Hannah Montana

I've been wanting to go backcountry camping for YEARS (honestly, I just want to play Clan of the Cave Bear - Jondalarrrrrr!) and Ace wants to see a glacier before they all melt. 

So this weekend, Ace and I head to Glacier National Park. 

For me, anticipation is about 80% of the pleasure of any activity.  So, I've been shopping and researching survivalist websites and imagining what I'll do if I meet a bear.  I prepared emergency kits; I broke in my boots (oh - I wore them for a five-mile "run" at Rancho San Antonio Wednesday and worked up some sweet blisters - those turn into callouses, right?).   

The most engrossing part of the preparations for me has been planning our meals.  Although we don't have campgrounds reserved for the entire 6 nights (just 4, I think), I wanted to be entirely self sufficient for the duration.  I'm assuming the main, car-accessible areas of the park sell overpriced nachos and BLTs, but there's always the chance we'll have so much fun in the backcountry that we'll wander over to the area where there aren't even designated campgrounds for the balance of our time.  'Be Prepared' is the Boy Scout Motto, what's the Girl Scout one?

So I used recommendations from nutritionists re how many calories (2000 for me, 3000 for him) and grams of protein (40/day for me, 55/day for him) we should allot for each day as a starting point, and filled in full meals from there, keeping an eye on vitamins, fiber (21 g/day), Calcium, Iron and even Sodium (with abandon!).

I ended up with five breakfasts, four complete lunches, four complete dinners and an extensive assortment of snacks and desserts that will ensure that we hit our targets each day - all without relying on beef jerky, which apparently attracts bears.  (There's plenty of food for a fifth lunch and dinner, plus I'm assuming the first day and last day we'll be buying sandwiches on the road.)

Would you like to see our menu?

A Passage to India (dinner): Bengal Eggplant, Saag Paneer, brown rice, white rice, orange lassi (740 cals, 22 g protein, 5g fiber, 22g fat, 126% C, 62% Iron)

Diner Delight (dinner): Roast beef in brown gravy, mashed potatoes 'loaded' with cheese and bacon, Peach Melba (560 cals, 27 g protein, 6g fiber, 8g fat, 22% C, 36% Iron)

The Inscrutable East (dinner): Miso soup with shiitake mushrooms, agedashi tofu with seaweed, marinated soybeans in whole wheat couscous (560 cals, 32g protein, 10g fiber, 8g fat, 19% C, 16% Iron)

Thanksgiving Groaner (dinner): Chicken breast, garlic mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce (800 cals, 29 g protein, 2g fiber, 10g fat, 60% C, 24% Iron)

Fruit & Cheese basket (lunch): Oranges, apple sauce, swiss cheese wedges, herb crackers, V-8 (410 cals, 13 g protein, 3g fiber, 16g fat, 130% C, 2% Iron)

Nut'n Honey! (lunch): Honey peanut butter, honey wheat pretzel fingers, roasted chestnuts, Tang (550 cals, 13 g protein, 6g fiber, 18g fat, 108% C, 16 Iron)

Lesbian Lunch (lunch): bagel chips, hummus, trout fillets, tapioca pudding, V-8 (520 cals, 17 g protein, 6g fiber, 19g fat, 110% C, 4% Iron)

Euro Picnic (lunch): baked Yukon gold and blue potatoes, garlic and herb cheese wedges, Chianti salami, Tang (500 cals, 23 g protein, 6g fiber, 16g fat, 100% C, 4% Iron)

Breakfast # 1: Maple and brown sugar oatmeal with wheat germ and milk, Tang, hot chocolate (400 cals, 14 g protein, 6 g fiber, 4 g fat, 100% C, 60% calcium, 4% Iron)

Breakfast # 2: Cheese omelettes with crackers and jam, Tang, Constant Comment tea (400 cals, 10 g protein, 1 g fiber, 10g fat, 100% C, 4% Iron)

Breakfast #3: Strawberry oatmeal with dehydrated strawberries, wheat germ and milk, Tang, hot chocolate (400 cals, 14 g protein, 8 g fiber, 4 g fat, 130% C, 60% calcium, 4% Iron)

Breakfast #4: Salami omelettes with crackers and jam, Tang, Earl Grey tea (450 cals, 20 g protein, 1g fiber, 20g fat, 100% C, 8% Iron)

Evening treats include s'mores, Nutella, cookies and hot chocolate. 

Snacks are loads of assorted dried fruits and nuts: dragon fruit, peaches, sugared walnuts, raw almonds, you name it.

I divided the 10,000+ calories into individual packets for each meal, with preparation instructions (i.e. "boil 2/3 cup water; add packet # 3; stir"), and piled them onto the dining room table, very pleased with myself.

Then Ace went to REI and came home with freeze dried beef stew and about fifteen Luna and Clif Bars. 

...

It goes without saying that I won't be blogging live next week, but I'll try to springload a couple of random items just for giggles.

Comments

[Professor Art Nerd]

I love the names for all your dinners! Also- are you implying that you eat nutella all by itself as a snack? Because if not- uhhhh, I don't either, that'd be... gross?

I heart nutella on a spoon!

[TasterSpoon]

Nutella is mostly Ace's province...and if ONLY he used a spoon! I'll be lucky to get a graham cracker in edgewise.