Fart Free - Dehydrated Meals

[HighPlainsHunter]

I am not a backpacker but from my perspective there are a lot of foods at the grocery that would be much better to eat than dehydrated IMO. For example there are a lot of good choices for pasta/rice that could be made with hot water and combined with a pouch of chicken/tuna for a meal that may be easier on your stomach than the dehydrated meals which either cause me to have gas or be constipated after a few days. There are even quite a few pre cooked options that look better than dehydrated.

These might be an option to consider
https://www.pacefoods.com/product-category/ready-meals/

http://hormel.com/Brands/Compleats

https://www.prego.com/sauces/ready-meals/

Yes they are heavier than dehydrated but you are going to carry enough water to make a dehydrated meal so it's really not much different in many cases and easier to heat.

 

[Brianh]

My favorite all time backpacking food is a package of instant mashed potatoes with a single serving of Spam. Loads of calories and the Spam provides the fat and spice. I repackage all dehydrated foods to save packaging, and reduce waste and weight. Lots of good advice above about alternatives to your commercial freeze dried packages for hiking. Check out through hiker blogs as they really have things dialed in.

 

[mallardsx2]

I am not a backpacker but from my perspective there are a lot of foods at the grocery that would be much better to eat than dehydrated IMO. For example there are a lot of good choices for pasta/rice that could be made with hot water and combined with a pouch of chicken/tuna for a meal that may be easier on your stomach than the dehydrated meals which either cause me to have gas or be constipated after a few days. There are even quite a few pre cooked options that look better than dehydrated.

These might be an option to consider
https://www.pacefoods.com/product-category/ready-meals/

http://hormel.com/Brands/Compleats

https://www.prego.com/sauces/ready-meals/

Yes they are heavier than dehydrated but you are going to carry enough water to make a dehydrated meal so it's really not much different in many cases and easier to heat.

Funny that you post this. I actually had a couple of the ready meals with me last time. When we killed a bull I whipped out the Prego ready meal Italian sausage and tossed it into the jetboil. Shared it with my buddies as a celebration quick meal. lol They are pretty tasty actually. A bit on the heavy side. But your going to be carrying the water anyway. like you said.

 

[Bonecollector]

Chilly Mac is only good to eat while doing farm chores where the animals can be blamed, hanging with old college buddies, or visiting your mother-in-law.

 

[taskswap]

Yes they are heavier than dehydrated but you are going to carry enough water to make a dehydrated meal so it's really not much different in many cases and easier to heat.

How do you heat yours? They're plastic containers meant for the microwave. You have to transfer them into some type of pot or bowl to heat and then it's an extra thing to clean. I guess I'm kind of lazy, the cleanup is my least favorite part.

I don't love dehydrated myself, but the container you boil your water in doesn't need to be cleaned. I can see the attraction. I'd eat more of it myself if it didn't make me so gassy. MREs do too, and beano doesn't seem to help. Maybe I'm allergic to a preservative or something?

My favorites are:

- Instant mashed potatoes. Very filling, super easy, no cleanup if you bring them in a ziploc. It's a little awkward to make that way but it works out OK if you're careful. Pour the water in slowly a bit at a time and then stir so the bag doesn't melt. They sell disposable cups of this but they're too small for me!

- You can also get ramen, couscous, and easy-mac in cups

- Udi's granola, to which I add raisins, craisins, and other dried fruit. I don't know what it is about this particular brand but I can tolerate it dry, so there's no liquid to add. A sandwich-bag full of this is a TON of calories and is usually my breakfast and lunch.

- Mountain House dehydrated rice. Seems to be the only one I don't react to.

- Knorr Fiesta Sides Spanish Rice - Meant to be "cooked" but if you pour boiling water in and wait enough, it rehydrates almost as well as mountain house and tastes a LOT better. It's 50/50 rice/pasta, tastes great, and you can mix about anything into it for variety.

- Lots of jerky. I like to make this myself so I can use the least nitrates I can. (Gives me headaches.) It means you have to refrigerate it until just before you leave, but it keeps fine a few days even so.

- Chunked chicken and salmon, the foil-pack shelf stable kind. I mix these into rice and other things.

- Dehydrated veggies, the kind they sell to make soups. Works the same as the chicken/salmon.

- Small flask of bourbon for a nip before bed. I always carry one "vice". This is it

With the items above I can get 3-5 easy lunches and dinners with some variety but with almost no cleanup and pretty light weight. It works for me. YMMV.

 

[Prerylyon]

Cut back some on the dairy, dried fruits, & oats-but not too much on the dried fruit and oats - they help move things along. [emoji6]

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

How do you heat yours? They're plastic containers meant for the microwave. You have to transfer them into some type of pot or bowl to heat and then it's an extra thing to clean. I guess I'm kind of lazy, the cleanup is my least favorite part.
.

As mentioned, drop them in boiling water. No cleanup necessary or extra pot required. They can also be eaten cold/warm which is a big advantage over dehydrated. wrapping the pouch around a hand warmer also works.

 

[kidoggy]

most important rule for the old aged backpacker.
never trust a fart !

 

[Apstore]

I am not a backpacker but from my perspective there are a lot of foods at the grocery that would be much better to eat than dehydrated IMO. For example there are a lot of good choices for pasta/rice that could be made with hot water and combined with a pouch of chicken/tuna for a meal that may be easier on your stomach than the dehydrated meals which either cause me to have gas or be constipated after a few days. There are even quite a few pre cooked options that look better than dehydrated.

These might be an option to consider
https://www.pacefoods.com/product-category/ready-meals/

http://hormel.com/Brands/Compleats

https://www.prego.com/sauces/ready-meals/

Yes they are heavier than dehydrated but you are going to carry enough water to make a dehydrated meal so it's really not much different in many cases and easier to heat.

I don't know about the rest of these guys. But I don't carry all the water I need to make meals... ever. I carry a small water filter and fill up my bladder in fresh streams or alpine lakes as needed. I couldn't imagine carrying around full meals. But to each their own, if it works for you it works!
I think people have the wrong idea about what freeze-drying is also. It isn't adding anything to the food, its simply taking away the moisture, in a very efficient way that also preserves almost 100% of the nutrients. If it's making you fart, you should reduce certain foods your consuming. All of the things you listed are insanely high in preservatives and salt. Might want to check those out.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

I don't know about the rest of these guys. But I don't carry all the water I need to make meals... ever. I carry a small water filter and fill up my bladder in fresh streams or alpine lakes as needed. I couldn't imagine carrying around full meals. But to each their own, if it works for you it works!
I think people have the wrong idea about what freeze-drying is also. It isn't adding anything to the food, its simply taking away the moisture, in a very efficient way that also preserves almost 100% of the nutrients. If it's making you fart, you should reduce certain foods your consuming. All of the things you listed are insanely high in preservatives and salt. Might want to check those out.

Read my post again. This time slowly. You clearly missed a lot. LOL

Feel free to use what works for you but save the lecture. As I mentioned I do not backpack hunt, might want to check out that first sentence.

It's funny how people respond to stuff like this.

 

[Apstore]

Read my post again. This time slowly. You clearly missed a lot. LOL

Feel free to use what works for you but save the lecture. As I mentioned I do not backpack hunt, might want to check out that first sentence.

It's funny how people respond to stuff like this.

I read your post again ( per your request via snide remarks) and I will cut down what I said to this: All of the things you listed are insanely high in preservatives and salt. Might want to check those out. My wife is a medical dietetics lead and she checks out the things I take hunting. Those pre-packaged meals were basically a negative effect on energy, and really high preservatives can actually trigger breath shortness and asthma.

Just trying to share some info I have learned from a pro. Not sure why the attitude was necessary. No one was attacking you.

 

[mallardsx2]

Aaaaaanyhow.....

My wife is a fitness nut. She has had me trying all kinds of protein bars and stuff like that. Most of them to me are gross and hard to chew.

None of which taste like a deliciously cold yuengling beer or a hot prime rib...just saying lol

I did find one that I liked. We also ordered a sample pack type of thing from https://backcountryfuelbox.com/.

I'm going to give this stuff a whirl for the next week or so.

 

[taskswap]

hahahaha mallard you nailed it. My wife is the same way. I can barely tolerate half what she makes me try. She's an ICU nurse and she's seen it all. I totally agree with the earlier point on sodium. When we make jerky we go for fridge storage so we can cut the nitrates, too.

To be honest, I don't know about you guys but although I'm not super overweight, I could stand to lose 5lbs. I'm less worried about calories than just feeling full and comfortable. Being hungry makes me cranky and distracted, and it definitely impacts my hunting. I tend to focus on things that make me full more than raw calorie count - then again I'm usually only out there for 3-5 days depending on what time I can take off work.

I'm more of a "grazer" than a 3-meal guy. A lot of what I carry is stuff I can nibble on as I go. There've been plenty of times when I collapse into camp that I honestly just don't bother with cooking. This season I'm considering going "cold" and saving the weight of the stove.

FYI for any of you like me who can't tolerate dairy or soy, which cuts out like 90% of the protein bar options, I found an alternative. Costco carries them (depending on which one you go to - I know they vary). It's by Cave Man Foods and it's called "Paleo Protein Bar" or something. Anyway they get their protein from egg whites and their thickening from tapioca powder. They taste great but won't set your stomach off. YMMV but I love them.