Aloha rice & beef

Bag up this one- pot meal that’s interesting and exotic. I like the beef version best, but substituting dried shrimp and chicken- flavor bouillon, is also very good. It works well, too, without meat; and it may be worth trying with vegetarian bouillon. Instant bouillon is salty, and I use the reduced- sodium versions when available. The bouillon cube should be dissolved prior to addition of the remaining ingredients, lest you end up with a weak flavor, and a bouillon- rock surprise hiding in the pot. Granular bouillon is easier: just combine it in a bag of mix and dump it all into the pot when you’re ready to cook. My recipe calls for instant brown rice, but other instants, like Success rice or Minute rice should work fine, too; and maybe need less “cook” time. Aloha Rice prepares conveniently in my camp cup… Just boil, cozy, and eat out of the cup! To cook, search out the bouillon cube from the bag of mix, unwrap, and drop it into the water; heat and stir. When the bouillon cube has dissolved, dump in the dry mix and oil. Bring it to a boil and cover; keep it hot in a pot- cozy to “cook” for 15 minutes; add soy sauce, if desired. This recipe yields a “normal” serving size, so I also want a dessert on ravenous occasions.

1/2 C Instant brown rice
2 Tbsp Dehydrated pineapple chunks
1 tsp Orange- flavor Tang mix
1 tsp Green onion flakes
1 tsp Chopped beef jerky
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ginger
1 cube Beef bouillon, low- sodium
1 Tbsp Olive oil (optional calories)
3/4 C Water
Dash of Soy sauce (optional)

Nutrients:

Calories……...... 280
Fat……….....…. 1.6 g
Sodium……..…. 670 mg
Carbohydrates… 62 g
Fiber……….…… 4 g
Protein…….......... 5 g

Baking in my camp cup; revisited

Well, restricting sodium has forced some changes in my camp menu. I always enjoyed a big hunk of skillet bread, but the salt and leavening in commercial biscuit mixes add up to too much sodium; just one helping of the package’s “serving size” contributes almost 500 mg, and I usually plan on having two “servings”. A homemade mix with the salt omitted yields a rather bland biscuit. I could maybe work a compromise mix with salt and no- sodium baking powder. I previously described combining biscuit mix with cornmeal, flour, or oats to produce large- enough loaves with less sodium. Some of my one- pot meals, like soups, never yielded enough calories to be complete dinners, and bannock or cornpone was a good way to round them out. I’ve been trying multiple courses and adding desserts, but I like biscuits and want to try them again. I had a bag of cornmeal + biscuit mix leaking powder in my grub sack, so I bought some of those aluminum- foil muffin liners to experiment with… others have claimed success with them. I added water, kneaded the mix, and discarded what wouldn’t fit into the muffin tin. So, I estimated about 250 mg of sodium in that muffin. With 3/4 inch of water in the camp cup, I dropped in the muffin and steamed it for 15 minutes. It came out OK, not soggy or unpalatable; just the crust was not browned. A utensil was needed to remove the muffin from the cup, so I stabbed it with my pocketknife and lifted it out. If I could learn to eat things “baked” this way, I could lose some weight (that 4- ounce frypan could be left out of my backpack). Repeating the trial with 1/3 C of biscuit mix plus 1 tsp milk powder gave 500 mg sodium, but proved to yield just the right volume for the muffin tins. Water volume was tricky in the steamer operation: too little and it dried up, too much and the muffin floated and tipped over. Breads from the camp cup may yet be do- able; I need to experiment with this working- volume of 1/3 C mix.

Trail snacks upgrade

I like to snack on trail mix when playing or working outdoors; carried in a peanut- butter jar, it’s easy to “sip” while on the go. And, that way, you’re not putting dirty hands down into your food. Lately, I have been trying some new items in my GORP. I don’t seem to have a “best” formulation, it usually goes on the shopping list as “GORP” and I buy whatever appeals to me at the store. In recent batches, I have been giving more consideration to nutrient contents… more reading of labels. Reduced sodium has been a first consideration, and I have found an array of unsalted nuts and seeds available. There are also lightly- salted nut products with moderate amounts of sodium and a significantly lower price tag than the unsalted ones. I went through some warm- weather mixes with just nuts and raisins in the batch; that was good, low- sodium with plenty of fats and carbs, but not very interesting after a while. With cool weather, I went back to including my usual semi- sweet chocolate chips. Mixed nuts and dried pineapple appeal to my palate, but the large chunks require some attention to eating… can’t just snarf down a gulp of the mix. Dried apricots, dates, figs are great snacks, but don’t seem to fit well in Gorp mixes; I prefer them individually. I’ve eaten all of my watermelon jerky… must wait until July 5th to start my next batch of that. An item included in all of my recent GORP batches has been sunflower “nuts”, the hulled kernels. These are available unsalted as well as with salt, their flavor and texture fit well, and they contribute a good dose of potassium to my GORP mixes. I like pumpkin seeds in GORP, but I haven’t found unsalted ones… I guess I could toast some raw ones from the health- food store. A new addition to my GORP repertoire came from WhiteBlaze, where Footslogger recommended dried blueberries. They were hard to find and were expensive, but, WOW! That really is special.

Ramen- lentil salad

This is a great warm- weather lunch for a solo hiker. Share it between two as side courses for dinner. Serve as- is or include some foraged or fetched- along greens. Seal ingredients in a zip- bag, press the air out to avoid dry spots, and re- hydrate for 3 hours, more or less... chilled is better. Toss in greens and serve. Tip: put bag inside cook- pot and cool it in the creek (don’t let it float away).


Package of Ramen noodles, crushed (discard flavor packet)
2 Tbsp Lentils, pre- cooked and dehydrated
2 tsp Green onion flakes
1/2 tsp Basil flakes
1 Tbsp Parmesan (dry cheese)
Salt & pepper, other additions to taste
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 C Water

Nutrients:
Calories……....524
Fat……….....….29 g
Sodium……..….42 mg
Carbohydrates…72 g
Fiber……….……4 g
Protein……........13 g

Reduced- sodium pancakes for the pack

I have said it before, pancakes have been one of my favorites: simple to pack, prepare, and eat, and adequately nutritious. The just- add- water mixes are widely available and make good breakfasts, but are high in sodium. Pancake mix in a bag takes little room in your pack; protect it from puncture and it will keep a long time without refrigeration. My basic proportion for a single serving is 1/2 C of just- add- water pancake mix, plus 1/3 C water (mixes may differ; I usually eyeball it). Pre- measure and pack the mix into a zip bag, add water to the bag, squish to mix, pour preferred sizes into greased skillet. Flip when nearly set and brown the other side.

For reduced- sodium versions: substitute 1/4 C of cornmeal or Quick oats for half of the mix. Wheat or other flours could probably be substituted, too. The oat- and corn- cakes are just as convenient and tasty, and contain half the sodium. Spices and flavorings could be worked in as I have suggested in my previous pancake recipes. Here’s a calculated nutrient comparison.

Comparison:..1/2 C Mix...Oatmeal mix...Cornmeal mix
Calories...............300.................225...................270
Fat.........................3.8..................3.4....................2.6
Sodium.................795.................398..................398
Potassium............164...................82.....................82
Carbohydrate........60..................44......................58
Fiber......................1.6..................2.8.....................2.7
Protein..................7.6...................6.3....................6.5

Blood pressure: low- sodium living

Well, the doctor has threatened me again with medication for my blood pressure. I had made some effort since my last check- up, to get exercise more frequently and to watch my sodium intake. Although I have done both of those (kinda; sometimes), it has not been enough. I need to include more “aerobic” forms of exercise and need to be stricter about my sodium consumption. The good news is that my efforts seem to be paying off; pressure is almost down to what it should be. It looks like CampDaddy must continue paying more attention to Sodium content of foods. I have had some worry about leg cramps resulting from diminished electrolytes, though. Working and playing outdoors in the summer heat have given me trouble, before, with charlie- horses. Salty snacks and lots of water had helped with cramping muscles, but that was way too much sodium. Discussions over on WhiteBlaze forums have given me some ideas about warding off those potential issues: treating with quinine, even tonic water, seems to stop the cramps; increasing other electrolyte minerals, especially potassium, should offer some protection. So, CampDaddy will explore camp foods and trail snacks and beverages with reduced sodium, along with increased potassium and other minerals. The sodium problem is going to require some study and planning, especially with my camping foods. It seems everything that is convenient and quick is also loaded with sodium. Right off the bat, items that must be eliminated are:

Ramen noodles (at least drop the salt- bomb packet)
Pancake mix (substitute using Lo-Na biscuit mix)
Biscuit mix (work up my own Lo-Na version)
Stuffing mix (maybe I could dry and season cornbread crumbs or find a low- salt version).
Bouillon granules are high- Na, but there are some Lo- Na cubes (maybe I could crush or pre- dissolve)
Milk and cheese are Hi- Na but good protein and calcium sources... weigh pros and cons.

Although I get some walking- exercise, not much of it qualifies as “aerobic”. Googling for exercise recommendations, I found that I should try to get my pulse rate up to 120 for about 20 minutes. Recommendations are for aerobic workouts 3- 4 days per week, not every day, and once or twice per week is not enough. Warm up 5- 10 minutes at 50- 60% maximum heart rate. Exercise 20 minutes at 70- 80% of maximum and cool down 5- 10 minutes at 50- 60% maximum. As best I can figure, excercising heart rate for me should get up to 100- 122. I tried for that with some rapid walking, and it is not difficult to attain… I just need to consciously include some speed sections or uphills in my strolls.

Outdoor enjoyment should, itself, reduce stress and hypertension, so more playtime, too, should be just what the doctor ordered.

Corn chowder

This is a quite versatile recipe; I’m giving the corn variation, but it can be adapted to a variety of add- ins; just leave out the corn and substitute whatever. Preparation is super- simple, too: just add a cup of boiling water, stir, let set to re- hydrate, and chow down. I use reduced- sodium bouillon and choose add- ins which are low in sodium. Note that bouillon powder can be combined in the dry mix, but bouillon cubes must be dissolved in the water prior to mixing with the other dry ingredients. Using the cubes means a dirty pot anyway, so I just boil to dissolve, stir in the dry mix, set in a pot- cozy and eat from my camp cup. Corn takes about 15 minutes or more to re- hydrate so start the chowder early and finish your camp chores while it “cooks” in a cozy.

1/4 C Instant potato flakes
1/4 C Whole- milk powder
1/4 C Dehydrated corn (home- dried: canned may have salt, frozen takes longer to re- hydrate/cook)
1/2 tsp Chicken bouillon powder or 1 cube
1/8 tsp Celery powder (optional; and it’s high in sodium)
1 tsp Coffee creamer
1 Tbsp Margarine or olive oil

Pepper to taste

Ramen again

Low- sodium camp meals are challenging. Ramen noodles, the mainstay of college students and backpackers, come with a flavor packet that is a sodium bomb. But Ramen is cheap, easy to find, and convenient to prepare, so it is worth some experimenting. Package instructions say to limit sodium by reducing the amount of flavor packet added to the pot. That gives a washed- out flavor that I don’t like; I have resorted to the following:
Add 1 C water, crushed noodles, and half of the flavor packet to pot. Bring slowly to boiling and set for 5 minutes. This yields full- strength flavor, but is not a soup… it’s noodles. Need more fluid? Make some tea.
Scrounging around the camp- yard for something to go in my Ramen, I was hoping to enhance the flavor but still keep down the sodium. I found a few collard leaves, a small turnip and one of those weeds that smells like onions. I started the chopped vegetables simmering in 1.5 C water and added the crushed noodles. Still using half of the flavor packet, I brought the mix back to a boil and set for 5 minutes. The flavor was good and the 1.5 cups of liquid was enough to be considered a soup.