Bogley

Shan · Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Posts: 794 Location: Cache Valley

Ha! I only do the food if I'm actually going on the trip! Otherwise he's on his own. :mrgreen:

Alex · Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 2469 Location: SLC, UT

KillEmAll wrote: Those store bought meals are so expensive, but I also don't trust my own food yet.

$5 per meal practically.... that ain't expensive is it? No mess to clean up, dishes to do, just add water, eat and go have fun.... I'd pay for $5 for that.

Now when my wife is going camping with me, that's another story, cause she'd setup the table (with table cloth!), she'd get the veggies lined up, take care of the kid, get the drinks ready and clean EVERYTHING up after food. So all I have to do is grill the steaks. Now thats camping!

stefan · Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 4207 Location: somewhere

Shan wrote: Ha! I only do the food if I'm actually going on the trip! Otherwise he's on his own. :mrgreen:

:lol8:

but now i assume that's because you have a higher standard and you're ensuring it.

Shan · Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Posts: 794 Location: Cache Valley

Kazak wrote: KillEmAll wrote: Those store bought meals are so expensive, but I also don't trust my own food yet.

$5 per meal practically.... that ain't expensive is it? No mess to clean up, dishes to do, just add water, eat and go have fun.... I'd pay for $5 for that.

Now when my wife is going camping with me, that's another story, cause she'd setup the table (with table cloth!), she'd get the veggies lined up, take care of the kid, get the drinks ready and clean EVERYTHING up after food. So all I have to do is grill the steaks. Now thats camping!

Ah see now, whoever does the cooking, the other has dish duty. We make it pretty 50/50. Lunch is a free for all.

Are you not taking care of the kid too?

$5-6 isn't bad when you consider the convenience of it all really. Sure you could make your own for less if you're good about it, but not scrubbing out a burnt pot is priceless!

However lots have milk/cheese/sodium, so I make my own.

Alex · Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 2469 Location: SLC, UT

Shan wrote:

However lots have milk/cheese/sodium, so I make my own.

Ya I have to agree with you there, lots of sodium.

But frankly, I wouldn't even know where to start how to dehydrate the food and pack it. It's much easier for me to walk over to REI and buy 2-3 bags of Mountain Houses. Also, if you catch a sale there you can get it for 20% off :)

mroy · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 229 Location: North Ogden

For breakfast I usually buy a pack of granola from the cereal section, dried blueberries from the baking section, and add some deyhdrated milk to that stuff in a ziplock bag, then in camp you add a couple tablespoons of water and that's pretty good.

My other breakfast consists of dehydrated milk, 2 scoops of chocolate whey protein, and a couple packets of carnation instant breakfast that I keep in a ziplock and dump into a nalgene that I fill up with water and shake up.

I have to eat on the trail while backpacking to get enough energy so I use the mountain house pro-packs for lunches.

In general the dehydrated backpacking foods call for too much water. The higher you go up, the less I put in. At normal elevations that means 1-2 oz less than what they call for and it comes out perfect. 1-2 less for every 5000 ft is what I always do. I'd rather have slightly crunchy than soupy any day so I go for less.

For Mountain House Brands:
Noodles & Chicken (and tuna) good if you don't mind the tuna, at least it was in there last time I tried it
Rice & Chicken, good, but bring some chicken bouillon powder to add to it cause it's kind of bland otherwise
Mexican-Style Chicken w/Rice - Good+
Grilled Chicken Breast w/ Mashed Potatoes - Good, but they want you to cook the meat and potatoes separately, I just let the breasts sit in the boiling water for the prescribed time and then dump the potatoes in, break the chicken up w/ a fork and call it good.
Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce - Kind of on the sweeter side, and okay
Beef Stroganoff - Really good
Lasagna w/ Meat Sauce - Really good
Pasta Primavera - Never liked it
Wild Rice & Mushroom Pilaf - Good, but would be better if you added some dehydrated meat to it.
Granola w/Blueberries & Milk - Excellent, but easy enough to make your own.
Raspberry Crumble - More like hot raspberry goo, but damn if it's still not good
Ice Cream Bars - Kind of like a crispy meringue

Alpine Aire's Beef Stroganoff is by far the best I've ever had. I'm going to be trying more of their different meals later this summer. They're going to be at the next Outdoor Retailer, so I'm hoping to get a bunch of samples from them to try out. They're expensive but after trying their Stroganoff, I think they're worth it.

Richmoor's Beef Stroganoff was bland, and the food never absorbed water very well, so it was a nasty crunchy soup.

Backpacker's Pantry is an okay brand, not as good as mountain house, but they make up for it with variety. I'm not a fan of their packaging, cause it's way too tall for comfortable eating, unless you have an 18" fork, but even then. I'd stay away from their Thai Satay w/ Beef. If I can't finish something after a long day of backpacking, it's gotta be terrible, and this stuff really is.

I have large bags of dehydrated beef & chicken I'll use to supplement the protein in all those foods. Adding half a cup doesn't have too much of an impact on how much water you need to put in.

If you're into making your own stuff, which you can, but you absolutely have to try things out at home before you put your trust in your own creations, here's a site to help out: http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/dinnerricedishes.htm

MRE's are always an option, but they do weigh more than the standard dehydrated meals, and they cost more depending where you go.

Gourmet jelly beans, powerbar powergels, and those mini cookie packs are my snacks of choice. Goldfish hold up pretty well too.

Remember to read the prep directions on the package before you buy it, cause my goal in the backcountry is to never have to wash a single dish, so everything has to be boiling water or nothing at all, and there are some meals, especially breakfasts where they want you to cook stuff outside the pouch.

They are loaded with sodium, but looking at my shirts after trips, and seeing my white salt streaks, I know I need all I can get.

Alex · Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 2469 Location: SLC, UT

mroy great post! I have been buying Mountain House for about 7-8 years now. Started with their lame packaging where you had to pull the see through bag out and put the round paper on top, remember those?

I didn't try everything on your list, but I tend to agree with your taste. I have never tried Alpine brand, that will be my next choice (thanks! :five: )

accadacca · Joined: 02 Dec 2004 Posts: 7418 Location: On Your Screen

Yes...this is great info mroy. Thanks for the love... :five:

mroy · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 229 Location: North Ogden

I do remember those old school bags from Mountain House. Those were a pain.

I'm glad to share what I've learned, tried out and what works for me. I can't wait to plunder the sample racks at the Outdoor Retailer show again in a month for more food to try out. Just gives me more reasons to go backpacking :haha:

Alex · Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 2469 Location: SLC, UT

mroy wrote: Outdoor Retailer show again in a month for more food to try out. Just gives me more reasons to go backpacking :haha:

How do you get in? Or get a pass?

mroy · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 229 Location: North Ogden

You have to be in the outdoor retail industry, either a seller or a buyer. You could probably get in if you work for a company even remotely related to outdoor retail stuff. It's too late to get the free passes, but you could get passes with a business card or a paycheck stub for $30 each at the show.

Alex · Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 2469 Location: SLC, UT

Ya that's what I meant, do you work for the industry then? I have been through the show multiple times in the past with my friend's dad's rafting company. But he has retired since then.

mroy · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 229 Location: North Ogden

Lol, I see now, how do "I" get in? I'm the web developer/so many other job titles it makes my head spin for an ecommerce company that has two sites I manage, one focuses on outdoor gear, and another on loads of socks.

Sombeech · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 11846 Location: The Rubbish Bin

mroy, nice post on the Mtn house dinners! Thanks. I've got a question for you though, are you eating the 1 serving bags, or 2 servings? Most of what I see are the 2 servings, and I'm wondering if that's too much.

It would be nice to have ONLY a Mountain house dinner for a meal to fill me up.

stefan · Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 4207 Location: somewhere

Sombeech wrote: mroy, nice post on the Mtn house dinners! Thanks. I've got a question for you though, are you eating the 1 serving bags, or 2 servings? Most of what I see are the 2 servings, and I'm wondering if that's too much.

It would be nice to have ONLY a Mountain house dinner for a meal to fill me up.

i think sasqueech needs 2 servings :haha:, i think i would too.

this is what the website says:

What is the difference between the 16oz., 20oz. and 40oz. entrees?
The 16oz. entree is considered a Single-Serve entree and makes 2 cups of food by volume.
The 20oz. entree is considered a Double-Serve entree and makes approximately 2 1/2 cups
of food by volume. However many people eat this as a single serve item, depending on the
necessary caloric intake. The 40oz. entree is considered a Four-Serve entree and makes
approximately 5 cups of food by volume. This larger size pouch has two inner preparation pouches
inside and can be evenly split between two people.