camp meals

Strawberry Rubble

Freeze-dried strawberries broken up with coconut and pumpkin seeds. A snack bag that does not melt or bruise.

calories
450
weight
2.3 oz
cal / oz
196
protein
11 g
serves
1, scales
prep
5 min
cook
0 min
total time
5 min
water
none
cost
$

Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.

  • Snack
  • No cook
  • Backpacking
  • Day hike
  • Thru-hike
  • Bikepacking
  • Canoe / raft
  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy free
  • Gluten free
  • Nut free
  • Eat in the bag
  • Pre-mix at home
  • Shelf stable
  • Dump and stir

Ingredients

Freeze-dried strawberries 1 cup whole slices, not the sugared chewy kind
Toasted coconut chips 1/2 cup unsweetened
Pumpkin seeds 1/4 cup roasted and salted
Cacao nibs 2 tbsp
Salt a pinch

Method

  1. At home, crush the strawberry slices with your hand until the biggest pieces are thumbnail sized. Leave some whole.
  2. Add the coconut, seeds, nibs, and salt to the same bag.
  3. Seal it and shake until the color is even.
  4. Eat out of the bag while walking. No stove, no water, no spoon.

Fresh strawberries are a bad trail food. They bruise in a day, weigh mostly water, and go to mush at the bottom of a pack. Freeze-dried slices keep the flavor and drop the weight, which is the whole reason this works out of a bag instead of a cooler.

Strawberries alone are about fifty calories a cup, so they are flavor, not fuel. The coconut chips and pumpkin seeds carry the fat and protein, and the salt keeps the fruit from tasting flat after a few hours of sweating. Crush the fruit at home on purpose: broken pieces distribute through the mix instead of floating on top and getting picked out first.

Packing

One quart freezer bag per day, filled and rolled tight. Push the air out before sealing or the strawberries pulverize into dust by day three. Ride it in the brain of the pack, not under a bear can.

Variations

  • Swap freeze-dried mango or raspberries for the strawberries at the same volume.
  • A tablespoon of coconut sugar makes it read as dessert.
  • Dump a serving into a mug of hot water for a thin fruit porridge if you already have the stove out.

https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/5-ways-to-shop-for-clean-real-food-on-a-budget