Make your own trekking food

In our new series, we show you how to make your own trekking food. Ready-made trekking meals from outdoor stores are often expensive and harmful to the environment. A single meal can easily cost between 6 and 9 euros, and the disposable packaging is anything but sustainable. Our alternative: prepare your own meals, dehydrate them and save money and resources in the process.

Advantages of self-dehydration

You can dehydrate food using either a dehydrator or a conventional oven. You know exactly what ingredients are in your trekking food, save costs and can use sustainable packaging. For tours where weight is not an issue, we use reusable tins. If it needs to be light, we use ziplock bags that we can reuse later. It is important that trekking food is not only nutritious but also tasty. After an exhausting day, it’s frustrating if you can’t look forward to your meal. That’s why we test different recipes and share our honest opinion on preparation and taste.

Make your own trekking food: Recipe for red lentil Bolognese with fusilli

Ingredients:

• 50g red lentils
• 100g fusilli
• 200g strained tomatoes
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 garlic clove
• A little oil for frying
• 30g mixed nuts (e.g. walnuts, almonds)
• 250ml vegetable stock
• Salt, pepper and Italian herbs (basil, oregano etc.) to taste

Calories per portion: approx. 550 kcal

Preparation:

1. Finely chop the onion and garlic and fry in olive oil.

2. Add the red lentils and sauté briefly.

3. Add the tomato puree and vegetable stock and bring to a boil.

4. Simmer over a low heat until the lentils are soft (approx. 20-25 minutes).

5. In the meantime, cook the pasta in a separate pan, drain and set aside.

6. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Italian herbs.

7. Stir in the chopped nuts.

8. Spread the pasta and lentil bolognese evenly over the dehydrator trays.

9. Dehydrate everything at 63°C (145°F) until it is dry and brittle (approx. 8-10 hours).

10. Pack the finished dry meal airtight, e.g. in ziplock bags.

Outdoor preparation:

1. Pour the dry meal into your pot.

2. Add approx. 250 ml water – preferably a little less at first, then more if necessary.

3. Leave the whole thing to stand for about 15 minutes so that the pasta soaks in.

4. Heat everything on your burner for 2-3 minutes and stir well.

5. Allow the dish to cool briefly before enjoying to avoid burning.

Conclusion on the red lentil Bolognese with fusilli

Pasta Bolognese is a classic that always works. Next time, we could consider dehydrating the Bolognese directly with the pasta so that the sauce adheres better to the pasta. Soaking the dehydrated meal beforehand is particularly important to soften the pasta and minimize gas consumption. Preparation was quick and easy, and the dehydrating worked very well. In terms of taste, the dish is solid, if not outstanding. Overall, we would definitely make this recipe again and give it a solid 7.5 out of 10 points.

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