Reusing Mountain House bags for trail cooking

I do this once in awhile, and it works pretty well. The tomato-based bags don't clean up very well though (spaghetti and lasagna). Just be sure to thoroughly clean the zipper when you get back home.

Use a Ziplock bowl instead. Has a tight-fitting lid and is way easier to clean. The three-cup size weighs about an ounce. Comes in many different sizes, pick one that nests nicely into your pot.

Prepackaged Noodle Bowls work well. Go to the international food aisle of most grocery stores and look for a prepackaged bowl of noodles. These bowls are durable, light weight, clean up well, can be used repeatedly, and specifically designed to hold hot/boiling water. For covering just bring a piece of tin foil to cover after adding water.

I tried the freezer bag concept for a while. Got tired of the mess and the garbage.
I also tried the freezer tub and fast food containers and found that I might as well just use the pot if I'm going to have to clean a container anyway.

If I'm short on water, I scrub it as clean as I can with dirt and leaves, then stow the dirty pot in a trash bag and finish washing it when I do get water.

You would be better off using the heavier duty bags sold by Packitgourmet or using Food Vac bags if you feel un-secure in using normal bags.

Freezer bags work fine (you don't need boiling water, anything over 180* works fine 99% of the time) – but also that freezer bags work best if supported (ie. a cozy or similar, don't hang the bag with 2 cups water in it)

As for the bags in MH meals? Realize that their thickness causes creases over time and you can develop pin holes. Also the crevices become hard to clean. If you want to reuse something, use a Rubbermaid or Ziploc bowl w/ lid for best results. Round sides=easy cleaning.

Thanks for the input.

I was thinking along the lines that reusing a bag would be easier cleaning-wise. Here's my rationale: Use a bag for meal one, give it a quick rinse when done, use bag for meal two, and so on. The process of cooking meal two (which will occur 6 to 24 hours after meal one) will sanitize any previous residue. Not something that I would continue doing for weeks on end, but for 4 or 5 days in a row, it should be fine.

If I were going to bring something like a ziplock container, I would want to multipurpose it by stowing things in it while not in use. This would necessitate that I thoroughly clean that container after every meal.

Sarah: It hadn't occurred to me that creases would cause pinholes. I guess I could flat-pack them or just plan on getting a new one–FREE MEAL INCLUDED!!!–in town when the old one starts to wear.

MH packaging don't lend themselves very well to mere "quick rinse" out in the field. The thin aluminum foil also tears pretty easily. For me, I would just bring extra freezer bags. The incremental pack space and weight are both negligible. And when you return home, you can give them a good wash — with dishwashing liquid — and reuse them if you so desire.

Have you tried freezer bags, the heavy duty ones made for boiling temps? I find theyre great for repacking because the MH and other brand's bags are so stiff and bulky they dont pack down very well, full or empty. This is huge for bear canner's like myself. In place of the manufacturers bag I can easily squeeze two or three ziploc packed freeze dried meals, or zpfdm's which is easier to say :) Get the smallest size possible (you may have to experiment) so eating out of the bag is easier. No matter what you do it wont be as easy as a bowl or MH bag, but the space savings are justified if bear can space is an issue.

I use the smaller, but heavier duty freezer bags as well, without a problem. Though I haven't tried reusing them more than once.

If you're reusing your cooking bag, may I ask what you're storing your dehydrated food in meanwhile? My girlfriend and I experiment with our own dehydrated meals and also repackage MH, but either way, they are stored in Ziploc freezer bags that just need hot water added. We support the bags in small cozies while they rehydrate.

Good point about what I'll be storing the food in. I was planning on vacuum sealing home dehydrated meals, but then I'd just be bringing redundant storage bag weight.

I have only tried store brand freezer bags, this could explain the stretchyness. I'll go get some name brand bags and see if they solve the issues. Does anyone know if they still make the standup quart size ziplocs? I didn't see them on my most recent trip to the grocery store.

Has anyone tried the food saver vacuum zip bags? If they're anything like their standard cut-your-own bags, they're quite heavy duty and made for boiling in. They are more expensive & heavier, but I suspect that they would allow you to save a lot of volume.

I personally only use Ziploc or Glad. I like that Ziploc also makes Pint size.

I am also a big fan of Food Vac bags, pricier but nice though.

actually i just started and like the idea… but the reason i go this route is so i don't have to clean…

i just package each meal into a bag, add hot water when about to eat it, and then put it in a trash bag when done… no need to clean, dry, get your hands cold…

problem with this is that you do get a lot of trash if you do it for a few days…

i thought about reusing them in the spot by washing them, but this is more messy than trying to wash your pot…

Greg, tried that last year. I abandoned it after a try or two. Basically, there's so much mess to clean out, even with plentiful water, you'll be cleaning for hours. Didn't dig it at all. Luckily I had repackaged my MH meals in freezer bags cause the MH bags are too big, stiff, and heavy. And I think they were the 7" x 8" size. Just the store-brand generic bags. That was the ticket though. Works like a charm. I use my cozy from my Caldera Keg-H to keep the food warm while it rehydrates. Here's a photo so you can see how convient it is. Cheap, easy, and no cleaning!(edited for clarity)