Enertia Foods

“Help!

My wife and I are going on a 6 day backpack in July.
I haVE never had any of their dinners.

what are some of y'alls favorites and why?

Thanks”

“waiting on Bison to show up


tick tock tick tock tick tock”

“ohhh the cheesecake....I love it. why? because I like sweet stuff. other reason? cause u only have to add cold water. Very quick.

one of my favorites.”

“Switchback Spaghetti and Moosilauke Goulash are my two favorites. The Allegheny Alfredo Noodles and the Chilli one are good too.

I use about 2oz less water than the directions call for and break up the sauce in the plastic baggie before adding it.

I also take along some little packets of pepper and hot peppers.”

“I haven't found one I didn't like. I usually do the boil in bag method instead of the rehydrating”

“beef them up with the foil packs of shrimp....'specially the Garlic Alfredo noodles...”

“i can tell you about 2 I DO NOT like:

the scrambled eggs (sierra scramble??)
and the Cinamon rice (smells like puke, tastes so, so...but the smell ruins it for me, sorry)
last edited: 5/25/05 3:18:55 PM”

“I use Mountain House way more often than Enertia Foods.
Enertia Foods is more of a cult thing. ;-)”

““i can tell you about 2 I DO NOT like:

the scrambled eggs (sierra scramble??) ......

last edited: 5/25/05 4:18:55 PM”
Gemini
4:18:21 PM
5/25/05

I concur. Every other Enertia that I've had I've liked though. Best manufactured backpacking meals out there, IMO.

Some tips:

1. Don't use the full amount of water they say to use! I've found that they over do it, and about 2/3s to 3/4s of the amount is sufficient, even if you do add chicken, tuna or whatever.

2. Add chicken, tuna or whatever to increase the calorie amount and give it added flavor.

Best of luck.”

“Artex, for real about the water.

Last time I had the Spag the sauce was still like a brick, hope it has changed”

“Don't you get more with Mountain house? Enertia is smaller portion size. Or so I have read. I am trying to figure out my menu for a weeklong trip in August and havn't decided between Mt House or Enertia. I like Enertia because they are dehydrated but I will have to buy some and try them before I go whole hog...”

“Servings are too small for me and I'm not big enough to eat two. Buying FD meals and having to add protein is not for me.

I use Backpackers' Pantry - I think that's the right name - that I order from Campmor. I bought their food because it comes in single portions which I re-package in freezer bags and drop in my insulated mug and add water. This works well even in winter. Portions are good for me.

As far as taste goes, it's all good compared to the powdered eggs and tinned meats, rice and dried beans I grew up on. In fact, the freeze dried food we get now seems to me almost miraculous.

I re-package because it wouldn't fit in my pack otherwise.

Doug”

“Buying FD meals and having to add protein is not for me.

I concur.
You should just buy a Lipton's meal if you are going to just add the weight of tuna packs. Lots cheaper.”

“I agree with some of the others here - cut down on the water. Otherswise, the meal is very soupy :-p
I personally like the Max Patch Macoroni and Cheese.”

“so...I take it the portions are considerably smae stand FD meal that says it serves 2?an thller th”

“The meals are all around 320-430 calories. They fill me up. Some I struggle to finish.

My favorites are the goolash and the rainier rice. I've heard the meals were formulated so that you could add dehydrated meat, that's why they're so soupy. I cut the water by 1 oz, sometimes 2. I really like that the additives aren't through the roof with enertia.

Too lazt to log out Birch tonight, this is Sassafras.”

“Sorry I was busy watching lost.

Enertia sucks :) What do you want to be waiting around all day for your food? make your own meals or go with Mary Jane's.”

“some things never change...lol”

“Definitely Moosilauke Goulash! well that and cheesecake! :D”

“I have three monster four serving packages of cheesecake waiting for just the right group trip.”

“sass, check out the Smokies trip in June..you can always bring it then :)”

“smokies schmokies. I can't go; I'm sure of it. I never can go.”

“Fly me down Ewker and I'm there! ;) I'll bring the cheesecakes, you bring the plane ticket, lol.”

“so if I get you a ticket you will do the trip....hmmmm thinking,throw in your cookies and you may have a deal ;)”

“lol, I'd let the bottle of wine go....”

“The chili rocks...”

“I have given up on the switchback speggets. It never comes out right and the tomatoes they use are so acidic I start refluxin' before I'm done eating.”

“i can never get that block of sauce powder to break up all the way.”

“both the cheesecakes are awesome.

but then again, so is the MThouse cheescake.

and the backpackers pantry chocolate mouse.”

“Anyone here have an opinion (hahaha) about Enertia dinners' shelf life? the website says 1 yr., but we all know they have to be conservative to cover their azzes.
I have 6 dinners from summer of '03, stored in a cool basement in tupperware, with the vacuum packaging still intact.”

“Try 'em and see. You might be best off killing one off at home rather than getting out on the trail having to eat a ansty, spoiled meal.”

“i have gone 2 years w/ absolutely no problems storing in a cool basement without tupperware”

“I have had issues in the past with some Enertia meals not being as "fresh" as I thought they should be. I'm guessing the ones I'm talking about were over 2 years old. They just didn't taste the same. I know it's not scientific but that's my two cents worth.”

“They are expired. Please send them to me for propper disposal.”

“WAIT...I am a trained Haz Mat Operations specialist...send them to me...

Or..What does EXPIRE mean? Heck they get old I give em to the campers without food.”

“Back Off XL!!I was here first. Neener Neener!”

“LeSubtil, they ought to be fine, we have had some for about as long (though they are in a freezer).”

“Joking aside I'm sure they're alright. I bought a ton of the stuff from Binks (remember him) when he lived down the road from me. I use several each year and have had no problems.”

“The only problem I’ve ever had with shelf life is the powder tends to cake into a brick. I wouldn’t think it’d spoil though.”

“yeah, even when it was new the sketti sauce was impossible to break up.”

“exactly, that stuff is like a rock even when it's new-ish.

hmmm, unless they just sent me old stuff everytime i've ordered it.”

“Because I liked almost everything I tried from Enertia, I ordered a BUNCH of their stuff to take advantage of a large purchase discount. But, then I started experimenting with a lot of other things, so I now have a lot of Enertia product sitting around that I'm wondering about.

I can't find an expiration date on any of it, also searched their website to no avail. Does anyone know how long I should keep this before pitching? Hate to throw away good food, but don't want to run the risk of getting sick in the middle of no-where either!

BTW, it's been stored in a cool, dark place in the garage.”

“we have 1.5yr (maybe more) old enertia stuff. Its stored in the freezer, no worries. Call the company and ask em. They're good folks.”

“I thought it was like C Rations. Sort of stayed ok forever.”

“Chili...C Rations? Um Cs or MRE's//// In 1980 I ate Cs from 1972 and they worked okay...same amount of gas produced, same amount of lack of taste....

I have had enertia foods for a couple of years....no problems”

“fat goes rancid and gets bitter ubt not sure how logn that takes”

“Fat goes rancid and gets bitter.....

Jimmy I think you finally explained the problem I have with my mother in law....

YOU SIR ARE A GENIUS>”

“Any packaged food like this that does not come an expiration date should be used as soon as possible, or stored for a short period of time. I only store the Enertia stuff for a season (about 8 months), then I get rid of it; I suggest you do the same.

If you feel bad about not eating it and it is still good, donate it.”

“fat goes rancid if exposed to the air.

if it is sealed airtight then it should last a whole lot longer.”

“There isn't much fat in enertia meals as they contain no meat. It's been more than a year and a half and we've suffered no ill effects. Some of the meals we have from enertia are about 3. Seriously, call the company. They're good folks and will give you an honest answer (which I hope you'll share with the rest of us).
last edited: 11/27/06 10:39:27 PM”