Healthy
Backpacking
Cookbook
Planning a backpacking trip involves making some important choices about where to hike, when to go, and what to bring.
When it comes to food, it might seem like the only options are expensive store bought meals, flimsy noodle packets, or impossibly heavy fresh goods, but with a little bit of extra planning, you can craft your own five-star wilderness cuisine.
Backpacking food can be ultralight, affordable, and nourishing.
Whatever your experience level on the trail or in the kitchen, this book is designed to help you go farther, hike faster, and feel healthier.
The story behind the book
In August of 2020, we were recruited out of the blue by a publishing company in the bay area to author a backpacking cookbook.
“We need this book written,” the acquisitions editor said, “and we heard you’re the ones to write it.”
So we did! We spent 3 months working full-time on the book: researching, shopping, chopping, measuring, baking, roasting, dehydrating, rehydrating, tasting, and re-working the healthiest, yummiest dehydrator recipes we could create. We hired a wonderful team of dedicated recipe testers to make our recipes in their own kitchens and send us their detailed feedback, promising them a copy of the book when it was published in 2021.
After we completed and submitted the manuscript, our editor ghosted us for a few weeks. Then his boss scheduled a Zoom meeting with us to regretfully inform us that consumer behavior had changed so much during COVID-19 that they couldn’t afford to print or market our book. Our editor followed up later that day to assure us that we’d done an awesome job and that we were true masters of our craft, but we were confused and dismayed—weren’t they the ones who recruited us just four months earlier?!
Needless to say, our hearts were broken. But, rather than let our amazing recipes disappear into darkness forever, we’re sharing them with you so you can enjoy them on your adventures!
We developed recipes that are so tasty, you may want to skip the dehydration and just eat them at home. We hope they’ll be something you can enjoy at home, on the road, and on the trail.
💚 Caroline + David
From the recipe testers...
“This was SOOO good, and way easier and faster than I would have expected! I really enjoyed it.”
“This recipe was delicious, and seems like it would be very filling. I'm glad to have one that seems particularly high-calorie, as that can be important for a dinner!”
“This is sooooo delicious, and the sauce is amazing. I will likely use that again in other recipes.”
“OMG SO GOOD! And so flavorful! I’m definitely going to be making this all the time when I go backpacking and even car camping now! I love that it doesn’t require any extra flavor enhancements (like sriracha) since that’s less I have to pack in.”
“Really nice to have a good vegetable-heavy lunch option. Flavors were great.”
“Super tasty, will make again, much better than basic oatmeal in the morning.”
“Loved these! This is a healthy, quick and easy snack for the trails or even just on a busy day at home. I had mine for breakfast and it filled me up for hours - nice hearty meal.”
“This was SOOOO delicious. Would love to make again! The serving sizes were perfect for a ‘city day,’ just being at home, LOL. But on the trail I probably would've eaten 2-3 times that much.”
“SO YUMMY! Hubby and I both loved this meal. I would absolutely make this again for dinner at home or for a trip.”
“I loved how easy and quick these were to make, and the yogurt added a nice variation from the usual dried fruit leathers. Thank you!”
“This has been my favorite so far! It was like a bowl of fudgy goodness. :)”
“My husband was SUPER hesitant about this. When he saw it come out of the dehydrator he told me I was on my own. I made him try it—and it was all we had for dinner! He loved it and it filled both of us up. I intended for it to be just an appetizer, but we both agreed that after one serving, we were pleasantly full. The flavor was wonderful—perfect for a Fall day! I sprinkled a little cinnamon on mine and it was really good. Great recipe—will make it again!”“So delicious and simple to make—I love this one!”
“This is my favorite recipe so far, and I think I will make massive amounts of it in the future. Also, it was really hard to set aside enough for rehydration, because it is SO delicious to just snack on. Like the most delicious potato chips ever made. I will actually probably eat it more often as a dry snack in the future!”
“This is very delicious! And really nice to pair with the tuna and boiled egg, which are convenient to bring. I would probably eat a lot more than one serving if I were hiking.”