I would like to take some freeze dried meals on my next trip.  I have read about some of the meals that have been clasified as   (You need to Login or Register  Before I go and spend a bunch of money taste testing meals would anyone care to share what brands and dishes are tasty?
Also any cooking tips... follow the directions, more water, less water, ect....

Thanks,
Beavers

Natural High is good. Backpacker's Pantry is pretty good to.

No matter what kind, I repackage everything. The original packaging takes up WAY too much space and just remains as extra garbage to deal with.

I'll add a maybe a tbsp more water (for the three minute boil). Simmer any meat chunks for two minutes. If everything is mixed together I'll only simmer a minute. A pot cozy or even hot pads on the top and bottom of the pot for the 10 min re-hydration also helps avoid any nasty hard chunks and keeps stuff warmer.

I've only cooked in the pouch once. That was a never ever again IMO.

Richmoor Natural High :  Honey Line Chicken, Honey Mustard Chicken, Mandarin Orange Chicken, Homestyle Turkey.

Mountain House: Chicken Polynesian, Sweet and Sour Pork, Beef Teriyaki, Beef Stew, Chicken and Rice,  Beef Strogonof.  Used to like Beef Bourgignon (sp?) bit haven't seen that lately.

They are all good - and that's what I bring.  The "plainer" ones like beef stew and chicken w/rice aren't as tasty as the others, but are good none the less.  I normally go with the rice rather than noodles - a bit more bulk. If you like Chinese food, you'll like all of the above, as that is kind of what they are like.  

Cooking  is always in the package;  I go 3/4 + 3/4 +3/4 cups for the 2-serving size.  Easier to pour 3/4 than a full cup, and the extra 1/4 cup seems to avoid clumps.   Get a clean stick, 12" long, and use that to mix with after you pour in the water.  The pouches are too deep to use a spoon without getting messy, and the stick works better in the corners anyhow.  I never use a "cozy" - never needed to, even in the snow.
Give the cooking time a good 10 to 12 minutes - longer is better.

Quantity:  If all you are planning on eating is the fz dr meal, then you need a two-serving size per person.   You can get away with one 2-serving size package for 2 people if you supplement (same goes for single serving for solo).  I always have a cup-a-soup to start with (or beef broth boullion), and a desert and hot drink to finish with.
For bigger appetites, you can always go with a 2-serv size per person, or do a 2-serv and a 1-serv and split both, though that way you have to get dishes dirty.  I will usually do a couple of "lighter" meals, followed by a 2-serv per person, and or/alternate every day.   You can also supplement with some of the fz dried veggies as a side dish.  Corn and peas are both very good.  Quantity also depends on what/how much you have for breakfast and lunch.  Adjust accordingly.  I have never done the freeze dried breakfast items, as oatmeal or instant breakfast always work for me.  Have done a few of the deserts and they have always been good, but don't seem woth the cost.  Just as easy to do instant pudding, or bring individual packed "cookie" items.

I had a hit during my August group trip this year with AlpineAire Mountain Chili. This is a vegetarian entree (there were 2-1/2 vegetarians in this years' group of eight), so I was worried how the meat-eaters would react. Usually our group prepares split menus, but for the chili night it was Mountain Chili for all. The only complaint was that there weren't any crackers left (we had a fried pizza crust bread thing for a side).

I prepared the chili in a large pot according to package directions, using three - four serving packages to feed the eight paddlers. Although no chili was left over after the meal, the claimed four serving size was pretty close. Most of us were stuffed after the meal.

All of the ingredients reconstituted well (including the corn) and the prepared product had a great thick chili-like texture. The packaged spices were good enough that no-one needed to add either the Cajun or Essence spices we carry on our trips.

Although I am not a vegetarian, I plan to include Mountain Chili (and crackers) on my next solo trip.

-aj

Here is a tip for splitting larger portions into smaller portions:

I usually trip solo (bike, backpack, paddle, automobile), so I need portions for one person per meal. A lot of the commercially prepared food that I take on the trips comes packaged for 2 to 6 servings. The 2 servings portion sizes are not a problem  :P, but the larger ones need to be split.

In most cases, there are different sizes of dried stuff in each package, so the dried stuff becomes separated by size during packing and handling (noodles near the top, spices near the bottom). Because of this, I move the contents from the original package to the new packages by pouring just a little bit into the new packages at a time. The first few pours would get about the same amount of, say noodles, into each new package, the next few pours would get the veggies evenly distributed, and the last pours would get the spices equally moved into the new packages.

Since I started doing this, I no longer have a "Dry Noodle Surprise" meal followed by a "Salty, Spicy Awakening" meal.

-aj

Cache Lake products are very flavorful and easy to prepare. The pan fry breads are really good. You can buy them online or good paddle stores (e.g. Rutabaga).

Bear Creek also makes some nice stuff.

I also dehydrate vegetables (corn/peppers/onions) and use as a supplement to chowders and noodle dishes.

The Beaver

Would be grateful for any info on which retailers might carry some of these. Thankya. Thankya very mutch.

wrote on Oct 9^th, 2005 at 9:50am:

Would be grateful for any info on which retailers might carry some of these.

  (You need to Login or Register is a source that was recommended by QPassage. I used them to get the goodies for this year's trips, including the Mountain Chili. They stock lots of hard to find foodstuffs.

-aj

wrote on Oct 9^th, 2005 at 11:15am:

(You need to Login or Register is a source that was recommended by QPassage. I used them to get the goodies for this year's trips, including the Mountain Chili. They stock lots of hard to find foodstuffs. -aj

I've used these folks for maybe the last 3-4 years for various things.  They have both freeze dried and dehydrated meals (I generally prefer the dehydrated meals over freeze dried.)  They have a nice variety of stuff.  Their stuff is well packaged and delivered quickly.

If I had any complaint, they don't necessarily tell you that some of the stuff is backordered until your order arrives.  So, give yourself plenty of time to fill in holes if your order something critical from them.  However, I must admit on the last order I made, they called me on the phone to tell me that one of the items I ordered was not available and asked if I want to replace it with some viable substitute...so maybe they've changed their policy on this.

dd

  (You need to Login or Register is another link to a company that provides freeze dried meals and such. I've used them in the past, they are a small company that offers a good variety, reasonable prices and good service.
flp

AtikokanBob -

The frying pan breads these folks sell was mentioned earlier.  I prefer their fish chowder.  It's first-rate.  It also goes a long way with any-sized catch.

  (You need to Login or Register

The Cache Lake catalog grows a bit each year.  While a couple different groups market their stuff (including the BWJ Magazine catalog), I prefer to deal with them directly.  I sometimes go for their bulk discounts.

Good luck!

Jimbo   8)

I'll second the Cache Lake fish chowder. It has saved a few bad fishing days. Any kind of boneless fish will do and it seems to go a long way.

Thanks guys. This is great stuff.

If you'd like to go with a hearty soup (that in some cases could be used as a base for more elaborate fare), you might try the products at   (You need to Login or Register.  I've tried several of their products (which I can find at a local grocery) and they are, without exception, very tasty and filling.

dd

I really like the Enertia Trail Foods line.  They are dehydrated, not freeze dried.  They prepare easily and most can be done right in the pouch.  Plus, they are single serving sizes and take very little space.  They have entrees and desserts.

If you look around, you can usually find their sample pack on sale at one website or another.  Then you get a variety of meals to try, at a substantial discount.

Several of them are vegetarian, so I often bring dehydrated venison or chicken to add some meat and calories.

The Mountain House lasagna and beef stew is really good.  I found it a little too salty, although that's not saying much as I never put salt on any of my food.

More good suggestions, will have to try some out.

Out of the brands we have tried, I found the Mountain House somewhat preferable. We have used the beef/ chicken stew, chicken ala king and beef stroganoff. The stews were a little on bland side, might want to add some flavor. We added instant potatoes, could be added as side dish or mixed into stew. Have been trying to use less of these lately however.

The cache lake bread in onion and french was pretty good, and we had that a lot with soup or chilli mac. The bear creek soup was good as well I thought. Maybe add a little extra time to help rehydrate.

Found Wilderness Dinning last year and have been trying different bulk items, I like to experiment!
One of my favorite discoveries is the powerded sour cream, mix with warm water [shake in a sealed Nalgeen jar] and make your beef stroganoff, dry add to cup o soup to thicken and add rich flavor, mixed with cooked noodles, etc. A regular in my food pack from now on!

butthead

The Cache Lake frying pan bread, the sweet ones, go on every trip for night time snacks. We thought the pizza was nasty. The chicken and the beef stew were really salty and I won't get them again.

For those of you attending Copia this year..these chache lake folks normaly have a booth with some samples available.  Nice folks.  Believe from Bemidji.

Bear Creek soups, as DD mentioned, are very good.  The chili is also good, we made it once with summer sausage as the meat added to it; it was delicious.  The brocolli cream soup was also good, we added some fresh brocolli and onion we still had in the pack on that evening.