i will be taking a fairly long trip this fall (about 14 days). i never eat much(volume) for dinners and oatmeal for breakfast every other morning. i feel im calorie starved at times. i do snack while traveling...luna bars, sausage sticks, and trail mix. thats about it.

is there a magic calorie bullet out there? my food packing space is very limited.

Kanoes -- If you are not already familiar with it, Google "Freezer Bag Cooking." I think their web site is now trailcooking.com.

In any event, FBC is all I would use on a 14 day trip like the one you contemplate. They have recipes for some very tasty dishes (hamburger and mashed potatoes with brown gravy is a favorite in my crowd).

dinners will be mountainhouse meals. im looking for an easy way to add calories.

Fat is the most calorie dense food. A pint of oil is probably about 4,000 calories as a guess. A jar of peanut butter, can of nuts has a lot of calories. Sugar, too, but it spikes blood sugar if you eat too much at one time. BTW, ProBars have about 375-400 calories per bar and make a good lunch.

I feel your pain brother. I'm taking three Bear Vaults (the 500 model). And still will have another hopefully SMALL bag for additional food on my twenty day solo. I have to pack protien... With my oatmeal it'll be eggs (with salsa that I dehydrated). And venison hamburger... Fish will be good too if you don't soak it in oil too bad. I'm using peanut oil this next trip... never tried it before... used olive oil in the past.

mmmmmmm.... peanut oil... make sure you read what's really in it when you buy it. Half of the time, it's half peanut oil.

Carbohydrate powder ?

I'm doing peanut butter and some very expensive organic strawberry preserves on small tortillas for half of my lunches. I'm going for 9 days. That with some good trail mix and maybe beef jerky will do it.

A vacuum sealer will help with the bulk part. I bought the small pet food vault at petsmart and will try to cram everything in. What container are you using for your food?

We always carry bags of bit-size Tootsie Rolls and Bit-O-Honeys that you can get prepackaged at Fleet Farm. We snack on these throughout the day. Also, the wax wrappers are some of the best fire-starters ever.

Also, we often have a bag of string licorice.

I'd add nuts. Lots of calories.

You could also try Ensure or check with the health food store for the stuff that bodybuilders use.

Buy a small tub of lard and smear it on everything (food that is)..;)

quote TomT: "What container are you using for your food?


"

a garcia backpackers cache and a bare boxer contender.

Dried banana chips are light weight, just looked at the bag of the type that I buy, 1/2 cup (2-3 handfuls) equals 150 calories. The potassium in the bananas also helps with the leg cramps that I'm prone to. I throw the chips in GORP which is a good source of carbs and calories, and also pack some separately. I like to snack on GORP -raisins, dried cranberries, peanuts, sunflower seeds and dried banana chips, but 14 days worth would add some bulk and weight.

I spent three days and two nights and did no cooking at all. I took bags of peanuts - the 59 cent ones or sometimes they are 2 for a buck, nature valley fruit and nut bars, cereal fruit bars, chicken nuggets from Jack Lynch - they were very good, a bag of cheetos - just a small bag - ate out of it for three meals, peanut butter sandwiches, dried apricots and Luna bars. The plan was to eat every two to three hours and stay hydrated. It worked well. All of it fit in a small plastic bag. Do take some nuts - protein and calories, cheesy crackers, fruit and nut bars that can fit on the side of your food pack. Good Luck

Go to one of the thu-hiker web sites and check out what they pack. Most of them can pack two weeks food in one barrel.

quote PortageKeeper: "Go to one of the thu-hiker web sites and check out what they pack. Most of them can pack two weeks food in one barrel."

someone told me they grind up mountainhouse meals to save space. flavored paste...yum!

Add butter to meals??

Snickers Marathon Bars were great for me, tastes like a candy bar (remarkably similar actually) but packs the long burning punch of a protein bar.

quote bumabu: "Snickers Marathon Bars were great for me, tastes like a candy bar (remarkably similar actually) but packs the long burning punch of a protein bar. "

These are all that I use lately. The others set on the shelf.
I do want to try out the Honey Stinger Energy bars though. They are rated high in reviews and they say, taste great.

nuts. nuts, nuts! need i say more. i stay from sugar as it is temporary and you crash. plus sugar just makes you want more of the stuff.
pemmican from u.s. meats is the highest energy good fat protein bar you can buy. this stuff will stick to your bones!

Have you ever tried the gel packets, like Clif Shots or others? I haven't put these to the test in the field, but I've taste tested them, not bad, a little envelope of flavored goo. It meets your small and light requirement. It sounds like climbers, cyclists, etc. use them for a boost. I suppose you've been dong this long enough that you've tried Clif Bars and Power Bars, but settled on Luna Bars, lotta variety to be had between the three.

I make up a GORP that I portion out in smaller zip locks and keep in my pockets while paddling:

cashews
raisins
M&Ms
sesame sticks
sunflower seeds

peanut butter bagles are my daily lunch

yes, the peanut butter is heavy, but very nutrient dense
yes, the bagles are bulky, but they are great on carbs and also very nutrient dense.

added benefit of no cooking or cleaning and there you go.

Summer Sausage bagles with mayo and cheese is also a good one.

May not be enough time to order and ship, but peanut butter powder cuts weight and works well.

Powdered Peanut Butter Website

I don't think I have ever in my life scrimped on calories. I'm just a hog.

I make GORP with peanuts, cashews and almonds as well as M&M's and raisens. I also take the mini snickers bars and any variety of 'energy bars', although they usually have more sugars than I want.

Also, for your Everclear cocktails, don't use sugar free crystal light. Use old fashioned sugared Kool Aid.

As previously mentioned, energy bars of some sort. I always have a couple stuffed in my PFD, as well as a bunch in my food pack. They aren't part of my main meal menu, but come in really handy when I need a little boost. The key is to eat them before you hit the wall. It's tough to get yourself back "up" once you've hit a certain point.

It might be time to add the dreaded pemmican to your diet.

I'm usually an oatmeal every day person, double or triple the "serving size" plus brown sugar and/or strawberries. So, that's about 500 calories to start the day.

The next thing I'd pay attention to isn't actual calorie count, but nutritional balance. By that I mean getting various vitamins, having protein and night to repair your muscles, and being sure to drink enough water to properly convert it all into energy. It seems like a lot of people just bloat out with carbs and are feeling like crap still because they're missing the things that let them use those carbs.

A good friend of mine completed several Eco Challenges (remember them?) and told me once that his team had settled on mashed up Pringles chips as their energy booster. He said it was a good combo of light weight and small volume for the amount of calories.