Any DofE Parents…

[Chateaulaohshit]

My DD has her Bronze expedition this weekend, the practice was last weekend and I’m really stuck what to pack food wise for her.

She took loads away with for the practice but she said she didn’t have enough snacks, and what she means by snacks is crap, chocolate, sweets, sugary drinks etc…

I don’t mind a bit of that and know it’s only for a very short amount of time but looking for ideas of things that don’t have a high sugar content (to go along side the sugar 😅) that will keep her energy up.

Also any great tips, ideas of things to pack that I may have forgotten…

She same away last weekend pooped but loving love and her 3 complaints were she needed a warmer sleeping bag, to take her crocs and more snacks!!!

Avoid sugary drinks. Heavy to carry and take lots of space. Only water. DC took lots of Biltong and Haribo. Also some energy bars from Decathlon. If nuts are allowed, I suggest mixed nuts, with or without raisins. Not the salty ones, as they will make her thirsty.

High protein flapjacks, available at supermarkets.
They burn so many more calories hiking and carrying a heavy load. DH is is an instructor for DoE and has seen kids not eat enough and really struggle.
Pasta is good for meals or go to a camping shop and get a few of the pouch meals.
And finally, involving your DD in picking the food. That's the point.

Part of the dofe experience is planning and packing your own food. I would leave her to it. Dd and her pals just went to Asda and did it themselves

Thanks for comments, in terms of sugary drinks, it was sports drinks she’s after lucozade etc and also drinks lots of water…

She has picked her own stuff but we are quite rural and her school is city centre so it made sense to add what she wants to online shop.

Thanks for suggestions.

Get her a silk sleeping bag liner: weighs nothing and adds a lot of warmth.
Boiled sweets, dried fruit, malt loaf, cereal bars, choc filled pancakes. Things that are already squashed travel well in rucksacks.

As above: trail mix, dried fruits, flapjacks, oatcakes (good with sweet or savoury stuff on top).

DS took chocolate, haribo, toffees, dried fruit, nuts. I'm going to encourage malt loaf for the next one.
Also, one of those tiny - size of a fat biscuit - bottles of super concentrated squash. I wouldn't take lucosade for day 2.

Porridge sachets for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch (both days). Pasta and hotdogs sausages and tomato sauce for dinner.

ideas of things to pack that I may have forgotten…

You'd be better looking for unnecessary stuff to unpack so her bag is lighter. The less weight she's carrying, the better time she will have.

Especially if she progresses to silver or gold where the expedition is brutal if her bag is overweight because she hasn't mastered expedition packing.

Sports drinks are heavy! One litre of water is a kilo in weight. Why would sports drinks be necessary for two four-hour walks in May if she's keeping appropriately hydrated already?

She should be drinking what 2 litres per day, so carry one litre of water (one kilo) and drink the rest pre/post walking. If she desperately wants to pack electrolytes, take a few of the tabs to add to water - don't take pre-made liquids.

Filling her bag up with sports drinks is just going to add unnecessary kilos. How heavy is she compared to the weight of her bag? If it's over 10 kilos she needs to start removing stuff.

My son did Bronze last year and the most important things for him were flapjacks, nuts/dried fruit and jelly. Just normal, un made-up jelly that he ate as it was. They also took emergency mars bars and snickers which were useful.

Mugshots are good, and squeezy squash to add to water if they want flavoured drinks. If eloctrolytes needed (like lucozade) I think you can get it in powder form to add to water which would be much lighter.

He's doing Silver this year, so needs twice as much. Such a faff! (But absolutely worth it).

Forgot to say that blister plasters are useful. Crocs are light but take lots of space. If she definitely wants to take them, maybe she can hang them on the outside of her backpack.

Babybel, jerky, pepperami are all fine out of the fridge. She'll get pissed off carrying heavy drinks around pretty quickly. Haribo, fruit winders, jelly beans etc would be better.

Flapjack bars, those pre-packaged crepes with nutella in, protein bars, the foil sachets of flavoured tuna (looks like cat food, but savoury and good healthy protein), squeezy primula cheese, sachets of instant mash and instant custard and the like. All good hiking/camping food.

Some boiled sweets are good to keep you occupied as you walk.

We struggle as she doesn’t eat meat including anything with gelatine so that rules out a lot of savoury options and chewy sweets etc.

She was delighted that I found some vegan marshmallows though!!

Yes to flapjacks. DD also packed yogurt covered raisins, cheese sticks, cereal bars, flour tortillas (they don't get squashed and are good when your sick of sweet things, pack of oreos went down well, pepperami (no good for your DD). They did pasta for dinner and pancakes and tea for breakfast.

Also candy kittens are gelatine free as are some Percy pigs for a sweet kick.

Ds did his silver practice expedition a couple of months ago. He took fresh fusili and dolmio stir in pasta sauce and a pack of olives for dinner, which he said he’d take again in the proper expedition. Flapjacks, those spirals of dried fruit, mars bars, yoghurt covered raisins, marshmallows, jelly babies etc all went down well too. DS’ friend took wagon wheels which they all seems massively envious of.

Mine all took a bag of island / trail mix with added M&Ms, minstrels (they don't melt), haribo (you can get vegan!). Babybel are good. Popcorn (sweet & salty).

Also cereal bars, fruit winders etc
If they don't like drinking plain water, the squeezy bottles of squash as others have mentioned are great.

Friend is a DofE/outdoor instructor - she swears by her trail mix which is a mix of vegan haribo, peanut M&Ms, salted peanuts and raisins all in the same bag. Also check out Firepot dehydrated meals - they do vegan/veggie ones you just add water to and they taste amazing. For the meat eaters the orzo pasta and beef stew ones are also lovely. I can vouch for the mushroom risotto and spinach dahl ones even though I eat meat. Small company, grew via crowdfunding, and lots of my mountain mates take these on trips too. They are balanced to provide lots of taste and plenty of energy and weigh very little.

Sweets, pan au choc, porridge pots, pasta, some dehydrated meals, baked beans in the plastic containers.

My DS is doing his silver this weekend, we've lots of jerky, packs of rice, trail mix, jelly sweets, latte sachets, hot choc,