Need help with lunch ideas for special needs kid

[rick56]

My son is a special needs kid and has troulbe chewing. He loves spagetti and pasta and soft foods. He can't eat apples or hard crackers or bread..things like that. I'm trying to come up with an idea for a snack or lunch on the trail where I don't have to use my stove. I'm thinking maybe one of those tuna packets? He can't even eat the trail gorp we are mixing up for my wife and I. Unfortunately most of the things he likes are heavy things like puddings, mac and cheese. So I'm not finding things in the backpacking foods that would work. My wife and I are taking a small salami with cheese and crackers and he can't eat that either. Any thoughts? Thanks

[bill-e-g]

I'd pull out the stove and boil some water.

Maybe you can give it a try at home but maybe he will like Idahoan Potatoes.
Just add water. Or maybe some soup. Just add water.
Here's the potatoes we eat frequently:
http://www.idahoan.com/
Safeway sells Black Bean soup that we also eat for lunch frequently.
Tuna in a packet is also a staple for me backpacking.
I usually take along some type of hot sauce (like Del Taco's Del Scorcho).
So definitely yes on the Tuna.

Good luck

[rick56]

Thanks Bill, I was thinking of just pulling out the stove and boiling water to make him a quick lunch. My only concern was I did not know if its ok to use your stove along the trail on the way to our camp site. Seems there are so many rules and regs these days. I don't want a ranger fining me for "unlawful use of a stove while in a wilderness environment." I know you can't fish or swim in Hetch Hetchy, hope theres no regulation about cooking to close to the reservoir. Of course I would have him eat out of the pouch and then I'd pack in in my trash zip lock. Maybe we could hide just off the trail somewhere out of site, so passersby wont get heart burn? Thanks

[bill-e-g]

You're thinking too much. Of course you can eat anywhere you want on the trail.
A ranger isn't going to give you any grief. You can eat right next to a creek
if you want. No problem. What you don't want to do is wash your dishes in a
stream or lake.
To have the least impact you can use your finger to clean out your dishes and pans.
Once they are almost completely clean... a little hot water finishes the job.
If want 100% LNT then drink that water too. There is no need to use soap.
And certainly no reason to be rinsing pans and dishes in a creek or lake.
Been doing it this way for a long time. Have never gotten sick. It works.
Hope this helps.
Have a good one

[Nacci]

Here are some more ideas that might work for your son:
- Rehydrated refried beans with water in the morning, then at lunch time glop them in a tortilla for a bean burrito or just eat them with a spoon. They're cold, but still fun. Perhaps you can dehydrate some familiar beans like "Pork N Beans" for him.
- Couscous salad. Add whatever ingredients appeal to him. I like almonds & cranberries, but that might be too chewy.
- Cold oatmeal. Just rehydrate with cold water.
- Instant pudding with Nido dry milk. Rehydrate with freshly pumped/cleaned ice cold water.
- Dehydrate his favorite spaghetti at home, and rehydrate at breakfast. By lunchtime it will be nice & soft.

What else does he like? Can you dehydrate it for him?

[AlmostThere]

Steal a cheese packet out of a mac n cheese box and use with couscous. They are so small you don't even need to chew, and couscous is a just add water pasta.

Get some hummus and flatbread - hardly have to chew and good nutrition.

Babybel cheeses pack well, so does string cheese.

Pretty much anything can be dehydrated and brought back with water - things with meat would need a bit of cooking, or longer rehydrate times. Creamy thick soups can be dehydrated on a piece of parchment paper. Or just take the soup in a vac-seal bag, which are food grade plastic lined nylon bags and can be reheated in boiling water in a jiffy. Heavier but workable.

[QITNL]

There's a just-add-water type of powdered hummus that you can find at most grocery stores. I liven it up with pinch of cayenne and some olive oil.

Peanut butter. Oh yeah. Nutella. Yum.

Cup-of-soups are a great pick-me-up and easy on the dishwashing chore. Dunk a couple of crackers in them. I also like the asian soups with the big, fat pre-cooked noodles. Some of them come with little cubes of dehydrated vegetables. Add a packet of chicken stock (Trader Joe's has them) and some spice and you're looking at my dinner.

Keep him hydrated and maybe you can slip him a few calories/nutrients via drink mixes.

You also might want to bring a few packets of Gu. Some of them are pretty tasty, might be handy if he starts to bonk.

I might remember a few more items since I eat kids food all the time.

[orion]

pack in the things he likes to eat. pudding, mac n' cheese, etc.

a few extra pounds is worth having food he likes to eat for the trail. even if the mac n cheese is cold, you could have it pre-cooked. pre-cook and take the weight, it will be worth it.

[rick56]

Thanks for all the suggestions. About 1 1/2 miles out my son fell and skinned both legs. We turned back, trip over. Tried to take him to see Yosemite Valley but the backpackers camp was full. Ended up driving home late. Man Yosemite is a commercialized zoo.