I am going on a week long tour in Southern Utah this September and am looking for some easy meals to cook as well as good snack ideas. I get sick of pb&j and trail mix after a couple of days.

Tiff

I think we need a bit more info. What kind of food do you enjoy? Will you be taking a stove?

We really enjoy a quick stir fry with whatever happens to be on hand. Couscous is very quick to make (just boil water and let it soak 5 minutes) and you can 'jazz it up' with any number of additions. Chopped veggies like avocado and tomato and a bit of olive oil, lemon and cucumber, salt and pepper for example. We have just started making pizza pockets, which we fry in our frying pan (very little oil) but they might be too much work for you as you do have to make the bread dough (flour, water, salt, baking powder - no yeast). I enjoy it but it's not for everyone, all that rolling and kneading. Takes about 1/2 hour from start to finish to make.

Cheese and crackers is great. One of our favorites in the USA was fresh broccoli and some dip - YUM!! Apples and peanut butter is good too.

At Albertson's I buy packaged dry refried beans. I take the powder out of the box and put it in a zip lock bag, 5 or 6 fit in my cook set. Mix with warm water and stir is all it takes, then eat it with a bag of corn chips, very satisfying.

I just discovered orzo,I haven't tried it on tour yet but made it at home and it should be very easy on tour.Water,boulion cube to taste,add orzo and vegetables and cook about 15 min.Makes a nice soup.

I'm guessing you've never done your own grocery shopping before ... so here's a tip ... go to your local grocery store and have a look at what's there.

Also ... have a look through these threads:
https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/530462-suggestions-simple-just-add-water-food.html
https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/518767-eating-while-touring.html

Easy to cook - cook fusilli pasta, then add tin of tuna, large amount of mayonnaise and lemon juice. Salt to taste. Yum yum. Add blanched sugar snap peas as well. This is literally ten minutes and is my most satisfying food I eat after a hard day in the saddle.

At camping supply shops you can buy freeze dried meals. Many come in a re-sealable pouch. Pour in boiling water and seal up for about 10 minutes, then enjoy a great meal.

You can choose anything from steak and eggs to Thai. Much less elaborate and cheaper and easier is the instant food in your supermarket. If you can boil water you can make great soup from a dry soup mix, but under side dishes you can find things like noodles is sauce where you only have to boil water, add the noodles and the package of sauce. All these things weigh almost nothing and can be made in the time it takes to boil water.

Need to boil water? I suggest a Mini Trangia.

You can cook anything but some ingredance weigh more than others which may be an issue if you have to carry alot of food. Most of the time it's not though as you only need buy food just before you cook it.

Good food for packing / carrying long distance.

stodge: cuscuss. Quick cook past, noodles, rice (rice works best with a pot cosey to minimise fuel use)

protean: salami, jerky / other smoked meat are all light and packed full of what you want. Dried mushrooms are good and tasty too.

Flavor: chilly power and dried soup.

Vegetables are heavy to carry, but again this is only an issue if your carrying several days worth of food. Not usually needed unless your off road. Dried fruit is easy to buy, good for vitamins. Never tried it because I've never need to but you can buy a food dehydrator and dry out veg as well. That's more needed for some kind of hardcore expedition though.

I find it better to buy real food every day. I have sometimes carried a freeze dried meal as an emergency meal for when stores are more than a day apart, but they were always a disappointment.

YMMV, but I find that regarding freeze dried meals:

1. They are unappetizing.
2. They are expensive.
3. They are not all that available when away from larger towns and I would very much prefer to not carry more than a day or two worth of food.
4. They just don't cut it for me on a tour of any length. I could maybe tolerate them for a short trip, but don't really see a reason to put up with their shortcomings.

Freeze dried veggies are pretty good though, especially the peas or peas and carrots, and I do use them when available especially if fresh ones aren't. Also dried refried beans and dried hummus work out well. I don't know if those are freeze dried or not though. We also enjoyed dried red beans and rice, but again I am not sure if that is dried, freeze dried, or something else.

Fresh food is my preference when it is an option, but often I will go with packaged foods from the grocery store. Boxed rice or noodle dishes can be good and foil packed tuna, salmon, chicken, or other meats are good. Boxed chili and canned soups are good as well.

Cabbage holds up well in a pannier for a day or three and adds some crunch to a sandwich or wrap as well as being good as a salad or boiled. Cabbage can be bought by the head or in packages as cole slaw mix. Tortillas, bagels, and crackers all travel well. Fresh corn, green beans, peas, carrots, or other veggies are a great addition to any meal. Avocados with chips are a favorite snack of mine and are good in sandwiches as well.

PBJ bagels are an old reliable lunchtime standby as well.

Do some of you take refrigerators on a trailer?

Wow, some of you eat better on the road than I do at home.

Yes, I will be taking a stove. I am not a picky eater...except not a big seafood fan.

Thanks for your ideas. Most of the foods I cook are too time concuming to even think about after I've been biking all day so these help a lot.

Avatarworf, what's the recipe for your pizza pockets...dough and filling? I may not make it on tour, though perhaps I would, but it sure sounds good and I will definitely make it at home.

I bet they could be made easily using dough for some kind of bread, croissants, or rolls in a tube (like the Pillsbury refrigerated dough in a tube), if camp is close enough to the store. I don't imagine they would travel well for too long if the weather was hot though.

Also you could do something somewhat similar using Pitas or Tortillas.

Burritos are great. I just buy the can of refried beans. I figure that I'm carrying that water weight one way or another, might as well save the effort of re-hydrating them (not that it's hard). Tortillas are space savers and can be used a ton of ways.

I find it very hard to pass up decent restaurants on tour, but I always carry couscous/dehydrated potato mix, jerky, cheese, oatmeal, dried fruit, Gatorade, nuts, tea, Clif bars or equiv, so that I have enough for about a day and a half without encountering a grocery store or restaurant. An alcohol stove is all you need, along with one lightweight pot, spoon, and cup.

I'd like to know how you take mayonnaise with you without killing someone????

Pasta based freeze dried meals are good. I took them on a tour where we couldn't get to store for 3 days and they were fine. I tried the eggs and they were terrible.

Why would a person need a refrigerator? You don't buy stuff and carry it with you for days on end ... that would be a waste of energy. You buy stuff that day and eat it that night. And actually a lot of stuff we've been taught needs refrigeration ... doesn't.

I'm a big fan of Joe's Ultralight Backpacking Moose Goo. Cheap, excellent nutrition to weight ratio, and tasty.

Sounds energy packed and yummy, but I don't see it fitting well with the model of buying daily as you go to avoid carrying a lot of extra weight. I think that model makes sense for most tours. I may try it on my next backpacking trip though.

I won’t cook on tour unless it’s something out of a bag (oatmeal, Nissin noodles, etc.) that I keep for emergencies, meaning there wasn’t a store or restaurant around. Otherwise I just snag something easy to campfire cook, like sausages, beef or some other fresh meat. Sausages/hotdogs on a stick, burgers, beef or other meat wrapped in foil and thrown in the fire. Fresh veggies I eat raw or steamed in foil on the fire. I dislike washing dishes.

This day last Summer I recall dinner being a Jack Link’s hunk ‘o beef snack, an energy gel and two beers that a camper gave me. Good times. Ah, and a shower—really good times.

Contrary to popular belief mayonnaise does not require refrigeration to be safe to keep. Google "mayonnaise refrigeration" for lots of verification of this. One link to start with is:
https://whatneedsrefrigerating.blogspot.com/

Where the danger comes in is where it is contaminated by other foods or mixed in salads. Care should be taken to not contaminate the mayo especially if stored without refrigeration.

That said, if still in doubt, just carry the individual foil packets that can be scrounged at fast food restaurants.

I have a few favorites for when I'm on the road. Underwood spread (deviled ham or chicken) are great on bagels. I get two sandwiches from one can. Bagels are pretty sturdy and hold up well to travel.

Another one of my favorites is something I call "100 hour bars". Start with a whole wheat tortilla. Onto that, spread peanut butter (smooth works best). On that I sprinkle raisins, Grape Nuts, cinnamon, sunflower seeds, flax seed meal and honey. Roll it up and pack in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Adjust the ingredients per your preferences. They taste great, nothing in them spoils and they're bombproof. I call them 100 hour bars because I've had them 100 hours (or more) after having made them, and they're still perfectly fine (except the Grape Nuts lost their crunch).

The only downside is that they're pretty much impossible to make on a really long trip. Too impractical to stock all those ingredients.

The 100 hour bars sound great! Definitely taking that on my next 80 miler as a test run!

I didn't mention snacks much yet...
Fresh baked goods when available are a treat that can be stuffed in a jersey pocket for later. Gorp, jerky, and fig newtons are favorites of mine for snacking while riding. Snacks at stops can be what ever suits your mood and is available. Chocolate milk is a favorite of mine.