10 Healthy Foods That Hikers Shouldn’t Forget

Whether you spend a day rambling on the moors or several days exploring the Brecon Beacons, hiking is a great way to burn calories and work up a healthy appetite. For some hikers, the answer is to turn to sugar-loaded snacks, but this is one of the worst things you can do. Apart from increasing your thirst, sugary snacks offer a short burst of energy followed by a crash that makes you wish you were back on the couch in front of the telly at home. 

What you eat directly impacts your performance, endurance, and recovery. By choosing nutrient-dense, natural foods, you not only fuel your adventures more effectively but also feel better doing it. If you’re not sure what to take along on your next hike, this guide will help you make the healthiest choices.

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Why Healthy Hiking Food is Essential

Not getting enough nutrition when you’re trekking up hills, along the dales or around the coast can have serious consequences. You could experience significant losses in fat-free mass, poor hiking performance, increased fatigue, high risks of falling, a poor mental state during recovery, and decreased quality of sleep. This is absolutely not how you should feel when hiking around the UK or beyond.

By packing healthy foods for trailside snacks and meals, you can set out knowing that your mind and body have what it takes to conquer the terrain ahead. 

10 Healthy Hiking Foods

These ten foods are packed with nutrition to provide healthy food on the trails:

1. Trail Mix: Dried Fruit, Nuts, and Seeds

Aptly named, trail mix is a mixture of dried fruit, nuts, and seeds. You can buy a ready-made mix or make your own if you have specific dietary needs or taste preferences.  

Dried fruits such as raisins, sultanas, apricots, bananas, mango, and pears offer more than a sugar boost for hikers. You also get a healthy dose of vitamin A, C, B6, B12, k, calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium, as well as fibre and plant phenols that help fight inflammation.

Nuts and seeds are calorie-dense and a good source of essential fats and protein. These ingredients are especially beneficial because they deliver a powerful combination of quick and sustained energy, minerals, and nutrients.

Bonus: DIY Trail Mix Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almonds
• ½ cup cashews
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup dried cranberries (unsweetened)
• ½ cup dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs
• Pinch of sea salt

Directions: Mix it all together and portion into zip-lock bags or reusable containers. High in energy, antioxidants, and taste!

2. Cheese

Cheese is an excellent food to add to your backpack because it’s dense in calories and contains calcium, fat, and protein. However, you need to be careful with your choice of cheese and with your packaging.

Soft cheeses are more likely to go mouldy and potentially even melt on longer hikes. However, due to their incredibly low moisture content, hard cheeses keep for much longer when not refrigerated. Another important point to remember is to keep your cheese wrapped in wax paper, as plastic wrapping can lead to cheese sweating, increasing its chance of spoiling. If you’re determined to take softer cheeses, choose mini cheeses like Babybel, which are coated completely in wax.

3. Oatmeal

Oats are a must-have, whether they’re instant or quick-cooking. They can easily be packed into your backpack, especially if you have single-serving pouches or decant them into sealable bags. Plus, they’re easy to prepare and provide a good dose of protein, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and soluble fibre. 

You should find that a good breakfast of oats and dried fruit will sustain you until lunchtime, if not for most of the day. Chewy oat bars are another way of incorporating oats into your diet when you’re out footslogging. If you decide to pack in a few bars, make sure they contain whole food, natural ingredients and avoid chocolate, as these tend to melt on hot days.

4. Jerky/Biltong and Cured Meats

Protein is a must for every hiker, as it helps rebuild muscle tissue and gives a good energy boost. However, as you’re probably aware, raw meat isn’t ideal for a hike, so how do you pack a healthy, meaty snack? Jerky, or the South African equivalent known as biltong (available at some butchers and online shops in the UK), and cured meats are the answer.

Whether you choose jerky only or pack a selection of jerky, biltong, and cured meats such as chorizo or salami, you’ll find them lightweight and easy to store in your backpack. These options are calorie-dense, packed with protein, and taste great. Biltong and cured meats also have some fat content, making them good fuel for your body. Be careful to limit your intake of these meats, as they have a high salt content, which can increase your thirst while hiking.

Don’t eat meat? Dehydrated hummus (just add water), roasted chickpeas, or peanut butter are all excellent plant-based proteins, which we’ll touch on in more detail below.

5. Tuna Sachets

A few sachets of tuna are a great way to keep you going. Single-serving packs are lightweight, easy to carry, and don’t require refrigeration, making them ideal for multi-day hikes. Tuna is a great source of lean protein, which helps repair muscles after long treks, along with calories, omega-3 fatty acids that support joint health and reduce inflammation, and various essential nutrients like vitamin D, selenium, and B vitamins.

I know that tuna in sachets is something of an acquired taste, but don’t let this put you off. You can eat it on rice crackers for a healthy snack or with rehydrated vegetables in a tortilla wrap for a nutrient-rich meal.

6. Dehydrated Vegetables

Fresh vegetables aren’t ideal for hiking, as they can spoil easily, are heavy, take up space, and require a certain amount of preparation. However, this doesn’t mean you need to go without veggies when exploring the outdoors. Take a few packs of dehydrated vegetables that include beetroot, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, mushrooms, squash, and garlic. 

These vegetables last for ages and are easy to pack and prepare, as you simply add them to boiling water. Most importantly, they have the same nutrient and fibre content as fresh vegetables. 

For multi-day hikes consider packing complete dehydrated meals to ensure you are getting high calorie and nutrient dense meals without adding too much weight to your pack. Discover more about the best dehydrated meal options in this guide.

7. Couscous

Couscous is a superb choice of carbohydrates for hikers. It’s lightweight, easy to store, and quick to prepare. Considering that a quarter cup of dry couscous is enough for a single portion for an adult, you don’t need to take too much with you.

One of the best things about packing couscous into your backpack is how it provides a fantastic base for various dishes, whether you add freeze-dried stew, dehydrated vegetables, or a few slices of chorizo. You can also find boil-in-the-bag meal options containing couscous and other ingredients.

8. Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is a concentrated energy source rich in protein, fibre, vitamins B3, B6, and E, and minerals such as magnesium, potassium, selenium, and zinc. It’s also high in mono and polyunsaturated fats and oils. Two tablespoons of peanut butter provide approximately 7g of protein and 2g of fibre. 

If a jar of peanut butter is too bulky for your backpack, don’t worry! You can decant some into a durable, sealable plastic bag for easy storage. When it comes to eating your peanut butter, simply have a couple of spoons as is, stir it into your morning porridge, combine it with raisins or other dried fruit, or spread it onto a tortilla.

9. Banana Bread/Loaf

Banana loaf might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about healthy foods you shouldn’t forget when next you venture into the great outdoors, but it’s packed with carbohydrates, protein, and fats. A single slice contains a couple of hundred calories, so a little goes a long way.

A large single loaf can be bulky, so consider preparing a few smaller loaves or cutting a loaf into thick slices, wrapping them individually and storing them in airtight bags to make packing easier and to preserve freshness.

10. Meal Replacement Shakes

Meal replacement shakes are another healthy food to take on your hike. They contain a balanced mix of protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats, and fibre. These calorie-dense drinks are easy to prepare (mix with water and stir) and provide a few hundred calories per serving. 

Just remember that it’s not a good idea to replace your breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner with these shakes when hiking. Instead, drink them to supplement your diet. I love chocolate flavour Huel to supplement my nutrition on busy hiking days.

Hiking Food Considerations

There are a few factors to consider when choosing healthy food for your next hike. These include:

• Food Digestibility: Some foods, especially those high in fibre, take a long time to digest, and eating these can lead to stomach cramps when you’re walking. While some fibre is necessary, be careful not to overdo it.
• Healthy Hydration: In addition to ensuring you bring healthy food and snacks, you should also have healthy hydration options. Either bring a small amount of salt you can add to your drinking water to replace sodium lost through sweat, or pack a few drinks packed with electrolytes.
• Hike Intensity and Length: Make sure you know how intense and how long your hike will be, as this will help you decide how much food to bring. 
• Outdoor Temperature: Check weather forecasts to find out what the outdoor temperatures will be, even if it’s the middle of summer. If you’re going to hike in warm weather, focus on packing non-perishable foods. If you’re going to hike in cold weather, you have more leeway, as cooler temperatures can keep some perishable foods fresher for longer.
• Cater for Emergencies: Pack a little more food than you need in case of emergencies. Someone in your group might forget their food at home, or the weather may turn, forcing you to spend more time in one location than planned. 

Choose Healthy Foods for Your Hikes

If you want to stay energised, focused, and well-nourished when hiking, you need to pack the right foods in with all your gear. Plan your next meals on the trail using these suggestions for 10 healthy hiking foods, knowing that you can set out with strength, stamina, and a full stomach.