I like to ride with at least a days worth of food with me beyond the food that I'm planning to consume during the day. Sure, it's extra weight, but when you've gotten your kit to the minimum already, this doesn't seem like a particularly extravagant splurge. I'm prone to bonking if I don't keep the food rolling during a long ride and it's nice to have some extra food should I want to change up the plan or in case there's an emergency situation. Self-sufficiency is one of my core values so this just straightup makes sense to me.
So this extra food has got to be lightweight, calorie dense, shelf stable, and the packaging must be able to withstand vibration and packing / repacking. I've been casually testing different products that meet the specification, starting with my adventure with RecPac on my tour of western New Mexico. RecPac is a pouch-based product favored by free climbers and through hikers - you add water and you get a chocolate shake-like drink that if you're able to choke down, delivers 700 non-delicious calories per pack.
Other than the flavor, which of course is a personal matter, it's a good choice in a non-desert situation where you have tons of access to water. Where you're forced to carry all of your water--like in New Mexico--the RecPac consumes quite a bit of it, and in my view, isn't an ideal use of scarce resources. Of course, there's the argument that you're consuming your water as part of the meal, but you can't eat the RecPac without water, and if you're rationing water, using your last liter of water for a RecPac seems reckless. That said, it would be perfect in the northern part of the trail where water is more plentiful. Because the product is packaging-heavy, it's a bit of a hassle to pack this product back out, and of course, it's made of layered plastic so it's single use and will never biodegrade.
My next dip into the compact food market was a product cleverly named "NRG".
I'd have to describe this product as RecPac in the form of a fragile, crumbly bar. This may be great for keeping in a fallout shelter, but it absolutely wouldn't stand the test of bikepacking bags over a long trip. Just traversing half of the ~60 mile length of the (paved) Cape Cod Rail Trail in my top tube bag, the bar was partially pulverized into dust. What I was able to eat, I had to accompany with volumes of water so that I didn't choke on the dust arising from the product. It was terrible to eat and unfortunately for me and those around me, it was terrible going through my digestive system as well. It might be great in a fallout shelter but absolutely would not recommend in an exercise situation. Yuck.
So still looking for that ideal trailside emergency food ration. Spaghetti-Os in a can anyone?
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