Food Reviews - dehydrated, ready meals, wet pouches, off the shelf concoctions

edh

edh

Thru Hiker
The first time I have had this although it is slated to be a traditional Mallorca cake...
Heavier croissant-like dough, fig membrillo.....pork meatballs with sweet piment and a sprinkle of sugar...

Tasted slightly better than my shoes...

...in actuality; excellent

20211020_142414.jpg
 
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Bmblbzzz

Bmblbzzz

Thru Hiker
Wayfarer vegetable chilli: https://basecampfood.com/collections/wayfayrer/products/wayfayrer-vegetable-chilli
Quite tasty for something from a plastic pouch, but not filling. Also fairly heavy.

Summit to Eat macaroni cheese: https://basecampfood.com/collections/summit-to-eat/products/summit-to-eat-macaroni-cheese
Filling but not particularly tasty. Macaroni cheese can be (for me) delicious or dire. This was somewhere in the middle. Difficult to mix in the pouch, or maybe just needed more water or time (or boiling-er water maybe), ended up with lumps of cheese (actually quite good) and bits of macaroni floating in a watery cheese sauce.

Tent Meals Italian-inspired meal: https://tentmeals.co.uk/collections/main-meals/products/italian-inspired-camping-meal-small
Basically just couscous with herbs and spices and a smattering of brazil nuts. Actually pretty similar to what I'd make for myself when camping, so I liked it. Also pretty filling. I reckon it's the best of the three here in terms of taste, filling-ness and energy for the weight. Not a bad price either, compared to the others.

Ed: There's another aspect, IMO also an advantage, to the Tent Meals over the other two. It's not a pouch meal. It's just wrapped in plastic, like rice or pasta on the supermarket shelf. This means that although it's slightly heavier than the Summit to Eat, it has smaller pack size. It's only as large as itself, it doesn't have the added size of the sealed pouch. Also less waste to carry out (fits easier in my plastic bag!) and arguably less wasteful full stop, not being a laminated material. OTOH I presume (haven't checked) it thus has shorter shelf life, but doubt it's problematically short.
 
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Odd Man

Odd Man

Thru Hiker
Not really relevant to most, but NZ food co Absolute Wilderness has been rebranded to Real Meals and they have updated their range. By far the best dehydrated meals available in NZ, recommended.

 
Enzo

Enzo

Thru Hiker
Odd Man said:
You could easily make this yourself with Whey (or pea) protein, MCT powder, electrolyte powder and Supergreens powder, possibly add some inulin in for fibre and it'd probably be cheaper than the £50 a bag of this.
Click to expand...
In the add it says ~40% fat, what would work well as a powder? Coconut?
Edit, doh!
mct
 
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Odd Man

Odd Man

Thru Hiker
Enzo said:
In the add it says ~40% fat, what would work well as a powder? Coconut?
Click to expand...

MCT powder (as mentioned in my post), medium chain triglycerides is a very beneficial form of fat, which is usually made from coconut and then processed naturally. It's used in bulletproof coffee and sold as a supplement as well. It's available in bulk powder form from places like MyProtein and BulkPowders.

www.bulk.com

Medium Chain Triglycerides|MCT Powder|Bulk™ UK

Medium Chain Triglycerides from bulk™, also known as MCT's or MCT Powder, is an energy source that promotes weight loss and is often used by athletes. Bulk, formerly Bulk Powders.
www.bulk.com

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mct-oil-benefits

I don't like walking with a full stomach, so when we did Milford track, I had premixed powder like this as my breakfast as it wouldn't make me feel too full, and would release energy slowly vs grains based foods which tend to expand in stomach and can make me feel bloated.
 
S

sherpa

Section Hiker
Odd Man said:
MCT powder (as mentioned in my post), medium chain triglycerides is a very beneficial form of fat, which is usually made from coconut and then processed naturally. It's used in bulletproof coffee and sold as a supplement as well. It's available in bulk powder form from places like MyProtein and BulkPowders.

www.bulk.com

Medium Chain Triglycerides|MCT Powder|Bulk™ UK

Medium Chain Triglycerides from bulk™, also known as MCT's or MCT Powder, is an energy source that promotes weight loss and is often used by athletes. Bulk, formerly Bulk Powders.
www.bulk.com

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mct-oil-benefits

I don't like walking with a full stomach, so when we did Milford track, I had premixed powder like this as my breakfast as it wouldn't make me feel too full, and would release energy slowly vs grains based foods which tend to expand in stomach and can make me feel bloated.
Click to expand...

re BULK products.

I have bought a few over the last couple of years. All but one were in more environmentally friendly packaging. However, they were not air/moisture proof (contents "caked up" within a couple of weeks, even though I had never opened them) and the bags themselves quickly delaminated. Bulk customer services were excellent and I was offered full refunds. However, they continue to use that packaging so I will no longer buy their products.

theproteinworks offer a very similar line of products; I have purchased their stuff many times without a single issue.
 
Slowwalker

Slowwalker

Ultralighter
I put half a packet of Idaho potato, 1/4 packet of stuffing, 2 tablespoons of Bisto gravy granules and 1 tablespoon of crispy onions into a microwave bag and put a cup of boiling water into the bag along with a glug of olive oil and leave it for 10 minues in an insulated pouch. Next time I might add some Quorn mince to it for the protein.

Almost as good at that Firepot meal but certainly a lot cheaper.
 
edh

edh

Thru Hiker
1000070474.jpgWhen in Turkey.....Real Turmat Kebab Stew.
Quite what this has to do with kebabs I don't know?
Yet, I enjoyed this. Quite tasty and slightly spicy because I'd added Aleppo pepper. Meal nicely balanced. Little bit of crunchy bell pepper; tasty. I'd eat it again.

Not quite the Weds night doner, chips, and pickled chilli of my Selly Oak years.
In an effort to revisit those days of yore I had it with 3 cans of Special Brew, made an inappropriate comment to a passing goat, and threw up on my shoes 🙂
 
Run_Hike_Meat_Repeat

Run_Hike_Meat_Repeat

Thru Hiker
edh said:
View attachment 59999When in Turkey.....Real Turmat Kebab Stew.
Quite what this has to do with kebabs I don't know?
Yet, I enjoyed this. Quite tasty and slightly spicy because I'd added Aleppo pepper. Meal nicely balanced. Little bit of crunchy bell pepper; tasty. I'd eat it again.

Not quite the Weds night doner, chips, and pickled chilli of my Selly Oak years.
In an effort to revisit those days of yore I had it with 3 cans of Special Brew, made an inappropriate comment to a passing goat, and threw up on my shoes 🙂
Click to expand...
And reviewer of. the year goes to....... 😂
#legend
 
Tychonius

Tychonius

Thru Hiker
edh said:
View attachment 59999When in Turkey.....Real Turmat Kebab Stew.
Quite what this has to do with kebabs I don't know?
Yet, I enjoyed this. Quite tasty and slightly spicy because I'd added Aleppo pepper. Meal nicely balanced. Little bit of crunchy bell pepper; tasty. I'd eat it again.

Not quite the Weds night doner, chips, and pickled chilli of my Selly Oak years.
In an effort to revisit those days of yore I had it with 3 cans of Special Brew, made an inappropriate comment to a passing goat, and threw up on my shoes 🙂
Click to expand...
In other words, another excellent after hike night!
 
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Tartanferret

Tartanferret

Thru Hiker
It’s all subjective of course but I’m gunna speculate it’s better than the pulled pork which I suspect might be like that fire pot “posh beans & sausages”

a bit ketchupy for ketchup sake

Thanks for testing !
 
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