1. MENU PLANNING FOR ALL OCCASIONS
Herb Haake
University of Scouting
March, 2014

2. Basic Course Outline Backpacking and Campground Cooking Types of Foods
Cooking Equipment
Food quantity & Calorie count
Menus
Food Storage & Protection

3. Backpacking Foods Use Foods and Menus which have:
Short cooking times (ie- 5 to 10 minutes)
Little water content (dehydrated or freeze-dried)
Minimal number of cans
High ‘concentration of protein & calorie content
No refrigeration requirements

4. Backpacking Cooking Equipment
Use lightweight stoves
Need pot capacity of 1 pint per person
Two persons – 2 qt pot
Four persons – 3 qt pot
Ideal cooking group size = 4 or less
Leather gloves for hand protection
For ‘do it yourself’ preparation, use food dehydrator

5. Typical Calorie Requirements
Average Scout Calories
Age 14, Weight 150, Height 70”
Active
Young Adult Calories
Age 25, Weight 190, Height 72”
Very Active
Sr Citizen Calories
Age 72, Weight 170, Height 70”
Sedentary

6. Backpacking Breakfast
Keep it simple
Use ‘Hot Water’ approach
4 oz mix of walnuts, almonds, oats, sugar
600 calories
Add hot water to the oat mixture
Beverage – tea, tang, cocoa
100 calories (mostly from the sugar)

7. Backpacking Lunch Keep it simple Use High Calorie foods, such as
Gorp (nuts, raisins, M&M’s)
Peanut butter & pita bread
Cheese or summer sausage
Energy bars / chocolate bars
Apples or dried fruits (ie- apricots, prunes)
Bagels / hard crackers
Lunch and trail snacks = 1000 calories

8. Backpacking Supper Keep it simple Use ‘hot water’ approach with:
Commercial freeze-dried packages
Meals created from your own dehydrator
Commercial beans (lentils) with a “filler”
Dehydrated vegetables & canned meat w/ “filler”

9. Backpacking Supper (con’t)
“Fillers”:
Potato powder or instant rice
Stovetop stuffing
Couscous
Ramen noodles
‘Simply Sides’ packages
(ie- wheat & spinach pasta)
Supper = 1100 calories

10. Water Considerations in the Backcountry
Purification only needed for drinking water
Water used for cooking does not require separate treatment – it’s being boiled while you cook !
Obtain drinking water from clean sources at highest elevation possible
Chemical treatment (Iodine and Ascorbic acid clarifier) is usually most convenient for small groups
If filtering, first let water impurities settle out in a pot

11. Leave No Trace Plan ahead and prepare
Repackage food to minimize trash
Avoid us of foil for packaging
Travel and camp on durable surfaces
Find rocky site for cooking
Dispose of waste properly
Human waste at least 200 ft from campsite
Carry out what you carry in

12. Leave No Trace (con’t) Leave what you find Minimize campfire impacts
Do not dig trenches or build structures
Minimize campfire impacts
Use lightweight stove for cooking
Respect wildlife
Never feed animals, or leave food around
Be considerate of other visitors
Camp away from trails

13. Food Protection in the Backcountry
Animal habituation
Avoid easy access to food
Methods
Bear bags
Hang from trees or cables
Bear canisters

14. Food Protection – Bear Canisters
Easier / more effective than bear bags
Now required in many backcountry areas
One canister can hold up to 7-10 days food for one person / 5 days of food for two people
Use plastic bags for repackaging for maximum fit
Store canister on ground / 100’ from tent
Avoid placing canister near heat, plastic can melt
Store ALL scented items inside canister
Includes food, toiletries, garbage
Therefore, avoid bringing scented foods like fresh fruits, raw meats, and items like cosmetics

15. “Stealth” Camping Objective Methods
Keep cooking area / odors SEPARATE from tent site
Camp away from others
Methods
Cook main meal in early afternoon, or before reaching your final destination
Finish your evening meal well before sunset
Select camping site away from water sources

16. Campground Cooking - Menus
Follow Cooking Merit Badge objectives
USDA “MyPlate” criteria

17. Campground Cooking - Menus
Learn and use cooking techniques from the Cooking Merit Badge:
Boiling
Simmering
Steaming
Pan Frying
Grilling
Baking

18. Campground Cooking - Menus
Make use of fresh and canned
Fruits
Vegetables
Include appropriate beverages
Use cooler (or camp refrigerator, if available) to protect food

19. Campground Cooking - Equipment
Campground fireplace or Camp stove (ie- Coleman double burner)
Griddle, dutch oven, and handling tongs
Patrol cookset, including 8 quart pot
Dishes / cups for each patrol member
Safety considerations
Leather gloves for hand protection
Filled water pails for fire protection

20. Campground Cooking - Breakfast
Fruit juice or fruit cup snack
Orange juice
Fresh fruit – bananas, apples, oranges, etc
Hot cereal or a grilled entrée
Oatmeal with raisins, brown sugar
Egg, ham, and cheese grilled sandwich
Beverage
Cocoa, tea, tang
Aim for 700 calories

21. Campground Cooking – Lunch
Keep it simple
Soup and sandwich or other cooked meal
Beverage / water
Hydration
Aim for 800 calories

22. Campground Cooking – Supper
Keep it simple
Remember the ‘MyPlate ‘allocations
Fruits
Vegetables
Grains
Proteins
Dairy
Beverage / water
Hydration
Aim for 1000 calories

23. Campground Cooking – Supper (con’t)
Dutch oven entrees
Beef stew
Roast chicken
Shish kabobs
Dutch oven desserts
Fruit cobbler

24. References WHFoods.com Nutritiondata.self.com
Provides ‘healthiest’ foods list
Click on specific food
See Nutrition chart and Health benefits, Cooking tips, Food ratings
Nutritiondata.self.com
Click on Search – “All Food Catagories”
Click on “Food Name”
See data for glycemic load & inflamation factor
Kitchenchatters.com/food-dehydrator-reviews/
See cost and comments for top dehydrators

25. Dried Fruits / Vegetables
Calorie Content
Dried Fruits / Vegetables
Calories / oz
Green beans 80
Raisins 92
Craisins
100
Apricots 40
Figs 20
Prunes 70
Dried potato powder
110

26. Calorie Content Candy & Snacks Calories/oz Dark chocolate 155
Good sense spicy pub mix
150
Ferris cherries/berries/nuts
140
M&M candy
Dove almond chocolate bar
Hershey candy kiss dark
125

27. Calorie Content Walnuts 185 Smoke House almonds 170 Peanuts 180
PROTEIN FOODS
Nuts / Seeds
Calories / oz
Walnuts
185
Smoke House almonds
170
Peanuts
180
Pistachios (No shell)
150
Sunflower seeds
186

28. Calorie Content Bacon 140 Bologna 80 Pork chop 65 Ham 45
PROTEIN FOODS
Meat
Calories / oz
Bacon
140
Bologna 80
Pork chop 65
Ham 45
Chicken breast 30
Turkey breast 40
Steak 50

29. Calorie Content PROTEIN FOODS Meat Calories / oz Ground beef (lean) 66
Ground beef reg 80
Canned Chicken 30
Liverwurst 95
Spam 90
Beef kielbasa 85
Frankfurters

30. Calorie Content Protein Foods Fish Calories / oz Canned tuna (oil) 60
Canned tuna (water) 30
Atlantic salmon 50
Smoked salmon 35
Halibut 31

31. Calorie Content Protein Foods Beans Calories /oz Lentils 100
Black eyed peas
Dehydrated String beans 80
Chick peas 70
Split peas 30

32. Calorie Content Dairy Foods Calories /oz Milk 1% 14 Milk 2% 16
Milk whole 20
Half & Half 40
Butter
200
Cheese
100
Ice Cream
Eggs

33. Calorie Content Grain Foods Calories /oz Most dry cereals (Cheerios)
100
Sugar
110
Stove top stuffing
150
Instant rice
Brown rice
Couscous/pasta
Corn syrup
120
Oats