Hunting nutrition for multi-day hunts

We put our feelers out to you Legends about what content you want to see and this was a topic that came up, so we listened.

It's a fine balance between weight and performance when it comes to nutrition. It's a fair bit easier on the fly in trips to bring what you eat on a normal day, but the walk in trips provide challenges around this. We wont cover the fly in missions, as that is pretty straight forward.

If you're just going for an overnight mission, your options are a bit wider. On 3+ day hunts, freeze dried and dehydrated meals have changed the game from the standard meals that we hunted with back in the day. While freeze dried and dehydrated meals provide the nutrients you need, they do come at a cost. Something I try and do is take enough freeze dried meals for each night of the trip but will also have some other back up meals than are not as filling. I can just eat these if I'm not super hungry at the end of the day. Some of these lighter meals include granola or wraps that are covered below. This eliminates ripping in to one of these freeze dried/dehydrated meals and not finishing it. 

Eating the wrong food means you're not giving your body the required fuel for multiple big days on the hill which can take a toll and could be the difference between you finding that dream animal or not. Crikey, I am definitely no nutritionist but I know what works for me. Here is a bit of a run down of what i typically eat on backpack missions. 

Breakfast-I grab a decent packet of granola from the supermarket, add sunflower and pumpkin seeds and some coconut flakes to really juice it up. I also take some almond milk powder to mix it up with and that helps take away the watery flavor when mixed. Then, I pre-portion it into ziplock bags so I don't smash to much and run dry on the last day (learnt that the hard way).

Lunch-There are a few options I go for here.

Big option-On the trips where a lot of energy is getting burnt, I take the Radix Nutrition in the 600 calorie options. These things have the fuel needed to keep you going.

Smaller option-When not so much fuel is being burnt, I run the classic wraps with some salami and lettuce, with cheese and tomato if it survives the trip in. This option keeps the cost down but provides the fuel.

Dinner-I run the Radix 800 calorie option here. These things come in some epic flavors and taste good, while providing the fuel you need. Sometimes, I'll chuck in a cheeky desert for the last night if the mission is a success. If it has not met the standards of a physical draining trip, it goes back in the bag to come home again.

Snacks-I tend to mix this up a bit, depending on what's in the pantry at home. But mainly I'll run a good bag of scroggin with almonds, peanuts etc. Also, early on in the trips, you can get stuck into the fruit such as bananas. One thing i have been going through a horrific amount of lately is the Pics peanut butter slugs. These things are unreal, providing some good fuel at bugger all weight. I'd be lying if I said the odd block of chocolate doesn't get thrown in the bag but with summer time fielding hot temps, it doesn't take long before that nice block of Almond Gold is just a blob of dark stuff floating around in the pack. Its more of a non-summer option for me.

Other-Something else i'll take on a mission (just to try and keep the rig running right) is some supplements. I try and bring along some fish oil, turmeric (to help with inflammation) and magnesium (to fight cramp). I will also chuck some salt/hydration tablets in(salt-stick) and smash a few if I feel I need them to keep hydration levels up.

That is just a quick run down of what i do. Like I say, I am no expert but it works for myself when out in the hills. I hope you guys can take something out of it.

We would be bloody keen to hear what you guys take, so let us know what you guys take on your missions, drop us a yarn on Instagram or Facebook @bloodlinegear.

Cheers, Jarrod and the BL team.