Duke of Edinburgh food?

[Netty7]

My 15 year old son is taking his D of E bronze award and in a couple of weeks he's doing a trek in Derbyshire. Anyone got any suggestions on food he can take? Must be light to carry, easy to cook and nothing that'll give him delhi belly if not cooked properly (That's a mumsy thing!!) Thought of the usual things like heinz sausage n beans, pasta etc but this boy eats for England normally, so with all this exercise he'll need plenty of filling food.(Which he has to carry)

[waimarie]

Hi Netty7, Congratulations to you son, he deserves every success. You do not say how many days this trek will take, the content will depend on this. It's worth considering thick slices of bacon, dried fruit (apricots, raisins etc.), dehydrated foods, tea bags, milk powder, breakfast cereal. I had a friend who always took tins of sardines on a trek (very nutritious but make sure the key is attached!!), Those 'noodles to wok' are individual packs and easy to finish off.

I assume water is plentiful. A look at an Armed Forces site on 'survival ration packs' might be useful. Have a great time.

[Netty7]

Thanks waimarie. He's actually only going Friday to Sunday so not too long really.

The sardines idea is a good one - he loves fish. (I'm lucky really cos at 15, although he does obviously eat some junk food, he eats loads of fruit, veg, pasta, rice etc, so quite healthy really. A bit different to my eldest who's 18 - he lives on junk food unless he's at home to eat, which is very rarely)

I'll try the Armed forces sites for survival rations.

Thanx again.

[ronnie963]

i went to a camping shop yesterday and they sell packets of dried meals like stew, cilli con carne,sauage and pasta, which you just add hot water too. They are very light and easy to prepare.

[Sparkles3]

Hi Netty, for mine (rather a while ago now!), took lots of dried fruit, chocolate and boiled sweets which are good for energy whilst walking. For lunch, consider crackers and that tube cheese - your son could prepare some sandwiches ready for the first day, but might be a bit squashed later on! For the main meal you can get all sorts of dried or pre-packed meals from camping shops. For our DofE (I did bronze to gold) I used to take packets of savoury rice and pasta in sauce from Tesco - full of energy but easy. We then took things like cooked frankfurter sausages, corned beef (not in tin) and ham that you just put into the pasta in sauce to heat through. They were easy to carry and to cook through - you don't want to be using lots of tins as others will need to cook too and will all need washing up! And those little stoves aren't the quickest cookers!!!

I'm sure he will have lots of fun!

[chazza]

We used to bring "Vesta" or "Beanfeast" meals, or anything dried that you just had to add water to. Others brought home made stew in sealed containers and just heated it up.

Hot choc that you just add water too is also good for bedtime, as well as ryvita with primula spread for lunches. Also lucozade in plastic bottles and a few mars bars and kendel mint cakes for emergencies!

[CLOWN TICKLE]

what about kendal mint cake or tracker bars

[crimbo]

HI there,

Good luck to your son on the Dof E expedition. I Most super markets stock a wide range of dehydrated foods that with a bit of water taste pretty good, and willl fill him up. If you go into specialist outdoor shops they have boil in the bag foods specifically designed for being on the hill. The menus are even split into breakfast lunh and dinner.

Take bread rolls for the extra carb inake. Pasta is also a great idea.

I would however stay away from the energy drinks as these tend to be sugar based and will aid dehydration.

Before ho goes get him to try a few of these foods and get him to cook them himself as practice, then if he finds thing a bit lacking in the taste department he can always take some extra herbs, or curry powder ( but not too much as he will be sleepning in a tent)

[crimbo]

Oops, sorry about the typos, should really use spellchecker before hitting submit!

[bellasasha]

i did bronze silver and gold, we all took bachelors pasta and sauce just cos it was filling, pot noodles and super noodles, not very nitritious but they fill a gap!! apparantly you can get "space packs" from the net for things like that too but they werent about when i did duke of ed!!! tell him to enjoy it, he will feel really fab after it

[Netty7]

Thanks all you ABers for all the suggestions. I think we can pack him well and keep him full on all those ideas - spoilt for choice now!!

And thanks for all your good wishes, I've passed them on to him.

I think he'll get more sleep than I will that weekend cos I'm a mum and I shall whittle and worry till he gets back!! I sure a lot of you will know just what I mean. Thanx again.

[davies2209]

He'll probably want a nutritious breakfast. I found that Oat So Simple porridge sachets are brilliant, take up very little room, can be made with water, and they taste nicer than normal porridge... especially the apple or raspberry ones.

[anitadip]

Ask a Scout/Explorer. They are always doing this sort of survival weekend. Good luck.

[themcowans]

Hi Netty 7

Try Be-Well Expedition Foods as they offer a whole range of special light weight meals suitable for D of E. Tey also supply all leading expeditions. The contact there is [email protected]