Cooking essentials for lightweight bikepacking
The one thought that keeps crossing our minds as we ride our bikes is: fooooood!
Moving all day long requires quality nutriments, here are some of our learnings to eat healthy, creative, and delicious meals during bike trips.
Only bring basics
Pack simple and adaptive cooking ingredients that you can use at every meal, here are some we find essential:
- Water, make sure you never run dry.
- Salt and pepper.
- Garlic or small onions.
- One carb option: Rice, pasta, bulgur,…
- Olive oil: fry with it, or make a salad dressing.
- Spices: We like to cary oriental mixtures and a hot-spicy mixture.
- Chocolate paste, for the quick calory kick with some bread (or spoon)!
By combining these simple ingredients with fresh vegetables, breads, and cheeses, you can cook fantastic vegetarian meals by carrying very little.
Shop often, carry little
The more often you go shopping the less stuff you need to carry with you.
We try to only cary ingredients for two meals, two breakfasts, and some energy bars to eat during the ride. That’s it.
Obviously if you are in the middle of nowhere, it becomes more difficult.
Keep your eyes open, depending on where you are traveling, there are plenty of herbs like mint or rosemary growing wild, and trees full of apples or figues.
Preparation and transport
Plastic containers are a great way to carry foods and liquids, get rid of heavy breakable glass jars and bottles. When the option is available, buy plastic jars instead of glass in supermarkets.
Prepare food in advance, if you are cooking pasta for diner, cook the whole pack and eat the rest as a pasta salad at lunch the next day. If you’re chopping vegetables, chop ‘em all and store them in containers for later use. Same for breakfast, if you’re having some breadrolls, prepare a sandwich for a mid-day snack!
Have fun and experiment!
What are you favourite food tricks and essentials when you are backpacking or bikepacking?