After having tested many variations in backpacking cuisine, we have settled on these meals as the most tasty, nutritious, and easily prepared.  We have taken into consideration the extra load-bearing capacity of llama packing as well as shelf life. All menus are balanced to include a protein, a fruit or vegetable, and a starch for slow-release energy.  Many may be adapted to vegetarian tastes by cooking the starch and sauce component first, then adding the meat part after removing a few servings. These menus, including snacks and hot drinks, weigh 2.5 to 3 lbs per person per day, depending on the quantity of fresh produce.
perishables
Even when weight is a lesser problem, refrigeration remains a concern. An insulated cooler bag is a must.  We use meat products that are pre-cooked and vacuum packed because they keep longer and the packing will 'puff' if bacterial growth starts.  Dairy products which are already fermented (cheese, sour cream) spoil slower but we always choose packing with hermetic seals.  First and second day menus make use of fresh meat pre-cut and frozen solid. Packed together, these and items such as frozen strawberries and  milk help keep each other cold.
how much?
Portions are an inexact science, depending on the size and metabolism of the person served.  We give broad guidelines for each meal, but you need to take into account whether the group is composed of teenaged males or little kids.  It is a good idea to have one person in control of serving so that the last guy doesn't get shorted.   Always pack extra snacks for hungry folk.
fresh produce
Picking and packing fruits and vegetables is an art in itself.  Nothing is worse than packing in apples to find that they are tasteless and mealy; always buy an extra one to test for flavor and texture.  The companion problem is finding your kiwis too rotten to use on the fifth day, or the avocado too green to mash on the second day.  When you buy for packing, you have to think about when you will use the item and pick it so that it will be ripe at the right time. Bruising speeds up decomposition, so pack produce carefully so that it will not be bounced around.  Cardboard boxes make good containers because they provide some protection while still letting the produce breathe.  You can minimize jostling by packing the produce in popcorn, which also provides feed for the llamas.
cooking
Cooking with backpacking stoves is another difficulty which dictates the menu.  These stoves are best at boiling water, since they work at high temperatures which tend to burn the food in the middle of the pan before the rest can get cooked.  Because the supply of fuel is finite, cooking time is important.  We use a folding two-burner x-type backpacking stove which uses powermax fuel canisters.  This stove is quiet, stable and simple to use.  If fuel weight is an issue, we also have two MSR firefly-type stoves, which require priming before lighting. The stove kit also has a windscreen, a lighter, a pair of small channel-lock pliers (more reliable and versatile than pot-lifters), a hot mitt, and a heat diffusion plate.  When our fuel is limited, we don't heat water for washing dishes; we simply wash them in double-iodized water for sterilization.
equipment
The cook kit is composed of items necessary to produce the menus in this book.  Utensils are (small sizes): military-style can-opener, 6' knife with sheath, whisk, steel spatula, short-handled wide spoon (doubles as serving scoop), rubber scraper, flat grater, 3' paring knife, and a pocket apron for hands-free storage.  A plastic cafeteria-style tray is a cutting surface. Cookware: two nesting lightweight 3 & 5-quart pots, a small fry pan that doubles as a lid, and a collapsible bowl. We use disposable plastic spoons and forks and bring paper towels.  A 2-quart wide-mouth plastic bottle and 12-oz. tight-sealing plastic containers are also handy. The kit includes a PUR water filter, a 2-liter platypus water bag, iodine tablets (for wash water) biodegradable dish soap, a scrub pad, extra ziplock bags, a packtowl chamois, heavy-duty garbage bags (these have all kinds of uses), and a square of oilcloth for a sanitary surface.  A small propane lantern completes the pack.
dishes & washup
All you really need for most of our menus is a medium bowl --- inexpensive plastic ones are fine, wonderful if they come in different colors --- and a 12-ounce insulated travel cup, one with a lid is very handy.  Number the plates and cups with a permanent marker and have everybody reuse the same ones, preferably by keeping them in their own daypack.  Don't stack dirty dishes together---you end up with two yucky surfaces instead of one.  Have each person clean their plate as thoroughly as possible.  Lick it if you like---or clean with bits of TP and burn them.  Use double-iodized water for dishes; it saves the trouble of pumping or heating and has extra protection against giardia (start the iodine dissolving before dinner so it will be ready).  You can use sand or mud as a pot-scrubbing agent, but don't rinse pots out in the stream.
menu extras
We stop to consume a snack midmorning and midafternoon.  High-protein snacks are best for midmorning, when the body is still 'gearing up'; these are jerky, peanuts, cheese sticks, and sunflower seeds.   Midafternoon snacks tend to be sweets and energy-boosters, since the body is traditionally at a low point: trail mix, raisins, granola bars, cracker jax, gum, corn nuts, cookie or cracker packs, toffee peanuts, and fruit gels or leathers.  Snacks are best handed out at the end of breakfast or lunch for the individual to carry in his daypack.  This prevents digging around in the packbags to find them.   Hot beverages are a must for cold evenings and mornings; cold ones encourage drinking lots of fluids.  The usual supply of  beverages includes coffee, decaf, tea, herbal teas, crystal light, cocoa, hot cider mix, and dry milk. We also bring sugar and creamer packets  When pouring powders into water bottles, it helps if you make a simple funnel cone out of a piece of paper.

Breakfast menus
1. *cold cereal & smokies, honeydew
2. *bagels, cream cheese & lox, kiwis
3. +stewed apricots, instant hot cereal, beef stick
4. corned beef hash, cantaloupe
5. +country gravy over grits, grapefruit
6. scrambled eggs,  fruit bars
*limited to 2 days due to refrigeration
+ nonperishable; good for longer  trips
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day if you plan to be physically active.  Unfortunately, some people's digestive systems don't wake up until they have already put some demands on them.  For this reason, most breakfast menus include at least one item that a slow-to-start hiker can stow in his daypack to munch on later.  Depending on the nature of the group, breakfast can be an unhurried affair lasting several hours as late-risers get up to join, or a munch-and-run while people bustle about dismantling camp.  The breakfast menus are relatively low on mess-making; only one item requires cooking.  When serving melons, give everybody two thin slices instead of one fat one.  It's easier to eat off the rind that way.

Lunch menus
1. *turkey salad pita sandwich, fruit cookies
2. *hardboiled eggs, granola bars, plums
3. +peanut butter & jelly, fruit, cheese stick
4. +bean & cheese tostadas, macaroons, oranges
5. +kippers & sourdough, apples, chocolate
6. tuna-stuffed peppers, crackers, dried fruit
*limited to 2 days due to refrigeration
+ nonperishable; good for longer  trips
Lunch must be arranged so that it can be easily prepared and eaten on the trail.  Arrange the bags so that they will automatically balance after lunch is eaten.  There are several ways to do this, but the simplest is to simply put the lunch fixings in a top sack or somebody's daypack.  This also makes it easy to get at.  Fixing lunch can be a headache if the items take a flat surface, like multi-layer sandwiches. Most lunches involve something that can be held in one hand while adding stuff with the other---pita bread, bell-pepper halves, and the like.  After lunch, hand around the afternoon snack so that you don't have to root it out of the bags later.

Dinner menus
1. *cheesy broccoli rice w/chicken,
 carrot cake
2. *beef stroganoff, baby carrots w/dip,
 strawberry shortcake
3. +ham-scalloped potatoes, fresh squash slaw,
 caramel apple slices
4. +fried falafel patties, cucumber tabbouli,
 pineapple cheesecake
5. shrimp-quinoa creole, waldorf salad,
     chocolate-banana pie
*limited to 2 days due to refrigeration
+ nonperishable; good for longer  trips
Dinner is the main meal of our menu.  It is also the one meal usually eaten in camp with leisure to prepare it.  Our dinners take a little more preparation time than the other meals, since we almost always set up camp a few hours before dinnertime; if this will not be the case on a given day and something must be soaked, remember to start it soaking at breakfast!  There are only five dinners because our longest trip is six days and you need one less dinner than breakfasts or lunches.  (You will definitely need a cooler if you are going to do dinners #1 or #2.)  Hold the dessert until at least an hour after dinner so that it has time to digest.  We treat dessert as an in-between meal like the snacks.
 

Breakfast # 1 cold cereal & smokies, melon
shopping/packing list: envelope dry milk, 1 pint frozen milk to every 4-6 persons;  pkg. vacuum-packed smokies (or Canadian bacon), 4 oz per person favorite heavy granola or fancy cereal; honeydew (or cantaloupe of casaba, etc.) appropriate to the size of the group.

 For this breakfast, a little preparation is required the night before if you want the milk to be palatable.  Get a 2-liter bottle and put in 3.5 cups of filtered water.  Add the dry milk powder and shake well.  Then add 1 pint of milk from the cooler, which will hopefully be defrosted by now, since it starts by being frozen solid in lieu of ice.  Shake well.  Let cool overnight.  Almost the real thing, kids won't notice on their cereal.  The smokies come in a vacuum-pack, and you have to bring the whole pack because if you break the seal you can introduce contamination.  We also use Canadian bacon, but it doesn't roll around in the pan as easily as the smokies and is more prone to burn.

Breakfast # 2   bagels, cream cheese & lox, kiwis
shopping/packing list: 1 bagel per person (plain or onion); lg. kiwifruit each; sealed tubs of cream cheese, about 8 oz/4 people;  smoked salmon for flavoring, 1 oz per person.

 Slice the bagels before you leave home.  Pack them where they won't get mashed.  Carry the cream cheese and the lox in the cooler bags, but don't freeze them first---it will ruin the texture.  You can mix the cream cheese with the lox if everybody likes lox.  Cut the kiwis in half and  spoon out.

Breakfast # 3   corned beef hash, melon
shopping/packing list: 1 can corned beef to every 4-6 persons; 1 pkg. dry potatoes per 4 people, dried onions to taste, cantaloupe (or other melon) sized to the group.

 The night before, put the potatoes and the dried onions in the large tupperware bowl and pour boiling water over them.  Seal the bowl and let them rehydrate overnight.  Next morning, put oil in the frying pan (s) and heat corned beef hash; add potatoes and stir-fry until hot.  Serve melons as in breakfast #2.  Keeps indefinitely, except for the melon.  If this is going to be one of the later meals, get a melon that needs a few days more to ripen.
 

Breakfast # 4 stewed apricots, oatmeal, beef stick
shopping/packing list: envelope dry milk, 1 pint frozen milk to every 4-6 persons; pkg. dried apricots (2 oz per person) or other dried fruit; 2 pkgs. instant oatmeal (or cream of wheat) per person; 1 beef stick (the small ones) per person.

 This is an easy one that can be kept indefinitely.  The previous night, put fruit in tupperware, add boiling water, seal.  Fix the milk as outlined in breakfast #2.  The next morning supply boiling water for the cereal and hand out the beef sticks.
 

Breakfast # 5  country gravy over grits, grapefruit
shopping/packing list:  (1 each per average person) English muffin, 1 grapefruit for every 2 people (try them first; you don't want to pack in lousy fruit) or an orange for every person; 2 pkg. Jimmy Dean gravy mix with sausage bits per 6-8 people, envelope dry milk.

 This breakfast is good for the last day of a long trip because everything in it keeps well.  Prepare the country gravy mix according to directions on package. Pour boiling water over the instant grits in everyone's bowl and let sit.  If you are going for the muffin option, have everyone toast their muffin on a forked stick.  dump about 1/2 cup on the starch base. Cut the grapefruit in half and run a knife around the inside of the rind to have the sections easier to spoon out.
 

Breakfast # 6 scrambled eggs & fruit bars
shopping/packing list:  2 fruit bars per person, 1 sm. egg per person, pkg. dried eggs (try backpacking stores), onion, bacon bits, Molly McButter cheese sprinkles.

 To pack the eggs in one piece, we recommend getting plastic Easter eggs and putting the eggs inside (only the small ones will fit.)  Then tape them shut and put them in an egg carrier. The night before, mix the powdered eggs according to directions; scramble in the fresh eggs.  In the morning, chop the onion fine and sauté in the pan; scramble the eggs with the bacon bits.  Serve with cheese sprinkles and pass around fruit bars.

Lunch # 1   turkey salad pita sandwich, fruit cookies
shopping/packing list: 1 pita per person, (white or whole wheat); 2 oz. per person turkey lunchmeat, celery, jicama, dried onions, one 8-oz tub cream cheese per 6-8 people; fruit cookies (we like sunshine raisin bars or fig newtons with this lunch).

 Before you strike camp in the morning before this lunch, get out the tray and slice and dice the jicama (peeled), celery, and turkey.  Mix together with the cream cheese and dried onions into a salad and store in large sealed tub.  Come lunchtime, slice the pitas in half (pack these protected by squares of sturdy cardboard on either side of the bread in a large storage ziplock); open them up and put a dollop of the salad inside each half.  You will have to have a good eye to distribute it equitably.  Complete the meal with fruit cookies.

Lunch # 2  hard-boiled eggs, granola bars, plums
shopping/packing list:  (1 each per average person) small eggs, plums (or kiwis) granola bars.  Bring extra granola bars if you have big eaters.

 This is appropriate only for days one or two, since the eggs must be pre-hard-boiled and they will not keep well.  We use small eggs---they pack better in the egg-carriers and seem to have more flavor.  So do plums, although Kiwis work equally well and may be substituted.  Make sure the fruit is firm but ripe.   The granola bars balance the meal with starch for energy, and can be ordered in chewy or crunchy style.

Lunch # 3   peanut butter/jelly sandwich, grapes, string cheese
shopping/packing list: 1 slice dense whole-grain bread per person, 2 oz peanut butter/1 oz jam per person, I pkg., 1 string cheese each, 1/2 lb grapes per person. (Or small seedless watermelon)

 Pick a dense, compact bread for this meal so that it will pack well.  Protect the loaf in a cardboard saltines box.  Grapes will begin to rot as soon as they are removed from the stem, so pick bunches that are tight and well-stuck-on. We have used rice krispies as packing material if you don't mind the dust.  Bring the peanut-butter/jelly swirled together in one sealed container for simplicity.  Spread open-faced on the bread.  Pass around the rest of the lunch.

Lunch #4   bean tostadas, macaroons, oranges
shopping/packing list: 1 per person oranges & tostada shells, pkg. dried refried beans, canned cheese sauce or dip, salsa, macaroons (or other dense cookie that travels well) avocado.

 Pack your tostada shells carefully in a ziplock between sturdy cardboard---or you can use taco shells or round corn chips packed in a Pringles can.   Select an avocado that is green but will be ripe on the date you need it.  Bring the salsa in a tightly capped plastic container.  At breakfast, put the beans in the large storage bowl, add boiling water and seal.  Mash the avocado into the salsa. Come lunchtime, hand out the tostada shells; spread the beans as a base, add the avocado-salsa mixture, top with cheese sauce.

Lunch #5  kippers, sourdough, apples, chocolate chunks
shopping/packing list: 1 can kippers for every 2 people; round sourdough loaf (sized appropriately), 1 apple per person (test them and make sure they are good.  Try Fujis.), bittersweet chocolate.

 This simple lunch is one of my favorites, with a rather New England flavor. Sardines can be substituted, or leftover trout for successful fishermen.  We go back to peasant custom and break the bread instead of slicing it, handing out hunks and forking the fish straight from the can. Crunchy apples and chocolate chunks, which do not melt so easily as bars,  provide the perfect finish.

Lunch # 6  tuna-stuffed peppers, crackers, dried fruit
shopping/packing list: 1 pepper to every 3 persons (celery may be substituted if you hate peppers, but it is harder to stuff), 2 oz tuna per person, 8 oz. Ranch dressing (plastic bottle, please), whole-grain crackers (suggested:  wheat thins, ry-krisp, triscuit, etc.), 2 oz. Per person dried apricots, figs, apples or pears.

 Pack the peppers so that they do not get crushed.  To serve, simply split the peppers lengthwise into halves or thirds, remove seeds, and fill with a mixture of the tuna-and-dressing.  I like to alternate a bite of cracker with a bite of tuna-pepper.  Finish with the dried fruit.

 Dinner #1 cheesy broccoli rice w/chicken, frozen carrot cake
shopping/packing list: serves 4-6: 1 lb. vacuum-packed  cooked chicken breast, 1 pkg. frozen broccoli florets, 2 pkgs. Lipton rice & cheese sauce, 1 frozen carrot cake.

 This one will last to the second day if you have lots of other frozen stuff (like milk for the breakfasts) in the cooler bags.  If the number of people leaves you with an awkward amount of chicken, you can use it for the pita in lunch #1 if it is served the next day.  Boil the water for the rice according to the direction, adding the broccoli florets at the same time as the rice.  Cube the chicken and stir in.  Don't burn the bottom!  The carrot cake will actually serve up to 8, but it's so good you'll want more.

Dinner #2 beef stroganoff, baby carrots w/dip, strawberry shortcake
shopping/packing list: (serves 4-6) 1.5 lbs. steak, fresh mushrooms (pre-packed is nice) lg. onion, 1 envelope dry milk, 2 pkgs. Lipton stroganoff, 1 per person shortcake biscuits, 2 pkgs. frozen strawberries, 1 lb. baby carrots (the peeled kind), sm. tub dip.

 Before you leave home, slice up the beef into small strips, put in ziplock, and freeze solid.  (This may not be defrosted until day 2.)   Serve the carrots & dip as an appetizer while you're cooking.  Before you start boiling the water, dice the onion on the tray and slice the mushrooms if you didn't bring the pre-sliced kind.  Boil the water on one stove and fry the beef, mushroom, and onions in the other (use the oil from the cooking kit.)  Prepare the stroganoff noodles as directed, using dry milk.  Mix together and serve.
 For the shortcake, split open the biscuits (pack these well so that they don't get battered) and spoon strawberries over them.  Watch the distribution!

Dinner  #3 scalloped potatoes & ham, squash slaw, sliced caramel apples
shopping/packing list: (serves 4-6) 1 lb can of ham, (or Canadian bacon, vacuum packed) 2 pkgs. scalloped potatoes, envelope dr. milk, dried onions, butternut squash, (cabbage), sm. jicama, 4 oz. sunflower seeds, pkg. dry oriental dressing, (coleslaw dressing), vinegar, 1/2 lg. or 1 sm. green apple per person, 8-oz cream cheese in sealed tub, jar caramel topping.

 Boil water and pour it over the scalloped potatoes and dried onions to rehydrate 30 min. before dinner. Peel and grate jicama & squash (or substitute cabbage); mix up dressing with vinegar and sugar packets to taste,  toss in with sunflower seeds. Slice ham thin, bring potatoes back to a boil (they will have cooled by now) add sauce packet, dry milk, and ham.  Heat through, but don't burn.  Serve.
 Mix the caramel and the cream cheese until smooth.  Slice the apples into eighths and remove core (or let each person use their pocket knife to shave off slices).  Give each person a dollop of caramel sauce to dip apples in.  Fantastic!

Dinner #4  fried  falafel, cucumber tabbouli, pineapple cheesecake
shopping/packing list: (serves 4-6) pkg. falafel, extra oil for frying, packaged couscous tabbouli, cucumber, 2 roma tomatoes, can chopped olives, pkg. cheesecake, envelope dry milk, sm. Can crushed pineapple.
 Before dinner, pour boiling water over the tabbouli and set aside to rehydrate.  Mix the Falafel with water according to the package directions.  Chop the cucumber & tomatoes; add them and the chopped olives to the tabbouli.  Form the falafel into patties and fry.  Serve with the tabbouli.
 Make the cheesecake mix according to package directions, using pineapple and juice in place of some of the fluid in the milk.  We just spoon this into everyone's cup and top with the crust crumbles.

Dinner #5  shrimp-quinoa creole, waldorf salad,
       chocolate-banana silk pie
shopping/packing list: (serves 4-6) 2 cans sm. shrimp, 1 pkg. rice-a-roni rice & red beans (or 1 c. Hinode southern rice mix), 1/2 c. quinoa grain (available at health food stores), 6 oz.can tomato paste, 2 apples, 3 oz. Raisins, 4-5 stalks celery, 4 oz. chopped walnuts, 8 oz. sour cream (in a sturdy container with a good seal), pkg. chocolate mousse pie, envelope dry milk, 8 oz. crushed banana chips.

 Prepare the rice according to package directions, adding quinoa and 1 c. additional water.  Put in both cans of shrimp with liquid and tomato paste.  For salad, Dice apples and celery; combine with raisins, walnuts and half of sour cream in large bowl.
 Make the mousse mix according to package directions.  Add chips and leftover sour cream. Spoon into cups and top with the crust crumbs.