This week my son and I went on our first backpacking trip together.  We were just doing an overnighter in our area, a 9 mile loop through the mountains.  One of the most important parts of hiking and especially back-packing is the food!  I wanted to share some ideas of dairy-free, egg-free, and nut-free snacks and meals you can take on your next hike or backpacking adventure.  Of course, even when you bring safe snacks, you will still want to bring your Epi-pen and antihistamines with you.  We took our Epi-pen with us and kept it in the sleeping bag at night so it didn’t get too cold.

For us, the key to good hiking snacks is to make sure they are easy to eat, not messy and not easily smashed.  Chocolate is usually not a great option because it melts and can be super messy.  If you are backpacking, you will also want to be sure your snacks are light and high in calories so you don’t have to carry as much.

And as always – check the labels before you eat anything listed to be sure ingredients haven’t changed, and call a company to ask about cross-contamination if your allergies are severe.  We always triple check when we know we won’t be close to emergency services.

Our Family’s Allergy Friendly Hiking Snacks (Dairy, egg, and nut free)

• Grapes (you can even freeze them the night before)
• Sliced Apples
• Clementines
• Apple Sauce Pouches
• Craisins or Raisins
• Dried Fruit (my kids love dried apples, especially the Bare brand)
• Veggies – baby carrots, celery sticks, snap peas
• Pretzels
• Plain Chex Mix
• Bugels (be sure there is air in your bag or they will get smashed)
• Pumpkin Seeds (our favorite are Super Seedz)
• Sunflower seeds
• Roasted Chickpeas (roast your own the night before with salt, pepper, and olive oil)
• Beef or Turkey Jerky (We like Slim Jims and Jack’s Teryaki Beef Jerky)
• Granola bars (Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars, Enjoy Life Granola Bars, Kashi Chocolate Chip Chia)
• Dry Cereal or granola (we use Cascadian Farms Oats and Honey)
• Popcorn (we use Orville Redenbacher’s Naturals Simply Salted)
• Plain animal crackers
• Mini Rice Cakes (we love apple cinnamon)
• Rice Rollers
• Marshmallows
• Oreos
• Trader Joe’s Brownie Crisps
• Trail Mix – make your own! We like mini pretzels, marshmallows, craisins and pumpkin seeds)

Easy Meal Options

• Instant Oatmeal Packets (Quaker Apple Cinnamon, Cinnamon Spice, Maple Brown Sugar)
• Bagels (We use Bubba brand. Sarah Lee brand, and Thomas brand are an option.)
• Pita Bread or pita bread sandwiches (try with sunbutter or biscoff)
• Sandwiches with Torta rolls or other hard rolls (use on a day hike or on the first day of a hike if you use lunch meat)
• Frozen hot dogs to roast over the fire on an overnighter

Dairy-free, Egg-free, Nut Free Mountain House Meals

If you want a hot meal, I love Mountain House meals because they are so easy and so good.  But you will have to decide if these are a good fit for you.

Mountain House is a nut-free facility but they do process eggs and milk in their facility and do not specify if these meals are processed on separate lines.  Be sure to call and ask about specific meals if you are highly sensitive or avoid using these while camping if you are unsure.  Here is the link for more information: https://theepicenter.com/mountain-house-allergen-info

These are the meals that do not contain dairy, eggs, or nuts:

• Apple Crisp (Breakfast or Dessert)
• Spicy Southwest Breakfast Hash
• Beef Stew (one of our favorites)
• Chicken Fajita Bowl
• Chili Mac with Beef
• Rice and Chicken
• Italian Style Pepper Steak with Rice and Tomatoes
• Chicken Teriyaki