Food and snacks to carry along....

[JoEllen]

Is it wise to stock up on some pieces of fruit, snack bars, crackers, what-have-you, for each day's walk? Or there enough places to take R&R that will have tapas and/or small plates?

 

[SYates]

Both ;-) I always have some emergency cereal bars somewhere in case a place is closed. SY

 

[kaixo]

Yes, I agree with @SYates.
Breakfast bars, fruit, nuts, chocolate, yogurt...snacks become more important depending on which camino you walk.

 

[Ahhhs]

There are LOTS of cafe/bars along the Frances.
Many people have "double breakfasts" almost every day. The first as you start out and another mid morning. Of course there are occasional gaps along the way so a snack stashed in the pack is always a good idea.

 

[JenCamino]

I did the Primitivo, and sometimes places to eat were few and far between. Twice, the *only* bar listed in the area was inexplicably closed. Plus, several times, I arrived at a bar/restaurant/grocery at the "wrong time" to get food. In those cases, I was glad to be carrying snacks with me.

I would say, if you are a "snacky" person, grocery store snacks will save you money over going to the bar every time you want a nosh.

If you're not too snacky in general, just carry a couple of high quality emergency snacks in your bag, and replace them if/when you end up eating them. It sure gave me peace of mind to have "something" with me on the long stretches between towns, even if I didn't end up eating anything.

 

[mspath]

Walking in late autumn/winter I always carried basic rations since the only shop or bar in town may NOT have been open! There is NO reason it should have been open especially out of season!

Hence food basics included tea bags, packets which made a cup of soup (even including croutons), firm cheese, small sausage, simple cookies and some chocolate. Nothing heavy but enough to exist for 24 hours if need be. On past caminos especially during storms when I stopped in small and remote albergues far from any supply source novice pilgrims often staggered in wet, cold and hungry. They may have had the best gear but carried no food.

Of course I shared; hot soup, a chunk of cheese and wedge of sausage can be ambrosia in such a setting. A smile returned by a new friend over a simple meal is one of the Camino's many joys. Next morning after the tea, cookies and chocolate for our common breakfast we would set out together. At the first open shop I would re-stock those basics and usually the other pilgrim would buy their necessary provisions.

 

[Mark Lee]

Always a good idea to keep a munchies stash in your pack and replenish it when needed.
Protein bars, dark chocolate, peanuts, dried fruit, etc.

 

[JoEllen]

Is it wise to stock up on some pieces of fruit, snack bars, crackers, what-have-you, for each day's walk? Or there enough places to take R&R that will have tapas and/or small plates?

Thanks, everyone! I always take extra munchies along while backpacking - but there are NO places to eat where we go. So a stash will be useful, then!!

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Depends on the Camino, and where on each one. Depends also on the time of year. Very few stretches on the Frances that are more than 15 km without any services from May into late October. For those I would bring extra water, especially is summer. For the Napoleon route add a chocolate bar or piece of cheez or chorizo.

On the Primitivo extra water for the Hospitales route.

But other than for for those rare distances with no services, then no need at all.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

but there are NO places to eat where we go. So a stash will be useful, then!!

Where will you be walking that has NO places to eat?

 

[Kitsambler]

Depends completely on where you are walking. On the Le Puy route, where the French shops close on Sunday, often on Saturday afternoon, and a weekday as well (generally the one when you appear), snacks and meals are not always available. Plus, with the migration to the cities, many small town shops are closing up altogether. Twice I've had to make a dinner out of the leftovers from lunch. Add to that, the near-total absence of protein from the standard French breakfast, and you are well advised to carry substantial snacks (nuts, cheese, sausage).

In the German-speaking areas, there will be a robust breakfast that consists of breads, cold cuts, cheeses, muesli with milk and fruit. Not much opportunity between towns, however. Supplies were very hard to come by in the Czech Republic, except for the larger towns - so carry three or four days' worth of lunches there.

 

[Mike Trebert]

Dark chocolate is a good source of iron - dark, not the "milk" stuff. For vegetarians like me, a little extra iron in the land of carnivores came in handy. And they don't call it "trail mix" for nothing! - I topped up my stock of nuts, seeds and dried fruit whenever necessary along the way and made a daily small bag of a mixture (it's easy not to overdo it! - so rich that a few mouthfuls and I'm done). I rewarded my body with a few handfuls of this ambrosia every day, mid afternoon. The energy hit was different to just lunch or a normal snack. I always carried "energy" bars too - in Spain they're in supermarkets in the breakfast cereal section - rot them teeth for breakfast, kiddies!

 

[Addicted]

always liked to have snacks, some bread , meat , cheese for the trail but was more for convienence rather than necessity , lots of cafes along the Way

 

[ouroboros]

Essential: dark chocolate, nuts, raisins (trail mix)
Nice to have in case stores are closed/restaurants not accessible: bread, chorizo, hard cheese, yogurt.
Loved mspath's suggestion that a meal shared with a pilgrim in need is a great pleasure.

 

[scruffy1]

I never walk a single step without my emergency rations, a can of Estrella Galicia beer resting on the top of everything in my backpack, ready for immediate retrieval - Be Prepared said Baden-Powell!

 

[Kanga]

Dark chocolate and a mandarin Never Fails. But don't put the chocolate in your back pocket, as my husband once did!

 

[HeidiL]

I carry a plastic bowl with a tight-fitting lid to put the bag with the cheese in, to avoid making everything else smell of cheese.

This bowl is used to make instant soup or noodles when the only bar in the village is closed/doesn't sell actual food.

So far, I have always managed to get hot water somewhere, including in the bar where they only had drinks (I bought a bottle of wine, of course), but I do carry a very small heating coil.

 

[Barrilad]

I ate very well when i could, rarely on frances/portugal did i miss a lunch in a cafe, i never tired of tortilla, but being a bit of a gannet i always had a piece of fruit on me a well as Protein bars, nuts, dried fruit and a hip flask, i even drank the water occasionally. I miss 3E bottles of wine, i drank 2 bottles of red in the evening and never once woke late or struggled with my walk. ( red wine is far superior imo to painkillers btw )

 

[Jakke]

Having something to eat with you is an absolute must for people with diabetes (like me). We know that, but maybe this remark will serve as a reminder for others. Look for that piece of bread when we need it. It will be in an easily accessible place.

 

[jo webber]

I always carry snacks. A bit to eat every couple of hours works for me. I eat light meals usually. We have a granola of seeds, nuts, a bit of fruit and a small amount of honey. Just a table spoon for quick energy and extra protein, two table spoons and I am full.

If all the ingredients are available it would be easy to make a large batch and split it with several people.

 

[Older Guy]

I took with me when I flew over to Spain, a bunch of 100 Calorie mini zip lock bags. I also took with me several commercially sealed beef jerky packages. In Spain after I eat the beef jerky snacks (high protein and energy), I bought various kinds of shelled nuts. They seemed to be quite common. If they were not in a small container I split them into two or three small zip-lock bags.

There are two issues to food during heavy exercise. The first is while you are exercising is to insure you have proper fuel (the right kind of calories) along with maintaining proper hydration (including electrolytes and minerals). For the first you need to refuel all day long. The second issue is associated with post exercise recovery.

I also bought hard sliced cheese and hard sliced sausage at grocery stores. I always kept my eyes open in the grocery stores to anything that looked like a diet protein shake or a yogurt drink that might keep for several hours in a backpack for lunch or until the end of the day. You could also take some ziplock bags of Muscle Milk Protein drink with you and at breaks to mix it with water or milk.

Having done endurance running, I learned that in training (or hard exercise) day after day that "recovery" is the only way to keep going and that each day of exercise required some focus on recovery. Recovery rest days every so often are also critical. Scientific studies have found that immediately to 1/2 hour after strenuous exercise you have a window in which to refuel your muscles quickly with a mix of protein and carbs. If you do this quickly, they you will be less sore, and more ready for hard work later that day or the next day. Stretching is also important, but this thread is about food to take with you. I always try to have a protein carb, liquid meal when I stop for lunch break and after I am through with a day's heavy exercise. (For me it was bicycling the Camino rather than walking, but I do the same when I climb mountains or train for endurance runs.) It makes a huge difference, especially when you are doing hard exercise day after day.

https://run.mcmillanrunning.com/the-runners-ultimate-nutritional-recovery-routine-runrr/

 

[dougfitz]

My pattern was:

1. have a combination of snacks, some healthy like nuts and dried fruits, but simple carbs and chocolate as well.
2. Each day I would try and buy three pieces of fruit, one for the evening, one for the morning and one that would survive in the top of my pack to eat later in the morning.
3. Bread is much better if you can buy it every day, but it survives better if it is not crushed on top of the pack but carried in a bag hung outside the pack.
4. Hard cheese will survive a couple of days, as will most dried sausage, without refrigeration, but this year I found it easier if I wanted to make a sandwich to buy a small amount of sliced meat during the day and not have to worry too much about whether the remnants from a larger amount were going to be okay to eat.

 

[jo webber]

I'm sure I can find all the jam and jelly I could eat, but I understand there is no peanut butter to be found. A pb&j sandwich is one of my easy meals at home)

 

[Sue L]

I've been hunting around Melbourne (Australia) for some sort of flexible insulated light-weight bag to carry leftover salami, cheese etc? Nearest I've found is buying a rubbery sort of dual wine cooler thingy and cutting it in half to reduce size. Any ideas?

 

[jo webber]

I've been hunting around Melbourne (Australia) for some sort of flexible insulated light-weight bag to carry leftover salami, cheese etc? Nearest I've found is buying a rubbery sort of dual wine cooler thingy and cutting it in half to reduce size. Any ideas?

School lunch boxes may be the answer. They make them in a soft style and are light weight. The interiors have a semi-water proofing type coating.

I plan on using ziplock bags. They weigh nothing, you can rinse them out and reuse. I'll also carry a small plastic container with a lid, useful for half eaten fruit or sandwich.

 

[Sue L]

Thanks Jo, it's been 20 yrs since I've had to look for school lunch boxes but delighted to return to familiar ground.

 

[jo webber]

Thanks Jo, it's been 20 yrs since I've had to look for school lunch boxes but delighted to return to familiar ground.

I found Minion lunch sacks. Upper and lower compartments. Packed my change of clothes, socks, rain poncho in 2 of them. I love them and they make me smile.
http://www.target.com/p/universal-d...g=minion lunch bags&gclid=[*GCLID*]&gclsrc=ds

They also make great organizers.

 

[Sue L]

Am rather taken with the symbolism of seeking peace on the trail so maybe the "finding Dory" box or perhaps "Paw Patrol" as we look out for each other along the way!! Fab Jo, it will be such silly fun choosing and you've solved the dilemma.

 

[Nanc]

Anticipating, I took a few ziplock bags with me
I rarely ordered Pilgrim meals since I do not eat wheat, nor do I drink and the meals were just too big for me. So two meals a day (rather snacks) were on me.

So every day I made sure I had dried fruit, nuts, cheese, madarins or banana or some other fresh fruit. I like the texture of salami better than chorizo. Although I loved the flavor of semi-hard cheeses for my lunch, I found the wax covered Baby Bells to be a god send- the (yeah I know, processed) cheese bites lived in my pack for days accessible in those times of need for a bit of fat and protein moments- VERY useful.

Early on I was able to find hard boiled eggs- then that resource seemed to dry up
But the spiced dried corn nuts were a wonderful source of carbs and salt
Many entrepreneurs or good samaritans had fresh fruits on hand to share.

And, yes, I have encountered no access to food. Once was when I assumed I could restock in town for the next day, and the whole town was closed for a town holiday, even the restaurants, as every family member was in the town square cooking BBQ for themselves!
Another was when I passed a few bars only to find my destination town was not open on a Sunday

 

[tpmchugh]

Is it wise to stock up on some pieces of fruit, snack bars, crackers, what-have-you, for each day's walk? Or there enough places to take R&R that will have tapas and/or small plates?

I carry salty peanuts and raisins or as sometimes called 'trail food'. Being diabetic I cant drink the recovery drinks, too much sugar, so I replace salts with said trail food and more salt than I care to use on my food at the many many places along the way where I can stop for R&R

 

[Penny Kingma]

Banana..potassium helps prevent muscle cramping
Oranges....on those hot days....such a tasty energizing treat

 

[Sixwheeler]

I have some "Use before end of 2015" maturing nicely. I went like a rocket this weekend in the Lake District!

 

[SmilinSuSu]

I did the Primitivo, and sometimes places to eat were few and far between. Twice, the *only* bar listed in the area was inexplicably closed. Plus, several times, I arrived at a bar/restaurant/grocery at the "wrong time" to get food. In those cases, I was glad to be carrying snacks with me.

I would say, if you are a "snacky" person, grocery store snacks will save you money over going to the bar every time you want a nosh.

If you're not too snacky in general, just carry a couple of high quality emergency snacks in your bag, and replace them if/when you end up eating them. It sure gave me peace of mind to have "something" with me on the long stretches between towns, even if I didn't end up eating anything.

will i find snacks like i would find in america?

 

[trecile]

will i find snacks like i would find in america?

What do you mean specifically?

You will certainly find nuts, fruits, chips, chocolate bars, etc.

 

[VNwalking]

will i find snacks like i would find in america?

Much better, unless you like the overly-processed stuff.

 

[Former member 92300]

will i find snacks like i would find in america?

Depends on the snacks in America that you like. But yes - you can buy a lot of the same stuff you can in America. Some of it may have their own local flavor twist - like the potato chips that are "Jamon" flavored. What I had trouble finding were things like protein bars and electrolyte packets (that I liked) for my water. I couldn't find a lot of zero calorie drinks like gatorade zero and propel or vitamin water zero - which medically speaking is what I am supposed to drink if I don't want water - but I was walking so much that I didn't worry about the sugar and stuck to regular Aquarius (like gatorade). I had an easier time finding Aquarius Zero on the Norte than on the Frances - but still not consistently. But fruits and nuts are easy to come by and I was able to buy some cereal bars that weren't sugary. Plenty of junk food options - though it might not be exactly the same as at home.

 

[HeidiL]

In Spain, a lot of the factory-made stuff Jeanine mentions (above) will be found in health food shops or gyms, not regular supermarkets. And nowadays, even some tiny villages have gyms, unlike twenty years ago, when exercise was a foreign concept...