Festival season is approaching and, after a number of previous hardcore ventures, I feel I want to do it with a bit more sustinence knowledge and energy this time around.
Now I'm not really much of a camper; not to say that I don't enjoy it. But despite my best efforts I'm just not that "good" at it. It leaves me feeling knackered and, amid the dancing and copious spurges of alcohol, really catches up with my body.
So, to cut to the chase, what are the best sort of foods that will really help me out? A lot of food on site is likely to be stodgy carb-heavy fare, otherwise bacon sandwiches. Whilst this tempts the palette for a day or two, it digs its own hole by the end... Not to mention the cost.
I need easily transportable foods that are well rounded with their content, and certainly not (always) laden with sugar. There's nothing worse than crashing.
Any advice...? I'm toying with taking a stove, but we may make a fire between us (though not all the time admittedly).
Not a too good idea to have a fire, open type, if there are tons of tents all around you fella! Better to use a stove, much safer! Easier to cook food/do hot drinks over too.
In the supermarkets there are simple tasty boil in the bag pouched meals, or cook in a pan ones too in pouches like the great Look What We Found range. Rice, instant, add some veg cook in a pot with added water, simple stuff really is best! Some fresh veg and fruit maybe too to take along. Some canned foods. Take some bread and cheese maybe, to do yourself easy sandwiches there. Grab some bits from the health food shop even of mixed nuts and fruit for carbohydrate energy. A bit of chocolate, some sweets boiled etc.
as you won't be moving far, weight is a bit less of an issue than it might be for backpackers.
So a couple of things I've managed on in the past include taking a big ziplock bag of homemade muesli with milk powder mixed in; great for slow release energy & dance fuel!
And for proper meals you can't go wrong with a lot of the heat-in-the-bag Indian meals from Gits etc. that are sold in supermarkets these days or online. Like this. A wee bit salty, but with dancing in the sun that's no bad thing! Just make sure you have plenty of water to dilute the booze!!!
I'd agree with trev that a basic stove is a good call but both of the things I listed above work fine cold if necessary.
"As you won't be moving far, weight is a bit less of an issue than it might be for backpacker"
Tis true. However I will be walking around a mile with a 4 man tent, 24 beers, spirits, sleeping bag, pillow, blow up mattress, fold out chair, pump, light, stove and pan, any and all foodie bits and bobs (and whatever else I've failed to mention heavy or otherwise). Standardly this adds up to a laaaarge backpack full to the brim with things hanging off it, a tent over the shoulder and various bits hanging off the other arm. Wouldn't be surprised if we're talking around 40kgs plus that horrible "handle cutting off your hand / shoulder blood supply" feeling just for good measure. It's bloomin hard work, so I try to opt to do it all in one run. I could probably solve this by buying a trolley, but that digs into my spending money...
So heavy cans of things are a probable no go, but then I thought that last time and was constantly crashing out on crappy cereal bars as some sort of substitute (it works for a day, then you just need to ride a wave of them to keep ahead. By the time I came home 5 days later I was at the bottom of the sea).
I think the only thing I learnt last time (that I need to remind myself) is that taking a bag of ripe nectarines was possibly the best thing I took overall. So long as they don't get squished!
Which festival is it? Must be a small one if you can't get decent food there, surely. I'm a fish eating type otherwise veggie and I gave up cooking my own food at festivals years ago because of the choice on offer, although it is expensive admittedly
Wraps are my new favourite portable food ,so take some ,with peanut butter and fruit to go in them .the peanut butter will make you feel full for longer ,
Not a too good idea to have a fire, open type, if there are tons of tents all around you fella! Better to use a stove, much safer! Easier to cook food/do hot drinks over too.
