Food is a really important part of your expedition, in fact, during the expedition you will need to cook and eat at least one substantial meal each day.

Exped Food Tips

It is important to choose the right food, so that you get enough energy and it doesn't take up too much space or add too much weight. Remember you will need to carry your food for 4 days, so things like fresh meat will go off (especially if the weather is hot), jars and tins are a no go.

Your food will need to be high in energy, as you will be doing a lot of exercise each day and your body needs to replenish the expended energy in food consumed. So it is advisable to eat 4000-5000 kcal (kilocalories, or 'Calories') each day; this is double the normal recommended amount, equivalent to 17 - 21 MJ (Megajoules).

You should also aim for things that can be cooked in one pot with the other members of your group, so we would urge you to collaborate meals with the rest of your team (i.e. group meal, pairing up or sharing boiling water) to share cooking time, save gas, and save weight.

Exped Food Ideas for Each Meal

Here are a few suggestions for each meal (also see our Sample Menu):

Breakfast

You should aim to eat something, even if you don't do this at home. Something hot is advisable, but does take longer. You may even want to carry a cereal bar to have 'second breakfast' after a short while into the walk each morning.

Porridge (pots/sachets)	Sachets are better as they take up less space and can be made in a mug
Cereal bars	Quick and easy, but give you a good start.
Coffee/hot chocolate	Good idea to drink something hot

Lunch

This will often be eaten throughout the day, rather than at one specific stop. So little, but often is advised.

Pitta breads, wraps, 'Thins', lembas bread	Can add cheese from a tube (primula), or salsa etc to avoid the repetitiveness.
Malt Loaf	Full of energy, 1/2 a malt loaf each day roughly.
Pasta	Some groups, in the past, have cooked pasta the night before, to eat for lunch the next day- however, this does use up more gas.

Dinner

For main meals it is strongly recommended to cook a whole group meal, as this will save fuel, time, weight and effort.

This should be a substantial meal, to keep you warm and help prepare you for the next day. Often it is good to eat more than one course

Starter
Soup (sachets)	Can use water from boiling pasta. Can even use it for a pasta sauce
Main
Try to avoid pasta and sauce packets that require the whole thing to be mixed with water and brought to the boil in a pan. This causes a lot of mess, and often wastes time and fuel as only one person can cook at a time. Quick cook pasta can often be cooked in the same water and at same time as you are cooking a boil in the bag meal. (1 packet could feed most of the group for a day, so sharing will save space/weight) Consider a range- a boil in the bag meal makes a nice final meal on day 3.
Pasta/Spaghetti	Make sure it is 'quick cook' - to save gas and time
Boil in a bag meals	Wayfarer, Look what we found, Beyond the beaten track etc. Can get chilli con carne, meat balls, curry etc
Rice	Microwave packet rice, like Uncle Ben's, can boil in the packet in a saucepan of water. Can be eaten along with a Boil in a Bag meal
Noodles
Dessert
Biscuits
Cake
Hot drink	Hot chocolate/tea/coffee etc

Snacks

Cereal/Chocolate bars
Biscuits
Nuts
Dried fruit

Water

• A minimum of 1.5L to be carried each day, but 2L is recommended. You can carry more if you usually drink more. Carry in waterbottles or a Camelbak, or both.

  During particularly hot weather you may be required to carry a minimum of 2.5L for health and safety reasons, but 3L is recommended

• A squeezy squash bottle - these can add a flavour to the water, especially after water purification tablets have been added.
• Make sure to drink before you set off. Drinking a lot of water before you go, will save you needing to drink shortly after you set off, and reduce your carry-load.