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Ideas for menu planning

It is important to realise that you will eat more food than you normally do: you need at least 3000 calories a day while out walking- so please bring plenty of food with you.

Food is a very individual thing and all of the below are suggestions. Do keep in mind two things though, weight and “shelf life”. If you are carry food around for two days in a warm rucksack it should be able to survive this without going off or getting crushed beyond recognition. When carrying food, tins or foods with high water contents should be avoided, they are very heavy.

Breakfast

Particularly important – never set out walking without eating a good breakfast – you’ll suffer later if you do.

Suggestions: Cereals, tomatoes, mushrooms, fruit, juices/squashes, sausage, porridge (a personal favourite), eggs (fragile!), bread, jam/marmalade, bacon, baked beans, biscuits, soup, breakfast bars and plenty of hot drinks, e.g. tea, cuppa soups.

As with all of the lists some of these things are much better for the first morning, before you start walking, because they need to be fresh or are heavy.

Lunch (To carry on the hill)

This must be prepared before setting out and should be easy to eat.

Sandwiches/ rolls/ crisp bread/ pitas, contents of your preference, pasties, pies, fruit, Kendal mint cake, dried fruit, chocolate, biscuits, crisps. Plenty to drink, preferably in a plastic bottle(s).

Evening meal

This should be warm and substantial.

Plenty of carbohydrates, so it is worth basing most of these on: Instant potato, rice, pasta, and bread.

Add some flavour and protein with: Stew, curry, Bolognese, burgers, sausages, tinned chicken or fish. Lots of these are available dehydrated e.g. Vesta meals or soya substitute to save on tins.

Sweets: rice pudding, dried apple, fruit pies, cake etc.

Basics

Milk is the only thing you can buy on the trip and is available from most campsites, but it always worth bringing a little with you.

As stated all the ideas above are just suggestions, every year someone brings something that is a really good alternative that hasn’t appeared before. So use your imagination.