I'm getting ready for a section hike in July 2017 and plan to experiment with different food options during the winter. I won't be cooking for breakfast and lunch but I want a warm meal at the end of the day. Being a pasta afictionado chances are most of those meals will be pasta-something. I will be bringing a variety of dehydrated vegetables but what about meat? I don't eat meat every day but I like to have a serving of either beef/pork/chicken about once or twice a week. I know I can get the nutritional value of meat elsewhere but I like the taste. Does anyone here have experience with meats on the trail? Is there a way of dehydrating it without turning it into jerky? And what about re-hydrating it? Is it a huge pain in the ***?
Also I'm debating on whether I should buy dehydrated food from a supplier or if I should buy a dehydrator and do it myself. I'm leaning towards option #2 because I like doing my own stuff but since those machines can be expensive, I wonder if option #1 wouldn't be the smarter way to go from a financial stand point. How much food do you need to dehydrate before the machine pays for itself?
Thanks all for your immense and very pertinent knowledge!