Reddit reviews The Well-Fed Backpacker

Food is easy. The Well Fed Backpacker and Freezer Bag Cooking are phenomenal resources for ideas, but a quick stroll through your supermarket will yield excellent results. Once you look through your supermarket with the eyes of a backpacker, you'll discover a treasure trove of cheap and light food!

Anything that takes ten minutes or less of cooking, comes dry in a package, and simply needs hot or cold water, is perfect. As a backpacker you are looking for anything that has high calorie content and low weight.

I suggest Knorr's Rice Sides, instant mashed potatoes (flavored are best!) packets of ramen, powdered soups, beef bouillon cubes, instant oatmeal, instant grits and Carnation Breakfast Essentials as some good starter items. (Protip: don't follow the Knorr's directions, instead add just enough boiled water to cover the rice in your cup or bowl and let sit for 10-15 minutes, then eat!) Instant potatoes are a true trail food staple: easy to eat, extremely filling, and plenty of carbs for tomorrow's hike. Beef bouillon can always be enjoyed like tea.

You can get creative and mix up stuff too: try the Carnation breakfast in oatmeal and mashed potatoes in soups. Don't forget to vary your menus... if you're like me, the same meal every day can get boring! For me, I carry four essential spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper flakes and bacon salt.

Umteenthing Propaine. In addition, there are "prepare ahead" recipes that make dinner prep something easy and on a road trip snacks are amazing.

In addition, if you're road tripping when it gets close to supper go get yourselves a rotisserie chicken with some sides, and have yourselves a picnic. Still cheaper than most places for dinner.

Also, breakfast oatmeal is banging when you put all the dry ingredients in a thermos, add boiling water, and seal it up overnight.

Resources:

There's a subreddit for campground recipes and another one for trail meals

There's also a really good book that I personally recommend. It is for people who can't just throw money around for camping food so there are recipes and directions on places to buy components. Link here

Also, I don't buy books until I know know I will like and use them.

Libraries are awesome. Cookbooks are 641.5, but you'll specifically want Camp Cooking which is 641.578

One thing I like to do is get shelf stable chicken chunks (foil for backpacking, can for car camping) OR cook this the first night of camping with real chicken breast. It makes a pretty good chicken in peanut sauce, and if you get powdered coconut milk to add to what's already there it becomes a rich delicious meal. I use 1 pouch/person because we were burning calories.

If you have questions PM me, I have done a fuckload of camping and feeding people in the field.