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Food Talk - Nuts

Roberta Cobb

When I hiked the Oregon section of the PCT, I walked for a few hours with another woman distance hiker. She envied my food variety. She ate the same thing daily for breakfast, lunch, and snacks: dried fruits and mixed nuts. Nutritionally, this may be a fair choice. Both are packed with energy (that is; calories) and there is a good combination of carbo's, fats, and protein in the mix.

Mainstream nutrition articles, the ones trying to help people lose weight, have led us away from nuts because of their high fat content. But we are hikers. Nuts are nutrient-dense and calorie-packed-we want that fat, and we need those nutrients. Nuts are a good source of protein, especially since they are often eaten as a snack, and so many other snacks are very low in protein. Nuts also provide many essential vitamins including Vitamin E and A, and a variety of minerals including potassium, and some fiber. Read the labels on peanut butter - many add an incredible amount of sugar.

Nuts come from a variety of plant groups. For example, most people know a peanut is actually a legume. Almonds come from trees. Cashews grow as a stem off a bland fruit. Sunflower seeds come from a flower, and pumpkin seeds (not actually nuts, because they are not enclosed in a shell) come from the inside of a squash. And hey, coconuts are nuts too. Because of this variety, the nutritional content of nuts varies.

Nuts pack easily, many are inexpensive, and they are readily available at resupply points. A problem with nuts is that they do not dehydrate, so you are carrying the full weight of the food. Thus the woman I met on the PCT was carrying a heavy load since that's all she was eating. Nuts can become rancid, or spoiled. If they have become rancid they will smell awful: don't eat these. Some nuts spoil faster than others. Pine Nuts spoil quickly; almonds seem to last forever. When you are preparing your foods at home, you can store the nuts in the freezer until it's time to mail the food box.

I felt a bit sad for that hiker on the PCT. The same food every day gets dull. She admitted it was very boring, so she tried to trade with other hikers when she could. There are many ways to incorporate a variety of nuts into the hiker's diet. In fact, I carry very few nuts to eat out of hand. We all know about peanut butter (watch out for high amounts of added sugar in commercial brands). Nutella is a spread of hazelnut butter that is becoming more widespread in distribution. It's a tasty change from the old PB. Look for almond butter, which is very good too. Many of my lunches include whole or chopped nuts of some sort, usually packed separately and added to the dish just before I eat it. Pesto is high-energy pasta. True pesto is just pine nuts, basil, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil all ground up together. Since pine nuts are very expensive and too perishable, I make a walnut pesto. There are many pesto recipes available, using sunflower seeds, pecans, pumpkin seeds, and more.

Expand your thinking, and incorporate nuts into more creative meals. I'm including a couple of recipes.

Chard-Sunflower Seed Soup

Category: Appetizer
Nutrition Info: 240 calories, 7g carbohydrate, 22g fat, 7g protein

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup onion - diced
1 clove garlic
2 cups water
3 cups swiss chard - coarsely chopped
1 Tablespoon tarragon
1 cup sunflower seeds, roasted
black pepper - to taste
salt - to taste
1 cup half and half - optional
Note: 3 cups chard is about one bunch purchased, or about 35 leaves. The half and half was added to simply add calories. It tastes fine without this ingredient.

Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic briefly. Add the chard and the water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the seeds and the tarragon. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Add more water if needed, but if you're going to dehydrate, you want it as thick as possible.

Puree. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add half and half and blend well.

Dehydrate in 1 cup batches for 4-6 hours on highest setting.

On the trail, I make this as an appetizer. I heat up enough water for both this soup and my dinner, and when the water boils I add it to both in separate containers. The soup will be ready to eat in a minute or two, and your main meal will be ready when you're done with the soup.

Instant Walnut Pesto

Servings: 1
Nutrition Info: for smaller amounts: 741 calories; 54g carbohydrates, 52g fat, 21g protein. For larger amounts: 1055 calories: 78g carbohydrates, 74g fat, 29g protein.

1/4 - 1/3 cup walnuts - chopped fine
1-2 Tablespoon dried basil
1 Tablespoon dried dill weed
salt to taste (or add salt on the trail)
1/4 - 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
-pack with--
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
2-3 ounces corn pasta - uncooked
Note: This is for those who like to cook their pasta on the trail.

At home: combine dry ingredients including cheese and package. Package oil separately either in a liquid-tight container, or try freezing it in ice cube trays, then vacuum sealing each frozen cube. It will stay sealed after the oil melts.

On the trail: bring water to boil for the pasta. While the water is heating, empty the dry ingredients into a bowl. If you brought one chunk of cheese, chop it up now. When the water boils, take about 3 tablespoons of the hot water and mix it into the dry pesto. This just hydrates the pesto. Add the corn pasta to the boiling water and cook. While the corn pasta is boiling, add the olive oil to the pesto mix. Drain the pasta and add to the pesto. Enjoy.