Freeze dried meals

coastalarms

Active Member
One thing to keep in mind is that you don't want to change up your diet too much...eating foods that don't normally eat can lead to the problems in the tummy....and that's no fun in the backcounty :)
Had a friend of a friend come along on a trip when I lived in California, he was a younger guy, maybe 20. Brought a ton of power bars and stuff like that and ended up having to go home after 4 days. He got to go to the hospital and had an enema he was so bound up.

I like the video that Jason from Kuiu did on packing food. He packed "normal" food for his lunches. He doesnt mention it, but one thing he also did was to also have enough protein in each meal which helps with long term energy and hunger.
 

Gr8bawana

Veteran member
Aug 14, 2014
2,634
518
Nevada
One thing to keep in mind is that you don't want to change up your diet too much...eating foods that don't normally eat can lead to the problems in the tummy....and that's no fun in the backcounty :)
Had a friend of a friend come along on a trip when I lived in California, he was a younger guy, maybe 20. Brought a ton of power bars and stuff like that and ended up having to go home after 4 days. He got to go to the hospital and had an enema he was so bound up.
.
That's pretty darn funny! :D
 
Apr 17, 2015
74
0
Colorado
Here's my pro tip: don't forget to pull out the oxygen absorber!

I also found that chilli flavored ramen noodles with a single serve tuna packet made a decent meal. 1.5 noodle packs + 1 tuna pack and 1 seasoning = ~1000 calories.

I've also noticed people put a lot of emphasis on protein and carbs without mentioning fats. From a metabolic standpoint, fats contain twice the energy of carbs and require less water to digest than protein.
 
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GOSHENGRUNTER

Active Member
Jan 8, 2014
439
127
Clermont County Ohio
Zatarans and Uncle bens both make some really good chicken rice and red beans and rice that you just add water to. Cheap and weigh about as much as a mountain house. They pack very small and dont smash. We backpacked Shenandoah NAt forest a few years back and took zatarans (the beans are an easy digest protein) and bagels. Granted we werent hunting so we had more weight and room for food.
 

coastalarms

Active Member
I've added instant rice and instant mash potatoes to the Mt. House stuff... and some Montreal Steak seasoning salt. That and Tabasco will fix about anything :)

I think this summer I'll experiment with the dehydrator and see what I can come up with. God knows my wife's cooking is light years ahead of Mt House!
 
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melsdad

New Member
Aug 24, 2012
19
0
S.W. Pennsylvania
+1 on the instant mashed potatoes.

I also like the Lipton chicken and noodle soup mix. Many of the instant pasta and rice packets from the grocery store will work when camping as well and only cost about $1. If you are really saving $ try ramen and a pouch of chicken.


Another favorite when out in the woods is Justins nut butter packets. I like the honey butter flavor and the small packets are easy to fit in the pack. Mix in a bagel or tortillas along with a pouch of jelly from mcdonalds and you have a PB&J.
http://justins.com/product/honey-peanut-butter/
Went to order some of these packets from Justin. They wanted $9 to ship 20 packets of peanut butter that cost $11.90!! Is this stuff that good? because that seems crazy to me!
 

Horsenhike

Very Active Member
Nov 11, 2015
668
0
Eastern SD
If anyone is interested Sam's Club has an online sale right now on several of their assortments.

$110 got me two of the plastic bins with 30 meals apiece(12-14 pouches)shipped to my house.

Ends in a few days. Item numbers are: 399556 and 399526

Far better deal than we can get local, and the idea of having this stuff ready to go is one less thing to think about next fall. Noodles and tuna is good enough, but gets boring fast.
 

mallardsx2

Veteran member
Jul 8, 2015
3,811
3,011
I cant eat them. Give me the gas like nothing else. Its BAD. but they taste so good.
 

gonhunting247

Veteran member
Jan 21, 2014
1,161
730
We eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast on our pack in trips to AK. Super easy, quick, light and compact. Pick a few berries and mix in and it's even better!
Kodiak, AK 2014 035.jpg
 
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TLowell02

New Member
Apr 16, 2015
16
0
Sedan, NM
We eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast on our pack in trips to AK. Super easy, quick, light and compact. Pick a few berries and mix in and it's even better!
View attachment 16708
I do something similar in Colorado, though I can only stomach oatmeal for a few breakfasts. Wild strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and currants make a delicious oatmeal!
 
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mcseal2

Veteran member
Mar 1, 2011
1,172
195
midwest
The Mountain House fajita filling meal is one of my favorites and tortillas will keep fairly well when packed in. Tortillas are a little heavier, but can really add some variety to meals. The MH breakfast burrito meal is another good place to use them, or just put some peanut butter and honey on them for a quick lunch.

I like the MH chicken and noodles over the Idahoan mashed taters as was mentioned before for a filling evening meal. The Backpackers panty fettuchini alfredo and chicken is a favorite too. I tried a bunch from different brands to figure out the ones worth eating to me. The beef and rice don't seem to rehydrate as well for me as chicken, veggies, and pasta so that influences my decisions. I'm darn sure ready for some beef by the time I get back to civilization though.
I came up with:

MH chicken fajita filling
MH chicken breast and mashed potatoes
MH breakfast burrito mix
MH chicken and noodles
BP fettuccini alfredo w/ chicken