backpacking meals boil in a bag type that don't suck.

so far I have found are backpack gourmet, and peak refuel, the only two that are actually good. Can anyone share any other good backpacker food that is really good, so many I have tried are total junk and taste like crap.

 

Good luck.

 

I like dehydrated taters,lentils,rice or oatmeal and whey shakes over the pre-made meals

 

Sadly so I have to say everything or every brand type of “backpack meals” or shelf stable retort pack stuff has been disgusting ( and that’s putting it mildly). For no cook regimen Mil Spec MRE’s are about the only decent tasting thing I’ve found. There’s no mess, no cooking, no dishes really required..but they’re heavy, and expensive.
With a dehydration machine and a vacuum sealer you could theoretically make your own and cook/heat souvide (?) style.
Hopefully there’s more input on the subject here.

 

I like those taters.

 

- ramen

- lentils - cook as you like (I make curry) dehydrate , crumble fine and pack into vacuum bags. Add hot water and let soak to re-hydrate

- canned pineapple - drain liquid (save for whatever) and dehydrate . Pack into snack sized portions / vacuum seal. Any canned fruit (or fresh) will dehydrate. Banana chips, apples, oranges, etc etc. Eat right out of the package or add to hot cereal

- blueberries, raspberries , cut strawberries- big bags in the freezer section - spread onto dehydrator trays and dry - pack loosely (don’t suck all the air out or you get clumps) into vacuum bags . Eat right out of the package or add to cereal


- granola - make your own or use store bought .
Pack into vacuum bags and seal.

- powdered milk - pack into vacuum bags and seal

- muesli - pack raw steel cut oats , diced dried fruit , currants, dried chopped nuts , sugar if you want, into vacuum bags and seal . Add hot or cold water and let soak , or milk powder and water and let soak


- apple sauce - pour onto parchment paper in a large cookie sheet, spread thinly . Dust with cinnamon. Dehydrate until bone dry . Pulse in food processor until fine, and vacuum bag . It takes a lot of dehydrated applesauce powder to mske a decent portion - so pack into vacuum bag accordingly. Add hot or cold water your choice.

- chickpeas - soak overnight , drain , cook in water until tender , drain , pour into bowl and mix well with Siracha or your favourite hot sauce , bake in oven until dry and pack into vacuum bags. Eat ‘em dry , they are a crunchy salty spicy snack! You can also deep fry cooked chickpeas and do the same procedure .

- shredded beef - sear a Chuck roast on all sides , slow cook with your favorite spices and herbs, until the meat is falling part into strands . Shred well in a large bowl , add all the cooking liquid in, plus a healthy amount of bbq sauce and hot sauce . Mix very well and dehydrate - then pack into vacuum bags and seal. Add hot water and let soak to re-hydrate

- chicken- sane procedure as shredded beef above. Add hot water and let soak to re-hydrate

- canned tuna / salmon - drain very well - spread thinly onto dehydrator tray until bone dry. Pack into vacuum bags and seal. Add hot water and let soak to re-hydrate. Mixed well with other foods like pasta / rice

- pulled pork - same process as the beef above.

- Idahoan instant potatoes (dehydrate frozen peas and diced onions for added flavour, as well add a couple tablespoons of powdered butter and powdered Parmesan). Add hot water and let soak to re-hydrate

- rice and beans - make your way , then dehydrate. (Note these do require about 30 minutes of soaking time after you pour you boiling water in) wrap cup or pot with blanket to hold heat in

- refried beans - cook en how you like em, spread thinly onto parchment on a large cookie sheet and bake until bone dry. Pulse in food processor until very finely (but not powder) ground. Pack into vacuum bags and seal. These rehydrate quite nicely with hot water and lots of stirring .

- egg powder! Dehydrate finely chopped bell peppers, jalapeños, onions, cooked well drained ground chorizo sausage , add butter powder, dried cheese powder and mix the whole lot together with loads of spices , then vacuum seal. Add hot water and let soak to re-hydrate. Won’t look like normal scrambled eggs

- buckwheat grains - cook until fully cooked and the grains start to burst / crack , dehydrate , add brown or maple sugar and a pinch of salt and portion into vacuum bags. Add hot water and let soak to re-hydrate

- chili with beans - cook it as you like it, dehydrate and crumble very small . Pack into vacuum bags. Add hot water and let soak to re-hydrate

- peanut butter powder - portion a cup into vacuum bags and seal. Add water mix well , spread on bread or crackers or whatever

- pasta - cook in salted water until soft , drain and dehydrate . Pack into vacuum bags and seal. Requires long soak with boiling water to rehydrate (wrap container in blanket etc to hold heat in. )

- homemade pasta sauce. Cook it down thick , pour thinly onto parchment paper / cookie sheet and bake on low in oven until it’s bone dry. Crumble into food processor and pulse it until it’s coarse . Vacuum bag it. Add hot water and let soak to re-hydrate

- Parmesan cheese to go with the above two - grate fine, dehydrate in dehydrator and vacuum bag it

- taco beef (ground) - cook as you like it , drain fat very well and dehydrate until bone dry . Pulse in food processor until coarse. Pack into vacuum bags and seal. Add hot water and let soak to re-hydrate

- salsa - dehydrate, crumble into food processor , pulse until fine . Pack into vacuum bags. Add cold water and let soak, stir often

- ranch dressing powder- packets can be found in any supermarket. Great flavour enhancer

- hot sauce (thicker the better), BBQ sauce, ketchup etc - can all be dehydrated . Spread thinly onto parchment on a cookie tray and dehydrate in oven until bone dry . Pulse with food processor until very fine , then pack into vacuum bags . Note: these will look nothing like the fresh condiments when rehydrated . Add cold water and stir often

your best friend will be a vacuum sealer , parchment paper and lots of time to experiment

best to experiment with these at home, try them at home (to see how long it takes to re-hydrate , taste etc. )

homemade via dehydrator will NEVER match commercial freeze dried meals - look / texture / taste , just be aware of that or buy an actual freeze dryer (not cheap). Dehydrated meals will look unappealing compared to commercial freeze dried meals look and texture. Dehydrated meals also take way longer to rehydrate! FYI

CAUTION:
Homenade dehydrated meals DO NOT last long - due to zero preservatives and often lower sodium - be warned…. Esp with dehydrated meat dishes .




I often make food the night before a hike (beef stew, pasta etc ) portion into vacuum bags and freeze . That way it stays fresh in my webbing all day until lunch , then I either pour it into a canteen cup to warm up or eat it cold . Its WAY heavier than dehydrated , yes, but oh so tasty

Below (top three packets) are fresh home made, vacuum bagged / frozen the night before, meals ready to eat. Some are dehydrated (buckwheat cereal) , dry foods (muesli) or tinned (the fish) .

Rice. & Beans , Mashed Potato’s with Veggies, Applesauce, muesli , dehydrated buckwheat cereal, tinned mackerel / sardines with hot sauce or lemon & black pepper, or olive oil



last time I was out, I vacuum bagged fresh made beef stew, plus frozen peas/carrots and froze the food packet the night before. It stayed cold all day long in the webbing, / 35 DegC heat and thawed out in time by supper.

quick reheat in the cup….. can’t beat homemade beef stew

 

Bushies list is really good. He’s got a history on making good use of the vac sealer. I do a similar thing on day walks using fresh ingredients and a small lunchbox size soft side cooler. Perhaps we could define what and how long you’re looking for a bit more? What’s your shelf life or cooler life expectancy and how long between sealed and use are you trying to get?

 

Bushy eats better in the bush than 90% of people at home

 

Honestly a freeze dryer is the way to go.

store bought camping meals are ridiculously expensive per meal ($10 - 30 CAD up here per pouch), loaded with preservatives and many are overloaded with salt (although for me sodium’s a non issue).

Your looking at around $30 to $90 a day if you eat three times a day plus snacks , using commercially made hiking foods / MRE’s

add it up - how many times are you hiking / overnighting / multi day camping etc??

a week camping / hiking your already pushing $1000 plus in hiking meals / MRE’s etc.

When I was heavy into mountaineering in my early 20’s, I was eating 6 to 10 Mountain House meal packs a day , just to maintain my energy on brutally physically exhausting routes . At $15 to $20 CAD per pouch - that’s expensive per day . Now add multiple days … it’s insane $$$$$$$$$$$. I was blowing $1000’s on hiking meals.

A freezer drier (NOT a dehydrator) is expensive yes, $3500 and up . BUT ….. it takes less than 6 months to a year to make worthwhile, and YOU can control the ingredients , YOU can make what you and your family like to eat .

A home freeze dryer can turn any home cooked meal into a just add water camp meal, and it retains 100% of the nutrients, look, colour, and taste of the original meal (unlike food dehydrators)


Down side is cost…… but….. if you make big meals and have a garden , you can preserve food /crops for up to 50 years plus shelf life , so in the long run the up front cost of a freeze dryer is worth it.

Bumper crop of zucchini? Cube em up, freeze dry them , tuck em away for winter

made a big batch of cheesy chorizo Mac & Cheese and got loads left over? Freeze dry it, put it into individual vacuum pouches and seal , take it hiking .

Etc

good resource here: https://mountainhouse.com/blogs/camping/freeze-dried-vs-dehydrated-food-for-the-outdoors

 

https://www.backpackingchef.com/



some brands of backpacking food

- https://mountainhouse.com/

- https://www.firepotfood.com/

- https://expeditionfoods.com/

- https://summit2eat.com/

- https://www.wayfayrer.co.uk/our-range/

- https://realoutdoorfood.com/real-categories/real-turmat/

- https://www.backpackerspantry.ca/

- https://www.katadyngroup.com/us/en/brands/Alpineaire~b4911/overview

- https://happyyak.ca/

- https://www.nomadnutrition.co/

- https://goodto-go.com/

- https://peakrefuel.com/

- https://purechoicefoods.ca/

- https://readyhour.com/collections/emergency-food-items

- https://4patriots.com/products/72-hour-survival-food-kit

- https://augasonfarms.com/

- https://pataks.ca/categories-products/veggie-curries

- https://ca.tastybite.com/

- https://idahoan.com/

- https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-mre-brands-kits-survival/

 

If you or I had a freeze dryer, we could put this fresh homemade grilled Korean BBQ chicken and curried lentils , chickpeas and rice , into the freeze dryer and have this on the trail!

 

When I was backpacking a lot, these were my favorites:

Mountain House
Granola with milk & blueberries
Lasagna
Beef Stew (add instant mashed potatoes for a shepherd's pie)
Beef Stroganoff with noodles
Pasta primavera
Chili mac

Backpacker's Pantry
Granola with Bananas & milk
Pad Thai
Lasagna
Louisiana Red Beans & Rice
Kathmandu Curry
White Bean, Chicken and Green chili stew

For me, the more complicated the dish was, or the more complicated the flavors, the more likely it is to be poorly executed. Jose's Chicken Mole is one that comes to mind as an absolute abomination to my taste buds.

We used to get to where we were going to camp, and boiling water was the first order of business. Add that to the meals, seal them up, wrap them in a beanie or a shemagh, and then set up camp while the meals were rehydrating. Most meals needed longer than the label suggests.

 

Wow man! Truly impressive!! You oughta go into business! I'll be your guinea pig for recipes.

 

https://gourmetfreezedried.com/ (salsa)

https://lyofood.com/ (Poland - but soon available in North America)

https://tacticalfoodpack.com/

https://www.bridgford.com/

https://katesrealfood.com/

 

Make Mac & Cheese , toss in a can of tuna in chili oil, add a cup of frozen green peas, black pepper , mix well. Vacuum bag it and put into fridge overnight.

go hiking the next day - heat up the vacuum bag in boiling water, and enjoy. One of my favorite hiking foods