In a previous article we’ve shared some tips on how to optimize your backpack, but what if you also want to bring some food from home. You might miss out on some local delicacies but you’ll save lots of money and, with most of hostels, guesthouses and AirBnB hosts offering kitchen facilities, it has become easier than ever.
Iceland, which we recently visited, is the perfect country for bringing your own food: their culinary tradition is poor to non-existent, and even junk food is expensive. This is the list of what we brought with us, slightly amended and ready for the next trip.
- Rice, pasta
- Tomato paste tub
- Instant soups in sachets
- Tuna
- Veggies and pulses in can or tetrapack
- Dried fruit / nuts
- Tea / Herbal Tea
- Instant coffee
- Chocolate bar
- Crackers
- Biscuits
- Porridge
- Airtight boxes
Rice and pasta are the staple of most of your dinners and they can be easily cooked. Go for spaghetti rather than other pasta shapes as they take up less space. A tub of tomato concentrate paste is great to add some flavour to a souce, and can be mixed with tuna and beans. Dried fruit and nuts will provide with vitamins and fibres in places where fresh fruit is not easily available or too expensive.
Instant soups are light to carry and will only need some hot water to make a light meal or a warm drink. Tea, infusions, and soluble coffee are often provided for free in most properties but are always handy to have. Porridge in bags makes for a healthy and nutritious breakfast. Noodles are also easy to carry and cook but we overdosed so we’ll keep them off the list for a while!
The last thing we wish we had brought are some airtight boxes to store pasta and rice salads, it would have been a nice change to our sandwich-based diet.