Trekking is hard. Walking around for hours, sometime a few days in a row, with heavy gear on your back, takes a lot of energy. The body has two ways to get energy during a trek: sleep & Food. Although sleep is pretty easy (especially after a day of trekking), trekking food is practically a science.

1. Plan Ahead: Plan your food according to meals. Don't just buy arbitrary quantities. Plan ahead and write down all your meals, including quantities, before going shopping.
2. Versatile Food: The 3 most important qualities in your food should be:
3. 1. High in energy.
   2. Light.
   3. Compact, take up little space.

Don't just get highly "energetic" foods that weigh a lot or take up a lot of space, just because they will give you energy. Carrying them, sometimes for a few days, will take up a lot of energy as well.

     

2. Meals: Have a good nutritious breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day and will give you strength for the rest of the day. Usually you'll be hiking for most of the day, so have a light lunch to keep you going without feeling to heavy and waste too much energy on digesting. Most of your cooking will be done in dinner, this is your chance to stock up on proteins and Carbohydrates you've lost during the day.
3. Water: This change according to the specific trek you will be doing. Check beforehand whether or not you have fresh water available along your course. If so, don't take too much, just enough to last you between pit stops. Otherwise, you will have to stock up on water, meaning you add a lot of weight to your backpack so pack accordingly.
4. Snacks: Make sure you have high energy snacks (energy bars, sweets, jerky…) to boost your spirits between meals. Don't take friuts
5. Good food to take:
6. 1. Oatmeal.
   2. Pasta (Also requires a lot of handling so not too much).
   3. Rice.
   4. Powdered/precooked foods (mashed potatoes, noodles…).
   5. Snacks: Energy bars, nuts, bite sized sweets.
   6. Bread.
7. Bad food to take:
8. 1. Tuna (lots of protein but weighs a lot. You can take some, but not too much).
   2. Canned Corn/peas.
   3. Canned sauces.
   4. Fruits & Vegetables – Weigh a lot, take up valuable space, low in energy.
   5. Bagged snacks (chips, cornflakes…)
   6. Meat/Chicken.
   7. Milk, Soda.