Preparing for a trek — Meal preparation

Disclaimer: This article is suggestive in nature and should not to be considered as instructional.

Factors that influence your choice of food

While the idea of carrying satisfying, comfort food might look appealing and inviting at the onset, one has to take a very conscientious approach towards hydration and meal preparation while planning for a trek.

While these factors do play a role in the choice of food to be included in your bag, it is always wise to include food that you personally prefer on a trek.

Food
We have included most items that are durable and sturdy which can withstand the gruelling journey that a trekking bag has to through.

Fruits and vegetables
There are quite a few number of fruits and vegetables that you can rely on for a trek, that are long lasting, well tasting and won’t get squashed in your bag.

Apples, pears, and guavas, are hard, sturdy fruits with skins that are likely to bear all that jostling, throwing and crushing a trekking bag will be subjected to during the journey. In the vegetable section, Carrots would be hard to miss for their sturdiness and instant ready-to-eat food quality. Being edible in its raw form and sweet (slow-release sugars), makes this a must have for long treks. They also contain a good amount of fibre that fills you up quickly (giving you better returns in weight to energy ratio) and could also probably help with stomach issues, as they are fibrous.

Oranges are a good source of nutrition and hydration, making them a great choice to include, although their tender skin and short durability puts them lower in the list of trek worthy fruits. They can be consumed on the first day of the trek at most, and must be placed right at the top of your bag above everything else. Their high water content should make up for their short shelf life, and are most suited to summer treks.

Dry fruits, nuts, and seeds
A plethora of options abound in the dry fruit category when it comes to trekking needs. Most dry fruits are a perfect combination of sturdy, sweet and fibrous, making them perfect to place in a trekking bag.

While they are lightweight and long lasting, they can be consumed mostly in winters and only on treks where water availability is medium to high. Since they are dry in nature, they could further dehydrate you on a summer/hot trek.

Indian savories, snacks and mixtures

Visit any local supermarket and go to the Indian snacks aisle. You should probably find the entire section to be trek worthy, barring a few soft items.

Energy bars and Trail Mixes

Although there are a few brands manufacturing trail mixes and energy bars in India, they are few and far between. However, they should suffice as they do have lots of options when it comes to flavours and ingredients.

Breads, ready-to-eat foods, and other processed food

Bread, and its related wheat products are shelf stable for about 2–3 days, making them a perfect breakfast item on weekend treks. Jams, butters and other spreads are all preservative laden items, that combine perfectly with wheat products like chapathies, bread, and khakhras. The downsides of these items is that they are dry, and make you feel thirsty in a short period of time. They can be taken on treks where you are sure about the availability of water.

Ready-to-eat packaged food
These are manufactured by the same agency (CFTRI) that makes rations for the army and lasts for many days. They can be utilised for trekking as they were made for the purpose.

Pickles, jams, and spreads

Tomato, tamarind, dates, and lime pickles work very well towards the end of the day after an arduous climb in the sun. They are a perfect mix of salty and tanginess that replenishes the lost glucose in your body. They can be consumed as appetizers prior to dinner, to warm you up in preparation for the cold night ahead. Also, the higher you sleep, the colder is your campsite. If you plan to camp on a peak, another added element would be the wind chill factor which significantly exacerbates existing cold temperatures.

It is essential to eat more (after you are done trekking for the day), keep your metabolism high, and stave off shivering in order to retain body heat through the night. Also, a higher amount of body fat provides greater insulation against the icy wind. Do consume healthy fats like avocados and olives to keep your brown fat levels high.