u/Dramatic_Tale_6290

Images shown: 1. Plate with Hardwood Smoked Pulled Pork (BBQ sauce added) & Organic Coleslaw Mix (made into coleslaw, 2. Bag of coleslaw mix & box of pulled pork.

This was delicious. I added a little Sweet Baby Ray's Vidalia Onion BBQ sauce to the pork (after heating), and I added white vinegar plus mayo to the coleslaw mix. It would have also been great as a sandwich or a wrap, or in a street taco style. I got 4 servings out of these two things, at $2.45 per serving (plus the cost of the condiments I already had).

Photos are of 1. everything going into my Tom Bihn Aeroanut 45L, plus a few items that will be carried, 2. the contents of my purse, 3. 45L open to show how it's packed, and 4. my packed bags plus my hat & scarf which I'll carry.

This is a car trip, so I have some wiggle room with what I bring. It's a 6-day trip to the desert, with 4.5 days of car travel and 1.5 days at my destination, which are hot springs. I am very pale and don't like wearing sunscreen, so I've packed thin layers to cover my arms and legs, plus a super thin scarf that I can use to shield me. There's lots of room in my purse for my water bottle, etc.

I am a serial over-packer, which is why I joined this sub. My point to this post is to get feedback of course, but please go easy on me 😛 I have a lot of anxiety around not having everything I need. I will be in the middle of nowhere with little access to things like OTC meds, so that's why I packed that kind of thing. (We're carrying in our own water b/c destination water is not potable, plus we're bringing all our own food.)

This Tom Bihn Aeronaut 45 is new to me. I've only used it twice, also on car trips. I previously used the Aeronaut 30 for 10 years. The issue was that I would have to bring a separate bag for "entertainment" items (iPad, knitting, etc), and sometimes even a separate toiletries bag. We usually stay in hotels, so it ended up being a lot of bags to juggle after food bags, etc.

Contents of 45L:

toiletries bag, make-up bag, medicine bag, pill organizer

iPad, charging bank, cables

knitting

yoga therapy balls (those are in my knitting bag)

hand towel for messy stuff

2 pair sport socks (wearing 1)

3 bras (wearing 1)

4 pair panties (wearing 1)

1 gauzy shorts (wearing 1)

2 gauzy pants

3 tank tops

1 thin long-sleeve shirt (wearing 1)

cotton "sweater"

long-sleeve cotton dress

sport pants with pockets (in case I go hiking or running)

fleece-lined stretch pants (for layering to sit outside at night)

tevas, slippers (wearing the running shoes)

2 pajama sets

paisley bag: swim suit, cover up, SPH shirt

teal bag: full-length, long-sleeve silk robe (for cover up)

peshtemal (to use as towel), gauzy scarf (sun protection, not going in bag)

very thick, heavy zip-up hoodies

Contents of purse:

Well, it's too much to list, but the purse is only about 1/10 full once everything is added. All the tiny items go into one zip-up canvas bag so they're not floating around. I did not remove anything from my purse for this trip, so this is what I usually carry. (Things you might not be able to ID: Earaserz are ear plugs, and the black rolled up thing top-right is a reusable bag.) I *can* carry a much smaller bag, but I like having things separated into pockets.

I chose not to use packing cubes this time. I usually only use them if I want to quickly grab outfits, like if I have a multi-fuction trip and/or if I'm staying in multiple locations and don't want to bring in my whole bag. So I use them for organization and not for trying to fit more in my bag. The times I've tried to use them to pack more, I end up not fitting as much because they're so stiff. When I don't use them, I can roll items and fit little things in little spaces. The Aeronaut has compression straps, so I first load up what I don't mind maybe getting wrinkled, then I do up the straps, load in things I want to stay relatively wrinkle-free, then I roll up small items and put them on the sides, because the sides can be really rounded outward away from the straps. I tend to use my end pockets for things like cables, toiletries, etc and keep my clothes in the main pocket. My iPad is in the zip pocket on the flap.

Salmon Pinwheels were tasty! Paid just under $10. I thought the cheese/spinach part would be too overwhelming, but it was perfect. Baked at 400 for 15 minutes to reach 145 degrees. I prefer my salmon barely cooked, but I fully cooked this & the filling kept it from drying out.

Paired with asparagus & homemade bean salad, it was a yummy dinner. I’ll post the ingredient list for the bean salad for the curious.

This was pretty good. Husband loved it so I’ll buy it again. Also nice to have a quick meal. I should have read the box more carefully & also should by now be used to misleading packaging. Says it’s enough for 2 gyros, but also says it’s 4 servings. 400 calories isn’t a lot for the amount of meat & how greasy it was.

EDIT to add: I have also shown a photo of other items I used, including tomatoes, zucchini, and tzatziki ("creamy garlic cucumber dip"). None of these items are included in the "gyro" box, they were extras I purchased, as you can see from the photo. I also used TJ pita pocket bread, which you can see in my finished meal photo but not in the item photo.