rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Mar 5, 2016 20:15:21 GMT -8
I hope you're not eating dried chili as a crunchy snack? My dried chili is reconstituted with ample water and tastes just like it does out of the can. In my experience, salty foods remain extra-salty when reconstituted. Of course, I find canned chili too salty just out of the can, so I wouldn't use it in any case.
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snappypepper
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Post by snappypepper on Mar 6, 2016 7:07:11 GMT -8
We eat a lot of Mountain House just because it's cheap and readily available, but there are tastier options. If you aren't into making your own, I'd recommend "Good To Go" brand or "Paleo Meals To Go". We also pack granola with powdered milk and you can add dried fruit to that too. I'm also a big fan of Ramen on the trail.
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Westy
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Post by Westy on Mar 6, 2016 9:50:10 GMT -8
Mary Jane's Farm meals because they are the most packable of the bunch, often have a lower sodium content, and have a nice fresh clean flavor. The flat paper packets stack easily in a bear canister, and don't take up nearly as much space Definitely a nice feature of this product line. Eliminates reworking packaging for weight reduction and smash packing.
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tomas
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Post by tomas on Mar 6, 2016 11:46:52 GMT -8
Is the Mary Jane's Farm stuff freeze dried? Simply add water and let reconstitute of is it something that needs to simmer for some time?
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Post by cweston on Mar 6, 2016 12:05:02 GMT -8
Is the Mary Jane's Farm stuff freeze dried? Simply add water and let reconstitute of is it something that needs to simmer for some time? Yes. Typically you add boiling water, wait something like 10 minutes, and eat. I've found their meals to be pretty tasty. I cook delicious, healthy food at home. I'm mostly looking for quick, easy, and tasty on BPing trips. If I were able to BP more frequently, I'd probably devote more energy to healthy and cheaper alternatives, but for as many nights out as I get, I prefer to "push the easy button."
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amaruq
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Post by amaruq on Mar 7, 2016 7:56:34 GMT -8
With regards to dehydrated food, I'm a fan of a number of AlpineAire meals. I can really only stomach veggie dishes as re-hydrated meat doesn't sit well in me (my backpacking pals would agree). To that end I've found I really enjoy the mountain chili, mac-n-cheese, enchilada ranchero, veggie burrito bowl, and other similar eats. I also like to cart along a nice salami/sausage, some cheese, a milk chocolate bar or two, a couple bags of nuts and/or dried fruit (never mixed a la GORP though), and various energy/granola bar type things.
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crawford
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Post by crawford on Mar 7, 2016 8:26:23 GMT -8
I will sometimes buy a bag of dehydrated mixed greens and vegetables to mix with other dishes. If I take some Ramen "like" noodles that just need boiling, adding the dried veggies turns it into something a little better for me, a little tastier, and a little more filling.
Sometimes the Knorr sides, or the like, can be improved by adding these dried veggies as well.
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Post by cweston on Mar 7, 2016 9:15:38 GMT -8
With regards to dehydrated food, I'm a fan of a number of AlpineAire meals. I can really only stomach veggie dishes as re-hydrated meat doesn't sit well in me (my backpacking pals would agree). To that end I've found I really enjoy the mountain chili, mac-n-cheese, enchilada ranchero, veggie burrito bowl, and other similar eats. I also like to cart along a nice salami/sausage, some cheese, a milk chocolate bar or two, a couple bags of nuts and/or dried fruit (never mixed a la GORP though), and various energy/granola bar type things. Sounds like we have very similar preferences. My son and daughter were both (at different times) vegetarians. (Neither still are.) I learned to find vegetarian options to accommodate them, but also learned that the vegetarian freeze-dried meals are tastier and easier to digest, IMO. ETA: this is especially a factor in high-altitude trips. In my Rockies trips, my camps are mostly at 11,000-12,000 feet, and I tend to have a pretty tender tummy at elevation, so digestibility of freeze-dried foods is definitely an issue.
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Post by gcsaylor on Mar 8, 2016 3:43:50 GMT -8
Ok, please bear with me. I'm working through a satellite Internet connection that's not totally reliable. I honestly typed a reply three times on Sunday, mistakenly deleted two and the other evaporated. Wow, thanks so much for the input. There are way more brands out there than my initial search revealed so I have more homework to do. I should have mentioned that I don't do well with carbs and gluten. I'm just learning this and trying to realign my way of eating. That will cut out the majority of the commercially prepared dinners right away. I'm leaning toward buying some of the freeze dried meat in the smallest bulk size I can, then adding a mix of purchased and possibly homemade freeze dried/dehydrated veggies. (Has anybody tried the spinach flakes?) I'm pretty handy in the kitchen so I'll definitely do some experimenting beforehand. Let you know if I come up with some winners. Is there a link to sarbars site? Edit,,, ah never mind I see it now..thanks
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Post by trinity on Mar 8, 2016 4:36:34 GMT -8
I think Good to Go meals are all gluten free, but they do have carbs.
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Post by JRinGeorgia on Mar 8, 2016 5:24:40 GMT -8
I go all FBC for dinners, and I don't mind having that multiple nights in a row. What does get to me about FBC meals is how every bite of a given meal tastes the same, I get tired of it quickly. So I've switched to packing two half-dinners per night for more variety. That also allows me the option if I'm not very hungry to make only one half-portion (rather than make one full portion, eat half, and have half a rehydrated portion left over). And since each portion is smaller I can pack each into quart-size freezer bags which saves space.
I'll use a combination of home-dehydrated and pre-packaged freeze-dried. I use the store-bought freeze-dried for things beyond my home cooking abilities, especially for interesting flavor variety, which ends up being a lot of Asian and Indian dishes. For standard pasta dishes, rice dishes, stews, etc I make at home and dehydrate.
Another thing I like to do is cook and dehydrate a big batch of all my favorite veggies -- for me that's mushrooms, spinach, carrots, peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, sweet potato, whatever -- and I store that in a separate bag in the freezer. Then when I'm packing means for a trip I'll throw some of the veggie mix into each bag to make sure I'm getting a good mix of healthy stuff in each meal. It's all chopped pretty small so when rehydrated with the meal it sort of disappears into the sauce and has little impact on flavor.
Lunches I prefer cold FBC like couscous salad, cold bean salad, or even just some sauce that I'll mix with a chicken packet, and can be easily rolled up in a tortilla. In the morning when I make breakfast I also add cold water to that day's lunch so by lunchtime it's fully rehydrated.
And since a lot of dehydrated food lacks fat I carry EVOO and add a squirt to each rehydrated meal, boosts flavor and energy quotient.
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Post by tipiwalter on Mar 8, 2016 6:12:24 GMT -8
Another thing I like to do is cook and dehydrate a big batch of all my favorite veggies -- for me that's mushrooms, spinach, carrots, peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, sweet potato, whatever -- and I store that in a separate bag in the freezer. Then when I'm packing means for a trip I'll throw some of the veggie mix into each bag to make sure I'm getting a good mix of healthy stuff in each meal. It's all chopped pretty small so when rehydrated with the meal it sort of disappears into the sauce and has little impact on flavor. Your post reminds me of all the crap I have dried over the years. "If it's not bolted down, it's dried." I never home-dry these foods for anything but backpacking trips, btw. I recently went on a dehydrated tomato run--- Another time a mushroom run.
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sarbar
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Post by sarbar on Mar 8, 2016 7:58:46 GMT -8
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Post by tipiwalter on Mar 8, 2016 11:39:41 GMT -8
With regards to dehydrated food, I'm a fan of a number of AlpineAire meals. Thanks for reminding me about this company as I'm always looking for healthy alternatives and a break in my usual fare.
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Westy
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Post by Westy on Mar 8, 2016 11:46:31 GMT -8
Thanks for reminding me about this company as I'm always looking for healthy alternatives and a break in my usual fare. I have been collecting MH,AA & BP alternative websites through-out this thread. Rather fun expanding potential supplier base not to mention being impressed by our forum self-hydrator experts.
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