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alright my fellow paleo peeps...I need some ideas of backpacking food...will need to pack 2 1/2 days of food into a bear can...going to stay paleo - but want more than dried fruit and beef jerky...any ideas??????

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haha, I went for 2 days, I made a trail mix of macadamia, cashews, coconut chips, and dried blueberries. Also had some Jerky....basically things you don't want. Not sure I can think of anything else. I suppose you could make some hard boiled eggs and eat them the first day? – ryan Jul 12 2011 at 16:56
Great timing as I'm taking a road trip and will be stuck in a van with 7 other family members for long stretches of time. I need to be able to resist their junk food! 8) – Ali Jul 12 2011 at 17:56
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I know you dont want dried fruit and jerky but consider on your last day eating a couple of prunes to help with a possible overage of nuts...(lets just chalk that one up to experience) – paleoprimal Jul 12 2011 at 23:48

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Hmm.. so I'm going to assume the jerky comment means you want to go light, with a smaller sized bear container and no actual cooking. What about chopped crunchy veg as that will travel well, same with fresh blueberries. Nuts. Coconut. Almond butter. Dark chocolate. If you're eating dairy a good hard cheese will be fine. Same with a saucisson. A few hardboiled eggs - unless you're in 100 degree heat you won't have to worry about them, just make sure they're cooked. Kale chips. Grain-free cookies. I found on an earlier thread a tip taken from one of Robb Wolf's podcasts and it was suggested to: melt a jar of coconut oil and submerge within it nuts and dried fruit (berries, etc). When it sets you can just spoon it out and you have a calorically dense easy to transport snack. You could easily make this in a small container easy to tote along. Happy camping!

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Oh! And olives! They'll hold up really well and give you a nice little fatty/salty kick :) – jesuisjuba - paleorepublic.com Jul 12 2011 at 17:18
+1 for the coconut oil idea! Definitely going to try this for my camping trip this weekend. – DanielleO812 May 9 2012 at 14:26
What do you do if its really warm out? Won't the oil not set? Would be great if you had a link to this podcast. – Dre Jul 2 at 22:29
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Someone else just asked something similar and you may find more good answers there: http://paleohacks.com/questions/51240/feedback-on-my-backpacking-meal-plan#ixzz1RvvVdmED

Here is what I wrote in response to the above linked to question, re-posted here because it's relevant, although I took out some of what I wrote in that other post because I didn't think it would be useful to you:

I'm an adventure/outdoor instructor, currently working as an expedition sea kayaking guide. I paddle for 5 days at a time and live out of my kayak in the back country.

I eat caveman crunch for breakfast. When I make it I substitute 1/2 the coconut oil for butter (because I love the taste), use pecans instead of sunflower seeds (they are supposedly linked to increased dehydration) and added in dried date pieces. YUM! Just put it in zip lock bags and add powdered coconut milk to it after you make it. Just add water for a yummy breakfast!

Meat pouches (does that sound dirty to anyone else?) are your friends. You can get tuna, salmon and chicken in pouch form. Take your own seasonings and eat right out of the pack. If you want to increase your fat intake and you aren't going someplace really warm, you can take avocados to mix in as a dressing of sorts. Avocados don't survive where I paddle, so I take mayonnaise packets instead.

You can also buy small single serving sized packets of almond butter. I've seen them at REI before.

I agree with jesuisjuba about the paleo cookies and dark chocolate.

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Meat pouches.. awesome. – Rhubarb Jul 12 2011 at 23:22
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Pre-cooked tubers, pemmican, nuts, hard cheese(if you do that). That's about all I can think of that is paleo off the top of my head, if you can tolerate grains rolled oats could make a compact convenient addition because they can be eaten as is.

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Really like the pre-cooked tuber idea. – Rhubarb Jul 12 2011 at 23:17
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If you can find those small 8 oz containers of almond milk or coconut milk somewhere, that would be ideal to pack for drinks or creamer. Also, those tear open packages of tuna, and if they have it, chicken. For the 1st day, you can freeze meat and put it in a small lunch size cooler to keep it cold, cooking it over a fire the 1st night. Root veggies, like carrots, yams, squash, can be cooked over a fire. Someone should carry a big pot for hot water also, so dried food can be rehydrated and coffee and tea can be made. On a cool fall trip I carried a small amount smoked sausage for the first day that said it didn't require refrigeration, I can't remember the brand, not the best meat, but better than nothing. Banana or plaintain chips and dried fruit and nuts are good.

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for pre packaged tuna....be sure to have a nice zip lok bag to keep that smell from the opened package away from the rest of your foods – paleoprimal Jul 12 2011 at 23:50
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I also just answered the similar question at http://paleohacks.com/questions/51240/feedback-on-my-backpacking-meal-plan#ixzz1RvvVdmED, but have you looked into wild edibles in the area? Nothing more Paleo then feasting on the natural flora. (Assuming you don't poison yourself).

Look for roots, and berries, stalks. Shell fish if you are on the coast. Stay away from mushrooms as they can be very hard to identify. Where I grew up we could easily survive for a few days with no supplies, but that was in Alaska where the wild edibles are plentiful.

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If you aren't going to a protected area, what about foraging where you go for greens and berries? I can't think of anything more paleo than that. I've also heard that beef jerky was historically used to make soup. If you are going to have access to boiling water you could take that jerky from snack to main course. I like munching on Nori sheets if only for variety. Pemmican? Or is that just a rehashing of the ingredients you're already kind of tired of?

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I just remembered that I've seen little freeze dried fish for snacking at asian grocery stores. – Happy Now Jul 13 2011 at 1:44

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