Vegetarian food/snacks for hiking

I've been a vegetarian for almost 2 years now. I try to stay away from all animal flesh, though I occasionally have some shrimp or squid when out to dinner with my wife. I also eat the occasional egg.

The night before a hike I usually like to eat pasta. Then that morning a big bowl of oatmeal really lasts for me.

I find that it's hard to know what to bring for lunch. As such, I usually don't bring a lunch, just snacks like gorp and Cliff brand protein bars.

Sometimes I carry fresh fruit and I find that gives me good sustained energy, some of the time.

What else do my fellow vegetarians bring on the trail?

Thanks for any input,
Kevin

You need a flexitarian option I eat mostly veggie but do eat chicken and turkey, plus dairy/eggs, a few times a week. No red meat for me. Anyway, on the trail we tend to be vegetarian...althought Snowman likes his "hot and zesty" salami!

Bagels are a good lunch option. Either with peanut butter or cheese. That way it seems like you've had a real meal... we round out the bagels with gorp, fig newtons, clif bars, candy bars (yup, on the trail we do eat more processed food than in "real" life, but they do taste good!), pumpkin seeds (Eden makes a yummy spicy version!), dried fruit (bananas are easy to dehydrate on your own)... all these things provide good energy and keep us going on the way up and down

anyway, have fun with it! Sometimes it's fun to wander the supermarket aisles, especially the natural section, and see what you can find...

Do you eat any dairy? I usually do not carry a lunch on the trail but a variety of snacks. I found I really like pepper jack cheese when hiking. I'll carry some crackers to go along with it (thats what pringles cans are for) . I also found in Whole Food Markets a vegan jerky called Primal Strips. They come in different flavors and I find them quite tasty. Some of my friends think they are nasty though. I also like dried fruit or fresh fruit. I've carried mini bagels with flavored cream cheese too. oh yeah, I always have some chocolate.

Long time lacto-ovo veggie, went vegan about 3 months ago.

Dried fruit, nut mixes, various sandwiches, hummus, carrots... You can use tvp or seitan in place of chicken or egg in a chicken salad type of thing, with Vegenaise or Nayonaise in place of the mayo... home-baked cookies or breads, sometimes a veggie burger or slice of nut loaf or a not-meat loaf, un-quiche, rice/bean salads, soup or stew in a thermos...

There's no end to the possibilities!

daxs said:

Do you eat any dairy? I usually do not carry a lunch on the trail but a variety of snacks. I found I really like pepper jack cheese when hiking. I'll carry some crackers to go along with it (thats what pringles cans are for) . I also found in Whole Food Markets a vegan jerky called Primal Strips. They come in different flavors and I find them quite tasty. Some of my friends think they are nasty though. I also like dried fruit or fresh fruit. I've carried mini bagels with flavored cream cheese too. oh yeah, I always have some chocolate.

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I do eat cheese and usually make a cheese sandwich to leave in a cooler in my car for afterwards. Chocolate, while good, tends to make me crash (I get a ton of energy for a very short period, then crash and have to have more). I have to check out those Primal Strips. I do miss jerky.

Kevin

kmorgan said:

I do miss jerky.

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Tasty Eats Soy Jerky Haven't tried it myself but have seen several positive reviews.

I've been vegan for years! I usually have bagels with peanut butter for my lunch. For snacks I love the primal strips Daxs mentioned and since getting protein on the trail is tough for non meat-eaters, they are good for that too. Another brand is Stonewall's Jerquee. It comes in lots of different flavors and is in small chuncks vs the long moist strips in primal strips. I also take dried fruit for quick energy and soynuts for sustained energy (high in fat and protein). But I just discovered peanut butter filled pretzels, mmm... mmm... good!

A vege--waaaah?

Sorry, I voted kill and grill.

But I have nothing personallly, against vegetables, and eat them all the time too.



But my trail food is largely vegetarian, I usually consume about five Pria 110 Bars on the average hike, plus a handful or two of raw almonds.

Breakfast for me is always frozen blueberries, banana, plain yogurt or kefir, ground matcha, and whey protein powder.

I eat alot less carbs than I used to and although I do eat meat, I eat lean cuts -- and alot of eggs.

A really good non meat energy source on the trail is a cold baked potato.

"Some of my best friends are vegetables."

"If God wanted us to be vegetarians, why did he make all the animals out of meat ?"


I don't eat much meat on the trail, mostly trail mix and carbs.

I've been veggie for almost 10 years now. My lunches are mostly hummus and pita (or rye crisp bread,) peanut butter and jelly or cold burritos (filled with regular burrito fixings or rice and vegetables... often it's whatever I have on hand for leftovers.)

I have made teriyaki tofu jerky in the past and liked the flavor... though it came out a little too salty for me (due to soy sauce in the recipe.) It's pretty easy to make at home.

- Ivy

I'm not a vegetarian but I am a vegetable lover. I guess if I ever choose to be a vegetarian that it'll be a smooth transition. I think this is a good product. I've had it a few times on the trail.
You can get it at REI.

There's a lot of great ideas so far. I would add sandwich fillings made with tofu or tempeh. There are tons of different recipes on the web. Bring along a container of the filling with crackers or vegetable sticks for scooping. Or just make a sandwich of it.

Sliced Tofu marinated in a mix of soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, and minced garlic can be baked at 350F for half an hour and can be sandwiched (hot or cold) with any veggies and nut butter.

Also, broaden your peanut butter horizons. It can be paired with so much more than jelly. Use PB (or cashew butter or almond butter or tahini) as a spread with lettuce, tomato, onion, carrot shreds, etc for your sandwich. Or make a sandwich of some nut butter with sliced apple, sliced banana, sliced pear, raisin...

Great, now I'm hungry.

-vegematic

I am not vegetarian but for hiking I might as well be as my usual snacks/lunch are vegetable (celery, carrots, snap peas, red pepper, cucumber) with some horseradish hummus for a dip, V-8, fresh fruit (grapes, apple, kiwi), nuts (soy, cashew or mixed nuts), and then perhaps a homemade banana/walnut or zucchini/carrot/nut muffin.

I’m not a vegetarian either, although I have given up beef for several years now (except for one time last year when I forgot that the Hotel Terrace’s hamburger soup would be made with beef, not turkey), but I don’t recall ever having any meat in my pack.

A couple peanut butter sandwiches maybe, and there’re always granola bars and one breakfast bar of indeterminate age that’s still hanging around, but meat — never. Wouldn’t it spoil?

I always thought a vegetarian diet was a major obstacle to athletics or being very active. I still think so, but the world's best ultramarathoner (arguable), Scott Jurek, is a vegan. I could never go full vegetarian as I like steak too much and also enjoy hunting, but pretty cool that a top athlete is vegan and shows its more than possible. To each their own.

Smoothies work for me on the trail. I make my own but a lot of people buy the Stonyfield brand in the convienient size.

(I just toss some frozen mixed berries in the blender, a helthy plop of Stonyfield yogurt, a banana or two on top, then fill to 32oz. with OJ. Blend away and it fits in a Nalgene.)
Kefir is good as well.

I usually bring fruit, either dried or whole or a fruit bar I like from the supermarket, Kettle Valley Real Fruit Bar is the brand, I like all the flavors.

If it is a longer hike I will bring a bagel or cheese and crackers.

I sometimes have hummus and pita and veggies or Taboule as well.

I bring a small Nalgene of gorp too, but oddly enough, rarely eat it on the trail and munch on it through the work week... hum.

Dylan's picture still cracks me up.
Someday I will get another Husky... someday...

Have you seen The Complete Guide to Vegetarian Convenience Foods?

Dugan said:

Have you seen The Complete Guide to Vegetarian Convenience Foods?

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Thanks, I just ordered it!

Kevin

Artex said:

I always thought a vegetarian diet was a major obstacle to athletics or being very active.

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You might find these interesting:

http://www.cycle-smart.com/Articles/find.php?search=37
http://www.cycle-smart.com/Articles/find.php?search=38
http://www.cycle-smart.com/Articles/find.php?search=39

Adam Myerson is a regional category 1 / pro cyclist and coach, and a vegetarian for 14 years and vegan for 3+ now. He successfully argues against the animal protein position, or at least is proof-positive that you can win bicycle races as a vegan. Years ago, his knickname was Adam "the cash register" Myerson -- he was very good at collecting primes in a criterium.

Note: I am a meat-a-saurus, and at best a mediocre bike racer, so consider me just a messenger here.

Kill-it-and-grill-it (especially fresh tuna!!!!!),
Tim

No "Kill it and deep-fry"?

A friend used to swear by vegetarian sushi/maki rolls back when her body was a meat-free zone. I don't know whats in them or if the're available where you are.

I'm a carnivore, but I've brought hard-boiled eggs hiking and had them last 2-3 days (depends on the weather). I think they last longer in the shell.

Cheese will also last a day or so, longer if it's a hard cheese.

I've also taken vegetarian "burgers" and chicken-patty replacements. You can eat them naked, or in a little pita pocket. They're hit or miss for me though - sometimes the texture can become really unappealing.

I've hiked with enough vegetarians over the years (the one fundraising hike I've been involved with used to be referred to as "the hiking vegan lesbians" by the hut croos - lovingly, I assume ), that it would never occur to me to think that you can't be a veggie and a successful athlete.