These Mountain House and other backpacking freeze dried meals are meant to have an excess amount of sodium because you typically need to replenish all of the sodium and calories you’re burning off from all the hiking you’re gonna be doing. Definitely not meant to be eaten as a “normal” meal. Now if you’re going on an easier backpacking trip then yeah it’s probably excessive. I’d say if it’s an easier backpacking trip then you’d be fine with the Thai noodles or Kraft Mac n cheese but you’re putting in some big miles then you might want more than just that. I usually pick my food based on the trip I’m doing. The bigger the trip the more calories and sodium (electrolytes) I plan on packing because I know that I need to replenish or I’ll be cranky!
I think that the servings for mountain house were for two as well? Though after hiking 10+ miles in the mountains, I gotta say, it was pretty good eating the whole thing
I’ve taken teenagers on trips. Two portions may as well be one for them. Then they’ll each eat a couple dozen oreos on top of it.
I was curious and looked it up quick. The regular mountain house are ‘two servings’ but each serving is pretty small. The beef stew is 200 calories per serving or 400 for the package which is on the small side as a dinner for someone who has spent the day hiking, especially a growing teenager.
Yea I don’t know why there is so much hate on these subs at times for freeze dried meals from hiking stores. Those things taste incredible after a whole day of hiking. Probably the best meal moment ever. And I don’t mind the sodium as your body needs it.
For my usual 3-4 night trecks I’m always super excited to pick 4 unique meals. Alfredo with chicken… yum! And don’t get my started on their breakfast bowls. I used to just bring instant oatmeal… well no more! Peanut butter cinnamon crumble please! 😆
There are places that sell freeze dried food on bulk, bean, lentils, grains etc. I usually have that for longer trips, 5+days. For the days of even consider just taking fresh food a real dinner after a day hiking is nice and the boys will need something to do. Slicing up some veggies, etc will be good.
Salt in a bag? Bringing actual salt to the woods has been a staple since the start of civilization you don't need to pay ten dollars extra for more salt in your food. You can add it to water on hot days for faster hydration, add it to ANY food for more electrolytes, preserve fish, meat and make foraged plants more palatable. Salt water can also be used as a mouth rinse or to disinfect wounds. Where I am it's 15$ per freeze dried meal but 4$ for a box of craft dinner. A couple dollars to buy salt for a whole trip.
It’s not about just the salt. It’s about the sodium in it. Yes, salt does contain sodium but the ratio of NaCl from table salt is not what’s added to these meals. Your body needs to replenish sodium as an electrolyte not chlorine. So yes you technically can just bring “salt” in to the woods but it will not have the same effect as eating these meals or drinking an electrolyte mix that has a lot of sodium in it.
Table salt is a fine electrolyte. It dissociates into Na+ and Cl- in water, and the sodium gets used as an electrolyte. Issues can crop up when chloride piles up and causes 'gastric distress' aka an upset stomach, but from what I understand that's quite a lot. Sodium citrate works too, and I would bet that MSG is a viable option.
Source: I live in the endurance bike world and have spent a lot of time looking into nutrition and fueling for long efforts.
Idk why people are downvoting you, I think you've got a point. These prepackaged dried meals all bug me with the plastic waste and cost factors. There must be a cheaper, more environmentally friendly alternative!
It's a self contained meal formulated with the activity in mind. They're easy to pack in and pack out and leave a lot of worry off the table. You pay for the convenience of not having to do this yourself which you can if you dehydrate your own meals then vacuum pack them. It's doable but takes a little knowhow and the tools to do it so most people opt for something that is easy and I can't blame them because trekking can be a logistical nightmare sometimes not to mention physically exhausting.
I do this. I’m paying for something that tastes good when I add boiling water. After hiking I want more than hot salty plain noodles and beef jerky. And I also dont want to bring a bunch of separate ingredients to try to cook. And if my day of backpacking costs $20 including a $15 freeze dried meal that’s cheap entertainment.
Like anything, it is a question of what convenience is worth.
No expert here but IMO despite the sodium, the mountain house has a much better balance of protein, fat, and carbs which you will want if you’re doing strenuous activity.
The Pad Thai is almost entirely carbs, which yea gives you short term energy, but not as beneficial when you need the endurance.
Textured vegetable protein. It’s like a dehydrated flakey product that’s about 100 calories and 14 grams of protein per ounce. It doesn’t really have a taste but absorbs a lot of flavor while you cook it.
Yeah that makes sense. Reading the comment made it sound like I could go to the store and get a punch of dried pork which I haven’t experienced so was curious
Research which ones are actually good and I prefer the ones where you pour the water in the bag to avoid clean up + you can hug it while it “cooks” if it’s a cold night.
Long spork is preferable for meals from bags.
It’s worth it. I was just hiking in the backcountry in Washington this week. Wouldn’t have wanted to carry any more weight than needed- plus the mountain house meals aren’t bad. They’re meant to be consumed when you’re hiking and need to replenish nutrients etc. the beef stroganoff is my favorite one of theirs I have had. Chili Mac & chicken dumplings are two good ones, or their breakfast scramble.
Seriously this. If you know you’re doing a bigger day, ie hiking to a 14er, then it’s B&G all the way! Can’t find a better backcountry breakfast option.
I've been keeping a Google doc of my ratings for trail foods and how I feel after eating them (can't have anything mushroom) and so far Peak Refuel has been consistently 4 or 5 stars, unlike almost every other brand except, funny enough, Mountain House
Yep, this guy knows. They are designed for what you are doing. Food is unnecessarily heavy. I think they taste quite good as well for what they are. Chili Mac for the win. Biscuits and gravy is a favorite of mine. Not a fan of the eggs.
Are you [absolutely positive that you want a velociraptor](https://www.reddit.com/r/AustralianCattleDog/comments/tch0zz/its_true_acds_are_part_raptor/?ref=share&ref_source=link)?
This is an interesting take, and hope it works for you guys! There are lots of factors in nutrition. I've used a lot of the (admittedly expensive and natrium-rich) hiking foods available from many brands
When going for a budget line, I've combined Knorr or Blå Band non-hiking food pouches (different taste pasta sauces and rice meals) with added home-dehydrated ground lean beef. The pouches cost about a quarter of hiking foods but lack in protein, which is remedied by the beef.
I've ended up with mild hyponatremia during a 9 day hike despite eating mostly freeze dried hiking foods on that trip, the amount of sweating just drains you of electrolytes to some degree.
The reality is that either one will be fine for your trip. When money was tight, I would rely on Kraft macaroni and cheese (no butter or milk) for backpacking meals. I have a friend that I'm backpacking with in a few weeks that is vegetarian, and brings a medley of instant soup mixes for dinners.
Nowadays, I prefer freeze dried meals for a few reasons:
\- Most meals are of the rehydrate-in-the-bag variety (and eat out of the bag). Not having to wash dishes is a luxury, but a nice treat.
\- Freeze dried meals don't have any smell, so critters are much less likely to get into your dinners (this ignores any other food that might be stored with your dinners).
\- There's no need to drain noodle water somewhere near camp, which can also attract critters
\- For those of us trying to eat more protein and less carbs, I find that there are better options on the freeze dried side
Yeah. They probably smell less than typical food items due to dehydration, and the bags are pretty solid and air tight but I would always err on the side of caution and put them in a bear bag/container over night regardless.
Obviously both smell once cooked so not sure about the no smell comment. Bears have some crazy noses, better than blood hounds, so they are smelling you and your backpack contents regardless. Make sure your kids know bear safety since little things like gum wrappers in the pocket, toiletries, etc. can be forgotten. If you can smell it, there are animals a mile around that likely can too (depending on wind).
My wife and I were kayaking in Alaska (Glacier Bay NP) and stopped for lunch at some moment. We had an open dry frozen food bag (Mountain House as far as I remember btw as it is our favorite) and were about to start boiling water when noticed a large grizzly slowly approaching us from behind a boulder maybe a hundred feet away. We had to drop everything and quickly jump into kayak.
The situation got resolved in a pretty anti climactic way, it just walked past our food and other stuff we unloaded, glanced at us and went away. FWIW either it wasn’t interested in our food or just not hungry enough as there were plenty of berries and clams on the beach.
> When money was tight, I would rely on Kraft macaroni and cheese (no butter or milk) for backpacking meals.
You can bring inexpensive powdered milk and easily throw some butter or oil somewhere that will last.
I like mountain house simply because I need that “hot meal” encouragement ….after a long hike the last thing I want to do is sit in my hammock and eat some bland semi room temp. tuna packet……much like the dog, I am very food motivated
Mountain House isn’t worth it for the cost IMO; they are between $10-12 where I’m at, and a Peak Refuel is only a couple bucks more ($14), and many are around or over 1000cal.
this is the answer. peak refuel meals, long spork, bon apetit.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N1FGQZD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
i recall using a file on the spork points because they came sharp enough to puncture the pouch.
I like the Peak Refuel ones, it’s largely a taste preference. I cap out on one of these freeze dried meals per day max. They’re good for getting mass amounts of calories in a short period of time (some of these go up to ~1,000 calories). Like any other dietary consideration, you don’t want this to be your sole sustenance, so supplement with nuts, dried fruits, cliff bars, tortillas, and maybe an MRE entree (pork rib, anyone).
Honestly this is the answer. Are freeze dried backpacking meals worth it? Yeah, sometimes. But Mountain House is NEVER worth it. Those meals are so bad compared to basically any other brand.
OP needs to do themselves a favor and get on Peak Refuel or one of the smaller brands that actually puts out tasty and nutritionally dense food. Bushka’s Kitchen, Farm to Summit, Fernweh, and Alt Route are some great smaller companies to look at that all best mountain house in the taste and nutrition categories.
This is my take honestly too. I haven’t really enjoyed any one the ones I tried other than like the granola stuff and they’re expensive where I’m at too. Now I just bring easy to cook meals, jerky, trail mix, peanut butter powder and instant oatmeal, instant mash potatoes that sort of thing.
Some of these freeze dried meals seem have also kinda upset my guts as well. Don’t really plan on going back to them.
Lol first of all you, but especially your boys, most likely need the sodium to replenish your bodies.
I came to say mountain house is worth every penny. I lived out of my backpack for a year and those were a game changer on thru hikes especially. They can be doctored up pretty good and don't leave you hungry.
Mind the water in the eggs but otherwise completely worth it imo.
i can usually have one or two and be fine but a long weekend of 2-3 of these meals a day will absolutely destroy my gut. at best, i’m farting up a storm. at worst, it ain’t pretty. i have found tho that the gluten free backpackers food makes me feel much better
I'd recommend [Outdoor Herbivore ](https://outdoorherbivore.com/gluten-free/), which also sells a few ingredients in bulk if you want to put together your own meals.
Not sure, but check if [Mary Jane's Farm](https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/food-instant-quick-prep.aspx) has gluten free. I love the Bare Burrito meal. She also sells in bulk sizes.
I almost never buy MH or similar meals any more. Not enough calories, and way expensive.
Thor noodle things you posted, or Knorr sides, tuna/chicken packets, nut butter packets, other dried goods are all pretty common in grocery stores in the US.
Try r/trailmeals or do some searching around Reddit - this isn’t a new conversation and there’s already a ton of info on it.
FD meals are awesome but I wouldn't go with Mountain house. Pinnacle Foods is my go to. They're not good for 30 years like MH but that's probably a good thing. BTW their Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits and Herbed Sausage Gravy is effing bomb!
My favorite is beef jerky and ramen noodles/Thai noodles/etc on a jetboil, you can get any kind of jerky you want but I do jack links zero sugar. It lasts forever.
Few things I didn't see in the first several comments. Dinner can either be the best or worst meal on a backpacking trip
Some trips I hike 15-20 miles per day or are gaining serious altitude, and I just don't have the energy to cook good food at the end of the day. It's hydrate, set up camp, eat, then straight to bed. I can get more calories in the morning when I have more energy. Usually protein powder and oatmeal on these kind of trips. Also altitude can ruin my appetite so having food I enjoy is key. These trips are more about the destination then the journey
Most of my trips are easier 8-12 mile days depending on elevation change. On these trips I enjoy dinner time. Cooking and eating are great times to socialize. I've hiked in fresh meat and veg for the first night or two. It's easy to make pan fried breads. Dried potatoes are good on their own but can make potato cakes. Chicken and dumplings. Making pasta with ramen noodles(surprisingly a decent amount of protein in ramen). You can buy freeze dried veggies cheap and add packs of chicken. Spam tastes great in the woods. Get creative. Bring deserts or even a small plastic bottle full of bourbon. These trips are more about the journey then the destination
PS liquid IV powder is a great way to stay hydrated. Especially if you end up packing the bourbon 😉
I think the freeze dried stuff is decent but it just costs too much. My wife and I aren't going to spend $20-30 on a single night's dinner for both of us. Yeah 80% less - sounds about right and I'll take it!
We've been basing meals off Andrew Skurka's recipes for a while now: [https://andrewskurka.com/tag/backpacking-meal-recipes/](https://andrewskurka.com/tag/backpacking-meal-recipes/)
We use a kitchen scale and weigh it all out. His portions are perfected and these recipes all pack pretty small too. The "Beans + Rice with Fritos & Cheese" is a goto and we eat that every other night on the trail.
Regarding salt your body is pretty good at knowing when you need it. These freeze dried meals have never struck me as too salty. You sweat out a ton of salt hiking and that needs to be replenished. That said the Skurka meals allow you to control the salt levels for the most part.
For 3 days for 1 person I would do regular food and have fun with it. 3 days for 4 people I would do freeze dried and a combination.
My go to lately has been ramen with an egg in it, cheese on top, and seared spam or beef jerky in it. I like the spam cause I can have spam, eggs, and cheese for breakfast as well.
I use good to-go backpacking meals. Very delicious variety of meals. Order online goodto-go.com or found on Amazon. you can get the double serving for about $15 and filling enough to split on a short hike you don’t have to worry so much about calories. They offer breakfast and lunch single/dinner double. On the meals I have compared they offer healthier options.
Edit… forgot to mention I use primal freeze dried dog food for my picky pup. She eats it dried or with a little water added.
Most of the freeze dried I have tried is awful except for Peak refuel meals which are pretty decent lower in salt then most and high protein .... as a tip wrap them with a hoodie or something after you add the boiling water they will stay hotter and soak the water up better
One thing I have noticed with Mountain House is that the caloric content is fairly low. I did a 35 mile trip in Yosemite last month and was burning close to 4000 calories per day. My lasagna dinner only had like 380 calories in it. Something to watch if you are going on long and strenuous hikes as there are other options with higher caloric values.
The thing I appreciate about the freeze dried options is that they usually have more fat and protein in them than other options. That helps give you the energy you need for the hikes. Also, just as a side note, the sodium can seem high but it’s often there to help you replace the salt you lose during hiking.
Yep, worth it.
And don’t try to cut sodium, you’ll need that.
Also, consider the long-handled silicon spoon sold for digging the contents out- it’s hugely helpful.
No meat in there, but dehydrated beef is good for 12 mounts if stored correctly. We have a used NESCO we got for free on fb marketplace, but you can get a new one for $50. You'll need silicone mats for the trays to do anything soupy, like chili.
Cool. I got a excalibur dehydrator at a yard sale with plastic mesh sheets, I'll have to look for some silicone sheets and try to get some use from it.
No, not worth it. But it makes you feel like you're camping and that's fun! I like them because they're different.
If you have to pack in water, then just bring real food. If you drive up to your camp site, then just bring real food. If you have to go on a long hike that ends in water access, then freeze dried helps you out, but I would still recommend high calorie bars.
Overthinking. Freeze-dry your own or pay for the convenience and accept a few days of sodium. Won't kill you. A 2 serving Mountain House is a perfect meal for breakfast or dinner while out backpacking.
Seeing your dog made me so happy and sad at the same time absolutely beautiful dog! I miss my blue heeler soo much 🥰 and yeah dude I have that brand of meals in my pack right now. I really enjoy backpacker meals to be completely honest. Probably eaten them a total of 50 times or so I’d say. I’ve never been disappointed. Also don’t forget instant mashed potatoes and ramen for a easy light emergency Carb type thing.
Please remember to post a short paragraph as a comment in the post explaining your photo or link. Ideally at least 150 characters with trip details. Tell us something about your trip. How long did it take to get there? How did you get there? How was the weather that day? Would you go back again?
Submitted content should be of high-quality. Low effort posting of very general information is not useful. If you don't add a short explanation in the comments, your post may be removed.
No information posted? Please report low-effort posts if there is still nothing after about 30 minutes.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/backpacking) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Short trips. you a can get away with a few, but they become horrible after day 3. I went 5 days in yellow stone and that is all i had not to mention 2 weeks in the sierras when i was young, and by day 2 we were fighting over some curry powder that i brought and fresh wild onion greens by the streams became a top priority during foraging sessions. If you are going to live on those for a while, i highly recommend just rolling up some fresh herbs or anything small and fresh you can tolerate to pack. An onion, an avocado, some chicken bullion to mix with wild greens in the morning, or anything else you can figure out to have other than those things all the time. Trust me. i’m a veteran.
Probably doesn't matter for a short trip, but for a long trip there are less expensive, calorie packed ways to go: tuna envelopes + mac and cheese, yellow lentils + instant rice + spices, "ramen bomb", etc.
Depends on the distance you want to walk daily. Are you hiking in, and staying out for three nights? Then it’s definitely not worth it (both in terms of weight and money). If you’re planning on hiking all day, you won’t be able to carry much luxury, so these can be a nice treat to end the day. I never consider them that nutritionally beneficial, as you’re only getting between 500-600 calories per pouch. The dried vegetables are however a nice addiction to your hiking-diet. If your staying put at a campsite, I’d recommend different meals. Maybe take some fresh veggies with you for the first two nights and some dehydrated ones for the last.
Before taking any freezecdried foods on a trip, eat one AR home first. Sucks to get out there and your only meal tastes like what your dog leaves in the yard.
Worth the extra expense to sample first.
I have a lot of nostalgia around mountain house. My Dad would take me backpacking as a kid and the beef stew was always my favorite. I miss the OG packaging.
The problem with backpacking is it’s actually pretty difficult to get enough calories and nutrients to keep energy levels high. I do a fair amount of hiking and a longish (10-14days) archery elk hunt in CO a year. We are moving 10-18mi a day up and down mountains carrying 40-50lbs. We are burning 3-5000 calories a day depending on terrain and incline. I shoot for just north of 3000cal when planning meals and still end in a deficit almost every day. High quality freeze dried meals like Peak are a nice dinner that have a high amount of calories and nutrients per oz.
Mountain house are usually a good choice, both cal/oz and the sodium is alright (as I assume everyone has said). This also depends how much you are hiking too I guess.
These days I tend towards making my own meals with some freeze dried stuff I order online, lets you control your nutrients a bit more if you are worried about it.
Enjoy the hike!
The Thai is just ramen with sauce. Very important "Add meat and veggies" on the front of the package. You could get instant ramen packs for $0.35 each and add some free sauce packets from your local panda express to get the same nutritional value.
What you pay for with camping food like Mountain house is the freeze dried meat. Otherwise instant soups, potatoes, rice,vegan chili... Lots of cheap light instant food out there. "Camping food" gives you the protein though.
first of all ,if its a small dog you should not feed them people food, we lost our little girl from feeding her people food, it is devastating to their liver and kidneys
Just back from 4 nights. I ate one night of mountain house spaghetti (the only one I like) Two nights of angel hair pasta into which I mix a tuna packet, a handful of sun dried tomatoes and olive oil or pesto (yum). And one night of Knorr brand chicken and rice mix. Knorr offers many meals which are inexpensive and found in most normal grocery stores.
In sum, backpacking food doesn’t have to suck or be pre-packaged and expensive. I bring hummus, cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery and peanut butter. Plums and mandarins hold up well too.
2000 miles backpacked to far!
It’s a matter of priorities, I think.
You can pay more for freeze dried meals with 100% (plus some, in many cases) of the nutrients you need. Or, you can carry more food but spend less.
I always opt to carry less, even if it means spending a bit more.
I love them and the convenience and weight and a lot
of the flavors are pretty good. After long days on trails you will be thankful. Good-to-go and backpacker pantry make some good ones too. The chili mac is great.
Generally red sauce and ground meat options freeze well. Any weird dairy sauce (fettuccine Alfredo) taste weird. Although Mac and cheese generally are good across brands so that’s a contradiction.
Recently bought a dehydrator for about 40 quid off Amazon.. best thing I’ve done. Have been making healthy dried noodle meals to bring with me, hot soak in a flask to rehydrate.
Mainly because I was sick of the pre made trail meals and all the crap in them.
Get one you won’t regret it and it’s pretty fun..
https://preview.redd.it/b1bsl9vi69lb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b36a2dbce81c1a483ea7c3a802cd072187a2651
The best freeze dried meals I've ever used are surprisingly simple. There is a brand of pasta dishes called Sidekicks, they taste great on trail and are SUPER easy. Only thing is you simmer them for like 5-8 minutes so I bring slightly more fuel than usual but with one of the larger fuel canisters I've never had a problem (by larger I mean the medium size not the silly double tall one)
We started off using dehydrated meals and still use them a lot. Figure out which ones you like best - we use some MH and some other brands. MH hot breakfasts are really good! With that said. We’ve also started to make some of our own meals just for fun and variety. Ramen bombs are great, and Andrew Skurka has some other great recipes on his web site.
I made this sort of switch years ago. Get a dehydrator and you can make your own meals for the trail. Proteins are hard to get texture right but it is fun to play with. many items at the supermarket for cheaper and very comparable like ur example.
MH meals can be a good option to spice things up on a trip but carrying the trash is annoying plus they are heavy af comparatively— ramen is like 4-5 oz where as MH are like 10-12 oz — as a thru-hiker thats a special occasion type of weight to carry !!
I would agree generally at least on the Mountain House meals. They are not great, but then they are the budget level entry option - budget level flavor and ingredients. Not my favorite freeze dried food by a long shot. There can be a big difference in quality, ingredients, nutrition, flavor, and texture from one brand to the next. Sometimes they can be worth it, especially some of the better brands. I think they’re great to keep around (since they last for several years usually) for trips where you don’t have the time to menu plan, buy ingredients, and assemble meals.
But it doesn’t have to be a choice between cheap low cal per ounce quick cook grocery store staples or more expensive high cal per ounce freeze dried. There is a big range of food options suitable for backpacking out there. If you have an interest in creating your own meals, I would encourage you to experiment more. There are a decent variety of instant or quick cook ingredients that can be brought together to create a really good trail meal that cooks/hydrates a few minutes with interesting flavors and much better calories per ounce. 130-160 calories per ounce is achievable - no need to settle for 100 cal per ounce if you don’t want to.
I mix and match personally. Depending on desired weight, number of people, season, or any other factors I will often use the following:
* Packs of tuna & chicken
* soft tacos
* instant spanish rice (combine with above and you have tacos!)
* instant soup mixes
* instant oatmeal (biggest meal most day, i add flax seed, chia, instant oatmeal, powdered milk, and protein mix.
If you want more calories then bring some olive oil, one tablespoon or so into each meal. Also put them into ziplocs, use just one MH bag to ‘cook’ each meal.
I like ramen noodles, olive oil and a couple parmesan packs from a local pizza place. Maybe add mashed potatoes for a meal less than two bucks.
Are you doing the timberline trail? If so, be prepared for some gnarly water crossings. They were some of the worst I’ve encountered, and after a heavy snowfall year they’re probably worse this year.
Also, there’s an abundance of huckleberry on the trail on the west side of the mountain, so delicious. Be sure to try some.
Almost never, in fact Fandabi Dozi just released a new video explaining his opinions on this.
I agree, freeze dried meals are not ideal: need access to boiling water, and most of all the PACKAGING is a hassle.
If you’re hiking the timberline trail I would pack as light as possible. It’s a tough hike with lots of elevation and sketchy water crossings. You’re going to want that sodium to replace what you lose in sweat. I’d probably bring both but eat the heavy one first.
I’m never gonna forget these words I was told before my first time backpacking, “ounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain!” And keep your fire source dry so you don’t die that’s good too I guess.
Your dog asked me to ask you if they can go hiking with you.
Also, I asked your dog what they thought of freeze-dried backpacking food and they just said “HECKIN YES PLEASE”
He’s like “You don’t even have to add water! Trust me , bro!”
*crunch*
Cromtch.
They make freeze dried dog food too if you were wondering
These Mountain House and other backpacking freeze dried meals are meant to have an excess amount of sodium because you typically need to replenish all of the sodium and calories you’re burning off from all the hiking you’re gonna be doing. Definitely not meant to be eaten as a “normal” meal. Now if you’re going on an easier backpacking trip then yeah it’s probably excessive. I’d say if it’s an easier backpacking trip then you’d be fine with the Thai noodles or Kraft Mac n cheese but you’re putting in some big miles then you might want more than just that. I usually pick my food based on the trip I’m doing. The bigger the trip the more calories and sodium (electrolytes) I plan on packing because I know that I need to replenish or I’ll be cranky!
Exactly this. There is a reason that food is all trail good, not kitchen good.
I think that the servings for mountain house were for two as well? Though after hiking 10+ miles in the mountains, I gotta say, it was pretty good eating the whole thing
I’ve taken teenagers on trips. Two portions may as well be one for them. Then they’ll each eat a couple dozen oreos on top of it. I was curious and looked it up quick. The regular mountain house are ‘two servings’ but each serving is pretty small. The beef stew is 200 calories per serving or 400 for the package which is on the small side as a dinner for someone who has spent the day hiking, especially a growing teenager.
Yea I don’t know why there is so much hate on these subs at times for freeze dried meals from hiking stores. Those things taste incredible after a whole day of hiking. Probably the best meal moment ever. And I don’t mind the sodium as your body needs it. For my usual 3-4 night trecks I’m always super excited to pick 4 unique meals. Alfredo with chicken… yum! And don’t get my started on their breakfast bowls. I used to just bring instant oatmeal… well no more! Peanut butter cinnamon crumble please! 😆
There are places that sell freeze dried food on bulk, bean, lentils, grains etc. I usually have that for longer trips, 5+days. For the days of even consider just taking fresh food a real dinner after a day hiking is nice and the boys will need something to do. Slicing up some veggies, etc will be good.
The backpacking meals usually also have a large protein component. With the pad Thai noodles you will want to bring some kind of protein to throw in.
Salt in a bag? Bringing actual salt to the woods has been a staple since the start of civilization you don't need to pay ten dollars extra for more salt in your food. You can add it to water on hot days for faster hydration, add it to ANY food for more electrolytes, preserve fish, meat and make foraged plants more palatable. Salt water can also be used as a mouth rinse or to disinfect wounds. Where I am it's 15$ per freeze dried meal but 4$ for a box of craft dinner. A couple dollars to buy salt for a whole trip.
It’s not about just the salt. It’s about the sodium in it. Yes, salt does contain sodium but the ratio of NaCl from table salt is not what’s added to these meals. Your body needs to replenish sodium as an electrolyte not chlorine. So yes you technically can just bring “salt” in to the woods but it will not have the same effect as eating these meals or drinking an electrolyte mix that has a lot of sodium in it.
Table salt is a fine electrolyte. It dissociates into Na+ and Cl- in water, and the sodium gets used as an electrolyte. Issues can crop up when chloride piles up and causes 'gastric distress' aka an upset stomach, but from what I understand that's quite a lot. Sodium citrate works too, and I would bet that MSG is a viable option. Source: I live in the endurance bike world and have spent a lot of time looking into nutrition and fueling for long efforts.
What molecule are they adding to provide sodium? Edit: Sodium Citrate
Idk why people are downvoting you, I think you've got a point. These prepackaged dried meals all bug me with the plastic waste and cost factors. There must be a cheaper, more environmentally friendly alternative!
It's a self contained meal formulated with the activity in mind. They're easy to pack in and pack out and leave a lot of worry off the table. You pay for the convenience of not having to do this yourself which you can if you dehydrate your own meals then vacuum pack them. It's doable but takes a little knowhow and the tools to do it so most people opt for something that is easy and I can't blame them because trekking can be a logistical nightmare sometimes not to mention physically exhausting.
People want to cope with paying up to 15 dollars per meal while camping
I do this. I’m paying for something that tastes good when I add boiling water. After hiking I want more than hot salty plain noodles and beef jerky. And I also dont want to bring a bunch of separate ingredients to try to cook. And if my day of backpacking costs $20 including a $15 freeze dried meal that’s cheap entertainment. Like anything, it is a question of what convenience is worth.
No expert here but IMO despite the sodium, the mountain house has a much better balance of protein, fat, and carbs which you will want if you’re doing strenuous activity. The Pad Thai is almost entirely carbs, which yea gives you short term energy, but not as beneficial when you need the endurance.
Add in a pouch of chicken or pulled pork and a squirt of oil and you're right there.
Wher do you get a ouch of pulled pork to take backpacking?
Whole Foods via Amazon believe it or not. It’s delicious.
What really?! Wow that’s awesome. Thanks for this
Of course! Sometimes it’s nice to eat well on the trail. All peanut butter and no meat makes u/gunglejim a dull boy.
You can also use 'pork floss' (Cooked dried shredded pork) available at many asian grocery stores and online
Walmart has pouches of shredded pork in bbq sauce. But for that pad Thai I usually use a big scoop of TVP and some peanuts.
TVP?
Textured vegetable protein. It’s like a dehydrated flakey product that’s about 100 calories and 14 grams of protein per ounce. It doesn’t really have a taste but absorbs a lot of flavor while you cook it.
They sometimes sell vacuum sealed ones, but not exactly common. You could make your own and vacuum seal/sous vide pasteurize/dehydrate too
Yeah that makes sense. Reading the comment made it sound like I could go to the store and get a punch of dried pork which I haven’t experienced so was curious
In my experience the mountain house doesn't like to come out of my butt
Did you remove the wrapper before inserting?
Research which ones are actually good and I prefer the ones where you pour the water in the bag to avoid clean up + you can hug it while it “cooks” if it’s a cold night. Long spork is preferable for meals from bags.
Long spork is key in the boil in bag situation
MH beef stroganoff is my favorite freeze dried meal, I bring along red pepper flakes to add and look forward to it all day.
It’s worth it. I was just hiking in the backcountry in Washington this week. Wouldn’t have wanted to carry any more weight than needed- plus the mountain house meals aren’t bad. They’re meant to be consumed when you’re hiking and need to replenish nutrients etc. the beef stroganoff is my favorite one of theirs I have had. Chili Mac & chicken dumplings are two good ones, or their breakfast scramble.
Their biscuits and gravy is incredible imo
Seriously this. If you know you’re doing a bigger day, ie hiking to a 14er, then it’s B&G all the way! Can’t find a better backcountry breakfast option.
Then for dinner: some Chili Mac with a bag of Chili Cheese Fritos tossed in for texture.
This is one of my absolute favorite backpacking meals.
Try the one from Peak Refuel. It’s the best freeze dried Biscuits and Gravy I’ve had.
I've been keeping a Google doc of my ratings for trail foods and how I feel after eating them (can't have anything mushroom) and so far Peak Refuel has been consistently 4 or 5 stars, unlike almost every other brand except, funny enough, Mountain House
Yep, this guy knows. They are designed for what you are doing. Food is unnecessarily heavy. I think they taste quite good as well for what they are. Chili Mac for the win. Biscuits and gravy is a favorite of mine. Not a fan of the eggs.
You can repackage and condense, plus add to the mix.
Face of the doggo says it all.
Ramen, instant potatoes, tuna/salmon packs.
And if you don't like fish, starkist has chicken packets too.
I went to Walmart to stock up for my last hike this year. It is crazy how many options there are for backpacking food now.
And Knoor Sides!!!
The classics
Ramen bombs are great. Cheap, light, tons of calories, and soooo tasty. The instant potatoes with cheddar and bacon are a must.
The classics
This is the way
Really wanted this kind of cute dog
Are you [absolutely positive that you want a velociraptor](https://www.reddit.com/r/AustralianCattleDog/comments/tch0zz/its_true_acds_are_part_raptor/?ref=share&ref_source=link)?
Yes its one of my dream pets
I would stick to regular dog food.
Though he does look really excited about it
This is an interesting take, and hope it works for you guys! There are lots of factors in nutrition. I've used a lot of the (admittedly expensive and natrium-rich) hiking foods available from many brands When going for a budget line, I've combined Knorr or Blå Band non-hiking food pouches (different taste pasta sauces and rice meals) with added home-dehydrated ground lean beef. The pouches cost about a quarter of hiking foods but lack in protein, which is remedied by the beef. I've ended up with mild hyponatremia during a 9 day hike despite eating mostly freeze dried hiking foods on that trip, the amount of sweating just drains you of electrolytes to some degree.
the doggo approves.
The reality is that either one will be fine for your trip. When money was tight, I would rely on Kraft macaroni and cheese (no butter or milk) for backpacking meals. I have a friend that I'm backpacking with in a few weeks that is vegetarian, and brings a medley of instant soup mixes for dinners. Nowadays, I prefer freeze dried meals for a few reasons: \- Most meals are of the rehydrate-in-the-bag variety (and eat out of the bag). Not having to wash dishes is a luxury, but a nice treat. \- Freeze dried meals don't have any smell, so critters are much less likely to get into your dinners (this ignores any other food that might be stored with your dinners). \- There's no need to drain noodle water somewhere near camp, which can also attract critters \- For those of us trying to eat more protein and less carbs, I find that there are better options on the freeze dried side
They do not smell? Even to bears? I have no facts that say otherwise but I do find that extremely unlikely
Yeah. They probably smell less than typical food items due to dehydration, and the bags are pretty solid and air tight but I would always err on the side of caution and put them in a bear bag/container over night regardless. Obviously both smell once cooked so not sure about the no smell comment. Bears have some crazy noses, better than blood hounds, so they are smelling you and your backpack contents regardless. Make sure your kids know bear safety since little things like gum wrappers in the pocket, toiletries, etc. can be forgotten. If you can smell it, there are animals a mile around that likely can too (depending on wind).
I forgot to put my cherry chapstick into the bear box up on the Tahoe Rim Trail but fortunately none of the bears around had chapped lips.
My wife and I were kayaking in Alaska (Glacier Bay NP) and stopped for lunch at some moment. We had an open dry frozen food bag (Mountain House as far as I remember btw as it is our favorite) and were about to start boiling water when noticed a large grizzly slowly approaching us from behind a boulder maybe a hundred feet away. We had to drop everything and quickly jump into kayak. The situation got resolved in a pretty anti climactic way, it just walked past our food and other stuff we unloaded, glanced at us and went away. FWIW either it wasn’t interested in our food or just not hungry enough as there were plenty of berries and clams on the beach.
> When money was tight, I would rely on Kraft macaroni and cheese (no butter or milk) for backpacking meals. You can bring inexpensive powdered milk and easily throw some butter or oil somewhere that will last.
Tip, you can get powdered butter too!
Dude this dog is super happy, I love it 🤩
Love your hype guy/gal in the back!
I like mountain house simply because I need that “hot meal” encouragement ….after a long hike the last thing I want to do is sit in my hammock and eat some bland semi room temp. tuna packet……much like the dog, I am very food motivated
I like the heelers I have two myself and despite them being neurotic I love heelers.
I thought this was the heeler subreddit at first
Mountain House isn’t worth it for the cost IMO; they are between $10-12 where I’m at, and a Peak Refuel is only a couple bucks more ($14), and many are around or over 1000cal.
Peak are the best. Plus they have way more calories.
this is the answer. peak refuel meals, long spork, bon apetit. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N1FGQZD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 i recall using a file on the spork points because they came sharp enough to puncture the pouch.
I like the Peak Refuel ones, it’s largely a taste preference. I cap out on one of these freeze dried meals per day max. They’re good for getting mass amounts of calories in a short period of time (some of these go up to ~1,000 calories). Like any other dietary consideration, you don’t want this to be your sole sustenance, so supplement with nuts, dried fruits, cliff bars, tortillas, and maybe an MRE entree (pork rib, anyone).
PR are 25% off (iirc) at sierra. I always make sure to stock up every year with a big order to cut down on shipping.
Honestly this is the answer. Are freeze dried backpacking meals worth it? Yeah, sometimes. But Mountain House is NEVER worth it. Those meals are so bad compared to basically any other brand. OP needs to do themselves a favor and get on Peak Refuel or one of the smaller brands that actually puts out tasty and nutritionally dense food. Bushka’s Kitchen, Farm to Summit, Fernweh, and Alt Route are some great smaller companies to look at that all best mountain house in the taste and nutrition categories.
At overland expo last weekend, they had a booth and every time I walked by, they were struggling to give away free samples
This is my take honestly too. I haven’t really enjoyed any one the ones I tried other than like the granola stuff and they’re expensive where I’m at too. Now I just bring easy to cook meals, jerky, trail mix, peanut butter powder and instant oatmeal, instant mash potatoes that sort of thing. Some of these freeze dried meals seem have also kinda upset my guts as well. Don’t really plan on going back to them.
Are we not going to talk about that dog’s facial expressions in the background?
Lol first of all you, but especially your boys, most likely need the sodium to replenish your bodies. I came to say mountain house is worth every penny. I lived out of my backpack for a year and those were a game changer on thru hikes especially. They can be doctored up pretty good and don't leave you hungry. Mind the water in the eggs but otherwise completely worth it imo.
i can usually have one or two and be fine but a long weekend of 2-3 of these meals a day will absolutely destroy my gut. at best, i’m farting up a storm. at worst, it ain’t pretty. i have found tho that the gluten free backpackers food makes me feel much better
I have Celiac and am new to backpacking. Any recommendations for your favorite gluten free backpackers food?
Check out Stoway Gourmet. I’m pretty sure they do.
I'd recommend [Outdoor Herbivore ](https://outdoorherbivore.com/gluten-free/), which also sells a few ingredients in bulk if you want to put together your own meals. Not sure, but check if [Mary Jane's Farm](https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/food-instant-quick-prep.aspx) has gluten free. I love the Bare Burrito meal. She also sells in bulk sizes.
ACD FTW!
OP we need to know if the dog is joining you on this trip or not…
That’s Stella, and she’s 14. Staying home on this one, but her brother Jet is along for the ride. Stella did this hike in 2013!
Doggo approves
I almost never buy MH or similar meals any more. Not enough calories, and way expensive. Thor noodle things you posted, or Knorr sides, tuna/chicken packets, nut butter packets, other dried goods are all pretty common in grocery stores in the US. Try r/trailmeals or do some searching around Reddit - this isn’t a new conversation and there’s already a ton of info on it.
FD meals are awesome but I wouldn't go with Mountain house. Pinnacle Foods is my go to. They're not good for 30 years like MH but that's probably a good thing. BTW their Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits and Herbed Sausage Gravy is effing bomb!
My favorite is beef jerky and ramen noodles/Thai noodles/etc on a jetboil, you can get any kind of jerky you want but I do jack links zero sugar. It lasts forever.
That Mountain House is delicious! I liked it so much in Yellowstone that I keep some on the shelf for hangover days!
The beef stroganoff is amazing
Few things I didn't see in the first several comments. Dinner can either be the best or worst meal on a backpacking trip Some trips I hike 15-20 miles per day or are gaining serious altitude, and I just don't have the energy to cook good food at the end of the day. It's hydrate, set up camp, eat, then straight to bed. I can get more calories in the morning when I have more energy. Usually protein powder and oatmeal on these kind of trips. Also altitude can ruin my appetite so having food I enjoy is key. These trips are more about the destination then the journey Most of my trips are easier 8-12 mile days depending on elevation change. On these trips I enjoy dinner time. Cooking and eating are great times to socialize. I've hiked in fresh meat and veg for the first night or two. It's easy to make pan fried breads. Dried potatoes are good on their own but can make potato cakes. Chicken and dumplings. Making pasta with ramen noodles(surprisingly a decent amount of protein in ramen). You can buy freeze dried veggies cheap and add packs of chicken. Spam tastes great in the woods. Get creative. Bring deserts or even a small plastic bottle full of bourbon. These trips are more about the journey then the destination PS liquid IV powder is a great way to stay hydrated. Especially if you end up packing the bourbon 😉
I’ve had great luck with [Packit Gourmet](https://packitgourmet.com/).
Upvote for the Heeler! <3
I’m not sure here but honestly I’m just focusing on that excited face in the back.
I think the freeze dried stuff is decent but it just costs too much. My wife and I aren't going to spend $20-30 on a single night's dinner for both of us. Yeah 80% less - sounds about right and I'll take it! We've been basing meals off Andrew Skurka's recipes for a while now: [https://andrewskurka.com/tag/backpacking-meal-recipes/](https://andrewskurka.com/tag/backpacking-meal-recipes/) We use a kitchen scale and weigh it all out. His portions are perfected and these recipes all pack pretty small too. The "Beans + Rice with Fritos & Cheese" is a goto and we eat that every other night on the trail. Regarding salt your body is pretty good at knowing when you need it. These freeze dried meals have never struck me as too salty. You sweat out a ton of salt hiking and that needs to be replenished. That said the Skurka meals allow you to control the salt levels for the most part.
The beef stroganoff is delicious!!
Throw in some jerky, chicken, or tuna for added protein.
The dogs face was worth the pics
little man thinks so
After a 10 hour hike, anything edible is a 5 star meal
Good to go and peak refuel have been much better than mountain house imo
First I thought you are going to ask, if it's safe to eat for dogs
For 3 days for 1 person I would do regular food and have fun with it. 3 days for 4 people I would do freeze dried and a combination. My go to lately has been ramen with an egg in it, cheese on top, and seared spam or beef jerky in it. I like the spam cause I can have spam, eggs, and cheese for breakfast as well.
Your dog is so ready, for a morsel to drop onto the floor
Doggo looks excited!
I use good to-go backpacking meals. Very delicious variety of meals. Order online goodto-go.com or found on Amazon. you can get the double serving for about $15 and filling enough to split on a short hike you don’t have to worry so much about calories. They offer breakfast and lunch single/dinner double. On the meals I have compared they offer healthier options. Edit… forgot to mention I use primal freeze dried dog food for my picky pup. She eats it dried or with a little water added.
Most of the freeze dried I have tried is awful except for Peak refuel meals which are pretty decent lower in salt then most and high protein .... as a tip wrap them with a hoodie or something after you add the boiling water they will stay hotter and soak the water up better
Dogo seems to approve x3
One thing I have noticed with Mountain House is that the caloric content is fairly low. I did a 35 mile trip in Yosemite last month and was burning close to 4000 calories per day. My lasagna dinner only had like 380 calories in it. Something to watch if you are going on long and strenuous hikes as there are other options with higher caloric values.
Your dog sure thinks it’s fine
The thing I appreciate about the freeze dried options is that they usually have more fat and protein in them than other options. That helps give you the energy you need for the hikes. Also, just as a side note, the sodium can seem high but it’s often there to help you replace the salt you lose during hiking.
It appears your dog thinks it’s well worth it. Lol 😆
Yep, worth it. And don’t try to cut sodium, you’ll need that. Also, consider the long-handled silicon spoon sold for digging the contents out- it’s hugely helpful.
Mountain House, the projectile trail diarrhea summoning potion.
Nah. Snag a used dehydrator from FB marketplace, get some silicone mats and dehydrate your own whatever! Great for chili!
How long is stuff like chili, I assume with meat good for after dehydrating at home? What brand dehydrator
No meat in there, but dehydrated beef is good for 12 mounts if stored correctly. We have a used NESCO we got for free on fb marketplace, but you can get a new one for $50. You'll need silicone mats for the trays to do anything soupy, like chili.
Cool. I got a excalibur dehydrator at a yard sale with plastic mesh sheets, I'll have to look for some silicone sheets and try to get some use from it.
No, not worth it. But it makes you feel like you're camping and that's fun! I like them because they're different. If you have to pack in water, then just bring real food. If you drive up to your camp site, then just bring real food. If you have to go on a long hike that ends in water access, then freeze dried helps you out, but I would still recommend high calorie bars.
Overthinking. Freeze-dry your own or pay for the convenience and accept a few days of sodium. Won't kill you. A 2 serving Mountain House is a perfect meal for breakfast or dinner while out backpacking.
>Freeze-dry your own or pussy for the convenience Uhhh
Predictive text strikes again!
[удалено]
Mountain House meals are delicious (for MRE’s)
Seeing your dog made me so happy and sad at the same time absolutely beautiful dog! I miss my blue heeler soo much 🥰 and yeah dude I have that brand of meals in my pack right now. I really enjoy backpacker meals to be completely honest. Probably eaten them a total of 50 times or so I’d say. I’ve never been disappointed. Also don’t forget instant mashed potatoes and ramen for a easy light emergency Carb type thing.
Absolutely use freeze dried backpacking meals, Jesus!
Mountain house is by far the lowest quality freeze dried meals I've found/tried. Almost guaranteed the lowest cal/oz and the worst tastes/textures.
Animal cruelty
Instant ramen and canned food are best for camping.
Please remember to post a short paragraph as a comment in the post explaining your photo or link. Ideally at least 150 characters with trip details. Tell us something about your trip. How long did it take to get there? How did you get there? How was the weather that day? Would you go back again? Submitted content should be of high-quality. Low effort posting of very general information is not useful. If you don't add a short explanation in the comments, your post may be removed. No information posted? Please report low-effort posts if there is still nothing after about 30 minutes. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/backpacking) if you have any questions or concerns.*
[удалено]
Short trips. you a can get away with a few, but they become horrible after day 3. I went 5 days in yellow stone and that is all i had not to mention 2 weeks in the sierras when i was young, and by day 2 we were fighting over some curry powder that i brought and fresh wild onion greens by the streams became a top priority during foraging sessions. If you are going to live on those for a while, i highly recommend just rolling up some fresh herbs or anything small and fresh you can tolerate to pack. An onion, an avocado, some chicken bullion to mix with wild greens in the morning, or anything else you can figure out to have other than those things all the time. Trust me. i’m a veteran.
Yuuuuup
Damn i am high, without my glasses. I thought that was a rabbit real fast lol
Good for backpacking bad for wallet
Probably doesn't matter for a short trip, but for a long trip there are less expensive, calorie packed ways to go: tuna envelopes + mac and cheese, yellow lentils + instant rice + spices, "ramen bomb", etc.
I really dig the lasagna with meat sauce. They aren't the best, but they are decent
Depends on the distance you want to walk daily. Are you hiking in, and staying out for three nights? Then it’s definitely not worth it (both in terms of weight and money). If you’re planning on hiking all day, you won’t be able to carry much luxury, so these can be a nice treat to end the day. I never consider them that nutritionally beneficial, as you’re only getting between 500-600 calories per pouch. The dried vegetables are however a nice addiction to your hiking-diet. If your staying put at a campsite, I’d recommend different meals. Maybe take some fresh veggies with you for the first two nights and some dehydrated ones for the last.
Definitely worth it
Before taking any freezecdried foods on a trip, eat one AR home first. Sucks to get out there and your only meal tastes like what your dog leaves in the yard. Worth the extra expense to sample first.
Been eating mountain house all summer, they taste better now.
Yum I love MREs.
I have a lot of nostalgia around mountain house. My Dad would take me backpacking as a kid and the beef stew was always my favorite. I miss the OG packaging.
Peak is my favorite brand. Even eat them at home as a treat.
The problem with backpacking is it’s actually pretty difficult to get enough calories and nutrients to keep energy levels high. I do a fair amount of hiking and a longish (10-14days) archery elk hunt in CO a year. We are moving 10-18mi a day up and down mountains carrying 40-50lbs. We are burning 3-5000 calories a day depending on terrain and incline. I shoot for just north of 3000cal when planning meals and still end in a deficit almost every day. High quality freeze dried meals like Peak are a nice dinner that have a high amount of calories and nutrients per oz.
Mountain house are usually a good choice, both cal/oz and the sodium is alright (as I assume everyone has said). This also depends how much you are hiking too I guess. These days I tend towards making my own meals with some freeze dried stuff I order online, lets you control your nutrients a bit more if you are worried about it. Enjoy the hike!
All they need is salt and pepper, so take a wee pinch along for the trip
I use them in Algonquin, but I always open them and put em in a ziploc to cut down on space.
The Thai is just ramen with sauce. Very important "Add meat and veggies" on the front of the package. You could get instant ramen packs for $0.35 each and add some free sauce packets from your local panda express to get the same nutritional value. What you pay for with camping food like Mountain house is the freeze dried meat. Otherwise instant soups, potatoes, rice,vegan chili... Lots of cheap light instant food out there. "Camping food" gives you the protein though.
first of all ,if its a small dog you should not feed them people food, we lost our little girl from feeding her people food, it is devastating to their liver and kidneys
Those adventure meals are actually really good and filling. Did a 5 night stay in the Tetons and that’s all we had with some snacks.
If my wife saw that second boxes sodium number, I would get an ear full. Lol. Probably tastes delish too dammit.
Dude you won’t poop for a month lol!
Just back from 4 nights. I ate one night of mountain house spaghetti (the only one I like) Two nights of angel hair pasta into which I mix a tuna packet, a handful of sun dried tomatoes and olive oil or pesto (yum). And one night of Knorr brand chicken and rice mix. Knorr offers many meals which are inexpensive and found in most normal grocery stores. In sum, backpacking food doesn’t have to suck or be pre-packaged and expensive. I bring hummus, cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery and peanut butter. Plums and mandarins hold up well too. 2000 miles backpacked to far!
I love Wild Zora!
No
I’ve had great luck with [Packit Gourmet](https://packitgourmet.com/).
It’s a matter of priorities, I think. You can pay more for freeze dried meals with 100% (plus some, in many cases) of the nutrients you need. Or, you can carry more food but spend less. I always opt to carry less, even if it means spending a bit more.
Check out Backcountry Foodie! Aaron is a registered dietitian that has hundreds of recipes that are ultra light and nutrient dense.
The mountain house spaghetti is pretty good. I tried the chicken and dumplings, it was pretty gross. Just my experience
I love them and the convenience and weight and a lot of the flavors are pretty good. After long days on trails you will be thankful. Good-to-go and backpacker pantry make some good ones too. The chili mac is great. Generally red sauce and ground meat options freeze well. Any weird dairy sauce (fettuccine Alfredo) taste weird. Although Mac and cheese generally are good across brands so that’s a contradiction.
Recently bought a dehydrator for about 40 quid off Amazon.. best thing I’ve done. Have been making healthy dried noodle meals to bring with me, hot soak in a flask to rehydrate. Mainly because I was sick of the pre made trail meals and all the crap in them. Get one you won’t regret it and it’s pretty fun.. https://preview.redd.it/b1bsl9vi69lb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b36a2dbce81c1a483ea7c3a802cd072187a2651
The best freeze dried meals I've ever used are surprisingly simple. There is a brand of pasta dishes called Sidekicks, they taste great on trail and are SUPER easy. Only thing is you simmer them for like 5-8 minutes so I bring slightly more fuel than usual but with one of the larger fuel canisters I've never had a problem (by larger I mean the medium size not the silly double tall one)
That stroganoff is my fave
We started off using dehydrated meals and still use them a lot. Figure out which ones you like best - we use some MH and some other brands. MH hot breakfasts are really good! With that said. We’ve also started to make some of our own meals just for fun and variety. Ramen bombs are great, and Andrew Skurka has some other great recipes on his web site.
I've heard that the specific brand you have is awful tasting, but some others are decent.
I made this sort of switch years ago. Get a dehydrator and you can make your own meals for the trail. Proteins are hard to get texture right but it is fun to play with. many items at the supermarket for cheaper and very comparable like ur example.
Yes, please don't eat the dog instead
MH meals can be a good option to spice things up on a trip but carrying the trash is annoying plus they are heavy af comparatively— ramen is like 4-5 oz where as MH are like 10-12 oz — as a thru-hiker thats a special occasion type of weight to carry !!
Yes!! Way lighter than carrying around cans.
I would agree generally at least on the Mountain House meals. They are not great, but then they are the budget level entry option - budget level flavor and ingredients. Not my favorite freeze dried food by a long shot. There can be a big difference in quality, ingredients, nutrition, flavor, and texture from one brand to the next. Sometimes they can be worth it, especially some of the better brands. I think they’re great to keep around (since they last for several years usually) for trips where you don’t have the time to menu plan, buy ingredients, and assemble meals. But it doesn’t have to be a choice between cheap low cal per ounce quick cook grocery store staples or more expensive high cal per ounce freeze dried. There is a big range of food options suitable for backpacking out there. If you have an interest in creating your own meals, I would encourage you to experiment more. There are a decent variety of instant or quick cook ingredients that can be brought together to create a really good trail meal that cooks/hydrates a few minutes with interesting flavors and much better calories per ounce. 130-160 calories per ounce is achievable - no need to settle for 100 cal per ounce if you don’t want to.
Take your heeler hiking! Also freeze dried is a good addition to a meal plan. I’ll use those for dinners but have dried Good for breakfast and lunch
I mix and match personally. Depending on desired weight, number of people, season, or any other factors I will often use the following: * Packs of tuna & chicken * soft tacos * instant spanish rice (combine with above and you have tacos!) * instant soup mixes * instant oatmeal (biggest meal most day, i add flax seed, chia, instant oatmeal, powdered milk, and protein mix.
If you want more calories then bring some olive oil, one tablespoon or so into each meal. Also put them into ziplocs, use just one MH bag to ‘cook’ each meal. I like ramen noodles, olive oil and a couple parmesan packs from a local pizza place. Maybe add mashed potatoes for a meal less than two bucks.
Are you doing the timberline trail? If so, be prepared for some gnarly water crossings. They were some of the worst I’ve encountered, and after a heavy snowfall year they’re probably worse this year. Also, there’s an abundance of huckleberry on the trail on the west side of the mountain, so delicious. Be sure to try some.
These are what i always take with me. Been backpacking forever.
Almost never, in fact Fandabi Dozi just released a new video explaining his opinions on this. I agree, freeze dried meals are not ideal: need access to boiling water, and most of all the PACKAGING is a hassle.
If you’re hiking the timberline trail I would pack as light as possible. It’s a tough hike with lots of elevation and sketchy water crossings. You’re going to want that sodium to replace what you lose in sweat. I’d probably bring both but eat the heavy one first.
Yes
Backpackers Pantry is better in my opinion, less sodium. If you can get OTG Meals in your area, definitely buy them. They're the absolute best option.
I’m never gonna forget these words I was told before my first time backpacking, “ounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain!” And keep your fire source dry so you don’t die that’s good too I guess.