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Dinner time, what are you pulling out of your pack? I rolling with Mountain House, looking to add some variety.

Peak Refuel meals are delicious and wayyy better than MH. I also carry an assortment of condiments like crushed red pepper, tapatio hot sauce, soy sauce and olive oil. Don’t forget the Flask of whiskey.

Depends on weather / temperature, how far I'm hiking, and how many days I'm out.

Most of my trips are hot weather and 1, maybe 2 nights. In the middle of summer, if i'm pushing hard (aka HARD), I'll skip carrying "dinner" 'cause I couldn't keep food down at the end of the day anyway, I'll leave the stove home, pack an extra granola bar, and drink water. On one of those trips I lost 9 pounds in 36 hours and had only regained 2 of it 30 days later so it was not just dehydration. For a slower paced trip, generally in hot weather it's Mountain House. I've tried others and I just don't like them. MH isn't perfect but for me it is the best of the lot. A bit of garlic salt, pepper, and, if I'm eating Italian, some parmesan cheese.

When the weather is cooler, cool enough to not require refrigeration, then the menu expands. Also at such times, the days are shorter, the nights are longer, and it's beneficial to use up some of those dark hours futzing around cooking. Pace on the trail is usually slower so a little extra weight is less bothersome. Times like that, a good steak and 1-2 potatoes to bake is reasonable.

I like MH granola with blueberries and milk. It's a good breakfast option. Because it's eaten cold, it's also a good choice for cold-camp hikes in summer. Other things ... you have to watch labels for refrigeration needs, but if you pick right, cheese, salami, some hard breads, etc pack well. For me those are usually lunch items but they could be dinner, too.

Mountain House for me. Its nice to see the competition, and I might throw a few others, but MH has worked for a long time.

First Mile Meals has some good flavors.

Tobasco is my friend.

Peak is the best out there right now in freeze dried. They don't have a huge variety yet. But it is all better then any of the others in my opinion.

MCH I totally agree. They did just add 6 more new meals. The beef chili mac is awesome. They were out of the new granola when I ordered but I have heard it’s also delicious.

Got them already!

How was the mountain berry granola?

Peak, eh? I went on their website, sounds good, thier thing is more protein, less salt. Ordered the variety pack, Ill try it this weekend

For breakfast/granola I just mix up my own, since it's already dehydrated. I get the lowest sugar content granola they have at Natural Grocers, which is 5 g per 55 g serving, and mix in walnuts, hemp seed, dried fruit, and whatever elecctrolyte powder I have on hand.

Add cold water. It's good if you can wrap your head around lime-flavored granola for breakfast.

Smoke
You won’t be disappointed. That sounds like a great granola idea also. Thanks.

I am not a big granola fan, my buddy takes those he said it is good.

Gotcha. I haven’t tried much granola either. Usually split a breakfast skillet with my buddies and make some breakfast burritos.
Was considering trying the granola though.

I'm a fan of freeze-dried desserts. Some apple crisp or cheesecake is darn good at the end of a tough day.

I've always used Mountain House but that Peak Refuel looks pretty interesting.

Looks like more calories and protein than MH so will have to give them a try.

Thanks, guys!

I would highly recommend taking a peek at PackItGourmet; I haven't bought anything else since trying them out ~ 5 years ago- never thought that dried food could actually taste like real food

ones that I can personally vouch for- Dotties chickens and dumplings (will often add a pack of chunk chicken to it); shepherd's cottage pie; Big Easy Gumbo (often add sliced polish sausage, my wife one time added shrimp as well); Texas State Fair chili (add my own shredded cheese and Frito chili cheese chips)

pack it gourmet

So what Peak Refuel meal packages did you get, and how did they taste?

ElkSlayer
I’ve tried almost all of them. My personal favorites are chicken Alfredo, beef chili mac, beef stroganoff and chicken teriyaki. The sweet pork and rice is very sweet with a lot of sugar and I wasn’t a fan. The breakfast skillet is delicious!!

Haha, ol elkslayer, back for more. Don't forget what happened last time you questioned me little buddy. You made a big deal about how I couldn't have possibly been elk hunting in southwest Coorado when I said I was, calculated my drive times and all that. Your attention to detail and diligence in following me was appreciated, but you were as FOS as a Christmas turkey and wrong on all counts, remember?

Anyway, if you really want to know which packages come in the sampler pack (which I doubt), it's on their website, very simple to look up. They didn't arrive in time for the trip this past weekend so I don't know how they taste yet, I don't typically eat dehydrated food at home but I'm planning to try some this weekend. Check back next week and I'll have an opinion on one or two. I can say that the granola won't be making the cut, too much sugar.at 23 grams per serving. And the beef pasta marinara is questionable too, one serving (half a package) has 75% of the RDA for saturated fat. The chicken dishes are much better on that score.

Just tried the chicken alfredo pasta, it was excellent. 690 calories and 44 g protein in the "2 serving" bag, which is about right for one hungry backpacker.

Just tried the beef marinara pasta, it was excellent. Gonna have to re-think my short-term intake of saturated fat......

Smoke
Saturated fat is your friend!

Which one of the variety packs did you buy:

Trail Pack
Alpine Pack
New Meal pack

Do tell Ed!

A six-pack including the granola, a breakfast skillet, the beef marinara, the alfredo with chicken, chicken teriyaki, and a pork dish.

So you purchased the 6-meal Alpine Pack, since the Trail Pack only has 4 meals, and the 6-Pack New Meal Pack doesn't have any Breakfast meals in it, right?

You tell me Sherlock, you seem to have been studying up on this.

All I did was order a box and eat it.

You stated you purchased a variety pack without naming the precise one you bought. Now you’re giving rave reviews after eating two. Other people might want to purchase the same meal Pack after reading the rave reviews, but they need to know what Pack to order in order to do so.

I was simply attempting to narrow down the small Packs that people would buy to try.

Hey Sherlock, why would you be so defensive about simply giving out the specific Pack you purchased, so others could try it out too?

So, was it the Alpine Pack? What’s so hard about answering such a simple question?

I have only used mountain house but I’ll have to try the peak they sound good. For variety I really like tortillas and sharp cheddar or that hard white Irish cheese if it’s fairly cool out. You can put almost any of the food in a tortilla with cheese and it’s extra delicious. Tuna chicken packs add protein as well in the FD food. I really like extra veggies too like the sweet corn or pees dumped in to and they weigh nothing.

Smoke
I eat lots of saturated fat. Heavy cream, butter, coconut oil, full fat cheese, lots of veggies, a good amount of meat and few grains, other than a few beers every so often.
And I am leaner than when I was running 110 miles a week. My main health issue is cholesterol that is lower than the doc would like.

Planning on trying the Beef Marina this coming week while camping out for work but plan on trying these soon as the carbs are more in line with what I’m looking for.

https://www.nextmilemeals.com/collections/entrees

Thanks Ed.

I think you need to go back and read what I said little buddy. I didn't give "rave reviews" on the whole variety pack, just the two meals I tasted. And my comments were made in response to your question on how they tasted. If you want to nit pick my answers to your question I suggest you spring for some and try them yourself.

And as I said, the granola has more sugar than I like so it won't be making the cut. That's not a "rave review."

Tried the breakfast skillet, not a big fan. I'm sure it's nutritionally superior to the Mtn. House version but personally I like the Mtn House breakfast skillet better.

What didn't you like smoke? Texture?

I think I have the same pack. Will be trying them out at sheep camp next week, along with some of the staple mountain house.

Texture was one thing, lots of sausage nuggets but it was like a big bowl of individual 1/4-inch nuggets of ingredients that didn't mix together. Plus the taste was very bland I thought. This may be one dish that doesn't taste the best with low salt.

Single serving has as much salt as a two serving Peak.

So much hostility here.....

The sodium doesn’t concern me at all.

Then they might be good.

Smoke,
Thanks for the info. I guess I'll give it a shot.

Some of the other options look good too. I don't generally get too wound up about sodium, but if doing longer trips, it gets old.

805, smokepole, and anyone else that recommended peak was spot on.

I'll be getting more, and my buddy will as well. The breakfast skillet needed a bit more salt, which nobody has ever said about the mountain house version. But otherwise I thought it was at least as good as the mountain house.

The rest of the meals were great. I had more trouble getting them to re-hydrate than I do with mountain house, but I'll figure that out. They have one meal (beef pasta marinara) that is 990 calories!

Thanks for the tip!

On a not as great note, Heather's choice did not get rave reviews from my hunting partner. And after tasting the smoked salmon chowder, I have to agree.

BREAKFAST
Oatmeal & Bacon
Quaker Fruit & Cream (3 packs)
Bacon, precooked

Breakfast Cereal & Milk
Honey Nut Cheerios & Cinnamon Life (in a ZipLok bag)
Milk, dehydrated

English Muffins & Bacon
English Muffins
Margarine & Jelly, café paks
Bacon, precooked
Tongs & Camp Stove Toaster

S.O.S.
Slider Rolls
White Gravey Mix, dehydrated
Hot Dogs or Stadium Brats, chopped
Wire Wisk

Breakfast Wraps
Mountain House Breakfast Skillet
Tortillas

Breakfast Hash
Mountain House Breakfast Hash
Tortillas
Taco Sauce (cafe packs)

LUNCH
NO COOK SNACKS, such as;
Beef Jerky
Sandwich Crackers
Trail Mix (GORP)
Crackers, Cookies
Candy Bars, Granola Bars
Lunchables, Canned Snacks
Summer Sausage
Cheese Balls, parafin wrap
Dried Fruit or Fruit Leather
Pop Tarts

Cup-O-Noodles

MREs


DINNER
Freeze-dried Meals
Wide Variety Available
Mountain House is the best

Turkey or Chicken Casserole
Chicken Casserole Mix, dehydrate
Turkey or Chicken, can
Margarine, café packs

Spaghetti
Spaghetti Noodles, or Pasta
Spaghetti Sauce, dehydrated
Motzarella Cheese, in ZipLok bag

Fajitas
Mtn House Chicken Fajita Bowl
Tortillas

Mac & Cheese
Velveeta Shells & Cheese
Ham, can
Margarine, café packs

Burritos
Refried Beans, dehydrated
Minute Rice, boil-in-bag
Tortillas
Salsa or Taco Sauce, café packs


DRINKS
Cocoa, instant
Crystal Lite
Tang
Coffee, instant
Milk, dehydrated

Mountain House.

Are you kidding?

It used to be the "gold standard."