What should I eat after a hard hike?
Nothing’s worse than getting to your last day of the trip with nothing more than a handful of trail mix to sustain you through the hardest and longest miles of your trip. When you’re expending a lot of energy, you’ve got to make sure you’re eating the right stuff!
Sure, backpacking is all about stripping back your pleasures to the bare minimum but getting to the end of each long day hiking out in the wilderness and eating the same meal for a week is super demoralizing.
Try to make each day’s meal a bit different than the last. It’s true that almost anything will taste good after you’ve expended so much energy but don’t let yourself get to a point where you can’t force yourself to swallow another bite of your monotonous food. (I’m looking at you, Hollie, and your
are a great option to get a lot of variety with minimal effort. Beef Teriyaki, Thai Green Chili, Creamy Carbonara. You can get a lot of different types of food without the hassle and you can easily spice up and add flavor to them without the weight.
After a while, I find myself craving something salty to balance out the hiking food. My go-to salty snacks are beef jerky and salted nuts. It’s just enough to break up the sweet treats and keep me going until my next real meal.
Often I hear of hikers packing canned food: tuna, beans, spaghetti. I get it. They are quick meals, high in energy and one their own, one can may not seem like too much weight but added to a few other cans, your bag is going to be significantly heavier, making your days in the hills even longer and harder. Honestly, who wants to carry cans? And since we live by the “leave nothing but footprints” rule, that means you’re stuck carrying empty cans out too. Talk about heavy!
I’ve adopted the light and quick hiking food method so I make sure all of my meals are full of nutrients but still uber light.
What should I eat after a hard hike?
Nothing beats a delicious meal after a hike. Cracking up is easy thanks to a few simple ingredients: enough water to drink for a few hours, enough carbohydrates to keep you going strong, and the right food for your body. The best foods to eat after a hike are those that are high in carbohydrates and proteins, and don’t contain many carbohydrates at once. On hikes that are just starting, look for carbohydrates to start with like clean water, dried fruit, some fat and protein, and vegetables to begin your meal with. Food proteins help build your muscles and feet strong, so anything that helps your body use its natural resources more effectively will help your body use its natural resources better. The best foods to eat after a hike are those that are high in carbohydrates and proteins, and don’t contain many carbohydrates at once. The best foods to eat after a hike are those that are high in carbohydrates and proteins, and don’t contain very many carbohydrates at once.
The best foods to eat after a hike are those that are high in carbohydrates and protein, and those are very filling. The best foods to eat after a hike are those that are high in carbohydrates and protein, and those are very filling. The best foods to eat after a hike are those that are high in carbohydrates and protein, and those are very filling.
The best foods to eat after a hike are those that are high in carbohydrates and protein, and those are very filling.
Many hikers and climbers eat primarily plant-based foods after a hike. This lets you fine-tune your intake. In this case, I’m going to eat about twice the amount of carbohydrates and protein as I normally do my protein bars, except I have to be careful not to overdo it.
About two to three days before, I should have consumed about twice the amount of carbohydrates and protein as my bars, except I have to be careful not to overdo it. It’s generally recommended to eat a serving of protein bar about a day before a hike to replenish your glycogen (energy reserves) and muscles, so protein bars are an easy option.
If you find yourself in need of aid or conservation gear, such as a memento or trail bike frame, be careful not to go overboard. Many of these campsites and lodges’ Poké-BETA items are conservation plus, so expect a few hundred dollars worth of conservation gear.
