Freaky Vegan Daughter: Summer Lovin’ & Adventurin’

Teen Dog #7, Jake Lawrence, Boom Studios

Freaky Vegan Daughter (FVD) returns with some tips for your summer backpack adventures. It’s WWAC Warriors meets offbeat feminist southern debutante.

It’s summer which means delightfully hot sun rays warming our shoulders, sunsets pushing nine o’clock at night, and my absolute favorite, outdoor adventures. If you’re like me then you pine for summer and when that hotter than hell on a Sunday season rolls around, it seems to spin past you faster than you can post your summer adventure photos on Instagram.

If you’ve been following the Freaky Vegan Daughter (click here for older posts), then you are fully aware of my vegan lifestyle, and if you haven’t been following well you should start; I’m a freaky vegan hoot. Often, FVD focuses on simple and delicious recipes, but in this post, I want to dive into vegan options for outdoor adventures.

Whether you’re planning a backpacking trip, camping trip, day hike, or climbing feat, it’s important to pack foods that will keep your body full and give you energy all the while not weighing down your pack too much. Weight and weight balance are important no matter the length of the journey. Even if it’s just a day hike, you don’t want to weigh your day-pack down with supplies to take care of your body.

Cliff’s Kit Organic Bars will keep give you a burst of energy and please you with their flavorful punch. The lemon vanilla chia seed bar is my go to, as chia seeds help to fuel your body; they are rich in fatty acids, high in antioxidants, and protein packed.

Munk Pack is a relatively new kid on the trail. They produce ready to go smoothie packs. Currently, they make three flavors; I’ve only tried the raspberry coconut, and it is as filling as it is tasty. On a recent camping trip, I packed these smoothie packs for breakfast and quick on the trail snacks, and I was surprised at how satisfying they were and how full they kept me between meals. Next on my list is the blueberry acai flax smoothie pack. So many antioxidant filled foods packed into one treat! I’m as excited as a pig in slop to try the blueberry pack.

Bars and smoothies are all good and well, but if you’re on a camping or backpacking trip at the end of the day when you pitch camp you’re going to want to settle in with a warm meal by the fire. Good To-Go was started by Iron Chef champ Jennifer Scism. Jennifer was tired of freeze dried backpacking foods, and I can’t blame her. She started experimenting with dehydrated foods that didn’t compromise flavor or nutrients. While not all her options are vegan there are some vegan-friendly options. The smoked three bean chili and herbed mushroom risotto are both vegan options. The smoked three bean chili will haunt your starry dreams. I know what you’re thinking; mushroom risotto, how can it be? Risotto is cheesy and full of dairy. Well not this risotto, my freaky vegan buds; the nutritional yeast and nuts help to veganify this classic dish.

Outdoor Herbivore has been offering up vegetarian and vegan site camping and backpacking foods for sometime, and like any good herbivore based backpacker, I’ve lived off their delicious meals for weeks on end. I’m a big fan of their lemongrass Thai curry and the chia oat crunch. Outdoor Herbivore also offers hiker resupply shipments for those of you who plan to hike lengthy trails, such as the Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail.

Trail Butter, PB2, and Bearded Brothers also offer up on-the-trail sustenance no matter the length of your adventure. Lately, I’ve been leaning on PB2 as it’s easily packable, light, and still fills my belly and keeps me going on the trail whether it’s only a few miles, a few days, or even a few weeks.

While it’s important to make sure you eat well during your outdoor adventure, it’s also important to cut loose, take it easy, and appreciate where you are. So bring yourself some treats to enjoy while that warm summer sunshine glistens your shoulders.

Treats look difference to us all; yours could be a nice dark chocolate trail mix (my favorite is peanuts, M&Ms, and BBQ chipsdon’t judge it’s wonderfully amazing when you have pregnant lady style trail cravings), or maybe pouched beer is more your style. Yeah, you read that correctly, your eyes didn’t deceive you. Beer that comes in a pouch! Pat’s Backcountry Beverages crunches out crafted pouched beer that can go head to head with any craft can or bottled beer, except Pat’s is cooler cause it’s in a pouch! While I don’t recommend popping open a trail ale on the trail or while scaling boulders, go ahead and enjoy one fireside or as a reward at the end of a day hike.

primal birdiHonorable Mention: Primal Strips, an all vegan line of jerky. My favorite is the Texas BBQ. It’s so tasty I could devour it package and all.

Whatever your summer has in store, whatever adventure you’re planning, take it from the FVD; it’s important to make sure all us vegan freaks are well fed, full of energy, and enjoying that outdoor summer love.

Series Navigation<< Freaky Vegan Daughter: Summer Squash Noodle Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Dijon Balsamic DressingFreaky Vegan Daughter: Blackberry Raw Bars >>
Advertisements
Birdi Lulu

Birdi Lulu

Southern. Nerdy. Feminist. Outdoors Enthusiast

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Close
Menu
WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com