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Best Backpacking Nutrition Tips:
Food As Fuel And Comfort
On The Trail

By Diane Spicer

Backpacking nutrition tips, eh?

You must be planning a backpacking trip.

• Lucky you!

And you're being smart about backpacking nutrition, because you want to enjoy yourself without returning home an empty wreck of your former self.

You're in the right place.

Start with this idea
for your backpacking menu

Backpacking means you're restricted on how much weight you can carry for your food.

You'll also need to have regular surface water sources, because you don't want the unwelcome burden of lugging around liters of water for food preparation.

• And a primary method, along with a backup, for water treatment
  

This all adds up to the sometimes unpleasant task of having to pre-calculate your food calories, nutrient density, and weight, right down to the last ounce.

Here's an easy way to do that: use the Hiking For Her Fast Facts booklet.

It steps you through exactly how to figure all of this out, and leaves you with a solid backpacking food plan.

• Get yours for under $2.
  

Otherwise... go easy.

Backpacking nutrition tips:
easy does it

The best backpacking nutrition tips should also be easy.

• Easy on your budget.
• Easy to implement.
• Easy on your stomach.

Here is one of the best ideas to stay strong and well on the trail, day after day: plan your food choices for optimum nutrient density.

How can you do that?

Use the ABC approach
to great backpacking nutition!

As you plan your backpacking menu, use the ABC method to make sure all of your nutrients and taste preferences are covered.

Let's start with eating for A's on the trail.

Bookmark this page for the full list!

• Always something unusual and unique here for you, and that's a promise.

Another idea:
use high quality freeze dried entrées
to save time

If you have a bit more money than time, skip a lot of the backpacking food preparation work and carry lightweight, pre-packaged entrées for dinner.

Here's where to start:

• the difference between dehydrated and freeze dried food

NOTE: If you've got a gluten intolerance or outright allergy, you need to step up your game a bit.

• Use these GF hiking food tips.
• Or go paleo.
  

Keep your vitamin C levels high
during your backpacking trip

Fresh foods are bursting with vitamins.

Imagine peeling a juicy orange. Then imagine hauling around those heavy orbs of juiciness in your backpack.

Ain't gonna happen, right?

Instead, use my tips for getting your vitamin C as a backpacker.

Antioxidant tips are waiting for you here.

Rice is a great choice,
but make it a smart choice

Rice has been a staple in backpacking food menus for decades, as well as a global food source for millennia.

It delivers various amounts of carbohydrates, for conversion into energy.

But not all rice works for you on the trail.

• Read this for how to choose the best rice for your hiking trip.

Your best backpacking
protein choices

To stay strong and feel full on the trail, you're going to have to plan to include some protein in every meal, even your snacking schedule.

Read how to do that here.

And don't forget to pack high quality nuts, for both protein and fats.

Calorie dense foods
backpackers rely on

Here's a quick list of perfect food choices to bring on your backpacking trip, loaded with the calories you need but not heavy, bulky, or hard to eat.

All of these deliver a big calorie hit, at least 150 per serving (some are affiliate links):

• Babybel cheese balls (lots of flavors to choose from, yum!)
  
• Coconut cookies (eat two!)
  
• Trail mix
• Nut butter stuffed dates (make your own, yum!)
  

Here's a favorite trail bar with a nearly endless choice of flavors but clean ingredients: GoMacro bars.

Read more about why high calorie backpacking food is so important to a successful trip. (coming soon)

Or select from the HFH favorite hiking snacks here.

Lots more coming soon

Thanks for stopping by for these backpacking nutrition tips!

This page is just getting started with offering you the best nutrition tips for your backpacking plans.

• Hiking For Her is always learning, experimenting, and dreaming up new ways to sneak both flavor and nutrients into a hiking menu.

If you need a few ideas for getting started with some solid and easy backpacking food ideas, try this.

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Backpacking Nutrition Tips