Trai Food

“Anyone have any comments on trail foods like MSR or AlpineAire? Which brands and meals do you prefer? I haven't had to use these products before but I will be in the wilderness for nearly two weeks and will be bringing some of this pouched food along. I'm sure it doesnt' taste that great but what do you like? Thanks.”

“Grocery store meals are cheaper, less bulky, and taste better.
Lipton noodles
Mac-n-cheese
Ramon Noodles”

“I like Zatarains, Rice-a-Roni and Near East (grocery store food). I've tried pouch meals and I wasn't that impressed.”

“Ditto what walkindude said. I like to bring canned chicken also for protein.. just throw it in with whatever noodles.”

“I thought we were taking about a new kind of food. Trai. kind of like Ti but different due to the different kinds of spices”

“Canned tuna is good, too. Frequently, I take a 6-pack of tomatoes in one of those plastic baskets in which they are packaged or in a plastic food container. Then I eat one tomatoe per day. Occasionally, I will trade a tomatoe for something or give one away when someone has done a favor for me.”

“Alpine Aire sucks. I live on Mountain House. I bought some MSR, but I have not tried them.

http://www.ldpcampingfoods.com/MountainHouse.htm

Enertia makes some pretty decent dehydrated meals.

http://www.trailfoods.com/trailfoods/”

“I havent been too pleased with any premade meals. They are pricey,salty and not all that nutritious.

I am doing a 5 day trip in 3 weeks and have been dehydrating like crazy,toamtoes,portabello mushrooms,green peppers,cauliflower,broccoli,onions,refried beans. I plan on adding them to some noodles,rice,cous-cous etc...

It outta be interesting.”

“Birch = Dehyrating MACHINE!”

“I agree with Buddha Bear.

Dehydrate almost all my meals. The preparation takes a little time, but great anticipation of the perfect trip with perfect food.”

“No doubt stumprider. Its like being a kid waiting for the first day of kwanza...the waiting is the hardest part.”

“MountainHouse Chili-Mac is the Bomb....well after a good can of Spam that is!”

“the foil pouches of chicken and tuna are great. You can add them to almost any pasta dish. And dehydrating your own meals is the best way to ensure that you will be eating well on the trail.”

“I've been a Mountain House eater for a while now, and have rarely been dissatisfied. I had a Richmoor meal once that was pretty good too. But I got my own dehydrator the other day, and I'm gonna give it a try pretty soon.

No matter how good the freeze-dried stuff is, there's almost always one spice that's been added that is either too strong or I don't like. This way I can eat stuff that's spiced the way I like it.

The Mountain House chili mac is pretty damn good though.”

“Each brand seems to have some meals that are particularly good. Beef stroganoff is generally pretty good. Cobbler desserts are also.

After several years of packaged meals, I don't use them much anymore. I just bring dehydrated or store-bought noodles and stuff. I like instant potatoes with canned or rehydrated meat added. Spice it up a little with cayenne pepper.”

“Mountain House Chili Mac is IT.”

“Hey Birch, I love refried beans but never tried dehydrating them. Do you use fat free? how do you rehydrate them? What do you use them with? How long of a shelf life do you think they have?”

“Compost, I used fat free canned refrieds. I just spread them on the fruit roll up type tray and left them on over night. I dont know how long they last,but I keep em frozen. I will use them on pita bread with mushrooms onions and tomatoes. I just rehydrate them in a ziploc while I hike the last bit of the day.

Phil, have you ever seen the ingredients on the cobblers? Most if not all of them are just apples made to look and taste like other fruits.”

“I just received Mel's cookbook of backcountry meals, dehydrated style. Just paged through it initially, but there's some mouth-watering recipes in there. And, having hiked with Mel, I can speak personally to several trout recipes... Old Timer and Turk will back me up on this!

I'm a fan of some Mountain House meals, and Backpacker's Pantry. Zatarain's makes great Jambalaya... for that, I use canned shrimp (sometimes re-packaged with a FoodSaver), canned crab and clams, some cayeene red peppers from Round Table Pizza, and hot pepper sausage, sliced or diced. Dehydrate the Zatarain's, parcel into serving-sized snack baggies, and feast!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.”

“Another good refried bean source is Fantastic Foods instant refried that just need boiling water added, and Mexicali Rose brand with 3 varieties of instant refried beans (black, Mexican homestyle & fat free homestyle). They're tasty, comparatively low in sodium, don't have that canned taste, and have no added preservatives. Kroger is one nationwide retailer that sells them. Mexicali Rose may also be found in ethic sections of some grocery stores.”

“i recently bought a dehydrator. i used it and loved it. i found 2 things i probuly will never pack without. jerky that i make in my dehydrator, and hummus. i forget the brand but it comes in a powder form, so you just take what you want, add water and bust out the pitas or whatnot. i realized i hate packing onions and sprouts, they get to reek after being stuffed into a pack in the summer heat. maybe i dont do it right, any ideas out there?”

“something else worth a try that i havent done yet to help with protien and save pack wieght and all that other good stuff, you can make TOFU jerky with a dehydrator, im sure if you do it right it might be bearable ;)”

“heh.. as usual we are opinionated.. put me in the column that takes commercial backpacking food ONLY when I have not made a trip to the grocery.”

“same here”

“I love Thai food.


















What?
















Oh.
















Never mind.”

“The brand name backpacking meals are pricey. You are paying for convenience and a brand name. You can easily find whole meals just as tasty and just as easy in the regular supermarket. Try the just-add-water-and-microwave meals now available. They also work by adding boiling water and letting sit.

Nutrition is never a strong point with any of the premade meals, so don't forget a multivitamin supplement as part of your menu.”

“Barilla pasta now makes tortellini. Not just any tortellini. Spinach tortellini with ricotta cheese, portabella tortellini with ricotta cheese or asparagus tortellini with ricotta cheese.

It comes dried in a bag and cooks up in 10 minutes. It’s friggin’ great.”

“I will try that Violin, thanks.”

“Dang Violin, thanks for the tip!”

“YOU GUYS ARE MAKING ME HUNGRY!!! heres my favorite trail thing EVER-cheap nasty grape drink mix.”

“Lasagna...make a huge tray, 5 layers, cut 5x5 blocks, slice down 1'2" and lay flat on your dehydrator tray and go to town, add 3/4 cup of boiling water...15 minutes later...hot lasagna...now thats eatin!!!

Don;t forget chili, stew, redbeans and rice, beans and ham and anything else your mind can think of...oh man...gotta hit the trail, so I can eat normal again.”

“2 weeks is a long trip so freeze dried is a good choice... I like Mountain House... my trips aren't that long so I tend to mix and match... heck I don't even mind bringing some cans of food... Stagg chili is good at home, even better on the trail. One bit of advice, if you are gonna be eating freeze dried stuff you haven't tried before... bring some tobasco”

“Mountain House Freeze Dried. I ate it for 30 days straight, and still liked it. Also took freeze dried veggies to go with the dinners. I liked to add corn to the Chili Mac or Lasagne. I had the packaged tuna for lunch, along with hummus, canned chicken, and peanut butter (all eaten with different types of crackers). No-cook bacon for breakfast, with packaged oatmeal or grits (added powdered butter and brown sugar) and coffee. Clif bars, Luna Bars, Nature Valley Granola Bars for snacks. Along with mixed nuts, dried fruit, chocolate. Repackage your meals so you don't have to carry out all the extra trash (you don't need 14 foil-bags, 14 moisture absorbers, 14 cardboard bottoms with 14 "O" rings. Take 2 outer foil bags and put the food in freezer bags. you'll save some weight, and trash bulk. You can add boiling water to those freezer bags...take extra baggies in case it gets punctured)”

“If they can make edible Panties...why can't they make edible ziplocks? hmmmmmmm???”

“A good way to go the first night is to bring along a couple of small frozen steaks and a small head of cabbage for salads and perhaps a little vinegar and a lemon. In the Marble Mountains of CA, delicious trout ever night is a certainty so along with the salad fixings i do not have to rely on packaged meals every day. For breakfast i bring along a bag of bran and powered milk. Needless to say, this strategy lightens the food load...”

“HOLY FVCK That's funny!!!!!!!
LMAO!!!!!!!!”

“hahahahahaha...now that's funny!!!”

“I have to say Enertia Trail Food
Everything they have taste great...
Try it out.
Barbara”

“Mountain House is good, light, and totally easy to prepare. They even have a no cook egg and bacon breaksfast and some sausage patties as well. I would stay away from the turkey tetrazini though, it didn't taste very good, and the asparagus didn't rehydrate very well.”

“I'm not posting any more funny pictures. nigal rules.”

“that picture is cute beyond words!! AAAAAAAWWWWWWW!!!”

“For all of you who think the government is just wasting our money, I bring you the 'indestructible sandwich'.”

“What's the big deal? Soldiers need to eat!”

“Missed this thread the first time, so will second the MH Chili Mac. Shred a little aged cheddar on top and serve with flat or pita bread. Killer meal!”

“AllWoman -

My point was that it sounds like they are developing a futuristic backpacking lunch for us. According to soldiers who have tried them, they are "acceptable". Who could ask for more?”

“Well, if you can keep it down then good for you. I prefer something a little fresher myself.”

“Man VIolin, that "meal" sounds wrong!!”

“I found a piece of sausage today, under the back seat in my Honda CRV, where the boys sit. It only had one bite taken out of it. The degree to which the Jimmy Dean mild pattie was preserved was truely impresive. This is obviously some phenomenon invented by the Japanese to save space. So I have decided not to buy the Ronco Dehrdrater, & instead will spend the money on a flask....................................Hmmmmmm, wonder if Dromolite bags hold Jim Beam?”