News / LYO Expedition Food

Our friends at LYO Expedition food have created the first freeze-dried 100% vegan meal ever! This tasty barley and lentil risotto, with avocado mousse is both lightweight and nutritious. If you are looking for a 100% vegan camping meal then this is the answer. Combining lentils, red pepper, pearl barley, avocado and leek, flavoured with lemon, parsley, oregano and sea salt you don’t have to be vegan to enjoy this one!

Our range of LYO meals, fruits and soups – exclusive to Base Camp Food in the UK - are becoming increasingly popular with new and existing customers, but what makes it so special?

LYO use only 100% natural ingredients, with no additives or preservatives added. LYO even grow many of their own herbs in their fields.

Many other meals mix the ingredients after they have been cooked separately – LYO cook their meals and then freeze dry, meaning their lightweight expedition food has the taste of a homemade dish.

The freeze drying process used means the meals are high energy with a high calorie count. It also keeps all of the food’s natural vitamins and minerals giving great nutritional value. The process also removes 98% of the moisture content meaning the meals are lightweight and compact.

LYO Expedition foods also check their meals are safe twice – both after the cooking process and after the freeze drying process to ensure the highest safety standards.

Perfect for all backpacking meals, expedition food and lightweight camping meals – LYO food is simple to prepare:

• Tear off the top of the pouch above the zip lock
• Remove the oxygen absorber
• Add hot water and stir
• Close the zip for 5 minutes
• Open, Eat and Enjoy!

It’s no wonder that our customers love LYO!

Where has the year gone? The Base Camp Team can't believe it is nearly March already!

We are currently working on bringing you more products; from adding to our fantastic lightweight cookware and stoves range - to sourcing more freeze dried food.

I've been looking forward to trying the LYO Expedition Mexican Dish for a while. It is one of chief taster Laura's favourites and I've been waiting for an excuse to take myself off in to the Peak District for a night and tuck in!

This is one of the award winning range from LYO Expedition, for which we are proud to be the only UK stockist. The food is lightweight, easy to prepare and usually very tasty.

As always, my Vargo titanium spork came along too!

It's simply a case of adding the dried mixture to about half a pint of boiling water and leaving (if you can) for 8-10 minutes - give it a quick stir and it's ready!

Once ready, it looked appetising and smelt great.

The dish is made up primarily of chicken, rice, sweetcorn and kidney beans and comes together in a sauce. It is not too spicy but has good chilli and paprika flavour. If I was eating this at home I would probably add a little more spice. The chicken tastes like the excellent quality we come to expect from LYO and as always it tastes great and was warming and wholesome.

I took a standard size portion with me and, after a 4-5 hour hike this was perfect for one. At 93 grams, it is relatively lightweight and contains 360Kcals. As with all LYO food, the ingredients are 100% natural with no preservatives or artificial additives.

For a full day out in the mountains the larger size may work better but it depends on your appetite (equally the larger size would be good for two to share for as lunch stop). This one weighs in at 126 grams with 488Kcals. 

So, we have arrived at the end of our first week. Thank you for all of your support so far! We hope our products will help towards ensuring you have enough fuel right up to the end of your future expeditions!

As our previous blog mentioned, we are delighted to be able to offer you lots of high energy, tasty, free from preservatives and artificial additives meals from LYO Expedition. We also have lots of other fantastic products from a variety of brands.

Why not take a peek at our BeWell Expediton Food range? BeWell Expedition Food is a British based company that specialise in freeze dried meals and ready to eat wet meals. All have high energy and a long shelf life so they are perfect to take on challenging expeditions, or ones where your timings may change. We are big fans of the Be-Well Expedition meals and we are not the only ones as these products are used, and endorsed, by Sir Ranulph Fiennes!

If you are after food to help you undertake extreme activities then Extreme Adventure Food may well be the product for you. The main meals feature large portion sizes with 800Kcals, so they are able to provide you with lots of fuel for even the toughest activities. Even though the meals are packed with energy they usually weigh in at around 160g so they are lightweight as well. Extreme Adventure Food also have some fantastic energy fuel products that are easy to digest and provide instant energy, they also taste pretty good too.

Another one of our brands that we are really pleased to be working with is Beyond The Beaten Track, which was produced by a British family run business that has been established for more than 110 years and are a recommended supplier for The Duke of Edinburgh's Award. The meals can be eaten hot or cold, require no refrigeration and have a long shelf life. So if you are looking for food to take camping, climbing, hiking, yachting, fishing and any other outdoor activity then the Beyond The Beaten Track products are a perfect choice.

Or another favourite for outdoor enthusiasts is our Mountain House products. Originating from the US, Mountain House have now brought their brand to Europe with a fantastic range of tasty freeze dried meals that are lightweight, convenient, nutritious and have a long shelf life of 4 to 5 years. Backpackers, hikers, campers and other outdoor enthusiasts have been enjoying Mountain House freeze dried food for over 40 years. Prepared from quality ingredients, Mountain House give you the delicious meal you deserve after a strenuous day of outdoor activities.

Now, with all the choice of fantastic, high energy, lightweight food you may be thinking you some cookware to go with it. We also have a fantastic range of ultralight, ultra durable stoves and cookware. These range from your humble, yet vital, Vargo Titanium Spork – to the mighty Evernew Titanium Ultralight Alcohol Stove.

So from food, energy fuel, cookware to stoves – Base Camp Food really do cater for everything you need to keep refuelled on your expeditions. Helping you eat, drink and explore.

Hi everyone!

It is all going on here at Base Camp Food HQ as we are getting ready for the big launch!

There has been a lot of sorting through our fantastic ranges to get them ready in time for next week, whilst resisting the urge to unpack all the amazing stoves and cookware we have in order to cook and eat all of the incredible products.

We have to say, the dishes are more than a little bit tempting. It has been a struggle for the team to save any for you guys!

Not only are the edible ranges incredibly lightweight, they are also packed with energy and flavour! We then have a fantastic collection of very light, and very strong, titanium cookware and stoves - so that you can prepare your food wherever you are, without having to carry any unnecessary weight. There is even a stove that ensures you will never have to carry stove fuel again! Yes, that is right, the Vargo Titanium "Hexagon" Wood Stove allows you to use easy-to-find, renewable fuel wherever your travels may take you. The only thing needed? just basic fire skills!

The team have also been busily putting the finishing touches to all our fantastic products and we are thrilled to be working with all of the brands. In particular, LYO Expedition Food is one of the brands we are delighted to be able to offer our customers as, not only are they brand new to the UK, but they are exclusively available at Base Camp Food! We are not the only ones who are passionate about their products, made with 100% natural ingredients and no preservatives or artificial colours, they were awarded a gold award at the Outdoor Industry Awards at Friedrichshafen this year and continue to provide tasty breakfasts, filling meals and fruity snacks.

Well that is it from us for now, best get back to ensuring everything is ready in time for when we launch next week.

We promise we will save you some!