Package a bunch of meals at once?

Great idea.
Care to share your recipes?

Rex, yeah I do things similar. Most of my suppers are either made up (I make up about 10 or so at a time.) But, these take up space in the freezer. I am usually out 50-60 nights so, it becomes a chore to reserve a couple shelves in the freezer for that. But, it does take a couple hours to set up a trips worth of food. I usually do both bulk packaging (coffee, cocoa, oatmeal) and pre-planned suppers. I just snack every couple hours instead of stopping for lunch, often some sort of chips, cheese and jerky. Pemmican is packed bulk because it can make a mess.

I tend to prepare (dehydrate) items in bulk individually: hamburger, peas, carrots, peppers, onions.  I label the bags with equivalents (1 lb of hamburger = 4 oz.), 10 oz of peas = 30 grams.  When getting ready for a trip, I pull out the ingredients and assemble into meal kits with instructions on the bag.  My 2 cents.

“Use a plastic bag keeper-opener gadget that speeds up loading stuff into zipper bags.”

Just fold the top down over itself. Squash it down a bit. It will stand alone while you load it.

I do like Jon.  Bulk dehydration and storage of individual ingredients. Assemble meals for each trip.  I think Rex is right that assembling  eals in bulk is more efficent, but I’m still fine tuning/modifying my recipies, and honestly I like the ability to tweak and am constantly improving the meals.

Doing it all at once really speeds it up – and allows you to buy bigger amounts of dried ingredients – and possibly save money.

It’s something we actually do for meals at home as well – I prep many of our backpacking recipes upsized for the family, and put them in mason jars (so they serve 5 to 6). Once in the mason jars, I use the mason jar sealers we have (that connect to our food vac), allowing very long term storage.

It’s something to think about I might add: this method works for hiking meals, you can do a year out with no issues – just leave ALL MEAT OUT. Always pack the meat separately, right when you go to leave. You can always store all items in mason jars, then transfer to bags quickly once a trip is there. Add to bag, roll like a burrito up and seal – keep bags rolled and you have less chance of air getting back in.

Casey,

Since I just change most of the recipes and haven’t tried them in the wilderness  … probably best not to share them yet.

— Rex

I load meals up before each trip, usually 6-12 days worth. All the bulk packages are on the counter, and I line up as many Talenti gelato containers as days, as they are fine indicators of the amount I need for each meal, I fill each one a bit more than 3/4. Not too scientific, but fast. Same for my homemade breakfast shakes.