Beans, Rice and Granola, Oh My!

Just like on the trail, right now all idle thoughts are about food.  What will we want to eat for 4 months?  What will give us the most calories and nutrition in the lightest weight package?  How do you plan for 120 breakfasts and dinners?  Some of these questions are why many thru-hikers opt to purchase food along the way instead of planning it all out ahead of time.    I get a little particular about our food especially when I read the ingredients on some of the convenience foods of choice.  Don't get me wrong, we will indulge in many wonderful treats of modern science and love every minute of it.  Luckily, hiking twenty some miles a day will forgive many indulgences.  We like to take advantage of all the choices available to us at home and then make healthy satisfying meals out of those choices.  The food dehydrator is going 24 hours a day right now.  I have found that cooked rice and beans dehydrate really well.  Pre-cooking them allows for a quicker cooking time on the trail where time and fuel are not always copious.  We belong to a wonderful CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and Spring's offerings are beautiful.  We are finding ways to work them into our future trail meals.  So far we have added a beet and cannelini bean risotto, chana dal and basmati rice with dill and cilantro pesto rice with black beans.  We've also used pasta sauce from tomatoes we canned last season and tomatillo salsa also from last summer.  It's hard to find meals equal to these in the Lipton ready-made aisles!  Granola is the choice for our breakfast needs. Hopefully we will be able to change flavor combinations enough to make it a long term winner as neither of us can eat another spoonful of oatmeal.