freeze dried foods.....

[maineguide5]

I'd like to hear folk's favorite quality freeze dried foods (brands and meal types).....if you had to carry food for a week...what might they be???
Thanks!!

 

[ghassert]

My number one is Mountain House Freeze Dried Spaghetti...I could eat this almost every night, just remember to bring spices and Parmesan cheese. My number two is Mountain House Freeze Dried Chicken and Rice, again don't forget spices. For some reason I just really like the Mountain House brand. The Beef with potatoes and onions is not to bad either, oh, and also their beef stew and beef stroganoff(sp?)...but now I'm rambling...do you detect a pattern here?

 

[trailbiscuit]

Mary Jane's Farm, organic tasty goodness.
http://www.maryjanesfarm.org

On the other hand, any Lipton Noodle/Rice sides plus taco seasoning. (Except for Nacho Pasta...trust me.)

 

[Snowflea]

I second Mary Jane's Farm!! It's really, REALLY good stuff. All you need to do is add boiling water and let it sit a few minutes. Ate a bunch of it this summer while thru-hiking the Colorado Trail.

I'm also a big fan of good 'ol Lipton noodle & rice dinners. If you add tuna or other vacuum-sealed fishy stuff, it's even better.

Mmm... I'm getting hungry.

 

[Nessmuk]

I'd like to hear folk's favorite quality freeze dried foods (brands and meal types).....if you had to carry food for a week...what might they be???
Thanks!!

I'd go with my own dehydrated food first. Without a doubt the best recipe resource for home dehydrating of backpacker food is Linda Yaffe's book: Good Hot Grub You Can Make at Home, Dehydrate, and Pack for Quick, Easy, and Healthy Eating on the Trail.

For commercially packaged trail meals I much prefer Enertia Trail Foods. These are dehydrated (not freeze dried) and turn out much more like real food than the standard freeze dried.

 

[Garry G.]

My favorite is Natural High Chicken Teriyaki. I don't leave home without it

 

[peakbagger]

I have had good luck using a company called adventure foods for bulk dehydrated products. I carry a ziploc bag filled with about four types of dehydrated vegetables and dehydrated chicken and mix them with noodle meals that can be bought at the supermarket. Takes a bit longer than pouring hot water in a foil pouch but not much. I also carry chicken noddle soup pack for an backup meal and having the veggies in stock makes a nice soup.

 

[kmac]

Mountain House--lasagna and meat sauce
Backcountry--garlic mashed potatoe's
yummo : )
I'm definitely going to try the "maryjane" organic brand.
kmac

 

[Tuggy]

My experience is that anything with meat in it needs to soak longer than what the package reccomends or it is like hard chunks of cardboard. Rice and pasta are usually ok. Spaghetti with meat sauce usually turns out ok. You can buy foil packages of chicken or tuna and toss in with rice to make a more palatable meal. Sweet Sue has chicken that comes in a blue foil package and is pretty good to add in with the rice. I've tried a couple different brands and I guess I like Mountain House better than the others. But to be honest I don't think any of them are a treat. At the same time they are easy to carry, cook, and cleanup after as you make em all in the pouch and don't have a mess to clean up afterwards. I boil water in my Jetboil and then pour it into the package. Bring salt and pepper. Good luck!