A Simple Formula for Affordable, Lightweight Alpine Dinners

Deciding what food to pack for an alpine mission has taken up far more brain space than I'd care to admit. Despite having spent hundreds of days in a tent, I still eye up the fancy freeze-dried meals frequently, before checking the price tag and walking away to buy couscous and tuna, again. 

I've also seriously miscalculated the amount of calories I packed for a trip once. Spending the following week feeling completely wrecked was enough to convince me never to make that mistake twice.

As a result, I use a simple framework that makes meal planning quick, cheap and reliable. It isn't revolutionary or fancy, but it consistently gives me lightweight meals with enough energy to keep going day after day.

What I'm Looking For

Well-rounded nutrition 

Cooking on Charismatic Wall, Fiordland

The goal is a balance of carbohydrates, protein and fats.

Carbohydrates make up the base of every meal since they are the best source of energy that we have. Protein helps with recovery, while fats provide a good amount of calories for very little weight. If I'm heading out for more than a couple of days, I'll also try to sneak in some fresh veg for the first day or two or dehydrated vegetables for a few extra micronutrients.

Plenty of calories

After one spectacular calorie-planning failure, I will now always make sure that I’ve got a few ways to add in a load of calories if need be. A small Nalgene (60ml+ depending on trip length) filled with olive oil is one of the easiest ways to add several hundred calories without adding much weight. Nuts, dried fruit, chocolate and powdered peanut butter are also excellent calorie boosters.

Shelf stable

Unless the first day is short, I try to avoid anything that needs refrigeration. Everything should survive being stuffed and squished. 

Lightweight and simple

No liquids, minimal packaging and as little cooking as possible.

Whenever possible, I'll pre-mix as much of the meal into a single ziplock bag before leaving home. It saves time, reduces rubbish and makes cooking at the end of a long day uncomplicated.

The Formula

An exception to all the above rules. Easter in the Alps

Every dinner now follows the same basic structure:

1. A carbohydrate base

2. Proteins and fats

3. Vegetables and flavour

   
   

Carbohydrate Bases

These make up the bulk of most meals.

• Cous cous

• Instant ramen or noodles

• Pasta

• Instant mashed potato

• Wraps or naan

Protein

• Tuna sachets

• Jerky

• Salami or other cured meats

• Textured vegetable protein (TVP)

Steve Fortune enjoying his dinner on Aiguille Sans Nom

Fats

• Nuts

• Fish in olive oil

• Cheese

• Butter (if it's cold enough)

• Olive oil

Flavours

• Soup packets

• Mexican seasoning

• Powdered pasta sauce

• Gravy powder

• Fried shallots

• Sun-dried tomatoes (dry-packed)

  
  

Vegetables

Owyn Aitkin looking for his precious spoon (stolen by a rat) on El Cap. We were highly motivated to keep our food lightweight on our first foray into big wall climbing.

Australia and NZ supermarkets often sell surprisingly affordable dehydrated vegetable mixes nowadays. The Fine Fettle mixes are a favourite. Otherwise, dried peas and mushrooms are usually easy to find.

If I want fresh vegetables for the first night, I've found these survive being in a pack reasonably well:

• Carrots

• Zucchini

• Green beans

• Avocado

Four Dinners That Stay on Rotation

I forgot my cheese, it was a sad realisation. But a classic of the genre. Mixed in were cashews, soup mix and butter.

1. Cous Cous 

Ingredients

• Cous cous

• Tuna or salami

• Soup packet

• Dehydrated vegetables

• Cheese

• Peanuts or cashews

• Fried shallots

Before the trip I'll combine the cous cous, soup mix and vegetables into one ziplock bag.

At camp, add boiling water, let it sit for a few minutes, then stir through the tuna, cheese and peanuts.

Optional extras

• Olive oil

• Butter

2. Ramen

Ingredients

• Instant ramen

• Jerky, salami or tuna

• Dehydrated vegetables

• Cheese

• Nuts

• Fried shallots

• Olive oil 

3. Pasta

Powdered pasta sauce is awesome if you can find it, although it's much easier to buy in North America than Australia or New Zealand.

A substitute is tomato paste in a tube or sachet-but don't forget to pack some herbs for some sanity.

Add-ins

• TVP, salami or jerky

• Cheese

• Dehydrated vegetables

• Olive oil

• Italian herbs are a must if using tomato paste

• Chilli flakes and garlic powder 

4. Burritos

Probably the heaviest dinner on this list but by far the yummiest.

Ingredients

• Wraps

• TVP

• Mexican seasoning

• Dehydrated vegetables

• Cheese

• Fried shallots

• Avocado 

• Carrots/ capsicum 

Make sure to mix the Mexican seasoning into the dry TVP before adding water. Otherwise the TVP tends to absorb the water first and ends up tasting like dog food. 

The bonus of alpine climbing is that everything tastes good when this is the bivvy and it took 13 hours to get there.

Sides

I almost always carry miso sachets or instant soup.

They help with rehydration and give you patience while dinner is cooking. 

For extra carbohydrates, instant mashed potato is another easy addition. Mix in a soup sachet or a little gravy powder.

End Note

The biggest benefit of this approach isn't that the meals are particularly fancy- they definitely aren't.

It's that meal planning becomes simple. Instead of trying to invent four or five different meals, I just work through the formula: choose a carb, add protein, include some fat, throw in vegetables and season it well. The ingredients overlap between meals, so buying food is cheaper, there's less waste, and most of it can be found in a normal supermarket. 

For me, it's struck the sweet spot between cost, weight, nutrition and simplicity.