I should mention that the best snacks in the world are made by nature.... fresh fruit. Glucose is the simple sugar that the body uses for fuel, and fruit contains the wide range of vitamins and minerals that keep the body running efficiently. If fresh fruit cannot be obtained then, dried fruit and/or fruit juice is the next best alternative. But today we are discussing longer lasting, portable compact foods.
Besides stocking survival provisions (long-lasting, dried and canned foods) in my home base/shelter, survival rations and MREs in my BOB and in my car, I also keep "snacks" in my personal Go Bag (the one that is closest to my side at most times). My "snacks" are actually nutritious foods and beverages that represent perhaps 3-days worth of rations. My menu varies, but usually, it will contain: energy bars, trail mix containing something salty (nuts or crackers), something sweet (chocolate), something tart (dried fruit), individual packet foods that re-constitute in hot water, and individual packet powdered beverages.
As I've mentioned, my actual "emergency" food (my shelter supply) is Mainstays, MREs, Mountain Houses, and long-shelf life, shelter-grade powdered/dehydrated foods, plus cases and cases of water. Mainstays are the best compact longterm rations. Good ol' MREs and the newer smaller Patrol version of MREs are great tasting, long lasting and nutritious portable meals. Mountain House meals are my favourite of the backpacking freeze-dried meals. By boiling water, they make highly nutritious, delicious meals like "Chicken and Rice". "Mexican Chicken and Rice", "Teriyaki Chicken and Rice" and "Pasta Primavera". With a Jet Boil, you can be eating a nice hot meal within 5 minutes of taking off your pack. In choosing survival shelter foods, I recommend stocking foods that have a high food value (particularly protein) in the smallest amount of space, like rice, beans, peanut butter, tofu, powdered milk, sports drinks like Gatorade, and powdered eggs.
Honourable mention must be made to the freeze-dried Strawberries that used to come with the old MRE packages. Just add a bit of water, and they turned into the most delicious, sweet strawberry compote. I'd make full on desserts out of those Strawberry packets... adding Cocoa Beverage Powder... non-Dairy Creamer.... crushed Crackers to give it body, heat the mixture up over a hexane bar... and voila! Chocolate-Strawberry Cake (in the middle of a rainy jungle in Central America... LOL). The "new" and improved MREs don't have the Strawberries anymore.
Nowadays, energy bars and meal replacement bars make it really easy to carry yummy high energy snacks in a very compact package. I am not particular about which brand (Powerbar, Pure Protein, Tiger's Milk, Atkins, Clif, Odwalla, Soy Joy, Max, etc, etc). I buy whatever is on sale (under a buck), and I buy whichever flavour appeals to me out of those on sale (chocolate, peanut butter, and fruit are my preference). I have a "bin" from which I randomly draw and replace the two meal bars that I carry with me (when hiking or traveling). I also store 10 bars in a watertight/airtight crushproof case in my BOB.
I'm also a big fan of trail mix. I like the Archer Farms "Swiss" mix, available at Target, but usually, for snacking while hiking I just fill Zip-locs full of my own three-part mix. Salted, roasted peanuts and cashews are my favourite base. Very rarely, shelled sunflower seeds. I try to avoid sticky or flavoured coatings i.e. honey roasted, barbecue. Though yummy initially, they make the rest of trail mix taste like that flavour, plus it makes the mix damp and sticky. For the chocolate (sweet) element, I prefer M & Ms simply because they are hard-candy shell coated, again reducing the melty, stickiness and mess. They have several great varieties now that add flavour and texture, like Krispie, dark chocolate, peanut butter, and now.... coffee mocha! BTW, peanut M & Ms are not usually my first choice 1) because it is redundant but 2) because the larger diameter seems to make them more susceptible to breaking the candy shell. Finally, the third element of a good trail mix is a fruity or tangy element. Lots of choices here, but dried cherries, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, dried diced pineapple, and dried diced mango are all good and readily available in my area. I do like apricots, but they tend to be too big (in trail mix). And though, it's not "tangy", I like to throw in some banana chips because they are high in Potassium (which helps in electrolyte balance and reduces muscle cramping after exertion). And that's it for my three-part on-the-road trail mix. Of course, I usually end up adding lots of other things into it (a handful of Gummi bears, wasabi peas, yogurt raisins, granola clusters, those little spicy rice crackers), whatever I feel like. Variety is good and grazing (slow constant snack intake) is good.
A few sealed packets of Lipton creamy chicken soup or instant miso soup available at Japanese food markets can be a nice hot "dinner" in a pinch, like if you unexpectedly find yourself spending the night out in the woods, and I can tell you, a cheery fire and a cup of hot soup or tea on a chilly night does much to restore ones spirits. Miso soup is very high in protein and energy and is very easily digestible for the ill. I also carry individual "stick" packages of flavoured-sweetened Lipton-to-Go ice tea (for caffeine, and to mask other flavours in water), hot cocoa "stick" packages (I found these in Japan, made by Nescafe Corp).
I'm generally not particular about my mints or gums. I'll buy/chew/eat whatever is available, mainly to keep my mouth salivating. However, those Penguin mints are great and I actually "use" them to keep alert, especially when long distance driving. They're kind of like tiny Tic-Tac shaped Altoids with a strong peppermint taste and a noticeable "jolt" of caffeine. A decade ago, Psychology Today published an article about natural smells/tastes that make you more alert, and Peppermint was one of them. These have the peppermint plus the time proven effect of caffeine. Plus, the metal tins are useful afterwards for dozens of uses.
Besides stocking survival provisions (long-lasting, dried and canned foods) in my home base/shelter, survival rations and MREs in my BOB and in my car, I also keep "snacks" in my personal Go Bag (the one that is closest to my side at most times). My "snacks" are actually nutritious foods and beverages that represent perhaps 3-days worth of rations. My menu varies, but usually, it will contain: energy bars, trail mix containing something salty (nuts or crackers), something sweet (chocolate), something tart (dried fruit), individual packet foods that re-constitute in hot water, and individual packet powdered beverages.
As I've mentioned, my actual "emergency" food (my shelter supply) is Mainstays, MREs, Mountain Houses, and long-shelf life, shelter-grade powdered/dehydrated foods, plus cases and cases of water. Mainstays are the best compact longterm rations. Good ol' MREs and the newer smaller Patrol version of MREs are great tasting, long lasting and nutritious portable meals. Mountain House meals are my favourite of the backpacking freeze-dried meals. By boiling water, they make highly nutritious, delicious meals like "Chicken and Rice". "Mexican Chicken and Rice", "Teriyaki Chicken and Rice" and "Pasta Primavera". With a Jet Boil, you can be eating a nice hot meal within 5 minutes of taking off your pack. In choosing survival shelter foods, I recommend stocking foods that have a high food value (particularly protein) in the smallest amount of space, like rice, beans, peanut butter, tofu, powdered milk, sports drinks like Gatorade, and powdered eggs.
Honourable mention must be made to the freeze-dried Strawberries that used to come with the old MRE packages. Just add a bit of water, and they turned into the most delicious, sweet strawberry compote. I'd make full on desserts out of those Strawberry packets... adding Cocoa Beverage Powder... non-Dairy Creamer.... crushed Crackers to give it body, heat the mixture up over a hexane bar... and voila! Chocolate-Strawberry Cake (in the middle of a rainy jungle in Central America... LOL). The "new" and improved MREs don't have the Strawberries anymore.
Nowadays, energy bars and meal replacement bars make it really easy to carry yummy high energy snacks in a very compact package. I am not particular about which brand (Powerbar, Pure Protein, Tiger's Milk, Atkins, Clif, Odwalla, Soy Joy, Max, etc, etc). I buy whatever is on sale (under a buck), and I buy whichever flavour appeals to me out of those on sale (chocolate, peanut butter, and fruit are my preference). I have a "bin" from which I randomly draw and replace the two meal bars that I carry with me (when hiking or traveling). I also store 10 bars in a watertight/airtight crushproof case in my BOB.
I'm also a big fan of trail mix. I like the Archer Farms "Swiss" mix, available at Target, but usually, for snacking while hiking I just fill Zip-locs full of my own three-part mix. Salted, roasted peanuts and cashews are my favourite base. Very rarely, shelled sunflower seeds. I try to avoid sticky or flavoured coatings i.e. honey roasted, barbecue. Though yummy initially, they make the rest of trail mix taste like that flavour, plus it makes the mix damp and sticky. For the chocolate (sweet) element, I prefer M & Ms simply because they are hard-candy shell coated, again reducing the melty, stickiness and mess. They have several great varieties now that add flavour and texture, like Krispie, dark chocolate, peanut butter, and now.... coffee mocha! BTW, peanut M & Ms are not usually my first choice 1) because it is redundant but 2) because the larger diameter seems to make them more susceptible to breaking the candy shell. Finally, the third element of a good trail mix is a fruity or tangy element. Lots of choices here, but dried cherries, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, dried diced pineapple, and dried diced mango are all good and readily available in my area. I do like apricots, but they tend to be too big (in trail mix). And though, it's not "tangy", I like to throw in some banana chips because they are high in Potassium (which helps in electrolyte balance and reduces muscle cramping after exertion). And that's it for my three-part on-the-road trail mix. Of course, I usually end up adding lots of other things into it (a handful of Gummi bears, wasabi peas, yogurt raisins, granola clusters, those little spicy rice crackers), whatever I feel like. Variety is good and grazing (slow constant snack intake) is good.
A few sealed packets of Lipton creamy chicken soup or instant miso soup available at Japanese food markets can be a nice hot "dinner" in a pinch, like if you unexpectedly find yourself spending the night out in the woods, and I can tell you, a cheery fire and a cup of hot soup or tea on a chilly night does much to restore ones spirits. Miso soup is very high in protein and energy and is very easily digestible for the ill. I also carry individual "stick" packages of flavoured-sweetened Lipton-to-Go ice tea (for caffeine, and to mask other flavours in water), hot cocoa "stick" packages (I found these in Japan, made by Nescafe Corp).
I'm generally not particular about my mints or gums. I'll buy/chew/eat whatever is available, mainly to keep my mouth salivating. However, those Penguin mints are great and I actually "use" them to keep alert, especially when long distance driving. They're kind of like tiny Tic-Tac shaped Altoids with a strong peppermint taste and a noticeable "jolt" of caffeine. A decade ago, Psychology Today published an article about natural smells/tastes that make you more alert, and Peppermint was one of them. These have the peppermint plus the time proven effect of caffeine. Plus, the metal tins are useful afterwards for dozens of uses.
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