One Week (7 day) Grub Menu for 2026
For 2026 I am packing enough grub for 3 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 three 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 2026:
For 2025 I had reverted to previous premixed bannock menus with less butter plus added shortening. However the butter still melted in the premix so for 2026 no butter will be added, just double shortening. As revised for 2025 the labile ingredients will continue to be stored individually and added in the field to each bannock (currants, ground flax seed, seed mixture).
Discontinue use of extra shortening and the Dutch oven for frying fish. Instead I will pack extra ingredients for fish chowder. Fish chowder is tasty, easier and quicker to make, requiring less equipment.
Cashews are now eaten at every breakfast instead of just five times per week.
Volume of soup base added to fish chowder doubled (2 tbsp instead of 1)
Extra ghee added to fish chowder (3 tbsp instead of 2)
The following have been removed from the menu:
Extra shortening (and the Dutch oven) for frying fish
Couscous (replaced with extra potato flakes for fish chowder instead of frying fish)
Average daily nutritional intake based on this 2026 menu:
4166 calories, 339g total carbohydrates, 59g fibre, 219g total fat, 209g protein, sodium 5.2g
Breakfast - 7 days:
cashews roasted salted ¼c
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:
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 - 4 days:
fish chowder (diced fish boiled in 2c+ water before adding potato flakes 1c, chicken soup mix 2tbsp) plus ghee 3tbsp, Parmesan cheese ¼c
Bannock (All shortening):
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, Crisco shortening 8tbsp) (total volume ~3c after mixing). 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, flipping to bake both sides. I premix batches of eight bannocks at a time and package in doubled small Ziploc® bags. Separately bag sets of currants and seeds each packed in small Ziploc® bags.