Meals that move us: The art of trail food for every adventure

Meals that move us: Trail food that fuels our adventures

Hiking, Planning

Food on trail is ritual, celebration, and survival rolled into one. Here’s how we plan, prep, and cook while chasing adventure.

Fuel your feet, feed your soul: The trail meals that keep us going

For us, food on trail is more than fuel. It’s warmth when the air cools, comfort when the walking’s been tough, and a celebration when the day’s been pure magic.

The promise of a good meal can carry us as much as our legs do, but that’s not to underplay its role as nourishment. Food is the energy that makes every step possible.

Still, what a meal looks like on trail is different for everyone. Sometimes it’s as simple as tearing open a packet and pouring water in, other times it’s stirring a warm, aromatic brew over the burner.

Trail food is as personal as the journey itself and will depend on what matters most to you — weight, convenience, taste, budget, perishability and effort.

No 'right' way, just your way

It can come down to:

The time you’re willing, or able, to invest in pre-hike preparation, as well as in the cooking and clean-up.
How long your food needs to last, and in what weather conditions.
The amount of money you’re happy to spend, or keen to save.
Whether you’re on a mission to be ultralight, or keen to carry a burner and fuel.
The total weight of food you’re willing, or able, to carry to fuel your adventure.
The availability of water, or your willingness to haul it.
The value you place on enjoying flavoursome food.

The options

Here are the main options for doing dinner on trail. Over the years, we’ve jumped between them, with varying success (and definite failures!). Here’s where we landed and why.

Ready-made Dehydrated / Freeze-Dried Meals

Examples: Packaged curries, pasta, risottos, stews from the likes of Radix Nutrition or Back Country
Pros: Lightweight, long shelf life, quick and easy (just add boiling water)
Cons: Can be pricey, not always the most flavourful
Our verdict: We’ve tried a number of meals from different brands, with minimal success. Yes they’re quick and easy, but we didn’t dig the taste or texture. The only meals we’ve enjoyed so far are from Strive Food, which require slightly more cook and clean up effort, but reward you with flavoursome meals that resemble home cooking.

DIY Dehydrated Meals

Examples: Home-dried curry, spag bologanase, rice + veg mixes.
Pros: Cheaper than pre-made, can be tailored to your tastes, healthier.
Cons: Requires a dehydrator and prep time.
Our verdict: We’ve come across many happy hikers who’ve been dehydrating their own meals for years, but we’ve been put off by the initial spend on a dehydrator, as well as the time investment. We might give it a crack one day though.

One-Pot Supermarket Staples

Examples: Noodles, couscous, pasta and rice with add-ins.
Pros: Affordable, filling, easy to cook.
Cons: Heavier if carrying raw ingredients, uses more fuel.
Our verdict: While Mi Goreng noodles with dehydrated vegetables has been one of our staple hiking meals over the past six years, there are few supermarket meal options that are light enough and appeal to our tastes. We couldn’t think of anything worse than eating Mac’n’Cheese for a week.

The game-changer

When hiking the Northern Territory’s Larapinta Trail in 2023, we came across a couple of hikers whipping up an incredible looking laksa. Needless to say, we had serious food envy.

They happily told us about the ‘cookbook’ they’d been using to prepare trail meals – Xtreme Gourmet.

We invested in a copy straight after the hike, and have been using it ever since to prepare tasty trail meals.

Developed by Aussie chef, food scientist and outdoor adventurer, Sonya Muhlsimmer, Xtreme Gourmet holds 69 recipes covering brekky, lunch, dinner, dessert, snacks and drinks, and has loads of nutritional advice.

Why we love Xtreme Gourmet

The recipes are easy to prepare and use basic ingredients from supermarkets and Asian grocers
They taste great and resemble home-style cooking
You can tweak the meals to suit your tastes, dietaries and available ingredients
They’re easy-to-cook one-pot dishes
You can save a lot of coin, especially when preparing meals in bulk

Want a copy?

If you’re keen to buy a digital or print copy of Xtreme Gourmet: High Energy, Lightweight Recipes for the Outdoor Enthusiasts, head to xtremegourmet.com and get a 5% discount by clicking ‘Add a note to your order’ in the shopping cart and inserting the code ‘ROAMS’.

I dined on Xtreme Gourmet meals for five weeks on my 730km solo journey on the rugged and remote Australian Alps Walking Track in 2025. Check out this video to see how I went about food on trail.