- World Spice: If you live in the Northwest this is a fun place to go to. They sell a few hard to find items, like tomato flakes, chopped shittake mushrooms, carrots and bell peppers.
- Just Veggies and Crunchies!: For freeze dried vegetables and fruits.
- For dried veggie mixes, check out health food stores and bulk sections. Many times it will be labeled as "Soup Starter" and contain: dried onions, carrots, garlic, parsley, and maybe peas, green beans, tomato flakes, potatoes, etc. Expect to pay $6-17 a lb- which is a bargain if you consider you will only need 1-2 tbl per recipe. Make sure it is in flaked variety so it rehydrates fast. If you dehydrate your own (using bags of frozen mixed veggies) be sure to flake in the blender or food processor after they are dry. In the Northwest, Fred Meyer's, WinCo and Skagit Valley Food Co-op are great places to find bulk items.
- Items such as dried refried beans, hummus mix, bulk couscous, bulk gravy mix, bulk stuffing, etc can be found in grocery stores such as WinCo that carry bulk. Health food and Co-Op's are great choices also.
- Fantastic Foods® They make refried beans, hummus and whole wheat couscous...a bit pricier than bulk, but readily availble.
- PCC Natural Food Markets A Northwest chain, they do carry many products and also bulk.
- REI sells Just Veggies.
Online companies that sell spices/baking ingredients/vegetables/trail foods:
- Wilderness Dining Carrying a wide range of outdoor foods and cooking gear.
- Amazon.com carries a wide range of hard to find and gourmet food items.
- American Spice Good selection of dried spices, cheese sauce powder and some dried vegetables.
- Minimus Fast service, individual size packets of almost any condiment.
- Harmonyhousefoods Dehydrated vegetables, Legumes, Flavored TVPS and more. One of the best companies around!
- Worldspice An excellent online store of herbs, with a neat retail shop at Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA.
- Mary Janes Farm Good Stuff!
