Least disgusting FD meals with the highest nutritional value ?

[Edward John M]

I’m not and never have been a fan of freeze dried instant meals but in preparation for my forthcoming trip I thought I should inquire and use the collective wisdom of the BPL forum members.

Calories I intend to get from fats and oils and plain old sugar but getting a reasonable amount of palatable protein I see as the major problem. I haven’t eaten a packaged FD meal since my army reserve days 25 years ago so I have no idea what is out there. Talking America and Canada as I will purchase when I get there

[Ken Thompson]

This just published here,

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/dehydrated-and-freeze-dried-backpacking-dinners-gear-guide/

Edit: I find a few of those quite palatable. Things have progressed in the last quarter century.

[James Marco]

Edward, I like beef jerky, pork jerky, chicken/turkey jerky, pork pemmican, lentils (often red lentils though they are not as tasty as the green variety, they cook fast) and precooked beans (beans of all types, white, red or black.) Cheeses of one form or another round out my protein needs.

I usually eat about 2oz of jerky per day. I also use about an ounce of pemmican and about an ounce or so of cheese per day. This is relatively constantly regardless of other things I eat that has protein in them (macaroni, beans, lentils, etc) You want at least 30g. Figure about 30g from jerky/pemmican/peperoni/sausages, and another 15-20g from other sources. Don’t worry about consuming too much. It will convert to calories if you are not using it for building/rebuilding at the same rate as carbs. It should make up at least 30% of your diet but shoot for 40% as a hiking ideal. It will strongly color your urine yellow, so don’t panic if you are eating a LOT of jerky and you don’t feel thirsty…no, you do not need more water.

I make my own of this stuff, but you can find most of this at a grocery store. Pemmican is the only hard one to find. Pork lard and finely ground meat. You can substitute thicker vegetable oils if you do not process cholesterol well. Some people do, some don’t. A heaping tablespoon in every supper will add calories and proteins.

Hard cheeses work well, I lake cheddar (more of a medium density.) Again, fats & oils, minerals and proteins.) There was a gentleman on the trail that ONLY carried cheese. I think he had a 10 pound brick. Be careful if you try this since cheese can lead to constipation…no fiber.

Beans, lentils, macaroni products are rather high in protein. Not as good as meats, but better than most vegies. The trouble with going vegan is the type of proteins, not the quantity. You have to work to get some amino acids in your system (as I remember two amino acids but I don’t remember which ones.) If you eat cheese, don’t worry about it.

As far as packaged meals be carful about salt and low fats. Fats are usually removed because they do not keep well and salt is often added for flavor to make up for what is lost. Salt is usually not an issue out hiking, though. Getting enough is usually my problem because even at 40F I tend to sweat it out.

[Brad P]

Knorr Alfredo mix, pasta, olive oil, powdered milk and bacon jerky makes a nice carbonara meal. You can add freeze dried chicken, too.

It’s impossible to tell you what will taste good to you. What one person hates another finds good. The only way to know is to try them.

[MJ H]

I’ll leave nutrition to the article Ken linked to. As for taste, it is obviously subjective, but I like the MH Beef Stroganoff and the Mary Jane’s Farm Shepard’s Pie. I’ve also found that for me, chicken and rice dishes are something I can eat when I’m not feeling like eating but know I’ll regret it if I don’t.

[Nick Gatel]

My mainstay on the trail for nearly 50 years has been Mountain House meals and instant Quaker Oats for breakfast. These do not meet all my nutritional needs, and I make up the difference during the day snacking on beef jerky, candy, granola bars, nuts, potato chips, etc. One needs to eat one of the 2 or 2.5 serving pouches of Mountain House each day, the single serving meals just aren’t enough. On long trips I start doubling up each day eating two of the larger serving Mountain House dinner meals and 4 packs of oatmeal for breakfast. You will find that the Mountain House meals aren’t bad nutrition-wise, other than sodium and cholesterol — however this really shouldn’t be an issue for most people because on a long trip your body is boring so much food, you really can’t keep up or feed your internal engine enough.

All the freeze dried meals are EXPENSIVE. I buy Mountain House in bulk when I find them on sale. Usually buying cases of the 2.5 serving pouches. On really long trips I have purchased the 10lb cans. Fortunately I can eat the same meal almost everyday without getting bored with the food.

One problem with the article that Ken linked to is everything (nutrition) is presented in grams/ounce. I think it more useful to present it in grams per package. Here is a blog post I wrote that presents things by each meal.

[Matthew / BPL]

Edward,

First, a couple of resources:

Honeyville

Packit Gourmet FD Meats

Packit Gourmet FD Veggies

I like to start with whole wheat couscous, Honeyville instant mashed potatoes or instant polenta I found at my local grocery store.

I then add some meat. Honeyville FD ham is my favorite. FD chicken works too.

I then add some FD veggies from either PG or Honeyville. I like spinach, broccoli or peas.

Hard cheese is a nice addition as well. Parmigiano Reggiano does fine for days without refrigeration. FD cheddar cheese from PG works well and still has lots of fat (aka calories).

I like it best when made with too much water. I often add a packet of Trader Joe’s instant chicken stock. I usually add a little olive oil.

[Edward John M]

Thanx for the links, especially to PackIt, the separate meats and pulses are interesting. The cost can’t be totally avoided where minimising weight is the priority but fats and oils can’t be dehydrated so it was the protein weight that was my priority. Perhaps soya bean isolate [ TVP] as an adjunct also?

[Lori P]

Valley Food Storage – not the same as fresh, but also not as disgusting as Mountain House. Still a tad high on sodium but you don’t taste that at all. The meals I have tried so far have been pretty darn good, and ordering bulk it’s something like 4.80+- per meal.

[MJ H]

instant polenta I found at my local grocery store.

Is that different from grits?

[BlackHatGuy]

Polenta – ground yellow corn, more coarse

Grits – ground white corn

[MJ H]

But if you make instant polenta, you’ve probably got to grind it finer to get the quicker cooking time.

[Gary Dunckel]

While I like the Mountain House Beef Stroganoff Pro Pack best for flavor and total calories (500), it does have a drawback, namely it’s high in saturated fats. But it has 36% fat calories, and only 12 gm of sugar. It comes in at 125 cal/ounce, pretty good.

Perhaps the most nutritious of all is the MH Beef Stew Pro Pack. It has 119 cal/ounce, low % of saturated fats, low sugars, and a good calorie balance (25% fat, 45% CHO, and 30% protein). The bad part is that it contains 2390 mg of NaCl (ouch!).

The MH Pro Pack that most closely matches the FDA recommended calorie ratio is their Chili Mac (27% fat, 53% CHO, and 20% protein). It yields 118 cal/ounce with low sugars, and the % of saturated fat is about average for the MH line.

If you want to bump up the protein there are a couple of powdered nutrition powders that I like (but they aren’t cheap). The more palatable brand is NutriBiotic ProZone ( I get it at Vitamin Cottage). The caloric balance is interesting at 29% F, 41% C, and 30% P. The drawback is that it’s a bit high in saturated fat and sugars. I re-package it into 3.0 ounce portions, which I vacuum-seal. Each one yields 372 calories, or 124 cal/ounce. It makes a pretty decent breakfast shake, a higher protein alternative to Ensure.

Another high protein (and high fat, with VERY low carbs) shake mix I’ve gotten into recently is the Vega One shake mix from Whole Foods or Vitamin Cottage. Its caloric breakdown is 29% F, 20% C, and a whopping 51% complete plant protein. A 3-ounce portion of this yields 351 calories, or 117 cal/ounce.

As I mentioned, these two specialty powdered mixes aren’t cheap. The 3 ounce portions of NutriBiotic ProZone are about $3 each, whereas the Vega shake mix is about $3.50 for just a 1.75 oz. portion. Also, since the Vega is unsweetened (so fairly “plant tasting”), I add some stevia to it, and maybe some vanilla extract to make it more palatable.

If I’m not terribly worried about my caloric balance, say while on a 2-3 night trip, I just take 3-oz portions of powdered Ensure for a quick and easy breakfast. 127 cal/ounce, and it has probably the best overall caloric balance (though it’s high with sugars at 20 gm/serving). Though Ensure is rather expensive at ~$2.50/serving at Walgreen’s, they offer a 20% discount for seniors on the first Tuesday of each month. That brings the price down to $2.00 per serving, which is about the best I can do for a good nutritional shake mix.

The other thing a lot of us do to control the nutrition of our meals is to dehydrate our ingredients, combine them, add our special spices, etc. and then vacuum seal individual meals. The storage life in my cool, dark Colorado basement is easily 3-5 years. But this doesn’t seem like something you will want to get into.

[Edward John M]

Gary I’ve been told that I can’t bring home dehydrated foods/ home packed into the USA in the same way the Australia restricts these items and for the same very good reasons.

I tried a FD Venison with Noodles last W/E that a mate really likes, it was so foul I almost threw up, I think it was Mountain House but it may have been Back Country from New Zealand.

I’m a little handicapped in the food and eating department, I am a trained chef and gourmand at home

[BlackHatGuy]

“I am a trained chef and gourmand at home”

Well, in that case, just fly into Seattle. I’ll pick you up and bring you to my house, where you can cook and dehydrate all the meals you want for your trip – as long as you cook enough for me too…. :-)

[Valerie E]

The only thing I might add to this discussion:  If you’re using prepackaged FD meals, it’s ALL about the “add-ins”.  Bring multiple options that you can sprinkle on/in your dinners to help make them more palatable.  I am referring to the little tiny individual sealed packets.  These are available from various sources like Amazon or minimus.biz — some folks steal them from fast food restaurants, but I prefer to buy them.

Add-ins I like include:

• Tapatio (or other hot sauce)
• True Lime/True Lemon (FD lime/lemon zest with amazingly fresh flavour)
• Grated Parmesan/Romano Cheese
• Mayonnaise (mix with mustard/hot sauce/spices for trail aioli)
• Mustard
• Olive oil
• Vinegar
• Soy/other Asian sauces (incl. Sriracha)
• Honey or honey crystals
• Horseradish
• Italian herbs
• Spices (you can assemble these yourself – can include ginger for anything Asian, herbs, portobello powder, curry powder, etc.)

[Edward John M]

Yes I suppose if you use enough Sriracha you can’t taste the food; but you can still smell it.

Doug I guess we could detour via Seattle on our way through to Alaska

[Matthew / BPL]

That True Lemon and True Lime action is money. Valerie speaks the truth.

[Edward John M]

Perhaps my best option is to use the foods I am familiar with in general and buy the plain FD meats to add to my basic starch and fats main meals. Quick cooking macaroni with Knorr-Suisse cheese sauce and added butter has long been one of my constant main meals, adding FD meats to it would really bolster the nutritional content.

Adding in those extra add-ins as needed

When I get the time and spare cash I’ll get some of the newer FD “meals” going on general consensus of palatability and try a few different ones this winter to see how much improvement there has been

[Paul McLaughlin]

for boosting protein – and flavor – of FD meals, and also as a standalone item, try some of these:

https://epicbar.com/

I’ve tried a couple and found them pretty tasty.

 

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