Customer Reviews

Lipsmackin' Vegetarian Backpackin'

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My S/O and I took our first serious back-country trip in more than 15 years last week. We relied completely on this book for meal planning and food preparation. We were not disappointed. The recipes are all written in clear language, and are easy to follow. Packable trail instructions are available on-line, which helps with cooking in remote campsites. Of course, we could not try every single recipe -- but here are some of the best ones we tried. We had Olympus Oatmeal for breakfast every day. The Brunswick Stew was excellent, although it took a long time and lots of fuel to rehydrate the dried beans. The Vegan Super Hero Burritos were our favorite. The Whole-Food Granola Bars and Horse Thief GORP (we used unsweetened chocolate chips instead of carob chips) saw us through some long days of paddling and hiking. Our favorite snacks were the Energy Balls. We fought over the last one of those! I would warn others that many of the recipes call for prepackaged foods, such as Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice. People with specific health concerns should check the contents of these items before they use them. Fortunately, Zatarain's makes a low-sodium version of Red Beans and Rice, which we used. Otherwise, this is an excellent book. You can truly trust the recipes. I recommend it highly.

I really enjoyed the first book by Tim and Christine Conners and now the couple has come out with a second book in the Lipsmackin' Backpackin' series that is completely vegetarian. Recipes include Fabulous Fry Brownies, Miso Madness, Algonquin Apple Leather and a series of bread recipes that would make any backpacking trip more enjoyable. There are great dishes for each meal time and some wonderful GORP ideas. The book has a range of drinks, fruit leathers and decadent desserts. I was pleasantly surprised when I found a recipe for Coleslaw which is dehydrated at home and rehydrated on the trail.

The recipes are tested numerous times to ensure that they turn out well on your adventures. The gang here did a little of the testing to help out. We even found that the Green Dragon Pad Thai tastes great once you get past its vibrant color. Trailside instructions are printed with each recipe and again in the back of the book. The packable trailside cooking instructions are perfect for placing in the zipper bag with the food contents. The cut-outs appear in the same order as the recipes for easy finding.

Although Lipsmackin' Vegetarian Backpackin' is a meatless collection of good eats, it is a book easily enjoyed by all.

This book is a God send for a Vegitarian Backpacker and especially one into lightweight Backpacking!
The food really taste good and is so simple to make.

We really enjoyed several of the recipes on a recent three nite pack trip to Porcupine Mountains, MI. Burritos, Cous Cous and Brownies made from dry ingredients available at grocery store made for really great almost gourmet and inexpensive trail dinners. Many recipes require a dehydrator which we lack, but it seems like any serious backpacker should consider buying one to save big bucks on food. This book is not just for vegetarian or Vegans. Three of four in our group are defintely meat eaters but dinners especially were loved by all of us. I actually ended up making some recipes at out of leftovers from trip and they tasted good even in the comfort of my own kitchen at home.

I was invited to go backpacking with some friends for 4 days. I went to my local big town (Redding, CA) and was shocked to not find Mary Janes Farm food anywhere. The other vegetarian food sounded really terrible. After being a vegetarian for 10 years, I have vowed to never eat Pasta Primavera again!

So I got out the book and found many yummy recipes. The food took me a long, long time to prepare, but most recipes seem to take me a long to prepare the first time I cook them. So I'll blame myself for that one.

When I got to the campsite, my meals were the hit of the group. They were intrigued with my burritos and other yummy foods.

This is a great book. I would suggest that you set aside a day the first time you prepare the food, and enjoy the process. I was a bit rushed, but I am already planning my meals for next months trips.

BTW, you'll need a dehydrator. I got mine dirt cheap at Wal-mart. You don't need a fancy one.

All in all, this is a great book. Thanks.

This book is full of quick and easy recipes that taste good. My family used recipes from this book on a 9-day road trip and saved a ton of cash by not eating out every day. The easy clean up and little need for cooking equip make this a great camping cook book.

This is such a good book, not only for vegetarian trail food, but for at-home cooking as well. Simple instructions, common ingredients, quick and easy preparation - not to mention great taste!

Highly recommended!

Although this book is targeted towards vegetarians I found it very useful for a vegan! The only issue that I had were that some recipes are set up that you "pre-make" something at home and then finish it on the trail (sometimes it's just add hot water). This is only an issue if you are trying to hike light and don't want to carry around a cookbook. I often had to photocopy the page and put it in with my ingredients. Overall though it's a well rounded cookbook and covers breakfast too! I would suggest this if you are planning an outdoor trip and want to save money on those pre-made instant add water meals that can cost a fortune!

This i a nice little book for the avid vegetarian backpacker. It is well organized and well written. I gave it as a gift to my girlfriend, so as of yet i have not tried any of the recipes.

Christine and Tim Conners did a great job putting this book together. Not just a collection of appealing trail food recipes, it gives tips on where to buy ingredients as well as other items of interest to the backwoods hiker/camper. I was privileged to be asked to contribute some of my own trail food ideas to this book. In my discussions with Christine, she told me that a lot of long distance hikers didn't like to use a dehydrator - something I can't identify with since my dehydrator has been invaluable in preparing for backwoods treks. Christine included a humorously written article about the benefits of the dehydrator. Many of the recipes include short notes from the contributors on the recipe and its use on the trail. If I had to pick one negative of the book, it would be that the title includes the word "vegetarian". I would think this may turn off the meat eaters. The book will appeal to all paddlers and trail hikers who want good tasting, unique, yet easy-to-prepare food. I own several trail food cookbooks, including the Conners other book, Lipsmackin' Backpackin'. I tend to reach for Lipsmackin' first when I am preparing for a trip and now I'm sure their new book will get just as much use from me.