One Week (7 day) Grub Menu for 2025
For 2025 I am packing enough grub for 3½ months. All grocery supplies are off-the-shelf items.
I drink hot water alone with supper, and cold or hot water for other meals. I have become intolerant of caffeine in drinks such as tea and coffee. Water is sterilized by boiling for one minute or by a filtration system. The latter removes bacteria and parasites (but not viruses, so is technically not sterilized).
The past two seasons I successfully used Daryl's Bars protein bars (Cinnamon Honey bar). I remain happy with their taste and performance, better than any previous bars in the 20g protein range. Unlike most competitor products the bars contain no artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners and have a healthy low sodium content. A plus is that they are a Canadian product which also ships to USA. Thanks again to John Murray of Daryl's Bars for his support in placing a large order. https://darylsbars.com/
Changes in the menu for 2025:
Canoe season 2024 the premixed bannock with double butter but no shortening was exposed to consistently hot conditions; the currants fermented and the butter melted. For 2025 I am reverting to previous menus with butter plus shortening and added quick rolled oats, white wheat bran and salt. The labile ingredients will be stored individually and added in the field to each bannock (currants, ground flax seed, seed mixture).
Cashews are now eaten at breakfast instead of mixed seeds.
Mixed seeds will now be added to the bannock mixture just before baking. (See contents below.)
Whole wheat couscous volume reduced to ½c from ¾c.
The following have been removed from the menu:
nutritional yeast (a redundant additive, its nutrition contained in other listed foods)
orzo (replaced with whole wheat couscous which is faster and easier to cook)
Average daily nutritional intake based on this 2025 menu:
4518 calories, 347g total carbohydrates, 61g fibre, 254g total fat, 210g protein, sodium 5g
Breakfast - 7 days:
1 protein bar Daryl's Bars Cinnamon Honey 58g (22g protein)
¼ bannock cold or hot if freshly baked (See contents below.)
Breakfast - 5 days:
cashews roasted salted ¼c
peanut butter smooth 1tbsp
Breakfast - 2 days:
grated Parmesan cheese ¼c
real bacon crumbled ¼c (stores well unrefrigerated if not aliquoted until first used)
Lunch - 7 days:
1 protein bar Daryl's Bars Cinnamon Honey 58g (22g protein)
¼ bannock cold
vitamins
almonds roasted salted ¼c
Mini Babybel™ cheese 20g (stores well in its wax cover if cloth-wrapped to protect from damage)
Excel® (Eclipse® in USA) sugar-free gum
Supper - daily:
grated Parmesan cheese ¼c (6 days excluding the macaroni & cheese meal)
1 protein bar Daryl's Bars Cinnamon Honey 58g (22g protein)
fresh salad 3c (most commonly: fireweed; or leaves/catkins of alder, birch or willow)
fresh fruit if available ½c (lingonberries, bunchberries, blueberries, red currants, raspberries, highbush cranberries, cloudberries, rose hips, Saskatoon berries, pin cherries, crowberries, bilberries)
Supper - 1 day:
macaroni and real cheese 2c (Kraft™ Deluxe Original Cheddar or Four Cheese 400g)
Supper - 2 days:
oriental noodles 2x85g using the enclosed spice packets
or stuffing mix 120g
Brunswick® sardines 106g can in soy oil plain label
Supper - 1 day:
couscous whole wheat ½c (plus chicken soup mix 1tbsp)
fish fried (coated with cornmeal 2tbsp, Montreal steak spice 1tbsp), fried in Crisco™ shortening (½lb saved and reused over a period of two weeks)
Supper - 1 day:
fried fish sauteed in ghee with whole wheat couscous (See recipe below.)
Supper - 2 days:
fish chowder [diced fish boiled in double usual amount water before adding potato flakes 1c, chicken soup mix 1tbsp] plus ghee 2tbsp, Parmesan cheese ¼c
OR
small game instead of fish (roasted over coals, or meat sliced and sauteed in shortening 1tbsp)
Bannock (Butter-Seeds Bannock):
Premixed before the trip (whole wheat flour 1c, cornmeal ¼c, chickpea flour ¼c, skim milk powder ¼c, quick rolled oats ¼c, white wheat bran 2tbsp, baking powder 1tbsp, sugar 1tsp, salt ⅜tsp, salted butter 6tbsp, Crisco shortening 6tbsp). Just before baking, mix in currants ½c and seed mixture (hemp hearts 1tbsp, chia 1tbsp, buckwheat toasted 1tbsp, pumpkin seeds shelled roasted salted 1tbsp plus ground flax seed 2tbsp). Add cold potable water to make soft dough, mixing with a spoon then kneading. Sprinkle a thin layer of 1tsp cornmeal in mixing pan before flattening the dough; lift bannock and sprinkle another layer of 1tsp cornmeal in pan before flipping bannock so both sides are coated. Bake ~350°F for ~30 minutes, or slanted in pan in front of fire. I premix batches of eight bannocks at a time and package in doubled medium Ziploc® bags, stored 3 per large Ziploc® bags. Separately bag sets of currants and seeds each packed in small Ziploc® bags.
Sauteed fried pike or walleye recipe:
Sautee freshly fried fish in 2tbsp ghee, turning to coat both sides. Break up the fish into small pieces. Add a mixture of ¼c Parmesan cheese, 2tbsp sugar, 1 tsp lemon pepper, turning the fish to coat. Next add to ¾c boiling water ½c whole wheat couscous with added 1tbsp chicken soup mix; after couscous absorbs the water mix with the fish to soak up the ghee.