Favorite Store bought dehydrated meals

[k9hiker]

What is you favorite brand of dehydreated meals? And what are you favorite flavor(s)?

I've heard alot of possitive feedback about Alpineaire (sp?) brand.
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Jamie
Canine Hiking Club of AZ
www.mydog8az.com

[plummer150]

Lasagna is one of my favorites. I just had it a couple days ago for a hike I went on. That was pretty good givin the circomstances.....ha. Na, for real, it's not that bad though. It's all about the power gel though!
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"IRONMAN" cometh, hiketh, destroyeth

[dennisbench]

well, I have only had mountain house. But I would give them high marks. The beef stroganoff is excellent, although some of the mexican ones aren't as good, even though I do like mexican food. The meaty ones I have found are all good, I will probably try some other brands in the future to see what I'm missing (or not.)
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"In the first place you can't see anything from a car; you've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees...When traces of blood begin to mark your trail you'll see something, maybe."
-Ed Abbey

[desertgirl]

For those of you that need their "Veggies" on trail -- dehydrated veggis work great. You can dehydrate them or buy the "Just Tomatoes'' brand. They have stuff other than tomatoes that reconstitue quite well.

Here's a link: http://www.justtomatoes.com/
http://www.justtomatoes.com/html/product/veggiesORG1.html
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Photos: http://www.pbase.com/desertgirl/galleries
Life is but a dream ...there is no end to what you can dream!

[overrocked]

Just Tomatoees brand of carrots, peas, bell peppers are also sold at Trader Joes.(6.00/pkg, I think) I'm not impressed with bell peppers though. I really like the dry whole milk with Instant Breakfast. I've tried spaghetti but don't remember which brand, but it was eatable. I also like Luna Bars. My absolute most eatable meal, no matter how tired or ornery I may be is instant mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy and dried beef.
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Your life is dyed the color of your imagination

[Daddee]

I've tried them all - and most agree with me about the same - which is to say that they don't agree much.

I will say this about freez-dried foods (most of them are not truly de-hydrated - just freeze dried - a much better process if you want to be able to cook it easily) - stay simple. You will find that the more complex and exotic the ingredients sound - the worse it will taste. Stick with simple, common recepies - pasta dishes are always a good pick.

For the best results - pick up a canister of the sorted spices (they have different brands and sizes, anywhere from 4 to 8 spices of varied varieties). Myself, I just got the cannister and filled it with my own spices that I preffer. A littl shot of a cyane pepper will liven any dish up.

Going that route - spicing your food yourself - most of the freeze-dried offerings can be made palatable in any case.
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"Only small minds want always to be right."
- Louis XIV

"...haven't you lived long enough to know that two men may honestly differ about a question and both be right?"
- Abraham Lincoln

[desertgirl]

[ck1]

[desertgirl]

The much despised Ramen Noodles work well too. Yeah, Yeah the have 50% fat but that is only the cheap kinds (14 to $1). I have found some low fat ones at Whole foods that actually taste a whole lot better & cost a whole bunch more

But the again after a long (hard) day's hike --- whats wrong with some extra fat ?
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Photos: http://www.pbase.com/desertgirl/galleries
Life is but a dream ...there is no end to what you can dream!

[k9hiker]

I have only tried the Mt house spaghetti. That was actually good and for freeze dried, good is rare. Thanks for the tip about the stroganoff. I'll have to try it.
_________________
Jamie
Canine Hiking Club of AZ
www.mydog8az.com

[Lizard]

I suggest sorting by specific entrees rather than brand name. Every manufacturer makes a few awful meals, and all of them have some fairly decent ones as well. Some ones that I like:

Alpineaire Sierra Chicken
Alpineaire Black Bart Chili w/ beans
Mountainhouse Chicken Teriyaki w/ Rice
Backpacker's Pantry Black Bean Tamale Pie

And of course, none of these will beat plain ole Lipton Noodles and Sauce or practically any other dish you can buy from a supermarket.
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"Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success.”- Sir Ernest Shackleton, newspaper classified.

[GTG]

I usually dehydrate most of my own food. Initial cost for the equipment was high, but I found the dehydrator and trays at 75% off at Fry's last year. You'd be amazed at what you can do with normal off the shelf food and a dehydrator. You have to experiment some and if you make something awful, there's no one to blame but yourself.

GTG
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Good things come to those who walk.

[Daddee]

[evenstar]

[Daddee]

I think you forgot the comentary Hooli.

And I know better than to think you were offended.
_________________
"Only small minds want always to be right."
- Louis XIV

"...haven't you lived long enough to know that two men may honestly differ about a question and both be right?"
- Abraham Lincoln