In a recent post, rjkraft15 said he liked to add a slice of orange to a foil packet of fish for baking. That sounds good! I have never brought oranges before on a trip, but they should last a long time with a bit of protection.

That got me thinking of the fresh fruit and veggies I have brought before:
A few apples were a regular item for lunch, but can also be baked.
Carrots are good raw or cooked. I used to bring some baby carrots and cook them with fish in foil.
Dole Complete Salad (I like Caesar) for the first night.
Many years ago I used to bring potatoes for baking and corn-on-the-cob for roasting. I’ve given up on those because of weight & hassle. Boxed potatoes are used now and no corn.
I haven’t done it, but I know some folks bring a real lemon for fish.
I’ve also heard of folks packing in a cabbage to have salad later in their trip.

So, because that orange idea struck me as a good one I hadn’t thought or heard of, I thought maybe there were other good ideas for fresh fruit and veggies suitable for a BWCA-type trip.

Fruit cups-I bring mixed fruit or peaches in fruit cups fairly often. It makes for a nice lunch item to go with a sandwich. Maybe not fresh but it stays good all trip as long as they are protected and don't leak all over the pack. I store mine in double sealed ziplocks or even vac pack them with my daily lunch rations.

I've been bringing apples and oranges for the past few years. I still bring some potatoes as long as my son is along to haul the food barrel. On my long trips I haven't brought any fresh fruits and veggies, but that's mostly a space issue.

Brocolli cut up into small pieces can be eaten raw, steamed, or boiled. It keeps and packs pretty good. You gotta like it of course.

I saw somewhere on this board about packing in a watermelon. I figure if some are crazy enough to bring in cases of beer in plastic bottles a whole watermelon wouldn't be a problem for some either.

This past June me and the group I was with were all newbies and did a loop through, gabbro, bald, gull, pietro.

Unfortunately the food planning was "handled" by 2 other guys in the group, one of them being my older brother. After hours of arguing they decided on the shopping list. They also decided that any additional input perpetuated this argument, even if it was based on hard-earned facts from this very website. The planning was complete.

We ate like Kings that week. we baked oranges with our fish. We fried apples with our pancakes. We had carrots with our carrots, and we had fried potatoes with every meal...........

we also had an 85 lb foodpack and plenty of broken backs.

It is true that we all learned many lessons on this trip. It is also true that we all probably GAINED a few pounds.

the most important lesson learned: ALWAYS BRING EXTRA COFFEE!

I always pack fresh fruit and veggies on my trips. The one pound packs of carrots and radishes work great. I enjoy having veggies to crunch on about the 3rd or 4th day out. The 1st night out I usally make fajitas with fresh red and green peppers and fresh purple onion. For fruits I have packed in apples and asian pears. The asian pears are similar to apples in shape and hardness, very different than a normal pear and I think travels much better. I have tried taking oranges but dont like the peel mess to deal with. Cucumbers work well also but there is a lot of water weight for what you get, but sometimes it is a nice change. I have been thinking about taking some leeks and potatoes in for soup. I think they will ride well being pretty solid.

tony

You can't have too much coffee.

I've been known to bring in peppers and fresh tomatoes - the trick is to buy them (or pick them) just before you depart - rinse them off with a bleach/water solution - dry carefully and pack in an empty and washed out milk carton.

They'll last for days this way.

Ah, the watermellon was very much enjoyed on Yumyum lake. Ever since then the "foodbag guy" has to keep an eye on the foodbag and what people are putting into it before we depart. It was cool that phgportager had a good sense of humor when he found it.

Garlic is a nice and compact addition to the foodbag.

Other than that maybe some onions and oranges come along for the ride.

Hex