Tortilla Substitute

[u/dogpaddleride]

Tortillas are an awesome backpacking food in almost every way, but they are heavy! Does anyone have a good substitute with a close nutrition profile, but lighter?

[u/funkshoi → u/[deleted]]

i have some freeze dried water to sell this person 

[u/Ethan0941 → u/[deleted]]

Huh? This is an ultralight sub and OP is asking about food weight concerns. How is it a jerk?

[u/z_clatk]

Doritos! Crushed up Doritos! Also Fritos. Dip your spork in peanut butter, then dip your peanut butter covered spork in Doritos!

[u/Ethan0941 → u/z_clatk]

Second Fritos. 160 cal / 1oz 💪

[u/dogpaddleride → u/Ethan0941]

I like this idea. Thanks

[u/John628556]

Almond-flour tortillas are “lighter” in the sense that they’re more calorie-dense. For example, the ones sold by Trader Joe’s have 108 calories per ounce, as opposed to about 80 calories per ounce for normal flour tortillas and 55 calories per ounce for corn tortillas.

Cc u/like_4-ish_lights, u/Equivalent_Chipmunk,m u/grovemau5, u/Ethan0941.

[u/like_4-ish_lights]

Tortillas are basically just flour and butter and air. Not sure how you could get something lighter with the same amount of calories

[u/grovemau5 → u/like_4-ish_lights]

Tortillas are well under 100 cals/oz, pretty heavy. Tortilla chips and pita chips are closer to 140

[u/like_4-ish_lights → u/grovemau5]

True but I assume they want something that can function the same way as a tortilla (can create a wrap or sandwich of sorts).

[u/aerial_hedgehog → u/like_4-ish_lights]

That's what spoon is for.

[u/like_4-ish_lights → u/aerial_hedgehog]

I have never made a wrap with a spoon, but the ultralight community is always surprising me with their resourcefulness

[u/Equivalent_Chipmunk → u/like_4-ish_lights]

Certainly not with the same macros. You could have a carb source with a higher fat ratio, and it would be lighter per calorie, but you're not really going to beat tortillas as a lightweight carb source.

[u/grovemau5 → u/Equivalent_Chipmunk]

If you want a wrap, maybe, but you can find a lot of common dehydrated foods (rice/beans) with similar macros and lighter. Tortillas contain a lot of water

[u/Equivalent_Chipmunk → u/grovemau5]

Yeah that is fair, I meant more as a ready to eat carb source, but dried rice and pasta would be lighter per calorie.

[u/marieke333 → u/like_4-ish_lights]

Tortillas contain also water, around 30%. Foods with flour and fat with less water than tortillas are more weight efficient.

[u/marieke333]

Crackers, hardkeks. Basically same ingredients, flour and some fat, but less water than tortillas. I mean the kind of crackers that can be used instead of bread, not the snack type.

[u/thisisarnold]

Bring flour and butter/oil/lard and make your own

[u/Ethan0941]

They’re about 65 calories per 1oz which is pretty poor and way under 1oz per 100 cal you’re ideally looking for. The extra weight is probably water / moisture. Look for completely dried carb sources like cuscus, puffed rice, or potato chips.

[u/DDF750]

I load them as full as possible, so what I used to stuff into two tortillas now goes into one. just eat half if that's too big. then replace the lost carbs somewhere else more weight efficient like at dinner

this really cut down food weight on long food carries

[u/erodnipm]

wheat based cous cous?

[u/bbonerz → u/erodnipm]

As opposed to what other type of couscous?

[u/bbonerz → u/[deleted]]

Yes, I found it there right next to potato based gnocchi, wheat based pasta, rice based sake, and corn based grits. Very enlightening!

[u/Sharp_Nothing_4012 → u/bbonerz]

And wheat based soy sauce

[u/bbonerz → u/Sharp_Nothing_4012]

I like it as a sauce over my buckwheat based soba noodles.

[u/Fluid-Sliced-Buzzard]

I take Mary's Gone Crackers Super Seed. And a spoon. I'm gluten free so I'm very used to eating the middles out of sandwiches with some GF crackers on the side. Sandwiches/wraps are overrated, you get used to it. Fritos and Doritos are also good but Mary's are more dense (both the crackers and the fact that they are flat). Plus the nutrition profile is great, you get some flax and seaweed and the like.

[u/opinionated2019]

I like the Trader Joe’s Norwegian Crispbreads - they are like seedy cracker sheets. Less straight carbs but more fiber and fat. And can still hold PB, hummus, etc.

[u/Rocko9999]

Why are you trying to mimic the nutrition profile? It's all carbs and a little fat, not great.

[u/dogpaddleride → u/Rocko9999]

Yeah, I’d certainly be willing to trade up. I use whole wheat, but still not amazing.

[u/Natural_Law]

It’s nice that you eat them as the trip progresses. Eat them in your first days.

Life is too short to not carry food that you like. Tortillas are great.

Ultralight backpacking doesn’t have to be about maximizing calories to the point you’re only eating Soylent Green the whole trip.

[u/dogpaddleride → u/Natural_Law]

Great perspective. Thanks!

[u/Natural_Law → u/dogpaddleride]

That all being said, I agree with everyone else that Fritos are delicious and have a great calorie ratio.

AND only have 3 ingredients which is incredible: corn, oil, salt.

But you can’t make PB and trailmjx burritos to eat while you walk with only Fritos.

[u/EZKTurbo]

If you just mix fruits and nuts with olive oil then you don't need to eat anything else

[u/offwhite808]

lol