Whether it’s Larapinta, Bibbulman, or The Overland Track – one thing you need to consider ahead of a multi-day hike is the kind of food you’ll need to fuel your body for the entire journey.
It’s key to consider the kind of food you’ll need to fuel your body on a multi-day hike.
Lightweight Cooking Appliances
Given the limited space available in a hiking pack or on a bike, it’s recommended to use a compact hike stove for meal preparation. Cooking on a campfire or BBQ is not always convenient when hiking or riding in remote areas, and often not allowed due to fire bans.
The 360 Degrees Furno Stove only weighs in at 99g, and there’s the popular MSR Pocket Rocket compact stove weighing in at just 85 too. These are perfect for hiking or adventure bike riding, as they fold down to fit in the palm of your hand and slide easily into pack pockets and bike panniers. With the gas canister and complete pot set, the 360 Degrees Furno stove weighs in at just 385g!
How much weight should I allow for food each day?
On average, 700g–1kg of food per day is recommended. This will depend on how much you know your body will need. Bring a small surplus in case you’ve underestimated your appetite or ultimately spend an extra night on the trial. An extra meal plus snacks should cover you.
Bring a small surplus of food in case you ultimately spend an extra night on the trial. Image: Sea to Summit
Where can I find lightweight hiking food?
Meal prep for hiking can be as easy as hitting up your local supermarket/s. Condiments, snacks, breakfasts, lunches, and dinners can all be bought here – but for more specialised items like freeze-dried meals and nutritional supplements, head online to your favourite outdoors store, or health food supplier.
How should I pack my meals?
Firstly, don’t leave it until the night before!
It’s best to plan ahead of time prep food bit by bit in the weeks or days leading up to your getaway. Avoid unnecessary weight and occupying precious pack space by removing all excess packaging. Ziplock bags are perfect for hiking, as they’re super lightweight and form a tight, leak-proof seal to keep meals fresh.
Pre-mix your meals too – for example, condiments. You’d be surprised at how similar food can look in low light conditions!
You can also separate your meals into different bags throughout your pack. So, rather than sorting through lunches and dinners looking for your brekkie, go straight to your breakfast bag and retrieve the day’s meal according to its number.
A day’s worth of food (approximately) might look like this.
Breakfast
Depending on your schedule, you may like to eat something that involves the least amount of prep time, such as a muesli or power bar. Alternatively, you might want something warm in your belly to start the day – especially on a chilly morning! Instant oatmeal with honey, fruit, or nuts is a solid choice and a substantial way start to a long day of hiking.
If you’ve planned a ‘rest’ day and wish to indulge in a cooked breakfast, you could bring instant pancake mix. It’s a good idea to have this portioned out into Ziplock bags, so you’re not stuck with the larger plastic container they’re often packaged in on the shelves. Simply add water and shake, before pouring into a lightweight skillet or fry pan. Add in a cup of tea or coffee, and you’ll be ready kick it to the summit!
Breakfast Food Options:
- Instant Oatmeal
- Muesli
- Dried fruit and nuts
- Pre-made pancake mix and powdered milk
- Muesli bars
- Specialised protein or energy bars
- Pre-packaged blends (e.g. Back Country Cuisine’s Yoghurt & Muesli, Porridge Supreme, or Cooked Breakfast
- High-performance breakfasts (e.g. the Radix Nutrition range: Apple, Cinnamon & Turmeric, or Mixed Berry).
Lunch
For lunch, you’ll want something easy to prepare without the need to fire up your stove. Some hikers prefer to keep their momentum going, so instead of taking a lunch break they snack at intervals throughout the day. This sustains and stabilises their energy.
Crackers, wraps, or dense bread with basic toppings are an excellent staple for lunch. If you’re a vegetarian, add sundried tomatoes, tahini, or nut butter. If you eat meat and dairy – tuna, salami, or cheese are substantial protein options. Just add your favourite condiments!
On-The-Go Lunch Options
- Crackers or biscuits
- Pita bread
- Tortillas
- Rye or dense bread
- Cheese
- Sundried tomatoes
- Deli meats
- Dried meats (i.e. jerky)
- Tuna
- Tahini or nut butter
- Honey, jam, chutney, or relish
Dinner
More of a gourmet eater? You might prefer preparing your own meals on the trail. Carbs such as instant rice, pasta, couscous, and noodles can be cooked with some protein and/or dehydrated vegetables. Add a sauce or spice blend, and you’ll have a pretty tasty meal providing the protein, carbohydrates, and fats you need after a day of exertion!
It’s a good idea to include some variety in your menu too, as the same meal 7 nights in a row will likely become pretty mundane. When planning your hike, check the cooking time on specific foods. The longer the cooking time, the more fuel you’ll have to bring.
Dinnertime Food Options:
- Fast cooking rice
- Pasta
- Couscous
- Noodles
- Tuna, salmon, or sardines (in a packet, not a tin)
- Jerky, salami, or other dried/deli meat
- Cheese (such as gouda or cheddar)
- Lentils
- Dried vegetables (Asian grocers are a great source)
- Instant mashed potato
You might prefer preparing your own meals on the trail. Image: JetBoil
Freeze-Dried Meals
Freeze-dried meals are a great option, as they’re lightweight, satisfying, and fast to prepare at the end of a long day. Developed to be nutritionally balanced, they cover your body’s needs across carbs, sugar, protein, and fats.
Simply boil water, add it to the pack, leave for 10 minutes – and the meal is ready to eat. This option does ultimately cost a little more than something prepared from scratch, but many consider the convenience worth the extra expense.
It can be difficult to predict how much water to add to your freeze-dried foods without measuring utensils. A good tip is to take a drink bottle with measurements on the side, and follow the directions on the meal packet. Some people prefer to use a little less water initially and add more if they desire a thinner consistency. If you’re eating straight from the packet, take a longer spoon or fork to stir with (so your hands don’t become grubby from digging at the bottom of the packet!).
In regards to portions – if you normally have a big appetite, definitely opt for a regular size. After hours of trekking, no one want to go to bed hungry!
Freeze-dried meals are a convenient and lightweight choice that makes food planning a little easier.
‘Wet’ Food Options
This option is not dehydrated nor freeze-dried; it’s fresh and pre-cooked, packed wet into pouches. Essentially, they’re ‘retort’ products – packaged the same way canned products are, but in a soft packet.
These products usually have 18-month ‘best-before’ dates as opposed to use-by dates – so even though the food quality degrades after 18 months, it is still safe to eat. Wet-pack food brands include Go Native and Offgrid Provisions.
For more on the pros and cons of wet-pack food, check out this blog too.
Dehydrating Food
Some people prefer to dehydrate their own homemade alternative to pre-packaged, freeze-dried meals.
Dehydrating food is cheaper than buying freeze-dried meals, and it’s a great option when you want to add more texture and flavour to starchy meals. However, if taking this route, you need to plan and be organised well in advance.
Dehydrating reduces the volume and weight of your food, but requires a little extra water and time to allow the food to rehydrate. Plus, it has the tendency to be a little more on the chewy side once rehydrated.
For more on dehydrating your own food for hiking, check out this episode of the Snowys Camping Show:
Snacks
Keeping your body nourished as you hike is important for sustaining your energy. It’s best to keep snacks in an accessible area, like the hip belt or side pockets of your pack, so you don’t have to rummage through your rucksack to find them!
Snacks for the Trail
- Dried fruit, fruit bar, or fruit leather/straps
- Nuts and seeds
- Chocolate
- Nut butter
- Muesli bars
- Specialised protein or energy bars
- Energy gels
- Smoothies (Banana, Berry, or Iced Mocha)
- Instant pudding or custard
- Scroggin
- Lollies
For more info on what snacks to pack, check out this blog too!
Grazing throughout the hike is important to maintain your energy levels.
Condiments and Spices
Whilst almost anything will taste great after a long day, you’ll be thanking yourself later for bringing along condiments and spices to enhance the flavour of your evening meal.
Bring a selection of your favourites, so you don’t tire of the same basic meal each day. If you’re pre-packaging each meal into a Ziplock bag, add it ahead of time or carry it separately to flavour at the time of eating.
Condiments and Spices
- Curry powder
- Tomato paste
- Garlic and onion flakes
- Capers
- Olives
- Sundried tomatoes
- Parmesan cheese
- Chilli flakes
- Jam
- Honey, rice, or malt syrup
- Packet sauces (tomato, sriracha, soy, or tamari)
- Powdered sauces
- Hummus
- Tahini
- Salt and pepper
In the evenings, a sachet of hot chocolate or Milo can go down a treat before bed. Image: Marmot
Beverages
Serious caffeine fiends would likely feel attached to their coffee machine at home! If the thought of granulated coffee touching your lips sends involuntary shivers up your spine, perhaps a portable coffee maker may be worth an extra 200-300g in your pack.
Not everyone is fussed about taste – so if this is you, just pack plenty of teabags, granulated coffee, or coffee bags for your morning caffeine kick.
During the day, a smoothie or hydration drink is nice to break up the monotony of plain water now and again, and in the evenings a sachet of hot chocolate or Milo can go down a treat before bed.
Beverages
- Instant coffee
- Powdered milk
- Teabags
- Electrolyte powder sachets or tablets
- Freeze-dried or powdered smoothies
- Hot chocolate sachets / Milo
Take along several different drinks to vary your fluid intake.
Ration Packs
So, if all that has sent your head spinning, or you just want to make things easy – Back Country Cuisine offers five all-inclusive packs. These include meals, snacks, treats, condiments, and beverages. They’re available in the Classic, Adventure, Vegetarian, Outback, and – to cater for those with specific dietary requirements – the No Worries Ration Pack.
Top 5 Meal Planning Tips for Multi-Day Hikes
- Ensure to give some of the meals a test run before you go, so you know you’ll enjoy that well-earned feed at the end of the day!
- Variety is important for longer trips. This helps to keep motivated and fuel your body for the entire trek.
- For the super organised, use a spreadsheet to record your food (and gear). This way you can weigh and calculate the total weight, as well as how much energy you’ll pack in per day.
- If you’re a big eater, try to find ways to cut down on weight in other areas of your pack so you can take more food with you.
- Include options that don’t need to be cooked, just in case your stove malfunctions or you drain your fuel.
Do you have any excellent tips for packing your food like a pro? Let us know in the comments below.
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Condensed Milk – Milk Condensed
I love my dehydrator, an odd one but a great option is cheese. I usually start a week before and dehydrate a small block of feta and one of a sharp cheddar. Mixed in with jerky, shelf stable meat sticks and some nuts and seeds can keep me going for four days when including energy gels and chews during the day and a decent dinner at night.
Thanks Penny! That sounds like it would beat the pants off the long-life cheese blocks you can find in the supermarket 🙂
Thanks for the tip.
You’re welcome, mate!
Some tips form my time in defence:
oats, condensed milk and warm water fill you up for breakfast. Lunch was tuna and crackers. Dinner, I would heat a packaged meal and put in half a cup of instant potato to bulk it up. I would graze on muslie bars, beef jerky and sustagen drinks during the day.
Another good tip – i would pour boiled water in my canteen and use it as hot water bottle in my sleeping bag and then have clean drinking water the next day for use.
Thanks so much!
Some great points. I had never thought of taking custard camping before. Great shout. Doing the Wainwright Coast to Coast from St. Bees to Robin Hoods Bay on the 5th July and trying to walk it in 4 days. I think custard is now going to be the morale booster that swings it my way! thanks very much
Great that you have picture of product from my home town of Invercargill. At the bottom of New Zealand. Back Country Cuisine.
good work you got the basics
Good advice! Thanks.
Happy you liked our advice Dan – Cheers! 🙂
your welcome mate
Hi Emily, looking at your pictures I’m pretty chuffed. We did the overland track 15 months ago. We took 8 days and my food packs looked just like yours. We did about 1kg for 2 people per day with a few extra snacks. We ate well and many of our travelling companions were jealous of the amount and variety of our meals. We used freeze dried main meals and desserts plus instant puddings and freeze dried fruits. Having dessert each night made us happy. I packed each day’s food on a separate zip lock bag so we didn’t have to think each day. Using freeze dried meals that just needed boiling water was a real advantage in terms of washing up. We had a large mug and a Spork as our only utensils.
I’m glad we were on the right track with our advice Denise!
When you’re working that hard on the trail, you’ve definitely got to factor in variety and treat yourself to a cheeky dessert every night for sure.
I hope you had a great time on your adventure on the Overland track – Cheers. ?
Hi Emily , We surely could have used this information and endless variety of food whilst hiking the Heysen Trail in the northern Flinders range over 30 years ago. My companions and I would survive on tinned bake beans, two minute noodles and fruit, pretty basic compared to what is available now . Great advice , keep up the good work. cheers, peter
While you may have had to eat tinned beans Peter, I’m sure that hiking the Heysen would still have been a great experience.
Maybe you can tackle it again with the help of a few freeze dried meals to lighten your load? 🙂
Thanks for the kind feedback, I’m so glad you found the blog informative!