Methodology

Where the data comes from

All 214 foods in v1 come from the USDA FoodData Central Branded Foods dataset. That dataset holds the Nutrition Facts label data that manufacturers submit. Every food page links to its FDC record and shows the date the label data was published and the date we last checked it.

Freeze-dried and backpacking meals (Mountain House, Good To-Go, Next Mile Meals) come from the Nutrition Facts that each brand publishes on its own product pages. Values are for the whole package as sold, and the package weight is the dry weight from the label serving size. Brands we couldn't verify with complete published facts (calories, protein, carbs, fat and serving weight) aren't included yet. That currently includes Peak Refuel, Backpacker's Pantry, Heather's Choice and Stowaway Gourmet. Diet flags for these meals come from the brand's own dietary tags.

We never estimate or make up nutrition values. If a product doesn't have complete label data (serving size in grams, calories, protein, carbs and fat), we leave it out. We also run a sanity check: if the calories you'd get from the macros (4/4/9 kcal per gram) are off from the listed calories by more than 20%, we drop the record as likely bad data.

Metrics

• Calories per ounce = label kcal ÷ serving grams × 28.35.
• Protein per ounce = label protein (g) ÷ serving grams × 28.35.
• Protein per 100 kcal shows how protein-dense a food's calories are.
• Cost per 1,000 kcal shows only when we have a real listed price with the date we checked it. Right now only the freeze-dried meals have prices: the single-pouch price listed on the brand's own product page, with the date we checked it. Prices change and sales vary. Everything else shows "—". We won't guess.

Fiber, sugar and sodium are shown when the label includes them. Label values are rounded by manufacturers, so per-ounce numbers can be off by a few percent.

Diet flags

Vegetarian, vegan and "no gluten ingredients" flags are generated automatically from the ingredient list. They aren't certifications and don't account for cross-contact. If you have an allergy or celiac disease, always read the actual package.

Planner

The planner builds one day's menu in two steps. First it builds a starting menu greedily. Then it runs a local search that tries adding, removing and swapping single servings. Each change is scored on total weight, with penalties for missing your calorie or protein target and a smaller penalty for overshooting protein by more than about 10%. It stops when no single change improves the menu, then multiplies by your trip length. You can cap repeats for variety. It's a heuristic, so it gets close to the lightest menu but doesn't guarantee it.

Corrections

Recipes change. If you spot a value that doesn't match a current package, the product will be re-checked on our next data refresh.