Backpacking meals update – taste tests

[a_gunslinger]

Just tried several new meals. Tried MANY.  The freeze dried meals industry is really getting good.  My Favorites are still Pinnacl Foods (!), Stowaway Gourmet .   Current Faves:

Pinnacle Foods:
Herb Roasted Chicken and White Cheddar Dumplings (9/10)
Creamy Tuscan Chicken with Penne Pasta (9/10)
Italian Sausage and Zesty Tomato Sauce with Farfalle Pasta, and Parmesan  (8/10)
Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits and Herbed Sausage Gravy (8/10)
Sticky-Teriyaki Chicken with Garlic Asparagus and Coconut Rice (7/10) – not as filling as others
Chipotle Beef Burrito Bowl (7/10) – need some hot sauce/slightly bland

Stowaway Gourmet
Thai Currey Shrimp (9/10-10/10) – Great everything. Only downside is only 560 clories
Los Pollos Hermanas (9-10/10).  Super good, lots of meat, chips or tortillas would be good.
Bison Beer Black Bean Chili (8/10) – filling, bread or sour cream extra cheese maybe?)
La Pasta Nostra (Trish) (9/10) – Vegetarian wife liked it a lot, I dxont like mushrooms

PackIt Gourmet
All American Works Burger  (new name on site I think) – I added onions (8/10).  Great burger in the field.
Dotties Chicken and Dumpling (7/10).  Not as good as Pinna le Food sHerb Roasted Chicken and White Cheddar Dumplings, but good.

 

 

[Roger Caffin]

How much salt in all of these?
I ask because I find almost everything has far too much salt.

Cheers

[a_gunslinger]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Not sure. Assume higher than preferred being what it is. Easy lookup on thier sites.  I don’t  concern myself with salt, only flavor and backcountry yummiest.  I only backpack 10 or so  times a year.  So any extra salt intake those times are not much of a concern.  Esp.  because I eat well in gerlneral all year round.  Extra salt no problem when exhausted, tired and hungry, and eating flavorful caloric foods. High salt 10 days a year (.03 % of my year) not an issue for me.  This is all about hiking comfort only.</p>

[Dan]

It’s interesting how everyone has different priorities. As long as I don’t absolutely hate it, I don’t really care very much about the taste of dehydrated food. I’ll take a few with me on a trip, and usually they’re ok. When I find one that I like more than others, and it’s not ridiculously expensive, I’ll buy a few cases of it. When I get sick of it, I buy a few others. I can’t imagine buying and preparing a bunch of those expensive meals just to try them out.

Similarly, I bring the exact same thing for every breakfast. Instant oatmeal, a fruit bar, and instant coffee.

[a_gunslinger]

Lol. True that.  We are polar opposites in that regard. ;)  Although my step brother was of your ilk.  But was recently pissy because he is now a Pinnacle Foods convert.  And holds me responsible.  😀  A backpacking light forum possibly more inclined to go minimalist as well maybe.

[MJ H]

Dumplings sounds good.

[JCH]

These may taste great, but honestly, I cant get past the high cost.  Especially when I can cook/dehydrate my own meals that are just as good, or in my opinion, better.

[Jerry Adams]

you need extra salt in your food if you’re vigorously exercising – electrolytes – you sweat them out so need to replenish

is there some other reason than blood pressure to not eat a little extra salt?

[a_gunslinger]

The concern is priamrily for cardiovascular risks associated with increased BP:  heart attack and strokes.  Sodium and chloride ­— are the building blocks of salt. Consider them the king and queen of electrolytes.  But too much also bad for kidneys if you have a kidney disease.  The risks come more from chronic use over time (not a few dietary splurges).  And packing, you re probably a little low from sweating – at least I usually am.  That said, if have a known kidney disease or have untreated BP, high salt intake could theoretically pose more of an issue.   But if hiking with untreated BP or a known kidney disease, might consider a lower sodium meal.  But hiking with high BP at all is not a good idea to begin with.  Most of these meals hover around the 25-30% of recommended daily levels. Although one of my faves is at like 50%.  But again, backpacking you are likely a bit sodium depleted exercising, even if not sweating a lot.  I have no concerns eating them when backpacking (but might not do eat them all the time if on a 3 month jaunt).    I will stock up when they go on sale, and my son saw the Pinnacle Tuscan Chicken and wanted to eat it for dinner at home because he liked it so much on the trail.   At $13-15 a meal wont be making that a habit for cost and dietary reasons.  On trail, $14 seems completely fair to be that satisfied at a meal when you are hungry.  Its less than eating out.  And my two favorite companies are very (very) small businesses.  Pinnacle is two outdoor-enthusiast brothers from High Point NC, one graduated with business degree, the other is the chef who went to culinary school.  And the family all helps with the business.  And they arent making money hand over fist.  There has to be some profit margin to live.  Im happy to support them because I love their meals.

But its a personality type.  Some people love the minimalist foods, or refuse to spend that kind of money, or love the romance of old school backpacking menus.  And thats cool.  I just like the reward of  good food after a long trudge.

My step brother is a notrious bare minimum eater on trail.  Ramen, power bars, cheese, salami, etc.  But its more because he is super frugal – cant pry a dollar from his hand even though he can afford it.  On our last two trips (Painted Rocks 42 miles, and Rae Lakes Loop, 44 miles) he got tired of my good food and I think he finally caved.  He sent me this pic from Grand Canyon last week.  Cant believe it!  No ramen.  Although Packit Gourmet does have a Ramen Rescue, lol.

Finally bought z good meal:

 

[Paul Wagner]

Thanks for sharing this, gunslinger.  I agree with Jerry—I generally suffer from low electrolytes when hiking (my MD recommends increasing salt as well as adding electrolytes to my hydration) so higher salt levels here don’t worry me.

And while my wife is a highly-trained professional chef (retired) I don’t pay her enough to cook up meals that we can later rehydrate and rehydrate.  At her hourly rate, those meals would send costs through the roof…grin.

So yeah, we’ll try some of these!

[a_gunslinger]

Hey Paul.  Im faacinated by the whole freeze dry process.  I cook pretty eell also and would love to try it, but the good freeze driers are just exepnsive.  Let me know which ones you try and if your wife likes them, being a chef and all.

[a_gunslinger]

Yep, JCH.  I get it.  I dont have the bandwidth or desire to cook and dehydrate my own, totally willing to pay for the luxury  ;^)

[JCH]

Yep, JCH.  I get it.  I dont have the bandwidth or desire to cook and dehydrate my own, totally willing to pay for the luxury  ;^)

Retirement brings with it a few time-based benefits :)

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Here’s my take on sodium. The newer food companies making freeze-dried and dehydrated meals are using LESS sodium in general. I review many, every year, on Trailcooking. More companies are being real as well – it’s a 1 person bag now, not “2” portions. And sodium is 500 to 1000 mg a bag now. Not the old Mountain House where a bag could net you 2500 mg or or more.

As for freeze-dryers, there are two companies making them. No, they are not cheap. However, they work well at what they do.

[jscott]

I’m with Paul and Jerry in assuming that electrolyte replacement is necessary when backpacking. In the Sierra in summer–and on into fall–I tend to sweat. And I also take care to drink a reasonable amount of water–more than if I were just puttering around the house.

I used to pack with good ol’ Mountain House. ( I didn’t backpack for the meals. And anyway when I’m hungry enough anything tastes good.) Still, Sarah mentions 2500 mg or more per bag. I have no clear idea as to just how much salt that is–a tablespoon? Oh well I survived, somehow.

 

[Jerry Adams]

1 teaspoon salt = 1700 mg sodium

I took my blood pressure meter on a trip.  Normally my BP is 110/70 because I take diuretic and lusinopril.  After a couple hours my BP goes below 90/60 and I get very tired.

Now, I need to repeat taking electrolyte.  See how much I need to raise my BP a little.

I could just not take the diuretic and that would help.  I think taking extra sodium cancels out the diuretic.

I hope my cardiologist doesn’t read this.  He said I should just drink mire water which could be dangerous.

I don’t think cardiologists are experts on intense exercise for hours that cause loss of electrolytes.

[Dan]

I suspect you will outlive your cardiologist, Jerry.  :-)

[Philip Tschersich]

Good beta. On trips I like to alternate between some premade freeze dried dinners along with some home-dehydrated chili mac servings, and one ramen meal as emergency backup. I’ll definitely try the chicken & dumplings and chicken & penne.

My trips usually involve a mail plane (float or wheeled) ride to a distant corner in the Kodiak Archipelago ($80-$250), so spending a few bucks on my outdoor dinner doesn’t bother me.

Cheers

[MJ H]

I’ve often wondered about my blood pressure when I’m hiking, but never enough to take the meter with me. There’s just so much salt in my shirt and hat (unless it’s below 40 degrees) that I figure Mountain House isn’t going to hurt me.

[AK Granola]

Thanks for your suggestions and faves. I might try one or two.

I’ve always wanted to have a backpacker party where everyone brings a different expensive freeze dried meal. We prepare all of them and everyone gets to try each one. It is a bummer when you buy something so costly and don’t like it. And tastes are so different. I’ve managed to eat all of the ones I ever brought on a trip, except one: Good to Go Be-bim-bap. I love it in a restaurant, but the freeze dried thing was….yuk! Absolutely disgusting. My companions smelled it and refused to even try it, so no pawning it off on anyone else. I tried to eat it but finally just had to wrap it up and pack it out wet. But some people love it!

Top ramen is always predictable, if utterly boring.

[a_gunslinger]

Akgranola.

” It is a bummer when you buy something so costly and don’t like it”

That’s exactly why I posted this.   Having tried MANY wanted to share the ones I thought stood out, and to get opinions from others.  I will ammend this post with the rest of my results withbones I didn’t like much.  Because like everything, taste is very subjective.

[a_gunslinger]

If you are at a normal BP before hiking, and at home have no BP issues during exertion or rest, and have no high BP symptoms while hiking you should be fine.  Do you know your average running BP before hiking?  If concerned, I would get a monitor and keep track daily.  The likelihood of a couple high sodium meals causing a sudden issue are small.  But, good time to assess BP.  Because it’s the everyday cumulative effects of high BP that are the issue, your focus should be on the weeks before BP, not during a backpack trip.  A good BP monitor is pretty cheap.  Learn to take it correctly:  https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/understanding-blood-pressure-readings/monitoring-your-blood-pressure-at-home

[a_gunslinger]

Mmmm.  That’s sound like a good combo. Might try that.  I usually bring other additions, but chili works with everything. Might dannle in some dehydrating since I cook well.  Just never have time before a trip, usually rushing tobget out.  Probably part of the appeal for these meals.  I have 8-10 always on hand and ready.  Experimenting  with some of the veggie ones for my vegetarian wife, thus the 2 Stpwaway Gourmet shrimp ones.  I went out tonight and had a marginal chicken/pasta entree at 15$.  I am totally in the camp of money well spent with some Pinnacle Meals.  Pack and go and know they will be good.

[a_gunslinger]

Thanks Sarah.  This is great info.  I suspect the sudden surge in meal options reflects a new trend in splitting difference between demand and as healthy as humanly possible.  Looking forward to tracking your findings.

[a_gunslinger]

Sarah.  Any more information or places to track this info?  I’m still solely focused on taste/reward, but would like to know whether two companies are and what you have learned.  Saves me/us time researching.  Kinda the whole point of my original post.

[Author]

Posts