Wherever one goes and whatever one does, food is always one of the priorities that one would not forget but rather consider very important. It is especially a priority when the activities or trips one embarks on are rigorous and physically demanding. Food helps the person continue and move forward on that particular journey so it is a must that he must think of what specific food groups and meals to plan, prepare, and eat.

This is rather a major issue in backpacking and other outdoor activities, especially that one has to think of the weight, ingredients, cooking style, cooking wares, etc., since one wouldn’t really know where they’ll have their next meal, they may be on the go, they may be somewhere in the middle of the woods, they may be somewhere by the river, or they may be somewhere in the wilderness, and one has to be ready with whatever circumstances he is in, so careful planning must be thought of regarding backpacking food. Some people who go on a backpacking camp for an overnight may bring along a backcountry kitchen to prepare their backpacking food, it may be an elaborate meal with fresh ingredients, etc., or they may opt to go hunting or fishing, since they’ll just be staying at a particular place to enjoy nature and spend the night there, and they won’t have to be moving around to carry these heavy camping grills, etc. However, for those who are on a long trip, they usually have criteria on the backpacking food they have to bring along, at least the basic backpacking food for these backpackers would have to contain: high energy contents like protein, longer shelf life or storage life, low mass and volume or weight, and the cooking process. One has to remember that he’s on the go, so it would may be a burden for him if he has to carry along huge camp stoves, grills, cooking pots, in addition to his camping gears and other backpacking equipments.

At least, when one goes on this trip, the typical household foods that can be considered as good backpacking foods as well would be: cheese, bread, sausage, fruits, peanut butter, pasta, mixed snack foods, convenient and nutritious energy bars, chocolates and candies to provide quick energy and flavor, dried foods, and oatmeal because this can be eaten raw also. Although, some may opt to bring canned goods since most of these are ready to eat, one must also consider that because of the metal used, these goods may be heavy, and once empty, these have to be carried back out since these can’t be left behind on the camps or trails.

Backpacking food has to really be thought of well, what’s important is that it’s easy to prepare, nutritious, not heavy, and would last a long time.