Date: 2006-04-04
To: food prep and postal tip. 
Miles today: 0.0

I know that most of you are already on the trail, but the rest of you, and people at home sending food, might benefit from this. I just wanted to give out a good site for bulk goods. www.bulkfoods.com This site has good prices on nuts, granola, dried fruits, soup bases ect. I made an 800 dollar purchase yesteray. 200 pounds of dehydrated food. that translates to 400+ pounds rehydrated. I ordered different sized ziplocks in bulk and will be making up 150 days worth of food to send in drops. It is about two thirds of my food needs for less than 37 cents a mile. Most of the rest wll be bought at a co-op type store for buk items. Another good tip is to use flat rate priority boxes to mail heavy items - Tuna, sardines, batteries, canned/foil packed meat - the maximum weight is more than you can stuff into those boxes and it's only $8.10. It is a big cost savings over postage by weight. Using bulk bought ziplocks,bulk food and flat rate priority mail ,my food drops with postage will come to about 67 cents per mile for approximately 80 percent of my food. NOTE(lighter foods like cereals might be better in weighed postage) It takes planning and work, but if you've got more time than money it will be worth it. The other benefit of bulk buying and repackaging is that with 3 or 4 soup bases (beef,chicken,tomato,miso), and four or five carbs to rehydrate,( rice,potato,quinoa,noodles,stuffing) you can mix and match up to 20 combinations. Add a variety of canned/foil pack meats and dehydrated vegetables, and you've got hot meals for months.    The following is a list of items that is based on 2 pounds of food a day for 150 days. Most of the volumes are in pounds unless otherwise noted. This is my food list but obviously it won't work for everybody. Use your imagination. This list doesn't take into account meat. I will be eating at least 1 serving a day though. It will be supplemented by the whey protien in my drinks. The protien will help prevent muscle loss. I am also using nutritional supplements. Garlic oil for about a hundred different benefits, CLA and omega threes for cardio and heart, glucosamine-chondroitin for joint health (gotta take care of those knees) Sam-e and gensing for energy and mood because lets face - it the trail will wear down your enthusiasm. I am also taking a good quality high stress multivitamin for men. Here is part of my bulk list. breakfast 75 lbs        25        granola                honey granola                           25        assorted                                           20        powdered milk        20        skim                              5        whey isolate        7        whey isolate                                                        lunch        75 lbs           25        fruit        5        assorted        apple rings                                5        assorted        cranberries                                10        assorted        fruit medley                                5        assorted        pineapple                   25        baked carbs        10        crackers                                        5        bagle chips                                        5        corn chips                                        5        trail mix        traditional crunch                   25        spreads        20        peanut butter                                        5        jelly                                                        snacks        75 lbs           25        mixed candy        5        assorted hard        fancy prty mix                                5        rock candy                                        5        maple nut                                        5        old time                           25        mixed nuts        10        almonds        almonds                                15        deluxe mixed        deluxe mixed                   25        other        10        fruit chips        bananna                                5        fruit mixed        rasins monuka                                10        sesame snacks        cheddar                                                plaindinner        75 lbs           50        instant carbs        20        noodles                                        10        potatoes                                        10        rice                                        10        stuffing                           10        dehydrated vegetables        5        mixed                           15        flavor bases        5        cheese                                        5        gravy        wal mart                                2        chicken                                        2        beef                                        1.00        tomato        wal mart                                                drinks           20                gatorade                                   150                doses creatine        Cheap! from bulk foods.                    5        whey powder                                   20        hot chocolate mix                                   150 crystal light on the go packs assorted        (adds      flavor without much weight -breaks monotony of water, covers iodine taste)                           150 green tea bags        (helps curb cravings, antioxidants)                                                                individual snacks        150 snickers almonds        (mens health, healthiest candy bar)                        60        star clusters        cheap $ calories                        60        oatmeal pies        cheap $ calories                        60        nutty bars        cheap $ calories                        60        zebra cakes        cheap $ calories                        60        chocolate cakes        cheap $ calories                        15 packs        nori seaweed        (for micronutrients and digestive health)                Just for fun I'm adding this picture I took while I was in Australia.