Calorie dense meals to refuel in the backcountry are mandatory for the big-mile or big-vert days. With some planning, making tasty meals calorie dense doesn’t mean carrying a heavy pack.

Consume the calories. .

Food glorious food: The vintage photo of child and the friend noshing atop a volcano.

 

Here’s the honest to Hades truth; kids these days got it good regarding commercial dehydrated food options. We’re talking about options where you add boiling water to the pouch containing the dehydrated calories, and sometime later, post-rehydration, you eat out of the pouch. We all have it good because there are a crazy amount of options to satiate different palates and dietary restrictions and preferences. It is like a Brooklyn farm-to-table pop-un can make its way into Titcomb Basin, given you’ve got a some fuel, a stove, and heated water. 

It goes like this, go to any of the major and minor players in the dehydrated foodie scene, and you will see a delighted group of folks eating around a campfire or noshing on a fennel-infused risotto as the sun sets. The proliferation of options is a good thing. But, as you are likely aware, you’ll pay ~$10 to $14 per dehydrated meal. You could go the DIY dehydrated meal prep route, but that’s a different story altogether. 

If you are a human-powered snow slider carrying dehydrated meals, you are likely on a lighter-weight traverse-type mission. After, say, the third of six days of traversing, you and your pals will be a grimy and chilled facsimile of the all-smiles chow down depicted in the dehydrated food branding mentioned above. 

We all want smiles at the end of the day, but a full belly to nourish and replenish so we can repeat the cycle of waking, skiing, establishing camp, and eating the following day, is essential. We are focusing on one thing, dehydrated entrees, and their caloric density. 

A few mental notes for our calories/ounce (caloric density): First, some food brands make single-serving pouches, others produce an option of one or two servings, while still, others offer only two serving options in certain meals. Some big eaters alone can easily down the two servings. For others, two servings are too much. Know yourself and plan accordingly for the single or double servings. Second, we’ll also discuss “bump” food options to increase the caloric density of your meal by adding a lightweight caloric supplement like nuts, butters, or oils. Third, we are not chiming in regarding a full-blown menu for a multi-day ski traverse; that resource will come. But for breakfast, we usually try to keep the AM stove time to a minimum, meaning we’ll warm water for drinks and possibly oatmeal with granola tossed in. Warming enough water for rehydrating a breakfast is not our method. 

Freeze dried meal time.

Despite the unexcited look, we are excited to boil water and consume a freeze dried meal. For real. Photo: Brian Parker

 

Beef Marinara Facts

Nutrition facts for Peak’s Beef Pasta Marinara: calorie dense.

 

The Dinner Bell Rings

In the backcountry, generally, food tastes better. While we encourage you to choose a meal you’ll enjoy, keep an eye on the meal’s total calories. 

The methodology is simple: we noted the total calories in the bag and divided it by the net weight in ounces of the pouch’s contents.

Our freeze-dried entree survey only references some available entrees, but it is enough of a scan to have a good idea of available dehydrated calorie-dense meals. The meal packing the heaviest caloric punch suits the paleo crowd: Peak Refuel’s Beef Pasta Marinara has 163.78 cal/oz. The two servings in the bag offer 1040 total calories. 

For vegans, Peak Refuel’s Butternut Dal Bhat has 148.72 cal/oz. To put this in perspective, a standard-size Clif Bar has 98.09 cal/oz. A Snickers posts up with 134.41 cal/oz. Of the meals we looked at, AlpineAire’s Mountain Chili (Vegetarian, Gluten-free) has 96.67 cal/oz, just short of a Clif Bar, for the least caloric-dense pre-packaged meal.

For example, evenings are the primary time to load calories on a ski traverse. I always choose the more calorie-dense meal between two meals I like. (Also, look at how compact the package is: while two brands might make Lasagna with a near-equal number of calories, one pouch might be less bulky.)

For a mega deep dive on calories and meals, check out the Gearskeptic’s video on the topic. 

View a basic spreadsheet comparing freeze-dried meals by calories

 

Bump your Meal

There’s a range of cal/oz options considering the prepared meal niche. Opting for a less calorie-dense meal based on palette or dietary needs doesn’t necessarily mean setting yourself up for a calorie deficit. One strategy is to “bump” caloric density by adding a high-calorie yet lightweight supplement. Find a small but fail-proof plastic bottle for liquids like oils. A 500ml Platypus-type bottle is also not a bad option for a dedicated oil container. 

On the multi-day self-supported ski trip, when you are hauling everything from A to B to C and onward, we eye the most significant caloric bump per ounce.  

Dried/powdered cheese is a good option. Even if you are not a prepper, you can find some interesting options here; also, ensure you find the right serving size, as the cheeses come in various sizes from 20lb containers to more reasonable sizes for those heading out for a short excursion. (Cheese/butter powder must be reconstituted in a small amount of cold or warm water.) And ghee butter, check this magic potion out; ghee is clarified butter, meaning the water and oil have been simmered out. 

Some companies also sell oils and nut butters in small packs similar to on-the-go sport nutrition gels.

 

The Postscript

The prolonged cook time for reconstituting dehydrated meals is something to consider. In other words, we note cooking time, but are they reliable? Take them as a rough estimate. And if you are on a multi-day traverse out West, it’s likely you are at relatively high elevations. Cooking/rehydrating food takes longer at higher elevations- be prepared to wait around a bit. 

The rough rule is to add a minute of cook/soak/rehydration time for every 1000 feet above 5,000 feet in altitude. Either way, be patient. If impatience is a virtue, then carry along a insulated rehydrating pouch for a thermo-regulation assist.