steve
Member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2013
- Messages
- 2,140
here's another one I stole from here. i haven't tried it yet.
The question is "what is the lightest and most calorie dense food," which is a bit of a conundrum: Fats, at 9 cal/gram, are the most dense, but they are neither practical as a fulltime diet nor necessarily the "lightest."
The prize for that, I think, goes to probably the best overall backpacking food (at least in MHO)...yellow grits, also known as Polenta to snobby Northerners who will pay $10 for plate at a classy Italian joint.
Yellow Grits (hereafter, "YG") are NOT the same thing as "grits" or "hominy", which are the quintessential Southern breakfast food, and generally hated by all others. YG are a reduced kernel of corn, ground roughly after being very dried. But to the surprise of many, and unlike other "carb" backpacking foods like noodles and rice, they are extremely nutritious across-the-board:
Serving: 35 gr (1/4 cup dry)
Cal: 130
Fat Cal: 5 cal
Fat: .5 gr
Carb: 27 g
Protein: 3 gr
The surprising part thus is that 10% of YG are protein. But the REALLY good news is the weight-to-prepared ratio: While rice, noodles and other items require equal amounts of water to cook, meaning that to get 2 cups of, e.g., cooked rice you need to carry 1 cup of dry rice, for YG the ration is 1:3. This means that to get 2 cups of cooked Yellow Grits (and the same calories as 2 cups of cooked rice), you only have to carry 1/2 cup! Do the math: As a "base food" a ten-day supply of YG is 5 cups, or about 2.5 lbs, while a similar amount of rice (or noodles) is double that. So if you're into lightweight packing, YG are an immediate bonus of 2.5 lbs for a 10 day trip. That can reduce the resupply cycle significantly.
For historical fans, YG are what is generally known, as a breakfast food, as "corn meal mush" and was/is a classic Appalachian food, served in the morning with syrup and some fruit. It was also the basic food of many/most Confederate troops in the field, since it is virtually imperishable, easy to cook, and nutritious.
In flavor, Yellow Grits are very bland, with slightly sweet and nutty flavor. YG takes any kind of sauce well, but cheese powders (my favorite is powdered nacho mix) are especially good, and various meats (dried or tuna) go well also. Essentially, YG will do anything rice will, although they look more like yellow oatmeal when cooked. Cooking time is about the same, too.
The prize for that, I think, goes to probably the best overall backpacking food (at least in MHO)...yellow grits, also known as Polenta to snobby Northerners who will pay $10 for plate at a classy Italian joint.
Yellow Grits (hereafter, "YG") are NOT the same thing as "grits" or "hominy", which are the quintessential Southern breakfast food, and generally hated by all others. YG are a reduced kernel of corn, ground roughly after being very dried. But to the surprise of many, and unlike other "carb" backpacking foods like noodles and rice, they are extremely nutritious across-the-board:
Serving: 35 gr (1/4 cup dry)
Cal: 130
Fat Cal: 5 cal
Fat: .5 gr
Carb: 27 g
Protein: 3 gr
The surprising part thus is that 10% of YG are protein. But the REALLY good news is the weight-to-prepared ratio: While rice, noodles and other items require equal amounts of water to cook, meaning that to get 2 cups of, e.g., cooked rice you need to carry 1 cup of dry rice, for YG the ration is 1:3. This means that to get 2 cups of cooked Yellow Grits (and the same calories as 2 cups of cooked rice), you only have to carry 1/2 cup! Do the math: As a "base food" a ten-day supply of YG is 5 cups, or about 2.5 lbs, while a similar amount of rice (or noodles) is double that. So if you're into lightweight packing, YG are an immediate bonus of 2.5 lbs for a 10 day trip. That can reduce the resupply cycle significantly.
For historical fans, YG are what is generally known, as a breakfast food, as "corn meal mush" and was/is a classic Appalachian food, served in the morning with syrup and some fruit. It was also the basic food of many/most Confederate troops in the field, since it is virtually imperishable, easy to cook, and nutritious.
In flavor, Yellow Grits are very bland, with slightly sweet and nutty flavor. YG takes any kind of sauce well, but cheese powders (my favorite is powdered nacho mix) are especially good, and various meats (dried or tuna) go well also. Essentially, YG will do anything rice will, although they look more like yellow oatmeal when cooked. Cooking time is about the same, too.
you are sick ......
