Critique my Food List

John87

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I believe I’ve got my food list close to being dialed in, or at least I hope. Will be going elk hunting in Colorado this fall in 1st rifle season, so it’s only a five day season, but I’ll be going in early to scout. So I may pack a few days of food and leave the rest at the truck to come back and pick up before season opening.
Average calories is 3100 per day, and weight is 22.35 oz per day (as listed on packages, I haven’t checked yet). Is this fairly reasonable? Oh, and I have to throw in a couple packs of Trader Joe’s instant coffee.EB5D5BE5-3691-4C1D-A53F-50949FA95FD1.jpeg0F37FD99-06DB-4CA5-80DB-CC6CDC57202B.jpeg
 

bsnedeker

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You have 8 things a day that you will be heating up with a stove...that's a lot, but if it makes you more comfortable to be busting that thing out for hot drinks 6 times a day who am I to judge?

That's more food than I can eat in a day of rifle hunting, but I do a lot of glassing when rifle hunting so YMMV. If it's me I would ditch the honey stingers and the extra protein bar and just go with the pro bar for lunch and the jerky and candy bars for snacks in the afternoon. If you plan on being active all day that is probably the right amount though.
 

Maverick1

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@John87
Couple of comments:
I agree with the stove comments above. I’d ditch the hot chocolate and apple cider.

For the oatmeal I just add cold water directly to the pack and eat it that way.

Carb/protein ratio is offf for my preference. I’d add a couple of scoops of protein powder. (In separate ziploc bags, include 8-10 almonds in the ziploc bags to act as a “blender bottle” and help mix the protein powder.)

If you are weight or space conscious, the peak refuel meals can be placed into a quart-sized freezer ziploc bag.

Coconut is something I stay away from while in the backcountry.
 
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John87

John87

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You have 8 things a day that you will be heating up with a stove...that's a lot, but if it makes you more comfortable to be busting that thing out for hot drinks 6 times a day who am I to judge?

That's more food than I can eat in a day of rifle hunting, but I do a lot of glassing when rifle hunting so YMMV. If it's me I would ditch the honey stingers and the extra protein bar and just go with the pro bar for lunch and the jerky and candy bars for snacks in the afternoon. If you plan on being active all day that is probably the right amount though.
I won’t be busting out the stove 8 different times, just morning and evening, the drinks will all be fixed 2-3 at a time, instead of 1 at a time.
I could ditch the drinks and be fine, really just adding them for more calories, that’s pretty lightweight.
If I cut the waffles and protein bar, that would cut me 800 calories a day and save me 5.8 oz
 
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I know this gets said all the time but make sure you’ve tried and like everything your bringing. If you don’t like it at the house you definitely won’t like it in the woods. I learned the hard way
 

bsnedeker

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I won’t be busting out the stove 8 different times, just morning and evening, the drinks will all be fixed 2-3 at a time, instead of 1 at a time.
I could ditch the drinks and be fine, really just adding them for more calories, that’s pretty lightweight.
If I cut the waffles and protein bar, that would cut me 800 calories a day and save me 5.8 oz
What style of hunting are you going to be doing? It's hard to give you advice on food without knowing how you hunt...that's why I framed it with "if it was me". Personally I don't weigh my food at all, I just hate having leftovers at the end of the day so I base my menu on what I'm doing. I know when archery hunting in September I'm hitting it hard for over 12 hours a day so I'm eating every 2-3 hours and finishing with a nice hot meal at the end of the day. When rifle hunting I'm much less active and the days are much shorter so I eat half as much as archery hunting at MOST so I pack way less for rifle hunts. I do carry an "emergency" pro bar that always lives in my hip-belt pocket just in case I get stuck out and I'm super-hungry for whatever reason...I think I've only ever dug it out once.

But again, that's me. I usually don't take a stove with me at all during the day and focus on things that are ready-to-eat...hot meal is back at camp at night (this is especially true during rifle when it gets dark so dang early). I can't really speak to the beverage aspect of your menu as I'm a plain-water type of guy when I'm hunting, but I know a lot of guys need something hot throughout the day so that's just a personal thing.


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John87

John87

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What style of hunting are you going to be doing? It's hard to give you advice on food without knowing how you hunt...that's why I framed it with "if it was me". Personally I don't weigh my food at all, I just hate having leftovers at the end of the day so I base my menu on what I'm doing. I know when archery hunting in September I'm hitting it hard for over 12 hours a day so I'm eating every 2-3 hours and finishing with a nice hot meal at the end of the day. When rifle hunting I'm much less active and the days are much shorter so I eat half as much as archery hunting at MOST so I pack way less for rifle hunts. I do carry an "emergency" pro bar that always lives in my hip-belt pocket just in case I get stuck out and I'm super-hungry for whatever reason...I think I've only ever dug it out once.

But again, that's me. I usually don't take a stove with me at all during the day and focus on things that are ready-to-eat...hot meal is back at camp at night (this is especially true during rifle when it gets dark so dang early). I can't really speak to the beverage aspect of your menu as I'm a plain-water type of guy when I'm hunting, but I know a lot of guys need something hot throughout the day so that's just a personal thing.


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It is 1st Rifle in Colorado, October 15-19, I will be doing 3-5 days scouting along with a buddy, then meeting back up with a few more buddies a fit or 2 before season. So in all, 9-10 days, hopefully hiking to a high spot and glassing for an hour or so, then moving on to the next spot. If I do have a stove during the day, it would be split between 2 of us, not sure of how we’re doing everything yet, it’s our first trip out west. I don’t want to pack a ton of food that I won’t eat, it don’t want to sit around being hungry either. I usually spent all day from before light till way after dark hunting whitetail here at home, and I’ve learned that it’s a lot easier for me to start packing up before dark if I’m hungry, lol.
 

Larry Bartlett

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Based solely on metabolic science and repeated studies, hunters can thrive on 2,000 cals per day.

To do this effectively, here's the combination of nutrient ratios to target:

the average 80-kg (175-lb) person should target 900 calories (225 grams) carbohydrates, 700 calories (78 grams) fat, and 400 calories (100 grams) protein PER DAY.

Using this formula, ensure that your food choices provide at least 125 calories per ounce and you will have a food kit that weighs 16-ounces per day with complete nutrient requirements met. And this is true despite energy expenditures exceeding 4000 cals per day (50% daily calorie deficit) for up to 12 days.
 
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Based solely on metabolic science and repeated studies, hunters can thrive on 2,000 cals per day.

To do this effectively, here's the combination of nutrient ratios to target:

the average 80-kg (175-lb) person should target 900 calories (225 grams) carbohydrates, 700 calories (78 grams) fat, and 400 calories (100 grams) protein PER DAY.

Using this formula, ensure that your food choices provide at least 125 calories per ounce and you will have a food kit that weighs 16-ounces per day with complete nutrient requirements met. And this is true despite energy expenditures exceeding 4000 cals per day (50% daily calorie deficit) for up to 12 days.
That may very well be true, but every time I've hunted out West I drag my tail really hard after a couple days if I'm not force feeding myself more calories. I've taken to adding a ton of pasta to nightly dinners no matter how full I am. Once I did that it's highly noticeable how much more "go" I have for the whole duration. I'm very aware of the calories and type of I consume, me personally I need to be well above 3k to maintain energy levels after a couple days, 4k preferably.
 

Larry Bartlett

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Yeah I'm 10% body fat and 190-lbs, i hear ya on the energy calories. Too add...every pound of body fat = 3,500 calories of survival energy.
 
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Only concern about your list I have is that the first rifle season can be very very warm temperature wise. Those chocolate bars will be an absolute disaster to eat. I only take chocolate on later season hunts.
 
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John87

John87

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Only concern about your list I have is that the first rifle season can be very very warm temperature wise. Those chocolate bars will be an absolute disaster to eat. I only take chocolate on later season hunts.
How warm is it one average? During the day and low at night?
Everything I’ve researched says between 0 & 80. At say 10,000-11,000 feet?
 
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How warm is it one average? During the day and low at night?
Everything I’ve researched says between 0 & 80. At say 10,000-11,000 feet?
That’s a million dollar question. Depends on the year and the part of the state. I have even hunted 2nd rifle at 10k feet where mid-day temps reached intro the upper 70s and low 80s. Then the next year it never got above 45. Just be flexible and look at temps the week prior to departing. Have an alternate plan based on owes the forecast.
 

Tbuckus

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I like your variety.
One concern is your drinks. Lots of cider and cocoa. Which is not bad if it is beneficial for keeping your warm, but I’d put that weight/calories more toward solid food. Reason is you dont have to heat it to eat it.. you can always drink water and add electrolytes.
Personally, if I had your set up, I’d add another oatmeal, a PB packet or honey too add to it, and reduce the cider/ cocoa to one each and a instant coffee (butI like caffeine.}
 
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thats alot of sugar to sustain any kind of hiking. leave out things like snickers, reeses or other candies as that is only a sugar rush, also i would not bring slim jims but thats just me. theres nothing worse than your stomach wanting to take a break when you're stalking an animal, been there lol. think good breakfast and coffee with enough time to digest before heading out then a mid day snack (metrx bar for me) then a good dinner to replenish and help sleep.
 

6.5x284

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Based solely on metabolic science and repeated studies, hunters can thrive on 2,000 cals per day.

To do this effectively, here's the combination of nutrient ratios to target:

the average 80-kg (175-lb) person should target 900 calories (225 grams) carbohydrates, 700 calories (78 grams) fat, and 400 calories (100 grams) protein PER DAY.

Using this formula, ensure that your food choices provide at least 125 calories per ounce and you will have a food kit that weighs 16-ounces per day with complete nutrient requirements met. And this is true despite energy expenditures exceeding 4000 cals per day (50% daily calorie deficit) for up to 12 days.

What's a light 10 grams of protein to add to someone's meal plan? I was thinking an individual peanut butter pack or two added to a bar.
 
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___DAN___

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You have 8 things a day that you will be heating up with a stove...that's a lot, but if it makes you more comfortable to be busting that thing out for hot drinks 6 times a day who am I to judge?

That's more food than I can eat in a day of rifle hunting, but I do a lot of glassing when rifle hunting so YMMV. If it's me I would ditch the honey stingers and the extra protein bar and just go with the pro bar for lunch and the jerky and candy bars for snacks in the afternoon. If you plan on being active all day that is probably the right amount though.
Cant ditch the stingers man..not the stingers. That the best thing he has in his pack!
 

___DAN___

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What's a light 10 grams of protein to add to someone's meal plan?
Ever tried Kodiakcakes's oatmeal? There's 15gram of protein in it! Overall pretty good meal plan I think. I usually have instant coffee in the morning. With that said I'll take a Payday for a snack 1, one stinger waffle for snack 2, Gatorade chewie's to fill in calories, ramen noodle for lunch or bagel with peanut butter, mountain house meal for dinner with a stinger with almond butter for last dinner. I think I was around 3k my self.
 

___DAN___

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Only concern about your list I have is that the first rifle season can be very very warm temperature wise. Those chocolate bars will be an absolute disaster to eat. I only take chocolate on later season hunts.
Depends on how high he is. Above 10k it will be cold.
 
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