In General?

“In general? when you guys break down and BUY some backpacking food.. what's your favorite brand?”

“Mountain House, I think it is the easiest to prepare. Boil the water put it in the bag and wait 10 to 15 minutes.
The stuff is pretty good to, I like the Seafood Chowder and the Chicken with Rice. I am going to try some Cheesecake next weekend.”

“I am mostly interested in breakfast.. I'm a Shoney's breakfast kind of guy.

I got a food dehydrator, so I have no problem with lunch/dinners.. although I DO break down and buy then occasionally.. (soOooo easy)..

I have bought the egg/omelet breakfasts before, and liked some, but some were pretty 'prepared' tasting.

So that was the reason for my post.”

“Mountain House. There is a lot of nasty freeze dried food out there. Mountain House is tasty. They are not a lot of calories, but they are filling and are a good sodium replacement food. A little too much sodium for low activity hikes, but otherwise good.”

“Sounds like Mountain House is the way to go.

I am putting in an order now.

:)”

“We had some Mountainhouse turkey stroghanof last trip. It was OK, but a little expensive. I usually take Lipton bag-o-stuff (noodles, beef, cheese, etc). The black bean and rice was a good one. it's usually on sale for under a buck! I just dump boiling water into a tupperware container w/ the mix and cover it for 10 min. Also, tortillas w/pepperoni and mozzerela.”

“See that's me.. I buy all my food at Salvage grocery.. and bring along my home-dried meats..”

“Natural High, Chicken Fajita tostada. That Mountain House beef stew everyone raves about is NASTY!”

“For breakfast I take Malto-meal or dried eggs and precooked bacon. I mix a little coffeemate in with the eggs and usually have some cheedar cheese. It is good wrapped in a burrito. Make sure you use plenty of water with the eggs. I write down cooking instructions on the baggie with a maker. Too little water gives the egg an 'old' taste.”

“Oh Man! You guys are making me hungry!”

“I tried 3 of Enertia Foods dehydrated dinners this past week, and they were the best prepackaged dinners I have ever eaten. a $3.75 each, I won't be making my own dinners anymore.”

“Joy, Try choking down Alpine Aire beef stew. It will gag you. The chicken and rice is my favorite, but the stew is decent.”

“Well, I decided to buy a couple of each. I got Backpacker's Pantry, Alpine Food, and Mountain House.

Might as well do a real life experiment.”

“Check these prices, Mountain House”

“MountainHouse Eggs w/bacon are especially good with some Fried Spam!”

“Mountain House. Don't like the Pasta Primavera, Mac & Cheese or the stews. I add corn to a lot of the meals, along with red pepper, black pepper, or parmesan (lasagna & spaghetti). I repackage everything in freezer qt bags (Glad stand up bags are nice, but a little heavier)and dump everything else except 1 outer foil bag to cook. This way you don't have to carry out all the trash, and the food doesn't leak (the "O" ring sucks).”

“Don't buy any freezed dried food with a foreign word on the lable and you'll be safe.

I've not used freezed dried for years. There is plenty of easy stuff to cook in the grocery store that cost a fourth of what freezed dried cost.”

“Exactly.. same here.. but sometimes.. there are a few worth buying..”

“A few years ago we took a guy up with us into the Beartooths who was the wilderness ranger in the Wind Rivers (WY). He spends most of his days backpacking, but I guess this was his vacation. Anyway, he took basic foods and cooked most stuff from scratch. He had lots of fresh vegetables, fruit, etc.. He cooked up some great stuff! Pasta primavera, omlettes for breakfast! He made another meal with mashed potatos and chipped beef. His pack sure weighed a lot more than ours, but if you're out for several months at a time, freeze-dried would get really old.

It was pretty funny; we got to camp one day and it started to rain. By the time my friend and I had struggeled to get our tent pitched in a downpour, this ranger had his cook tarp up and was popping pop corn and making tea. He was totally at home!”

“If you try Mountain House chile make sure you cook it all the way. Talk about having Gas, Whew”

“Enertia dinners are far better than any of the other stuff!! They actually taste like real food.”

“I have only found ONE of the backpacker dinners that I like:
Mountain House - Chicken Polynesian. It rock. I take one on every trip. They are so simple.”

“Chili-Mac is the Bomb!And yes it explodes more than once. LOL”

“Mountain House.

Instead of using that o-ring, I use a couple of those plastic clothes pins. Just throw them in the cook pot while traveling. Put the bag back in the foil and the foil in my wool cap. Keeps the meal hotter longer. I prefer a longer cook time. Prefer Beef Stroganof, Lasagna, and the Spaghetti. Also like the scrambled eggs and bacon bits.”

“Anybody try the Mountain House No-Cook Eggs and Bacon yet? Just wondering about the consistency, is it mushy or dry or what?”

“I bought some Enertia meals, but haven't tried them yet. I have a duffel bag of freeze dried and dehydrated meals. I need to get the dehydrated meals (Enertia) out this season, because they won't last as long.

I don't know why people say freeze dried meals are so expensive. They really aren't.

Foods at the grocery store can be suspect too. The Knoor soup cups are good. I have yet to find another brand that is. Looks the same, costs the same, but tastes like crap.

My food list is so easy. Coffee, Jerky, Cliff Bars, 1 MRE, Malto-meal, Freeze dried meals.”

“I bought some Enertia meals, but haven't tried them yet. I have a duffel bag of freeze dried and dehydrated meals. I need to get the dehydrated meals (Enertia) out this season, because they won't last as long.

I don't know why people say freeze dried meals are so expensive. They really aren't.

Foods at the grocery store can be suspect too. The Knoor soup cups are good. I have yet to find another brand that is. Looks the same, costs the same, but tastes like crap.

My food list is so easy. Coffee, Jerky, Cliff Bars, 1 MRE, Malto-meal, Freeze dried meals.”

“Mountain House”

“Safeway carries the Nile brand of stuff in a cup. Lemme tell you, it is really dam good. Instant varieties include: couscous in a variety of flavors; red beans and rice; black beans and rice; split pea soup; potato leek soup; and several others. This is dam good stuff for cheap. Try it. You'll like it!”

“I tried Nile and didn't like it. Knoor was much better. The Nile did not rehydrate well. The flavor was too strong.

I have wondered about shelf life for these dried foods. It stands to reason that fresher is better, but I wonder if the age of a product isn't more of a factor in taste. A fresh cup of Nile may taste better than a six year old cup of Knorr.

Time to start checking for those date stamps.”

“Spam, jerbear made the egg/bacon and spam thing on our trip - darn good, but I burped spam for the rest of the day!

I buy my food right at the grocery store - I like the boil in bag rice things, they don't take long and are very good. I've tried a couple of pretty good Mountain House meals, and just ordered some of that Enertia stuff, can't wait to try it out.”

“Don't let Bacpac's testimony dissuade you. Nile rocks!

(But in all fairness, I'll give the Knorr a whirl, too.)”

“I don't know if Nile was the worst one, but I do know it was not as good as Knorr. None of them are.

Try the corn chowder. You will thank me.”

“I ended up buying four different shots at breakfast.. (all versions of egg omelets.. one even with spinach, like a quiche) four different brands.

Might have to do an 'in the field' taste and research venture.”

“Aldi's”

“I picked up a copy of Backpacker magazine..their freeze dried (salad) recipes actually sound good! I think I'm going to try that.”

“With Mountainhouse, no dishes. Just lick the spoon.”

“I buy Mountain House in the #10 cans. I weigh it into pint size freezer bags--2 ounces for me and 3 ounces for the boyfriend. I also buy their plain meats and vegies. Backpacker's Pantry makes good cheesecake. Instant grits with butter are good to have with the MH Turkey Tetrazini. I put extra green beans in several of them. I too believe in lick the spoon. In winter the hood on my down jacket is great to hold the heat while the food is setting up.”

“Where do you buy in bulk MaryPhyl?”

“Tahoe,

The Mountain House Eggs & Bacon are better when cooked in a pan for a little while. Reduces the excess moisture. You can also add a little bit of cheddar cheese to make it a little tastier.”

“Mountain House.

We've tried most of the meals available from the major manufacturers, and our conclusion has been that Mountain House is the most reliable and palatable.

I find that I have to actually cook the stuff in a pot over a stove, but that might have to do with the fact that I normally camp above 9,000-10,000 feet, so boiled water is considerably "cooler" than what is found at lower altitudes. I've surprised a few died-in-the-wool "freeze-dry haters" by just making sure the meal was completely rehydrated before serving. At high altitudes, this can mean simmering for as long as 20-25 minutes! For example, I'd wager that Joy's complaint about Mountain House Beef Stew stems from having eaten it without proper rehydration.

As for favorite meals, some include:

Sweet and Sour Pork
Turkey Tetrazzini
Seafood Chowder
Teriyaki Chicken
Beef Stew
Chicken a la King
Lasagne
Beef Stroganoff

I know that I DON'T like Chili Mac, as well as some others.

What my wife and I have done over the years is to take a little notebook with us to record our likes and dislikes of different meals at the time that we prepared and ate them. We then take the notebook with us whenever we're buying food for our next trip. Saves a lot of guessing that way.”

“I'm with Budder-Aldi's or Save-a-Lot.”

“Mountian House has my vote as well. Seafood chowder with crushed up crackers and tobasco, yum! As for breakfast, I don't care too much for the egg meals. I have added cheese and peppers to the one with bacon, and eaten in a tortilla and it's not that bad. What I like to do is beat fresh eggs, with grated cheddar cheese, diced pre-cooked peppers and onions, cooked bacon, and salsa. Then I double bag them in ziplocks and freeze. Wrapped in foil, I've found that they last untill the first breakfast on the trail. Other morning favorites are Mountian House granola and berries with a package of pop-tarts. Usually for my final breakfast of the trip I will take those pre-packaged pancake mix that you just add water to, and some pre-cooked packaged bacon. A little bit of oil, fry them up, add some fresh picked blueberries, heat the bacon up and drink it down with orange flavored gatorade.”

“Anybody tried the Bear Creek soup mixes? We just noticed them in the supermarket---there are 8 or 9 kinds.

We bought the vegetble beef mix to try, but haven't had a chance yet.”

“Mary, I'm interested in bulk MH too.

On those cold nights I put the foil cooking bag under my jacket next to the belly while waiting for it to cook.

For breakfast, I eat real bacon, but don't have to cook it. Costco has the pre-cooked non-refrigerated bacon. I seal 3 slices for each breakfast (.6 oz), and put it in hot water to heat up. No dishes, and it tastes good.”

“colonialmiss - bear creek has a broccoli cheese and a potota soup that are pretty tasty. i've not eaten them on the trail, only at home. but, i imagine they'd be pretty satisfying on the trail.”

“My wife loves the Bear Creek Potato Soup ...cooks it here at the house all the time.”

“This is where I have been buying it for a couple of years. I am sure there are others.

http://www.ldpcampingfoods.com/

We don't have a lot of freezer space so we need to eat up an open can within a few weeks. Last year we found that ham and pork do not keep well after opening. Chicken seems to last forever--my guess is that it has no fat.”

“The Bear Creek Vegetable Beef is really good too, but it takes a longer time to cook than what I want to deal with on a trip, like 30 minutes simmering (yes the bag says 10 minutes, but NOT). The bag makes 8 cups of soup so you need to split it up before backpacking, unless you take a big stock pot with you.”