View Full Version : Freeze Dried Just Add Water Pouch - Recommendations Please
seakayaker
11-11-2018, 11:26
Just getting started with backpacking. I'm sure I'll experiment with rolling some of my own food. However, I'd also like to know what brands of "off the shelf" freeze dried food pouches folks find the tastiest.
So...
* What are the brands and flavors that you find tastiest?
* Where is the best place to buy them assuming I'd NOT be purchasing in large quantities?
Hikingjim
11-11-2018, 11:32
when I'm looking for something of that sort that's available in most stores, I like mountain house chili mac
https://www.mountainhouse.com/m/product/chili-mac.html
Slo-go'en
11-11-2018, 11:41
Walmart locally. EMS, REI and other on-line outlets.
You might want to sample them first at home. I bought a freeze dried meal in the Shenandoah NP (Backpackers Kitchen I think was the brand) and found I was allergic to something in it. One bite and my throat started to swell up and became difficult to swallow. I rinsed my mouth and throat out with water and took a Benadryl which cured it. Unfortunately, it was the last meal in the food bag so all I had to eat that night was four chocolate chip cookies. And of course, had to carry out the rest of the FD meal I couldn't eat. I guess that's better then me having to be carried out in a bag.
The thing is, I've never had food allergies before and have no problem with Mountain House meals.
ADK Walker
11-11-2018, 12:10
Good to Go has some very good choices. LL Bean has them 25% off right now if you live near one of their stores
ldsailor
11-11-2018, 12:43
I like Mountain House and eat it almost exclusively when on the trail. I eat lasagna but only because it is usually in a bundle I buy. There is nothing wrong with the lasagna - it's good. However, my titanium spoon is next to impossible to clean with the cheese stuck on it. Usually with the other meals, I can just lick the spoon clean. Beef Stroganoff is my favorite with chicken teriyaki and pasta primavera right behind it.
By the way, most Walmarts now sell the Mountain House 2.5 serving pouch and it is usually cheaper than what you pay on Amazon. When hiking, I need those 2.5 serving pouches to replace calories. The smaller pouches simply are not enough.
I have bought cartons of 6 meals on Amazon. Buying them that way brings the cost down below $7 a pouch. Because the carton only has one type of meal (ex. 6 beef stroganoffs), it's a good idea to buy several. I mail them down the trail in provision boxes with a variety of meals in each box. Unfortunately, doing so saddles you with postage charges, but if you fill the box with the meals and other things you need, it brings the per unit cost down. Alternatively, you can buy direct from Amazon a half-dozen meals or so and get it delivered on the trail at no cost for Prime members. I've done it both ways in the past - mailed my own provision boxes ahead and ordered from Amazon a variety of six or seven meals.
Strategic
11-11-2018, 13:16
My go-to trail meals are, without question, from Packit Gourmet (https://www.packitgourmet.com/). They have some of the best meals in the business, and have won some significant awards for them. My current favorites are the Austintacious Tortilla Soup, Texas State Fair Chili, Dottie's Chicken and Dumplings, and Cajun Ranch Chicken Salad (which doesn't even need hot water.) Excellent quality, really tasty, and they come with everything included in a proper bag for FBC. I don't even bother with anything else, since they give me enough variety that I can rely only on them for all my dinners and about half my lunches. Since the rest of my lunches are basically of the hard sausage and cheese variety and I do cream of wheat for breakfast, that gives me everything I need. Their meals are a good size for hikers, so you won't go hungry and will get back the calories you need.
Mountain House beef recipes. Beef Stroganoff & Chilli Mac at the top of the heap. I bought Chicken & Rice once. Never did find the chicken.
Backpackers Pantry Chicken Picatta (Spelling?) and Pad Thai.
Good To-Go Pad Thai.
Pay attention to the high altitude directions. Colorado and Wyoming require additional soaking time.
Wayne
I bought Chicken & Rice once. Never did find the chicken.
My favorite. They named it "rice and chicken" because of the amount of chicken that is not there :-)
I wonder how many of these packaged meals can be hydrated and easily eaten cold.
Bianchi Veloce
11-11-2018, 14:36
I use https://www.packitgourmet.com/ and http://hawkvittles.com/.
Also:
Mountain House Breakfast Skillet, Scrambled Eggs (the package water amount was a bit too much, reduce water and add a little at a time if needed).
Mountain House Biscuits and Gravy. Tried it once. Didn’t go back.
Wayne
Slo-go'en
11-11-2018, 20:01
Backpackers Pantry Chicken Picatta (Spelling?)
Wayne
Ahh, I'm pretty sure that's the one which tried to kill me!
SkeeterPee
11-11-2018, 20:15
Like most of the Mountain House options, but Chicken and Mash potatoes is among the best. Though I like variety. Breakfast skillet is good, but I generally only bring one and have instant oatmeal the other mornings.
Ahh, I'm pretty sure that's the one which tried to kill me!
Must have been the capers. I survived. I’ve had capers on salmon years ago.
Glad you’re safe!
Wayne
Like most of the Mountain House options, but Chicken and Mash potatoes is among the best. Though I like variety. Breakfast skillet is good, but I generally only bring one and have instant oatmeal the other mornings.
I eat breakfast anytime. That’s why I carry the Breakfast Skillet.
Wayne
HooKooDooKu
11-11-2018, 21:26
I bought Chicken & Rice once. Never did find the chicken.
When I was packing food for a JMT thru hike, I purchased a can of Mountain House dehydrated chicken and added Minute Rice to make my own Chicken and Rice dinners. That allowed me to put as much (or little) chicken as I wanted.
And BTW, for dehydrated meat, I tested some of the chicken by itself... it was better than I expected.
Actually, my favorite meal that trip was chicken and couscous.
MuddyWaters
11-12-2018, 05:39
Stay away from meals that arent one bag, one step imo. Just add. Water and soak.
Simplicity is good.
Mountain house is best in this way.
Packit gourmet will surprise you...need to boil raw pasta, uncooked corn in things that dont rehydrate. Pretty ridiculous. They try to get too fancy with offerrings...ends up nasty. And crunchy. Stuff that doesnt rehydrate well often. Its not freeze dried.
I prefer to dehydrate my own. A few of my staple meals are eggs/tortillas, spaghetti /elbow mac, chili/corn chips, and red beans/rice.
Old Hiker
11-12-2018, 13:31
Mountain House.
theepicenter.com for singles and #10 cans to re-pack.
Pro-paks were smaller.
Below is my go-to list while ordering on the Trail. Amazon would deliver up ahead, with only two glitches. One was the order was NOT taken from my phone. The other was right before the 100 mile wilderness, I ordered 15+ meals and they EACH came in a box. Sheesh.
Chili mac
Granola and blueberries - great cold
Rice and chicken
Biscuits and gravy - I REALLY liked those on a cold morning, with pre-cooked bacon
Cheesecake for a snack or dessert - IF you can find it - NOT the bites. Haven't tried those yet.
Pasta primavara with some type of meat: spam, bacon, whatever
My stay away from:
ANYTHING with "eggs". Not sure WHAT kind of eggs those are, but they CAN'T be chicken. Or ANY type of bird.
Mountain House discontinued individual servings sometime between 2016 and 2017. Bummer!
I’m torn between dividing the current meals or buying #10 cans. Or building my own meals.
Wayne
+1
I like MH but have to say this meal shocked me with how tasty it was. Too bad its one of MH's most expensive, generally carry only one.
Like most of the Mountain House options, but Chicken and Mash potatoes is among the best. Though I like variety. Breakfast skillet is good, but I generally only bring one and have instant oatmeal the other mornings.
+1
I like MH but have to say this meal shocked me with how tasty it was. Too bad its one of MH's most expensive, generally carry only one.
Chicken and mashed potatoes is on sale NOW at Moosejaw.
https://www.moosejaw.com/product/mountain-house-chicken-breast-and-mashed-potatoes_10096075
Wayne
I highly recommend getting a food dehydrator and making your own meals. It takes a little effort but I think that meals are much better and they are certainly less $. The "Recipes for Adventure" cookbook by Glenn McAllister is a great place to start if you need some menu ideas. I used that to get stared and now have developed my own menus that I enjoy.
Thanks Wayne thats a great find
Chicken and mashed potatoes is on sale NOW at Moosejaw.
https://www.moosejaw.com/product/mountain-house-chicken-breast-and-mashed-potatoes_10096075
Wayne
Thanks Wayne thats a great find
Actually. Moosejaw’s food inventory is 25% off now. Too bad I have a huge inventory right now.
Filed away for next year.
Wayne
Im stockpiling too...sales is on to the 18th IRC, but have to get to their free shipping minimum to justify the purchase. Too bad the Chicken isnt available in #10...thats where the cost really starts to drop. 25% off on #10s makes MH almost cheap.
ldsailor
11-14-2018, 13:44
Chicken and mashed potatoes is on sale NOW at Moosejaw.
https://www.moosejaw.com/product/mountain-house-chicken-breast-and-mashed-potatoes_10096075
Wayne
All Mountain House 2 to 2.5 servings are on sale on this website and the prices are the lowest I have seen in a long time. Thanks for the tip!
You’re welcome. About 3-4 posts back I corrected myself to include all of the food.
Wayne
Mountain House is now 30% off direct 11/18- 11/21
AllDownhillFromHere
11-18-2018, 13:59
All Mountain House 2 to 2.5 servings are on sale on this website and the prices are the lowest I have seen in a long time. Thanks for the tip!
Just curious, does anyone ever split those into 2 "servings" ?
Just curious, does anyone ever split those into 2 "servings" ?I split them into three but typically add a little dehydrated beef or sausage or freeze-dried chicken and a little extra spices. Used to add dried shrimp & clams to the chowder but I think MH discontinued their very good seafood chowder.
SoaknWet
11-18-2018, 18:50
I do. I prefer to eat often, more like grazing, than to eat what I consider a heavy meal.
Good To-Go has a new Chowda. I haven’t tried it yet.
Instant ReFried Beans! 👍
The Santa Fe brand is common in East Texas. A tasty alternative to Minuet Rice, mashed potatoes or Knorr Sides. Andrew Skurka has a good recipe online for beans and rice.
Wayne
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XQp81n8uzzE
Wayne
globetruck
11-27-2018, 19:31
I started splitting them and eating half the package at a time burrito style on a tortilla. Can schnazz it up by adding cheese, chips, Fritos, etc depending on the meal. It helps me stretch my meals a bit and add some variety.
Beef stew + cheese + spoonful of instant potatoes to thicken it up + tortilla = yum.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
scrabbler
11-28-2018, 14:47
I've had plenty of PackIt Gourmet meals, follow the directions exactly, and I've never had any items not fully rehydrated. That said, yes there are a lot of steps, and a decent amount of garbage packaging to deal with after. All have been tasty.
Signpost
12-05-2018, 04:09
Good to Go and Heather's Choice are some of the tastiest in my opinion. Also, I like to support the smaller companies. Check out garagegrowngear.com to find them.
SWODaddy
12-05-2018, 10:12
Mountain House is the best for "just add water" meals, though backpacker pantry has come out with some good ones. They also have the longest shelf life.
Packit Gourmet is tasty, but usually more involved, less calories, and much reduced shelf life.
SWODaddy
12-05-2018, 10:14
One addendum: the packit gourmet all American burger is fantastic. As an added bonus, it's calorie rich and doesn't require a lot of water.
Hikes in Rain
12-05-2018, 10:57
Wow, hadn't seen that! Really cool, thanks.
GankenBerry
12-06-2018, 17:33
there's a lot of things ive never heard of or thought of in this thread. thanks for all the input chaps.
Bearded_Shrek
12-09-2018, 23:07
Good suggestions. I learned of a few new companies here.
Gambit McCrae
12-10-2018, 10:48
I guess the easiest to grab on the trail (during resupply) would be mountain house and backpackers pantry. They are stocked in every Wal-Mart in America. I am a fan of the Chili and the chicken with rice however I have not bought one in a good long time. They are bulky, flavor becomes bland by the end of the meal and at a price point of $6-9 they are not economical for me. I have gotten use to the Idahoen mashed potatoes(many flavors and variety of sizes). I pair this with a couple Tuna Selection Pouches(Many flavors and variety of sizes). Add in some packets of condiments to the food bag and you have yourself a pivot table of countless combinations.
Refer to Gambit's How To On Idahoan's (http://Gambits How to on Idahoan's) for a neat way to use the tator bag as a bowl.
Idahoen's: $1.00
Tuna Selection: $1.29 (2 packs sometimes)
3 gram sachet of Tobasco: $0.28
A pack of Sausage and Cheese $1.50 (extra - not required)
So I got dinner at $5.36 for deluxe dinner and $2.57 for standard.