Dehydrate yourself some soup

Yesterday I opened a box of Pacific Foods Cashew Carrot Ginger soup, which is one of my favorites.  I ate a cup of it, then poured the rest into my dehydrator.  It took longer to dehydrate than usual, probably because of the cashew.  But it makes an amazing gingery soup leather, which can be eaten dry or rehydrated.  Oh my goodness.  Yum.

You better read up on shipping costs

If you're eating gluten free you're probably doing a lot of mailing.  One of the better deals around for shipping is the USPS regional flat rate box.  It costs less than the regular USPS flat rate box.  There are weight limits, though.

USPS information on weight and cost

You'll need to get a free usps.com account to order the boxes.  They aren't available at post offices like the regular flat rate boxes.  But they're free to order, and they'll be delivered to you.  It's a pretty great setup, all around.

I just ordered size B1 and C boxes.  B1 is 12" x 10-1/4 x 5", and you can ship up to 20 lb - after that they charge differently.  C is 15" x 12" x 12", and up to 25 lb.  

The whole east coast is in zone 8, so if you're mailing from the vicinity of the trail you'd be mailing within one zone.  Obviously this is not helpful if you're mailing from California.  Here's a link to a post describing zone shipping:

http://mtmailing.com/blog/2008/03/01/save-postage-bound-printed-matter/

Of course, check for yourself!  But you might find this a money saving measure.  I compare all available rates when I'm shipping.  Sometimes flat rate is cheaper, sometimes not.

Easy peasy have it shipped

I haven't done business with them yet, but this business just came to my attention:

http://www.hikerboxresupply.com/

They'll mail to you along the trail, and they have it organized so it's easy to find the gluten free items on their site.

Big Score at Wegman's

Food is fuel, and never more so than when I'm hiking up and down mountains for up to 14 hours a day.  The problem is, if the food isn't tasty I don't want to eat it, and it doesn't get turned into fuel.  I end up carrying a pack with uneaten fuel while my tired legs protest because I'm not feeding them.  So variety is key.

If you're shipping mail drops, you have the option of buying in bulk at home, and shipping a different selection of items in each box.  Still, I get tired of most of the items if I have them too often.  Let this be a warning to you if you're considering sending yourself oatmeal for each and every breakfast.  (If you don't have this problem, feel free to buy your food in eight packs and eat the same thing day after day.)

On my way home from the barn yesterday, I stopped in at Wegman's, which is a mid-range grocery.  It aims for Whole Foods but still carries Poptarts.  It has a small gluten free section, but it also labels gluten free items throughout the store.  When you're shopping at home, don't forget the naturally gluten free foods that you can find in the regular aisles.  At my local Giant, the gluten free Corn Chex is in the cereal aisle, not in the gluten free section.  (Also, be aware that regular Corn Chex is NOT gluten free.)

At Wegman's I also shopped in the organic aisles, and in the asian food section.  You can find some great tasting Chinese, Japanese, and Indian foods that you can actually eat.

I'm not quite ready to start packing.  I need to pick up a few more staples such as fruit treats, coffee, prunes and raisins, and almonds.  But the majority of my foods are purchased.  I'm posting photos below to give you an idea of the variety of foods you can find.

Lucy's does fairly tasty cookies in single serving packages

A grand overview of my Wegman's haul

Kale for health.  Two new to me flavors of meat bar, single serving rice noodle soups with great flavors

Schar single serve wafers, Annie Chun's wasabi flavored seaweed

Rice noodles, regular candy

Balance, Kind, and Honey Stinger bars.  Rice based Ramen, a new find for me.  Betty Lou's fruit bars for breakfasts.

Retort packaged spinach / cheese dish for the first night out, cookies, Kind bars

Nut thins, Glutino crackers that are sort of Ritz-like

Hey look, cheese sauce!

And gluten free pasta to put cheese sauce on!  The small sizes cook quickly

What is camping without S'mores?  And what are S'mores without Graham crackers?

Not from today, but varieties of GF jerky I already had.

This picture and below, sadly rotated but GF foods you can get from Packit Gourmet or Backpacker's Pantry

In case you were wondering where I stored all this stuff:  I have a dead chest freezer that I use for storing hiking food.