Lunch ideas

[Philtrum]

Picking up on the current "Breakfast ideas" thread:

What do you eat for lunch while out tripping?

My standard for travel days is beef jerky, tortillas (if solo) or bannock (if with a companion), and trail mix.
Before I added trail mix I'd lose 3 pounds in 10 days. Now I don't gain or lose at all.

For layover days, sometimes the above, sometimes scrambled eggs, and sometimes one of the extra freeze-dried dinners I always bring "just in case."

 

[Canotrouge]

Lunches are pretty simple for us. Cheese, crackers, dry meat(sausage, jerky) soupe(in a thermos) tea. Some time on short trips, we'll have some sort of salad, some time couscous, sandwiches... Quite a bit like home.

Really we eat pretty much like at home. But we do dehydrate a lot of meals.

 

[Holmes375]

In the warm season I like tortillas with peanut butter and honey - makes a nice roll up sandwich. I usually munch some dried fruit and edam cheese, too. Weird combo I suppose but its easy, friendly to my taste buds and sticks with me for a while.

Colder weather trips I switch to soup, cheese and hardbreads. Hot soup is a great midday pick-me-up on a cold wet paddlin' day.

 

[Robin]

I always have two granola bars, and maybe a piece of left over fish from the night before. Sometimes I stop and make a fire heat up some water and make some Idahoan Instant potatoes with some bush coffee, then a nap. Just half a Idahoan package mixed with some boiling water is enough for lunch, a whole package for dinner.

Beef Jerky and trail mix are good, but I always over indulge, especially the trail mix. Stop paddling, grab some mix, stop paddling to wash it down, stop paddling for more...

I have never made bannock but hope to this year. Make it in the evening for the next days lunch.

 

[snapper]

Along with the choices already mentioned, I've begun using tuna wrapped in foil. Easy to spread on a pita and adds another option to the easy to prepare lunch menu. Not particularly fancy but it certainly fills the belly; at least for me. YMMV.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[Alan Gage]

Beef Jerky and trail mix are good, but I always over indulge, especially the trail mix. Stop paddling, grab some mix, stop paddling to wash it down, stop paddling for more...

I quit taking it for that very reason. It's too easy to just keep shoving it in your mouth.

I have never made bannock but hope to this year. Make it in the evening for the next days lunch.

I've never tried cooking bannock ahead of time. I noticed in Hoop's videos he makes up enough for a few days at one time. To those who have tried it how does it keep? I know when I make bread at home that even one day later it's not as good as when fresh and it goes down hill quickly from there. Bannock always seemed quick and easy enough to warrant making multiple small batches, as needed, rather that one large one. I don't think I've ever tried it cold. Maybe I'd be surprised.

I mix it in the same pan I fry it in to avoid dirtying dishes. To mix it I find a stick and peel the bark away to stir with. After it's mixed and the dough is sticky I dust it with flour so it won't stick to my fingers and pull it out of the pan to set aside. Then the oil goes in and I preheat the pan over the fire. Turn the ball of dough into a patty with my hands (it's still floured so it doesn't stick) and then into the hot pan. Eat directly out of the pan when done, smearing each bite with a dab of peanut butter and drizzle of honey.

Raisins mixed into the dough and dusted with cinnamon when done is a nice variation for breakfast.

Alan

 

[Mnoutdoorfunguy]

Home-dried fruit, fruit leather, crackers, cheese, sausage, jerky, rehydrated hummus, Nutella, Clif bars, hot soup, GORP, leftover baked goods from the previous evening or morning and Crystal Light or hot cocoa for a beverage. The GORP always seems to be
dessert for lunch. If we are on a day trip, then lunch is a destination. For those days, a stir fry on the Trangia is by far our favorite. Lunch usually tends to be two or three light meals throughout the day. We seldom eat breakfast, preferring to get on the water and have a slightly extended break during the day.

 

[yknpdlr]

All of the above, plus...
Try dehydrated hummus (find it in the health food section) reconstituted with water and olive oil (from a tiny nalgene bottle that is easy to carry). Use it instead of mayo to make tuna (from foil pouch) wraps with tortillas.

Here's a photo of how I make bannock for a group.

 

[Philtrum]

No Title

About bannock:
The only thing I've ever cooked that I declared not fit for human consumption was my first bannock. It stuck to the pan so badly I couldn't get it out and it burned, thus requiring scraping and ruining the pan. That was after using twice the recommended amount of oil. So I got a good nonstick pan and have made some really good break, using no oil.

I haven't tested bannock's keeping ability because it gets eaten too soon. It's great with things like dill and/or parmesan cheese and/or dried onion mixed into the dough. I've found that after letting it cool for a while, whatever I'm saving for the next day is best wrapped in a cotton napkin. The cloth absorbs the moisture that it continues to give off. Use plastic and you'll have soggy bannock. Yuk.

 

[Holmes375]

And don't forget... bannock is great with... BACON!

 

[yknpdlr]

And don't forget... bannock is great with... BACON!

And mine gets a good drizzle of honey and/or real maple syrup. Served with hot corn meal mush and baked beans makes more than a complete meal.

 

[Holmes375]

Honey on hot fresh bannock is just about as good as life can get.

Anyone ever made a bannock bowl? Works best if ya have some grease or lard but oil will work, too. Take a green limb of appropriate diameter, carve the end clean, smooth and round. Grease it up and mold your dough around the end of the limb which then becomes a roasting stick. Roast over hot coals, thump with a finger nail to tell when its done. Twist your bannock bowl off the stick and fill with your favourite stew or chili. Eat the dishes instead of washing them.

Bannock bowls are fun cooking projects when you have youngsters out on a trip.

 

[memaquay]

For many years, bannock was a staple for our school canoe club. This was during the era when the trip leader would routinely travel until late at night. The poor cooks would then have to cook supper in the dark, and after they were done, cook a ton of bannock for the next day's lunch. They would cook it in lard. Because of the darkness, and the tiredness of the cooks, the bannock usually turned out black on the outside and uncooked on the inside. During this time, the trip leader was also very frugal, so we had very little to eat, I figured most days were under a 1000 calories. So when the bannock was presented to you, it was often the only major source of calories for the day, and would be voraciously consumed. It would slide down the throat, rest very quickly in the stomach, and then shoot out the backdoor with the force of a Bobby Ore slap shot. In fact, we called them hockey pucks.

I'm not a big fan of bannock anymore. When I have a lot of Native kids on a trip, I'll bring the makings, because they want to make it, and they are good at it, but it's only used as a treat now.

 

[Philtrum]

Mem, you need Bannock Therapy. It works like cognitive behavioral therapy. You set up a situation where you can practice a more functional behavior, which is supposed to translate into a more functional attitude. I speak from experience.

What I didn't say in the above not-fit-for-human-consumption post was that I was very leery of making bannock after that. I collected a few recipes and tried them at home. Every one used oil and every one of them burned. Being an experienced bread maker, I refused to give up. What - me, beaten into submission by a lump of soda bread? No way! I tried it in a non-stick pan without oil and the rest is happy bannock history.

There's hope for you, my friend.

 

[Mama]

Bagel with peanut butter and/or honey - my daughter's favorite trip lunch. Grocery store sells packs of small disposable cups of peanut butter and I save fast food honey packets. I like apples and peanut butter, of course there are only so many apples my husband will tolerate me putting in the blue barrel.

 

[red langford]

I am a dry meat, cheese, nuts, energy bar and snack while you travel kind of lunch guy. I bring dried fruit as well and maybe start out the trip with a container of cherry tomatoes.

Try adding raisins to your bannock. And why not eat bannock that is two or three days old, so what if it is not steaming hot n' fresh. You eat crackers! Lol try dipping it in your tea if it getting stale.

I watched Ray Mears drizzle his bannock with Rum. Think of a few good shots of Sailor Jerry Rum on your raisin bannock. Mmmmmm. Okay gotta go make bannock now.

 

[redoleary]

Mini bagles with pepperoni and cheese, or similar, gorp, and we usually bring at least a couple apples and we'll split one between my wife and I. Peanut butter on just about anything is good too.

 

[Mnoutdoorfunguy]

We have had good luck with the store-bought dried peanut butter and there is one with chocolate. I am a nut butter fan and this stuff comes pretty close. The plain version works well in Asian soups and stir fries.
Homemade dehydrated hummus is wonderful.

 

[Odyssey]

I miss griddle scones. Basically the precursor to bannock. My wife refuses to follow the old family recipe, and insists on baking them like biscuits instead. Hers turn out soft and fluffy, unlike the originals which are dense and golden brown (if not scorched), and sit in your stomach like bricks. Raisins are standard ingredients. She prefers currants. I swear she's trying to "improve" me, along with my grandmother's recipe. She may have good reason.
Yes, your choice of tipple dribbled on your bannock is a great way to start the morning. Mine never lasts past breakfast. So as far as lunch goes, I love a mug of hot soup. Any kind will do. Some tea, and cheese with fruit rounds out the small midday meal. All of this is easy to put together at camp, or at the end of a portage. I may start bringing thermoses to make things easier, I dunno.

 

[Guest]

Mini bagles with pepperoni and cheese, or similar, gorp, and we usually bring at least a couple apples and we'll split one between my wife and I. Peanut butter on just about anything is good too.

I’ve found that I need to almost force myself to eat lunch. The simplicity of mini-bagles, cheese and peanut butter, gorp or fruit fills that need.

That mid-day meal seems the most inconvenient. Either I’m still paddling, making headway and don’t want to stop, or I’ve skipped lunch, just gotten into camp and want to get busy hauling gear and setting up. Which is right when a caloric boost would be most helpful.

The best solution I have found is to make some easy-eat lunch while I’m working on breakfast, pack it away accessibly and have it ready-made to chow down in the boat or amidst camp set up.

If I have to stop and “make lunch” along the way in the boat or while setting up camp I probably won’t.