Pack it gourmet is amazing ! They also have a “grocery “ section where you can buy freeze dried ingredients to make your own recipes. I buy freeze dried chicken , freeze dried blueberries, and some mozzarella cheese from them. Good prices too
Huge advocate here for "pack out town food." I had 6 weeks off work last year so decided to do the desert section of the PCT. I had a couple bars and ramen packets in my bag, but pretty much lived on town food, doing about 20 mile days. Packed out a large pizza in Morena which got me to Laguna. Did the same which got me to Julian. Packed out a tin foil rack of ribs and a large pizza that got me to PVC. Burgers from Big Bear to Cajon Pass. At that point I bought 50 chicken McNuggets and marched on west. I found that as long as I could continue 15-25 mile days I could keep packing out town food and eat like a king. People kept stopping and asking me "what are you eating." Pizza, my friend. A family sized pizza. All for me. Anyway cold soaking is awesome too and I can't wait to try some of these out. Great video dude. Loving the consistency.
dumb question but how exactly did you pack it out? Did you bring some gallon ziploc bags for that purpose or did you just strap the pizza box to your pack lol
@@lilyweinberg8635 Not a dumb question at all! I will be the first to admit that I had varying results asking the restaurants I ordered pizzas from to cut them up. The dialogue would always go something like this: "Hey, so I'm a PCT hiker and I'm wondering if you could ask the kitchen to possible cut up this pizza and pack it out in a form that might slot into my backpack?" A couple places knew exactly what needed to be done and were like "no problem, we're on it!" They handed me a tin foil cylinder with the individual slices packed up on top of each other, forming something like a triple decker sandwich. The place in Julian tried to play dumb and refused to accommodate, but still gave me a few sheets of large tin foil so that I could cut it up myself and pack it to my liking. It always ended up looking kind of like a tin foil stuff-sack, and I'd just lay it vertically at the top of my pack, where I could open the top and sneak little bites here and there when stopping for a breather. A lot of times I just ended up carrying around 5-7 gallon zip lock bags that would be my left-overs, and then I also carried a Talenti jar like Jupiter describes, which made for an excellent impromptu to-go container. When I'd hit the next town, if there was a sink and soap available, I'd flip my zip-locks inside out, wash them out and then leave them to dry (which was always very quick), then flip them back and re-use them. My collection of zip-locks lasted my entire 600 mile hike across the desert, but I would likely have gotten new ones per section of the PCT if I were to keep going. Don't try to reuse tin foil. It's too messy, doesn't re-fold, and is just all around awful. It's single serving only. LASTLY....I will be the first to admit that nothing about my approach to food was ultralight. But my base weight was so low (around 8 lbs I think), and water was plentiful, and I was enjoying pizza so much that I didn't care if it pushed my pack weight up 5-6 pounds, as long as I was eating so well and enjoying myself. That said, if I had to do it again, I would probably pack out a little less town food and try some of the recipes Jupiter describes. Because none of the town food is "warm" anyway so in reality, it's just next-level cold soaking style cuisine anyway. Anyway hope this helps!
For breakfast i would, hugely, recommend looking at overnight-oats recipes. Pre-hike make your mix in ziplock bags oats + as your licking (chiaseed, gojiberries, nuts, protein powder, chocolate, dried mangoes, etc) Gets you all the nutrients and vitamins ultralightweigt. Just add water in the evening.
I'm probably the only person who does this but I've been cold soaking tortellini all week for dinner... in my house 😂 I hate waiting for water to boil and pasta to cook so I cold soak it from morning until dinner time then when I'm ready to eat I throw it on the stove with butter, sauce and seasonings for just a couple minutes. Not exactly on theme but I love the idea that cold soaking can be more efficient at home too!
While I need my hot meal at night for morale, I think these are fabulous ideas for lunch when you want to keep moving. Always love your videos Jupiter! These are great ideas.
I read about it in a very OLD book about hiking. Whole wheat bread etc,. Take it out, sit on it, smash it flat. Put back in wrapper. Makes some mighyt thin samitches but I like it just fine. And it takes up very little space
I don't understand why your channel isn't bigger! I enjoy your videos so much! I love how you "sneak" in that backdrop - no mention of it, it just happens to be there, lol. Looking forward to the next hiking videos. Thank you so much for sharing.
You can also secure the jar in a mesh bag on top of your backpack for a solar soak. In sunny weather, the food could easily get to a temperature at which we’d call it a hot meal.
Love it! Another of my favorites with ramen is hiker trash peanut noodles: cold soak the ramen with the seasoning pack, add a packet of siracha or other hot sauce, some peanut butter and a few crushed nuts for crunch. This hits the spot every time.
Thanks Jupiter! It's not much but I've learned so much over the years watching your videos, and this stoveless stuff is really next level for me. Have a good year.
My favourite coldsoaking recipe is for breakfast: - 50 gram oatmeal - 50 gram chiaseeds - good scoupe of peanut butter - raisins - milkpowder I think this is a great combo of fast and slow carbs, fats and protein. And it tastes great.
After seeing some others calling themselves “pro” hikers, I just wanna say you’re truly crushing it and an actual “pro” Keep on hiking on brother. Good luck on your trip to you and your partner!! When I did the AT and CT I cold soaked oatmeal almost every morning. It was delicious. If and when I do my next hike I think I would do overnight oats with peanut butter powder and carnation instant breakfast. Maybe some seeds or nuts as a garnish.
Thanks Jupiter! Coincidentally I just bought a Vargo Bot 700, so now I can cook or coldsoak. I have special dietary needs, so I can't (and wouldn't want to) hike a long trail eating hikertrash food such as ramens, jelly babies, snickers bars etc. My hospital's dietician and nutritionist said that long hikes can be pretty tough on the body, so my body is craving complex carbohydrates, protein structures, micronutrients, vitamins and minerals, not just the calories per oz that seems a pretty common approach by many hikers. My body needs balanced nutrition to repair my body on a cellular level whilst I'm sleeping etc. So for me pack weight is 4th on my list of priorities. My priorities are hydration, nutrition and a good night's sleep. So a comfortable sleep pad and carrying Proper, Real Food is common sense to fuel me on a long distance hike. A healthier body won't notice those few extra ounces, where as an undernourished body will feel pretty lousy whether one is sedentary or hiking 30 miles a day.
A meal I had once was dehydrated spaghetti. A friend had a dehydrator and dehydrated spaghetti sauce and wrapped it in wax paper. Then he took a box of spaghetti noodles and put them into a gallon ziplock. The more broken they were the better. When it was time, we added the noodles and sauce to our plastic jars, added some water and let everything rehydrate.
I think it’s important to experiment on actual cold-soak times. I find that the Minute Rice (5 Minute) is less crunchy and more digestible after 3 hours, rather than 30 minutes. Because my cold-soaking and eating times can overlap, I carry two Talenti-sized jars, so that if one meal gets delayed, I can be soaking my next meal and I can stay on my eating schedule. Also, I buy all my jars and bottles from Litesmith. Better plastic and lids than Talenti and PB jars, and their selection is top-notch, truly one-stop for bottles and jars.
Something I recently tried and really enjoyed was cereal. 90g of chocolate cereal + 30g of hazelnut/roasted (unsalted) peanuts + 30g of powered milk; add 300ml of water when you eat, and boom instant cereal. 648 kcal for 150g and tastes just like home!
Thanks for this! Lots of good ideas regardless of whether or not I go stoveless. I would never question your experience or your cred but this doesn't seem like a weigh issue. The canisters ARE a big pain. The scenario I find myself in is having to leave a partial at the trailhead for someone else because of flying home and if I couldn't find the real small ones, I'm actually giving away more than I used. I eat a lot of hard cheese and pepperoni anyway but my no stove problem is coffee in the morning. I'm almost 59 and don't rocket out of camp anymore in the mornings. I like to 'chill' with a hot drink int he AM. Your the man!
Great options, thanks for sharing. They all look pretty good and the cool thing is you can always rehydrate them with hot water and eat them warm if you have a stove. I've been cold soaking my lunches on the trail this year and although they're fine, there's never been a time when I find myself craving some cold couscous or cold ramen. But I do crave a hot coffee in the morning and a hot meal in the evening. So taking a stove kit is part of what makes the experience fun for me. If I'm alone or with one other person I prefer to use an alcohol cook set as opposed to gas. I only really use canister fuel if I'm cooking for more people, which I also like to do. But these recipes look great anyway, thanks again for putting out this video.
Beef, chicken or vegetable Bouillon cubes, crushed up and added to a rice or couscous cold soak works well to add some flavor. Knorr stock pots (if you can find them).
Wonderful! Lots of ideas I hadn’t thought of. Once I saw a guy on trail pull out a tortilla, smear on cream cheese, then slice on half an avacado, roll it up and eat it while walking away!
Made the mistake of using a few of the instant ice coffee packets before realizing there was aspartame in them. So I gave the regular instant coffee another try and it works great when I shake it up really really good. Big fuel and time saver. Almost every morning I have crunchy peanut butter on tortillas with sunflower seed kernals. Makes life simpler and it's probably the best bang for the buck how it holds me over until lunch. Gotta try the pb&b recipe..my kid is going to love that one! Someone else mentioned gearskeptic youtube channel and one thing I learned from him was the simple meat sticks + cup of gatorade (from powder) as a snack before dinner to boost protein which helps muscle recovery. Sounds like nothing but since I've started doing this, I do not get overwhelmed with fatigue like I used to.
Great video. I've never bought a packaged meal. I've been preparing my own meals for years. Yes, I use a dehydrator. I make a mix of ground beef, rice, cooked dried pinto beans, dried vegetables, and wild mushrooms. I'm not quite at the level of stoveless. I boil my meal in water for about 3 minutes, then let it sit for an hour and it's ready. For breakfast I prepare muesli consisting of various cereals and nuts and peanut oil and honey, all baked in the oven. I add to it water and dried fruits and milk powder. It is incredibly tasty. No cooking required. And my lunch is hard salami and gouda cheese which have always lasted me for a week.
You got me into cold soaking. And last year spending 2 months on the road with my horse it was so easy. Even cold coffee did not bother me! I would buy Müesli with dried fruit and nuts and put my instant coffee in the bowl. Took some time to get use to it. But now I sometimes make it at home because I love the tate and it brings me back to my dream trip. Thanks jupiter!
I bring apples, oranges, cucumber in lieu of carrying water for the first day out of town. Znatural foods has dried cashew milk. Total game changer for making meals creamy and for coffee and tea. They have all kinds of bulk powders. I would make banana berry smoothies.
Doritos ....... crush up an 8 oz bag of Doritos ( or Chex Mix) - eat dry and delicious. Carbs, fats, salts - all goodesness for hikers. No cook, no fuss - no mess. Yes - you need a quart sized freeser bag for this to work!! Hike Strong !!
It works done it but always carry a stove and I grew up in Jupiter Farms too, I wrestle weight always a thang but live out here every day comfort Items are a plus
I like to bring a bag of spinach, just take the air out of the bag. Even if it gets wilted, they’re still ok especially if you plan to mix it with rice or even mashed potatoes. They’re great for wraps with cheese and pepperoni.
Great video and guide. And yes town food! Here' are some things I do. Liquid breakfast Mocha = two packets of chocolate carnation instant breakfast, Nido whole milk powder and instant coffee. Maltodextrin + electrolytes for liquid fuel during the day. For diners Andrew Skurka's recipes are an excellent resource and my go to.
Headed out to Ireland for my son and I's first threw hike. Coast to coast, and around about. Didnt know about this style of food prep. We will be using what i learned today. Thanks!
OH NO Thanks, I enjoy a hot meal at the end of the day and hot coffee in the morning. Having an ultra light pack is not as important to me as the enjoyment of the hike. I dehydrate my own food and do cold soak my oats over night, and sometimes a delicious cold soak salad for lunch. I love to hear what other people do, thanks for sharing your experience.
Packit gourmet is also great because they sell bulk freeze dried ingredients, as well as the meals. I love adding their freeze dried meats to my homemade hiker food. For the fuel can problems, you can measure how much fuel is left by floating the can in water. Won't tell you how many more boils you have, but can give you a rough idea how much fuel is left.
Thanks. That helps a lot. I'm still on the fence. I have a jar ready but I really enjoy hot coffee/tea lol. I've been trying out the LiteSmith jar which you can pour hot water in. So used it as a mug and as a cold soaking jar. Nice to have the option to cold soak to save fuel and have a leftover container.
It’s not for everyone, but pemmican. One of the most calorically dense foods. Weight to calorie ratio is excellent. Weight to protein ratio is excellent. And there’s no weird ingredients.
Nice video. Good, informative content. For me the thing is, I just have a hot cup of coffee in the am and after dinner in the pm. I could probably do without. An empty jar of peanut butter, a plastic spoon, and a trip to Walmart seems like an affordable and nutritious way to go.
I only cook two meals in the evening and don't have some of the "problems" described and it's very efficient. Once for the evening and the second meal for the morning of the following day and two bars in between. But I also live in a region where it's cool and it's important to give the body some energy in the cool down phase.
👍 Absolutely fantastic Jupiter - thanks for sharing those great food ideas. I haven’t done the Ramen Bomb yet (!) but can definitely recommend bananas and Nutella on a wrap 😎
We've used some of your recipes before. They're great! If it is really hot and sunny outside I could imagine that your "cold" meal could be warm if you could set your peanut butter jar in the sun on your pack or sitting on a sunny rock.
This is awesome, TH-cam needed a comprehensive video like this! Personally, I only go out for long weekend trips near home, so homemade meals from my dehydrator are my favorites. My go to is chili and minute rice with Fritos. I’ll usually bring a ziplock twist n lock container because it can handle boiling water. If I’m with a friend who’s bringing a stove anyway, I’ll offer to carry their fuel canister or pot or something in exchange for some boiling water at the end of the day. However, I’ve found that I’d rather eat cold-soaked dinner and then take them up on hot water for breakfast most of the time. Hot oatmeal does more for my morale when I wake up, surprisingly.
Love my hot filter coffee & oatmeal every morning. Love my hot meal of a night. Have no issues carrying the kit which enables it. Oh, and I eat and drink resting in my Heloix chair. Yeah boye!!!
Fantastic subject choice! I am trying to do more of this as the Sierra where I live, is just getting hotter and hotter and often a hot meal is just not what I want. I lLOVE pack-it gourmet so I’d say that many of their options are my favorite stoveless meals. I’m 60 and most super processed foods just don’t agree with me, so I am working also on dehydrating my own.
I just watched your last video and in that, you hinted this video. Going backpacking tomorrow, what a convenience Im able to watch it beforehand. Thank you!
Alright! You make it sound tasty and fun. I already dehydrate food for my suppers; it looks like your recipes can add more variety. Always good. I’ll have to give it a try for warm season hiking.
I like milk & cereal for breakfast, 3/4 cup Grape Nuts + 1/4 cup Unsweetened Coconut Shavings (for fat & calories) + 1/4 cup NIDO (Powdered Milk), add water, shake, instant milk & cereal. Another is Instant Grits + Real Bacon Pieces from condiment section; Bacon pieces go well with mash potatoes, grits, or Ramen. This probably sounds weird but Tortillas + Peanut Butter + Sliced Salami taste great. I also bring Sausage, BBQ Brisket, BBQ Pulled Pork, Precooked Bacon, Tuna + Mayo, and SPAM on Tortillas. I can eat everything cold but I bring a BBQ fork to cook SPAM & Sausage over fire, just taste better cooked. Those precooked Chicken or Steak Fajitas will keep for a day (longer if cold weather), good on tortillas.
Great video! I very much appreciate the recipes. I think, even if someone loves cooking their mountain house, having alternatives is a great idea. Sometimes I get to camp and the last thing I want to do is cook. I'm more likely to skip on those nights which is doing no one any favors.
I am curious to try this now, and I'm confident I could manage on this diet for an extended period. Man, when I hike long stretches I'm so hungry everything tastes like a five -star meal anyways! For many though, you're spot on, the morale boost of a warm/hot meal is crucial to making it through a long journey. I'm guessing you transfer food from the bulky store containers into something lighter or that packs down better?
@@JupiterHikes last night he had couscous and some summer sausage then I saw him eat a couple sausages with some avocado he packed out. The real innovation tho he has a coffee pod filter that fits in his jar he fills it with coffee every night and makes cold brew for the morning.
Amen to trail pizza. I use a tortilla, the boboli sauce packets (or sometimes you can find tomato paste in packets or even a tube which is less messy) and string cheese. The flatbread or naan is a great idea instead of a tortilla! I'll have to try that.
I had sharp cheddar block cheese last a week easy (60-70F day temp, upper 20s-upper 30sF night). Sure, gets a bit greasy late in the week but who cares when added to beans and rice.
I am a "soaker". It is so easy. One of my go to meals is a daily mix of nuts, seeds, etc. For the weight they provide needed fats, high calories, and high nutrition.
I love eating whole oats, adding freeze dried fruit and nuts. High calories and great taste. You don't have to wait long to eat. "Edit addition" I have been adding Carnation to my oatmeal for decades. Glad to see someone else who does it.
I like to do plain oatmeal and add half to 3/4 scoop of flavored protein powder (vanilla, peanut butter, etc...) and water. I personally prefer the ones sweetened with Stevia or other non sugar sweeteners, but that's what works for me. Add raisins or other dried/freeze dried fruit, chocolate chips, coconut flakes, crushed nuts, and so on. Also, the protien powder and milk powder with store bought granola premixed into individual servings, then just add water. Enjoy your hike!
I love this! I used to bring my stove and then never use it. I like to buy the tube of tomato paste to add to the pizza. Room temperature cheese goes great with evertyhing lol
So next month Im leaving a bunch of organic dried flaked pinto beans portioned out in zip locks at Hike n Peaks hiker box in Sisters, Oregon. The provenance is excellent. I just have way too much!
I have so many allergies that i have to make my own food and cold-soakable dehydrated food is a total game changer for travel even outside of backpacking because i don't have to play a very risky game of "will i be able to eat" crossed with "will i have a bad reaction"
One meal I haven't seen mentioned: chia seed pudding. 50g powdered coconut milk, brown sugar to taste, 40g chia seeds. Make sure to mix a little water into the coconut milk *first* to reconstitute because otherwise it will be lumpy
Really great ideas and recipes! I'd add olive oil, nuts, chocolate and cocos cream wherever I can to get my food above 500 kcal/100g. Ultralight here means taking as much fat as possible having that higher caloric density. Sadly, in Europe, there are usually not so many options available (e.g. no instant beans). At least couscous supply is good in France
Freeze-drying is very different (and superior) to dehydrating for many things where texture matters! Unfortunately they're pretty expensive, serious machines. Dehydrators are still great though within their limits!
I know this isn’t the point of your video but I bought a dehydrator a couple years back and when I make a meal that’s pretty good but I don’t want to worry about eating the left overs before they go bad, I dehydrate them. As a result I have a go-to supply of backpacking meals. This system is only convenient if you do it as part of a routine, rather than making a lot of meals just for backpacking. Anyway, I love the idea of cold soaking and would like to try it. But just wanted to throw out an option for people who cook a lot and inevitably have leftovers. Just dehydrate them.
the only cold soaking i do is strawberry granola. i get up, have a breakfast bar. hike for a couple of hours, coffee and bigger breakfast on the trail. tuna or chicken packs for lunch, hot meal for dinner. i eat dinner on the trail. takes me less than half hour from start to finish for dinner. sometimes i take a nap. then i hike till dark. i routinely do 30+ mile days so this meal plan doesn't really slow me down.
Another category of people who would definitely benefit from cold-soaking is those going out in less than ideal conditions. Are there gonna be 35mph gusts the whole time? Is it gonna rain for 2 days straight and your tent is your only shelter? Cold-soaking saves you a lot of hassle in poor weather, even just for short trips.
i completely get the idea for cold soaking but personally speaking i just have a preferance for hot meals, and i when backpacking or camping pack a lightweight twig stove yes it requires stopping and gathering twigs and lighting a fire but i also tend to make homemade fire disks that will light a small twig fire almost near instantly. i also tend to make most of my meals for backpacking using dehydrator method and over the next year while preparing for my 2026 thru hike of the AT will be making up 15 -25 resupply boxes for the trip. on days i go into town i also plan to carry back a couple eggs and a couple slices of bacon for the breakfast or even a "breakfast for dinner" meal as a lets get back out there and do this shit boost for myself my stove is a little under 1 pound and to cover for that extra weight i am using a lightweight pad and a tarp tent setup.
The best meal I've had on the trail was dubbed SPAM-cous by my hiking buddy. Recipe: dehydrated onions, dehydrated bell peppers, fresh jalapeno, SPAM and couscous. Admittedly, what made this the best trail meal I've had was the fact that after a few tought days of hiking around Yosemite, we made the meal and ate it at the base of El Cap while watching the ants (climbers that looked like ants from our vantage point) crawl up the rock face. It was our first time there and it made all the difference.
packitgourmet.com/ and use code "jupiterhikes15" for 15% off your order! This is valid until 4/26/24, thank you packit!!
Ima try'm out. Bought 1 of each
Just ordered two meals, the cajun chicken ranch and the tortilla soup. Thanks for the tip and the discount!
Pack it gourmet is amazing ! They also have a “grocery “ section where you can buy freeze dried ingredients to make your own recipes. I buy freeze dried chicken , freeze dried blueberries, and some mozzarella cheese from them. Good prices too
Huge advocate here for "pack out town food." I had 6 weeks off work last year so decided to do the desert section of the PCT. I had a couple bars and ramen packets in my bag, but pretty much lived on town food, doing about 20 mile days. Packed out a large pizza in Morena which got me to Laguna. Did the same which got me to Julian. Packed out a tin foil rack of ribs and a large pizza that got me to PVC. Burgers from Big Bear to Cajon Pass. At that point I bought 50 chicken McNuggets and marched on west. I found that as long as I could continue 15-25 mile days I could keep packing out town food and eat like a king. People kept stopping and asking me "what are you eating." Pizza, my friend. A family sized pizza. All for me.
Anyway cold soaking is awesome too and I can't wait to try some of these out. Great video dude. Loving the consistency.
love this!
@DevinSchiro, fuckin' sick, mate! You've shifted my perspective... i think i'm gonna try this!
Best comment ever!
dumb question but how exactly did you pack it out? Did you bring some gallon ziploc bags for that purpose or did you just strap the pizza box to your pack lol
@@lilyweinberg8635 Not a dumb question at all! I will be the first to admit that I had varying results asking the restaurants I ordered pizzas from to cut them up. The dialogue would always go something like this: "Hey, so I'm a PCT hiker and I'm wondering if you could ask the kitchen to possible cut up this pizza and pack it out in a form that might slot into my backpack?" A couple places knew exactly what needed to be done and were like "no problem, we're on it!" They handed me a tin foil cylinder with the individual slices packed up on top of each other, forming something like a triple decker sandwich. The place in Julian tried to play dumb and refused to accommodate, but still gave me a few sheets of large tin foil so that I could cut it up myself and pack it to my liking. It always ended up looking kind of like a tin foil stuff-sack, and I'd just lay it vertically at the top of my pack, where I could open the top and sneak little bites here and there when stopping for a breather.
A lot of times I just ended up carrying around 5-7 gallon zip lock bags that would be my left-overs, and then I also carried a Talenti jar like Jupiter describes, which made for an excellent impromptu to-go container. When I'd hit the next town, if there was a sink and soap available, I'd flip my zip-locks inside out, wash them out and then leave them to dry (which was always very quick), then flip them back and re-use them. My collection of zip-locks lasted my entire 600 mile hike across the desert, but I would likely have gotten new ones per section of the PCT if I were to keep going.
Don't try to reuse tin foil. It's too messy, doesn't re-fold, and is just all around awful. It's single serving only.
LASTLY....I will be the first to admit that nothing about my approach to food was ultralight. But my base weight was so low (around 8 lbs I think), and water was plentiful, and I was enjoying pizza so much that I didn't care if it pushed my pack weight up 5-6 pounds, as long as I was eating so well and enjoying myself. That said, if I had to do it again, I would probably pack out a little less town food and try some of the recipes Jupiter describes. Because none of the town food is "warm" anyway so in reality, it's just next-level cold soaking style cuisine anyway.
Anyway hope this helps!
Minute rice + dried refried beans + Salsa Queen freeze-dried salsa + home dehydrate veg = 10/10 meal
For breakfast i would, hugely, recommend looking at overnight-oats recipes.
Pre-hike make your mix in ziplock bags
oats + as your licking (chiaseed, gojiberries, nuts, protein powder, chocolate, dried mangoes, etc)
Gets you all the nutrients and vitamins ultralightweigt.
Just add water in the evening.
I'm probably the only person who does this but I've been cold soaking tortellini all week for dinner... in my house 😂 I hate waiting for water to boil and pasta to cook so I cold soak it from morning until dinner time then when I'm ready to eat I throw it on the stove with butter, sauce and seasonings for just a couple minutes. Not exactly on theme but I love the idea that cold soaking can be more efficient at home too!
While I need my hot meal at night for morale, I think these are fabulous ideas for lunch when you want to keep moving. Always love your videos Jupiter! These are great ideas.
I wonder if you could put the jar in a sunny place and have a hot meal instead. Maybe paint your jar black.
- potato flakes, nutritional yeast, onion, garlic, pepper, salt
- couscous, soy curls, basil, lemon powder, pepper, salt
- minute rice, black bean flakes, pinto beans flakes, chili seasoning
- quick oats, coconut shreds, chia seeds, dehydrated strawberries, dehydrated bananas
- dates, peanut butter powder, ground flaxseed, cacao nibs
- salted walnuts, dried apricots, dried mango, dried pineapple
Thanks for vegetarian ideas
Thank you for recipes that don’t require harming innocent animals! 🌱💚✌🏽
You got me hooked on cold soaking a few years ago and now I'm "that guy" on trail with my friends 😂
I read about it in a very OLD book about hiking. Whole wheat bread etc,. Take it out, sit on it, smash it flat. Put back in wrapper. Makes some mighyt thin samitches but I like it just fine. And it takes up very little space
I don't understand why your channel isn't bigger! I enjoy your videos so much! I love how you "sneak" in that backdrop - no mention of it, it just happens to be there, lol. Looking forward to the next hiking videos. Thank you so much for sharing.
You can also secure the jar in a mesh bag on top of your backpack for a solar soak. In sunny weather, the food could easily get to a temperature at which we’d call it a hot meal.
As long as you eat it as soon as it gets that warm so you don't accidentally give yourself food poisoning.
i'm not doing that with a plastic pot!
Yeah, No. bad idea. When he said add extra fixins to your meal, he wasn’t referring to bacterial growth
Protein powder with instant coffee was a great hot coffee replacement for my mornings. Mix, pack-up, hike and sip.
Love it! Another of my favorites with ramen is hiker trash peanut noodles: cold soak the ramen with the seasoning pack, add a packet of siracha or other hot sauce, some peanut butter and a few crushed nuts for crunch. This hits the spot every time.
Thanks Jupiter! It's not much but I've learned so much over the years watching your videos, and this stoveless stuff is really next level for me. Have a good year.
My favourite coldsoaking recipe is for breakfast:
- 50 gram oatmeal
- 50 gram chiaseeds
- good scoupe of peanut butter
- raisins
- milkpowder
I think this is a great combo of fast and slow carbs, fats and protein. And it tastes great.
throw in a dash of nutmeg and/or cinnamon - YUM!
After seeing some others calling themselves “pro” hikers, I just wanna say you’re truly crushing it and an actual “pro” Keep on hiking on brother. Good luck on your trip to you and your partner!! When I did the AT and CT I cold soaked oatmeal almost every morning. It was delicious. If and when I do my next hike I think I would do overnight oats with peanut butter powder and carnation instant breakfast. Maybe some seeds or nuts as a garnish.
Thanks Jupiter! Coincidentally I just bought a Vargo Bot 700, so now I can cook or coldsoak. I have special dietary needs, so I can't (and wouldn't want to) hike a long trail eating hikertrash food such as ramens, jelly babies, snickers bars etc. My hospital's dietician and nutritionist said that long hikes can be pretty tough on the body, so my body is craving complex carbohydrates, protein structures, micronutrients, vitamins and minerals, not just the calories per oz that seems a pretty common approach by many hikers. My body needs balanced nutrition to repair my body on a cellular level whilst I'm sleeping etc. So for me pack weight is 4th on my list of priorities. My priorities are hydration, nutrition and a good night's sleep. So a comfortable sleep pad and carrying Proper, Real Food is common sense to fuel me on a long distance hike. A healthier body won't notice those few extra ounces, where as an undernourished body will feel pretty lousy whether one is sedentary or hiking 30 miles a day.
I like the bot
A meal I had once was dehydrated spaghetti. A friend had a dehydrator and dehydrated spaghetti sauce and wrapped it in wax paper. Then he took a box of spaghetti noodles and put them into a gallon ziplock. The more broken they were the better. When it was time, we added the noodles and sauce to our plastic jars, added some water and let everything rehydrate.
I think it’s important to experiment on actual cold-soak times. I find that the Minute Rice (5
Minute) is less crunchy and more digestible after 3 hours, rather than 30 minutes. Because my cold-soaking and eating times can overlap, I carry two Talenti-sized jars, so that if one meal gets delayed, I can be soaking my next meal and I can stay on my eating schedule. Also, I buy all my jars and bottles from Litesmith. Better plastic and lids than Talenti and PB jars, and their selection is top-notch, truly one-stop for bottles and jars.
Something I recently tried and really enjoyed was cereal. 90g of chocolate cereal + 30g of hazelnut/roasted (unsalted) peanuts + 30g of powered milk; add 300ml of water when you eat, and boom instant cereal. 648 kcal for 150g and tastes just like home!
Thanks for this! Lots of good ideas regardless of whether or not I go stoveless. I would never question your experience or your cred but this doesn't seem like a weigh issue. The canisters ARE a big pain. The scenario I find myself in is having to leave a partial at the trailhead for someone else because of flying home and if I couldn't find the real small ones, I'm actually giving away more than I used. I eat a lot of hard cheese and pepperoni anyway but my no stove problem is coffee in the morning. I'm almost 59 and don't rocket out of camp anymore in the mornings. I like to 'chill' with a hot drink int he AM. Your the man!
Great options, thanks for sharing. They all look pretty good and the cool thing is you can always rehydrate them with hot water and eat them warm if you have a stove. I've been cold soaking my lunches on the trail this year and although they're fine, there's never been a time when I find myself craving some cold couscous or cold ramen. But I do crave a hot coffee in the morning and a hot meal in the evening. So taking a stove kit is part of what makes the experience fun for me. If I'm alone or with one other person I prefer to use an alcohol cook set as opposed to gas. I only really use canister fuel if I'm cooking for more people, which I also like to do. But these recipes look great anyway, thanks again for putting out this video.
Beef, chicken or vegetable Bouillon cubes, crushed up and added to a rice or couscous cold soak works well to add some flavor. Knorr stock pots (if you can find them).
Wonderful! Lots of ideas I hadn’t thought of. Once I saw a guy on trail pull out a tortilla, smear on cream cheese, then slice on half an avacado, roll it up and eat it while walking away!
Made the mistake of using a few of the instant ice coffee packets before realizing there was aspartame in them. So I gave the regular instant coffee another try and it works great when I shake it up really really good. Big fuel and time saver.
Almost every morning I have crunchy peanut butter on tortillas with sunflower seed kernals. Makes life simpler and it's probably the best bang for the buck how it holds me over until lunch. Gotta try the pb&b recipe..my kid is going to love that one!
Someone else mentioned gearskeptic youtube channel and one thing I learned from him was the simple meat sticks + cup of gatorade (from powder) as a snack before dinner to boost protein which helps muscle recovery. Sounds like nothing but since I've started doing this, I do not get overwhelmed with fatigue like I used to.
Awesome comment. I have found this true, too. Protein quickly during recovery really seems to help! I was amazed when I tested it.
Love the Beans and rice recipe. Had to learn not to cold soak the Fritos. Soggy! 😅. I call it simply “Jupiter’s Beans and Rice”.
Yeah, Jupe. You gotta look into making your own brand of cold soak!
@@JacobSupertramp That is a great idea. I hope he does exactly that
@@jhonyermo it’d suit his style haha
Except... it's skurkas beans and rice
@@lutze5086 call the cops
Great video. I've never bought a packaged meal. I've been preparing my own meals for years. Yes, I use a dehydrator. I make a mix of ground beef, rice, cooked dried pinto beans, dried vegetables, and wild mushrooms. I'm not quite at the level of stoveless. I boil my meal in water for about 3 minutes, then let it sit for an hour and it's ready. For breakfast I prepare muesli consisting of various cereals and nuts and peanut oil and honey, all baked in the oven. I add to it water and dried fruits and milk powder. It is incredibly tasty. No cooking required. And my lunch is hard salami and gouda cheese which have always lasted me for a week.
Really enjoying your approach, videos and vibe. Much appreciated!
You got me into cold soaking. And last year spending 2 months on the road with my horse it was so easy. Even cold coffee did not bother me! I would buy Müesli with dried fruit and nuts and put my instant coffee in the bowl. Took some time to get use to it. But now I sometimes make it at home because I love the tate and it brings me back to my dream trip. Thanks jupiter!
I bring apples, oranges, cucumber in lieu of carrying water for the first day out of town. Znatural foods has dried cashew milk. Total game changer for making meals creamy and for coffee and tea. They have all kinds of bulk powders. I would make banana berry smoothies.
Doritos ....... crush up an 8 oz bag of Doritos ( or Chex Mix) - eat dry and delicious. Carbs, fats, salts - all goodesness for hikers. No cook, no fuss - no mess. Yes - you need a quart sized freeser bag for this to work!! Hike Strong !!
Carrying a variety of spices will help give you variety with the same meal. Also green onion packs out well for several days.
It works done it but always carry a stove and I grew up in Jupiter Farms too, I wrestle weight always a thang but live out here every day comfort Items are a plus
I like to bring a bag of spinach, just take the air out of the bag. Even if it gets wilted, they’re still ok especially if you plan to mix it with rice or even mashed potatoes. They’re great for wraps with cheese and pepperoni.
Fillos Walking Tomales! Just discovered them hiking PCT. The are perfect hiking/ dry camping meal!
Excited to try these!
Great video and guide. And yes town food! Here' are some things I do. Liquid breakfast Mocha = two packets of chocolate carnation instant breakfast, Nido whole milk powder and instant coffee. Maltodextrin + electrolytes for liquid fuel during the day. For diners Andrew Skurka's recipes are an excellent resource and my go to.
Headed out to Ireland for my son and I's first threw hike. Coast to coast, and around about. Didnt know about this style of food prep. We will be using what i learned today. Thanks!
OH NO Thanks, I enjoy a hot meal at the end of the day and hot coffee in the morning. Having an ultra light pack is not as important to me as the enjoyment of the hike. I dehydrate my own food and do cold soak my oats over night, and sometimes a delicious cold soak salad for lunch. I love to hear what other people do, thanks for sharing your experience.
Packit gourmet is also great because they sell bulk freeze dried ingredients, as well as the meals. I love adding their freeze dried meats to my homemade hiker food.
For the fuel can problems, you can measure how much fuel is left by floating the can in water. Won't tell you how many more boils you have, but can give you a rough idea how much fuel is left.
Thanks. That helps a lot. I'm still on the fence. I have a jar ready but I really enjoy hot coffee/tea lol. I've been trying out the LiteSmith jar which you can pour hot water in. So used it as a mug and as a cold soaking jar. Nice to have the option to cold soak to save fuel and have a leftover container.
Great video as always, Jupiter. Thumbs up for Packit Gourmet. I have enjoyed their cook and cook-less meals for years.
It’s not for everyone, but pemmican. One of the most calorically dense foods. Weight to calorie ratio is excellent. Weight to protein ratio is excellent. And there’s no weird ingredients.
I also add curry to couscous.
Good hike Jupiter, thanks for your vids. I see your public is growing over the years, I am happy for you. Regards from Spain.
Nice video. Good, informative content. For me the thing is, I just have a hot cup of coffee in the am and after dinner in the pm. I could probably do without. An empty jar of peanut butter, a plastic spoon, and a trip to Walmart seems like an affordable and nutritious way to go.
I only cook two meals in the evening and don't have some of the "problems" described and it's very efficient. Once for the evening and the second meal for the morning of the following day and two bars in between. But I also live in a region where it's cool and it's important to give the body some energy in the cool down phase.
Dude you gotta add beans to the ramen bomb, it’s dope, especially the green chili beans
This is indeed next level, we would be fast friends
Less is more...love the simplified hike
A splash of honey on that peanut butter banana tortilla…yum
Great idea!!!
All right, all right. You've convinced me to try stoveless. Sounds kind of fun now!
👍 Absolutely fantastic Jupiter - thanks for sharing those great food ideas. I haven’t done the Ramen Bomb yet (!) but can definitely recommend bananas and Nutella on a wrap 😎
For many years I was scared of the ramen bomb, but have definitely come around! It's a lot better than expected
Thanks for this video full of ideas. I fell in love with cold soaking when I hiked the TRT last year. These ideas just made it even better!
We've used some of your recipes before. They're great!
If it is really hot and sunny outside I could imagine that your "cold" meal could be warm if you could set your peanut butter jar in the sun on your pack or sitting on a sunny rock.
This is awesome, TH-cam needed a comprehensive video like this! Personally, I only go out for long weekend trips near home, so homemade meals from my dehydrator are my favorites. My go to is chili and minute rice with Fritos. I’ll usually bring a ziplock twist n lock container because it can handle boiling water. If I’m with a friend who’s bringing a stove anyway, I’ll offer to carry their fuel canister or pot or something in exchange for some boiling water at the end of the day. However, I’ve found that I’d rather eat cold-soaked dinner and then take them up on hot water for breakfast most of the time. Hot oatmeal does more for my morale when I wake up, surprisingly.
I've been looking forward to trying this! Thanks for sharing your recipees in the description too! You're the best!
Love my hot filter coffee & oatmeal every morning. Love my hot meal of a night. Have no issues carrying the kit which enables it. Oh, and I eat and drink resting in my Heloix chair. Yeah boye!!!
I was just watching videos about cold soaking because you promise this video and i couldnt find it and... Here it is, loved it, thanks!
I personally like those green belly meal to go bars. Really good and filling.
Always good, Jupiter. Enjoy the Hayduke.
It is always good to have options, in my opinion. Most people are not even aware that cold soaking is an option. 👍
Fantastic subject choice! I am trying to do more of this as the Sierra where I live, is just getting hotter and hotter and often a hot meal is just not what I want. I lLOVE pack-it gourmet so I’d say that many of their options are my favorite stoveless meals. I’m 60 and most super processed foods just don’t agree with me, so I am working also on dehydrating my own.
I just watched your last video and in that, you hinted this video. Going backpacking tomorrow, what a convenience Im able to watch it beforehand. Thank you!
Good to see someone not starving themselves and realizing that on very long hikes, vitamins are essential.
Alright! You make it sound tasty and fun. I already dehydrate food for my suppers; it looks like your recipes can add more variety. Always good. I’ll have to give it a try for warm season hiking.
I like milk & cereal for breakfast, 3/4 cup Grape Nuts + 1/4 cup Unsweetened Coconut Shavings (for fat & calories) + 1/4 cup NIDO (Powdered Milk), add water, shake, instant milk & cereal. Another is Instant Grits + Real Bacon Pieces from condiment section; Bacon pieces go well with mash potatoes, grits, or Ramen. This probably sounds weird but Tortillas + Peanut Butter + Sliced Salami taste great. I also bring Sausage, BBQ Brisket, BBQ Pulled Pork, Precooked Bacon, Tuna + Mayo, and SPAM on Tortillas. I can eat everything cold but I bring a BBQ fork to cook SPAM & Sausage over fire, just taste better cooked. Those precooked Chicken or Steak Fajitas will keep for a day (longer if cold weather), good on tortillas.
Great video! I very much appreciate the recipes. I think, even if someone loves cooking their mountain house, having alternatives is a great idea. Sometimes I get to camp and the last thing I want to do is cook. I'm more likely to skip on those nights which is doing no one any favors.
I am curious to try this now, and I'm confident I could manage on this diet for an extended period. Man, when I hike long stretches I'm so hungry everything tastes like a five -star meal anyways! For many though, you're spot on, the morale boost of a warm/hot meal is crucial to making it through a long journey. I'm guessing you transfer food from the bulky store containers into something lighter or that packs down better?
On the AT right now and I think my one friend who's cold soaking is eating the best out of all of us
That's cool!! What are they eating out there?
@@JupiterHikes last night he had couscous and some summer sausage then I saw him eat a couple sausages with some avocado he packed out. The real innovation tho he has a coffee pod filter that fits in his jar he fills it with coffee every night and makes cold brew for the morning.
@@User123456767 i love that idea with the coffee pod. have to try that! thx
WOW! You hike with a chair?!? Nice!
Amen to trail pizza. I use a tortilla, the boboli sauce packets (or sometimes you can find tomato paste in packets or even a tube which is less messy) and string cheese. The flatbread or naan is a great idea instead of a tortilla! I'll have to try that.
I had sharp cheddar block cheese last a week easy (60-70F day temp, upper 20s-upper 30sF night). Sure, gets a bit greasy late in the week but who cares when added to beans and rice.
I am a "soaker". It is so easy. One of my go to meals is a daily mix of nuts, seeds, etc. For the weight they provide needed fats, high calories, and high nutrition.
I love eating whole oats, adding freeze dried fruit and nuts. High calories and great taste. You don't have to wait long to eat. "Edit addition" I have been adding Carnation to my oatmeal for decades. Glad to see someone else who does it.
Great video and ideas and even though I’m in UK 🇬🇧 it has still given me a lot of information I can use whilst grocery shopping. 👍
LOVED my fast, no canisters waste cold soak SOBO!
I like to do plain oatmeal and add half to 3/4 scoop of flavored protein powder (vanilla, peanut butter, etc...) and water. I personally prefer the ones sweetened with Stevia or other non sugar sweeteners, but that's what works for me. Add raisins or other dried/freeze dried fruit, chocolate chips, coconut flakes, crushed nuts, and so on. Also, the protien powder and milk powder with store bought granola premixed into individual servings, then just add water. Enjoy your hike!
I love this! I used to bring my stove and then never use it. I like to buy the tube of tomato paste to add to the pizza. Room temperature cheese goes great with evertyhing lol
I love using RollinGreens taco me'eat (plant based, I know), instant mashed potatoes, and fritos to top it off. I literally eat it every night.
So next month Im leaving a bunch of organic dried flaked pinto beans portioned out in zip locks at Hike n Peaks hiker box in Sisters, Oregon. The provenance is excellent. I just have way too much!
I have so many allergies that i have to make my own food and cold-soakable dehydrated food is a total game changer for travel even outside of backpacking because i don't have to play a very risky game of "will i be able to eat" crossed with "will i have a bad reaction"
One meal I haven't seen mentioned: chia seed pudding. 50g powdered coconut milk, brown sugar to taste, 40g chia seeds. Make sure to mix a little water into the coconut milk *first* to reconstitute because otherwise it will be lumpy
Really great ideas and recipes! I'd add olive oil, nuts, chocolate and cocos cream wherever I can to get my food above 500 kcal/100g. Ultralight here means taking as much fat as possible having that higher caloric density. Sadly, in Europe, there are usually not so many options available (e.g. no instant beans). At least couscous supply is good in France
You kinda blew my mind about cookless backpacking...😊
I guess it's actually called stoveless backpacking...but no matter 😉 thank you for the info! 👍🏼
Have a nice hike! ….I’ll be following with anticipation!👍😃
Freeze-drying is very different (and superior) to dehydrating for many things where texture matters! Unfortunately they're pretty expensive, serious machines. Dehydrators are still great though within their limits!
We don’t have minute rice and dehydrated beans in Australia. I do a lot of dehydrating myself. Love your videos Jupiter.
I know this isn’t the point of your video but I bought a dehydrator a couple years back and when I make a meal that’s pretty good but I don’t want to worry about eating the left overs before they go bad, I dehydrate them. As a result I have a go-to supply of backpacking meals. This system is only convenient if you do it as part of a routine, rather than making a lot of meals just for backpacking. Anyway, I love the idea of cold soaking and would like to try it. But just wanted to throw out an option for people who cook a lot and inevitably have leftovers. Just dehydrate them.
I’m leaving to hike the PCT in a week and this video actually made me excited to cold soak! I was pretty much dreading it before lol
Good luck on your trail. Will be thinking about how fun it would be at work today.
Packit Gourmet y'all....sooooo good. If you have the dolla.
the only cold soaking i do is strawberry granola. i get up, have a breakfast bar. hike for a couple of hours, coffee and bigger breakfast on the trail. tuna or chicken packs for lunch, hot meal for dinner. i eat dinner on the trail. takes me less than half hour from start to finish for dinner. sometimes i take a nap. then i hike till dark. i routinely do 30+ mile days so this meal plan doesn't really slow me down.
Excellent video! Thank you so much!! 🧡
Beans and Rice are my favs too
FANSTASTIC, thanks Jupiter!
Another category of people who would definitely benefit from cold-soaking is those going out in less than ideal conditions. Are there gonna be 35mph gusts the whole time? Is it gonna rain for 2 days straight and your tent is your only shelter? Cold-soaking saves you a lot of hassle in poor weather, even just for short trips.
i completely get the idea for cold soaking but personally speaking i just have a preferance for hot meals, and i when backpacking or camping pack a lightweight twig stove yes it requires stopping and gathering twigs and lighting a fire but i also tend to make homemade fire disks that will light a small twig fire almost near instantly.
i also tend to make most of my meals for backpacking using dehydrator method and over the next year while preparing for my 2026 thru hike of the AT will be making up 15 -25 resupply boxes for the trip.
on days i go into town i also plan to carry back a couple eggs and a couple slices of bacon for the breakfast or even a "breakfast for dinner" meal as a lets get back out there and do this shit boost for myself
my stove is a little under 1 pound and to cover for that extra weight i am using a lightweight pad and a tarp tent setup.
Simply Salad with tuna, mayo, avocado, dried cranberries...yum😅
The best meal I've had on the trail was dubbed SPAM-cous by my hiking buddy. Recipe: dehydrated onions, dehydrated bell peppers, fresh jalapeno, SPAM and couscous. Admittedly, what made this the best trail meal I've had was the fact that after a few tought days of hiking around Yosemite, we made the meal and ate it at the base of El Cap while watching the ants (climbers that looked like ants from our vantage point) crawl up the rock face. It was our first time there and it made all the difference.
Thanks for the tips! Loved that!
IT HAS ARRIVED, THE CHOSEN VIDEO
I thought there'd be some Hayduke footage by now, hope you're alright out there.