What pre-packaged meals (brands)?

[Buffalo Skipper]

I prepare most of my food dehydrated and FBC. But I am looking at what is available in pre-packaged freeze dried meals. I may buy a few to try out and try them and replicate the ones I like.

These are the brands I have found so far. Am I missing any?

Mountain House
Mary Janes Farm
Alpine Aire
Hawk Vittles
Backpackers Pantry

Am I overlooking any other brands?

[Raul Perez]

Packit gormet

[Ewker]

Enertia Trail Foods. They also make the Coleman Meals

[Buffalo Skipper]

Packit gormet

Enertia Trail Foods. They also make the Coleman Meals

Raul and Ewker, I am not familiar with either of these brands, but some of those meals look very tasty! Can you comment on the taste and quality?

I noticed that some of the Enertia meals (specifically the Coleman meals) seem to have less sodium and more calories some other brands.

[Raul Perez]

No direct tasting but hear good reviews in the hammock community. And dem boys like to eat

[Ewker]

Raul and Ewker, I am not familiar with either of these brands, but some of those meals look very tasty! Can you comment on the taste and quality?

I noticed that some of the Enertia meals (specifically the Coleman meals) seem to have less sodium and more calories some other brands.

I use to eat the enertia meals a long time ago. Some were really good and tasty while others weren't. I can't comment on the Coleman meals as I have never eaten them.

I finally decided I could make my own meals a lot cheaper.

[Buffalo Skipper]

I use to eat the enertia meals a long time ago. Some were really good and tasty while others weren't. I can't comment on the Coleman meals as I have never eaten them.

I finally decided I could make my own meals a lot cheaper.

I agree on cheaper and usually tastier to make my own. I like really creamy-meaty-veggie-pasta meals that are low sodium. I am just looking for some new ideas. Getting an ingredients list is also helpful as it may suggest some creative spices I may not have considered.

[gunner76]

http://www.hawkvittles.com/ Hawk VIttles gets lots of positve reviews on Hammock Forums.

[Hikes in Rain]

1+ on HawkVittles. Especially the Cowboy Pasta.

[Wil]

1+ on HawkVittles. Especially the Cowboy Pasta.

His lasagne is very good, as is the shrimp jambalaya. He's fiddled with the recipe for both in recent years though, not for the better. The breakfast casserole continues to be really great: nice texture, very tasty, satisfying. I also use it for dinners. Home-dehydrate some diced or shredded ham and put a little in and it's even better.

[runfifty]

I used the Enertia meals my entire 2010 thru hike. They were tasty and I never got tired of them. A plus for me was their one person serving size, an Enertia dinner and a ramen noodle and I was good for the evening. Bought in quantity, I paid $4.00 per dinner. Not as cheap as dehydrating but much easier.

[LoneRidgeRunner]

I prepare most of my food dehydrated and FBC. But I am looking at what is available in pre-packaged freeze dried meals. I may buy a few to try out and try them and replicate the ones I like.

These are the brands I have found so far. Am I missing any?

Mountain House
Mary Janes Farm
Alpine Aire
Hawk Vittles
Backpackers Pantry

Am I overlooking any other brands?

Of those listed I have only tried Mountain House, Alpine Aire, Backpackers Pantry.

Mountain House is hands down my favorite of those 3..Back Packers Pantry IMO is pretty good food. As for Alpine Aire....I have never tasted anything they made that wasn't disgustingly horrible.

[Big Dawg]

His lasagne is very good, as is the shrimp jambalaya. He's fiddled with the recipe for both in recent years though, not for the better. The breakfast casserole continues to be really great: nice texture, very tasty, satisfying. I also use it for dinners. Home-dehydrate some diced or shredded ham and put a little in and it's even better.

The Hot Italian Sausage and Pasta, and Southwest Lasagna are good as well

[Buffalo Skipper]

Thanks for all those who have contributed.
So, here is a more complete list of commercial meals:

Mountain House
Mary Janes Farm
Alpine Aire
Hawk Vittles
Backpackers Pantry
Packit gormet
Enertia Trail Foods
Coleman Meals

Which of these meals are good and which are, well, not so good.

[Hikes in Rain]

His lasagne is very good, as is the shrimp jambalaya. He's fiddled with the recipe for both in recent years though, not for the better. The breakfast casserole continues to be really great: nice texture, very tasty, satisfying. I also use it for dinners. Home-dehydrate some diced or shredded ham and put a little in and it's even better.

Haven't tried the lasagne, but yes, the shrimp jambalia was good, too, especially with a little hot sauce. (I like it hot!) Had a bit of trouble getting the quinoa done to my liking, but that was most likely my preparation method at the time, which wasn't quite according to instructions I'm going to keep adding some of his stuff to my menu.

[Woods]

Ive had a few from Wise Foods. Mountain House is my favorite
http://wisefoodstorage.com/

[hikerhobs]

Enertia and coleman have some pretty damn good meals,

[Tuckahoe]

I was walking around my local Target this morning and found that they had the Coleman labeled Enertia trail foods on sale for $2.50

[EastCoastFeastCoast]

The Enertia Pinnacle Pasta tastes great! Would be even better with some hot sauce! I think I'm going to order some HawK VittleS after doing a little research. If testimonials of forum members aren't good enough, I don't know what is. I think the big attraction here is low sodium content, that's always my biggest concern besides taste. Might try the Packit Gourmet, they also get very good reviews.

[Northern Lights]

I don't like any of the commercial meals. Hawk vittles, and packit gourmet are the only ones in my backpack. I do my own FBC from Sarbar's site for all my other meals.