Customer Reviews

Simple Foods for the Pack, Second Edition

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Tired of oatmeal for breakfast, gorp for lunch, and Ramen noodles for dinner? Tired of buying those expensive dehydrated meals that turn out like soggy cardboard? This book might just save you from the trail food blahs. It is full of interesting, ususual foods such as crab a la king and polenta cakes. The recipes are simple and trail smart (a few do require weighty canned foods, though, and a few strike me as a bit too time-consuming to be very practical). This cookbook is mostly meat-free, except for a few seafood dishes. If you want dishes with meat, you might want to take a look at the cookbook put out by the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). A final word of warning: some ingredients can be hard to find. In putting them together, I have made trips to Middle Eastern and Asian groceries, health food stores, and backpacking stores, not to mention many of the large supermarkets in my area. Still, I have to say that the results were worth the running around.

I love the oatmeal hotcake recipe in this book. The ingredients can be difficult to find. It does offer alot of veg-friendly meals (which is important to me). The bonus here ... it's meat-free but still with good protein. It does offer menu options and lots of helpful tips ... basic first aid, even natural remedies. It's very much a helpful cookbook with detailed instructions on preparation, including a good list of camp cooking needs. I recommend this, particularly for health conscious eaters and vegetarians.

Having tried these recipes both at home and on the trail, I am very pleased. Well flavored, very generous serving sizes using natural foods that are easily packed and prepared on site. Recipes are usuable for regular one pot cooking, bakepacker cooking and other styles that tease your tastebuds and fill your tummy. Great for backpacking, sea kayaking, canoeing,and for guided trips.