Dad,
In your meal planning I want to reiterate a couple of important guidelines to consider.
1- BE NATURAL. Please do your best to plan around natural ingredients. The less preservatives the better. I know that there are many different pre-packaged hiking foods, but I want to avoid those whenever we can. We will gain more nutrients and beneficial vitamins and minerals if we focus on natural foods.
2- NO "WHITE TRASH" INGREDIENTS. This includes absolutely destructive ingredients like High Fructose Corn Syrup (which is in almost every brand name product) and Enriched Flour. It is easy enough to use and find natural sugar when necessary and sprouted wheat or wheat products that are not Enriched.
Part of my reason for this is my personal diet. I found that I have mild allergies to sugar and to wheat, so I try to avoid ANYTHING with sugar or wheat in it. I will have sprouted wheat on occasion and will use a sweeter like Agave on my corn flakes, and I feel much healthier because of it.
As we get closer to departure day, I will modify my diet to better fit with what we will be eating in order to avoid any shock to my system.
My daily diet tends to be fairly simple: Fruit in the morning, black beans or lentils and a salad for lunch, turkey burger or fish and steamed veggies for dinner (and variations thereof), with snacks like carrots or fruit in between meals.
I will look for your guidance on modifying that to meet the high caloric needs of our PCT hike.
To the future,
Matson
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Re: Walking the Roadless Trails of the Sierra
Dad,
I am considering bringing the iPod, if for no other reason than to have some music when needed. Either that or I will teach myself the harmonica. ;-)
I will be taking Yerba Mate, probably Mendo Mate brand. It is an excellent source of non-caffeine energy and is great source of essential vitamins and minerals while on the trail. According to studies, each infusion of mate contains:
• Vitamins: A, C, E, B1, B2, Niacin (B3), B5, B Complex
• Minerals: Calcium, Manganese, Iron, Selenium, Potassium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc
• Additional Compounds: Carotene, Fatty Acids, Chlorophyll, Flavonols, Polyphenols, Inositol, Trace Minerals, Antioxidants, Tannins, Pantothenic Acid and 15 Amino Acids.
Of course it is not for everyone. Mate has a bitter taste that can be countered with sweeteners such as honey, but I tend to prefer it strait. It comes in loose leaf and bagged forms. I will be bringing the loose leaf version. All you do is pack it into a gourd, add hot water, and use a special straw called a bombilla. It can be easily packed in the backpack.
I will, of course, want to indulge in coffee at times and cocoa on occasion, though in July, that may not be as "relaxing" as it is for me in the cooler seasons.
Herb teas can be good as well, I would recommend bringing Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer, it is a good source of B-vitamins, and they have several fruit teas as well, including Lemon Zinger which is very good for helping the digestion process.
As for quantities, if I do not have coffee with you in the morning, will you reuse your bags? I expect that I will split my coffee intake with my mate mornings and the cocoa will be maybe a few days a week. Trader Joes has a natural cocoa that is tasty, but not quite Nestle. And I do have a large container of Nestle powder in my cupboard, from my days of sugar indulgence.
Looking forward to seeing your food supply list.
Talk soon,
Matson
I am considering bringing the iPod, if for no other reason than to have some music when needed. Either that or I will teach myself the harmonica. ;-)
I will be taking Yerba Mate, probably Mendo Mate brand. It is an excellent source of non-caffeine energy and is great source of essential vitamins and minerals while on the trail. According to studies, each infusion of mate contains:
• Vitamins: A, C, E, B1, B2, Niacin (B3), B5, B Complex
• Minerals: Calcium, Manganese, Iron, Selenium, Potassium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc
• Additional Compounds: Carotene, Fatty Acids, Chlorophyll, Flavonols, Polyphenols, Inositol, Trace Minerals, Antioxidants, Tannins, Pantothenic Acid and 15 Amino Acids.
Of course it is not for everyone. Mate has a bitter taste that can be countered with sweeteners such as honey, but I tend to prefer it strait. It comes in loose leaf and bagged forms. I will be bringing the loose leaf version. All you do is pack it into a gourd, add hot water, and use a special straw called a bombilla. It can be easily packed in the backpack.
I will, of course, want to indulge in coffee at times and cocoa on occasion, though in July, that may not be as "relaxing" as it is for me in the cooler seasons.
Herb teas can be good as well, I would recommend bringing Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer, it is a good source of B-vitamins, and they have several fruit teas as well, including Lemon Zinger which is very good for helping the digestion process.
As for quantities, if I do not have coffee with you in the morning, will you reuse your bags? I expect that I will split my coffee intake with my mate mornings and the cocoa will be maybe a few days a week. Trader Joes has a natural cocoa that is tasty, but not quite Nestle. And I do have a large container of Nestle powder in my cupboard, from my days of sugar indulgence.
Looking forward to seeing your food supply list.
Talk soon,
Matson
Walking the Roadless Trails of the Sierra
Son
I am listening to Mary Martin Stockdale. She plays the piano and she does it
with grandeur. I want to use her work for my slide shows.
I have a few tasks for you. For coffee I will be using the Folgers bags. One
bag will make two cups of coffee. I will also take herb tea bags. I am sure
we need to take hot coco. The task for you is to sit down and figure what
you will use.
I am preparing the list of everything we need and the quantities. I will
send you the list that I have in a couple weeks and then you can start
adding or subtracting. This list will be our road map to the weight we will
be carrying.
There is one thing you might want to consider. You should take the
Heartstart first aid and cpr. I just finished mine and it will help in
emergencies on the trail. The first aid class is 5 hours long and CPR was 3
hours.
I have experimented with my camp oven. The oven is a BackPacker lightweight
oven. I made some cornbread in it and it came out great. It will bake about
11/2 cups. We can bake cakes and other things in it.
Take the solar panel and try hooking up your electronic to it and see if
they will charge. One you do that send it to me so I can do the same.
See you later
Dad
I am listening to Mary Martin Stockdale. She plays the piano and she does it
with grandeur. I want to use her work for my slide shows.
I have a few tasks for you. For coffee I will be using the Folgers bags. One
bag will make two cups of coffee. I will also take herb tea bags. I am sure
we need to take hot coco. The task for you is to sit down and figure what
you will use.
I am preparing the list of everything we need and the quantities. I will
send you the list that I have in a couple weeks and then you can start
adding or subtracting. This list will be our road map to the weight we will
be carrying.
There is one thing you might want to consider. You should take the
Heartstart first aid and cpr. I just finished mine and it will help in
emergencies on the trail. The first aid class is 5 hours long and CPR was 3
hours.
I have experimented with my camp oven. The oven is a BackPacker lightweight
oven. I made some cornbread in it and it came out great. It will bake about
11/2 cups. We can bake cakes and other things in it.
Take the solar panel and try hooking up your electronic to it and see if
they will charge. One you do that send it to me so I can do the same.
See you later
Dad
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