It’s interesting to observe what fellow TA walkers pack in their food bags , the essential nutrition required for long days walking . Clearly we are all individuals who will have their own biases as to what is important and what is not . Those who know me understand I have a strong personal bias towards consumption of whole foods and animal based products . Carbohydrates are not my first port of call , I prefer to take my nutrition from meat and eggs if possible . For tramping this obviously creates problems as meat ( uncooked ) spoils quickly .

In the last year my “ meat go to “ has has come from this New Plymouth business called Taxas BBQ foods . They produce these fantastic 200 gm packs of well cooked Pork Belly and or Beef Brisket . The product keeps well in the backpack and I haven’t had any issues with a package spoiling . Can be eaten cold or can be reheated in the bag with hot water or cooked in a pot / pan. The high fat content is important for long term sustainable energy and satiety.

Beef jerky is also a product readily available here in nz too , and great quality products are easy to find . Interesting observational historic fact is jerky and pemmican were the principle foods credited with the the successful exploration of North America and of Africa in the pioneering era .

My carbohydrate backup for when the days are really long has become boil in the bag rice servings from good old uncle Ben . I’ve completely abandoned my old practice of packing lots of high energy bars and cereals but confess to packing a little chocolate , 1 x 40 to 50 gm bar per day and a few Medjool dates . And eggs — start out with 1 dozen eggs per segment