In preparation for hitting the trail – we decided to taste test several dehydrated and freeze dried offerings.
The boy isn’t too keen on oatmeal – and all of the lightweight hiking blogs talk about making your own oatmeal/granola mixes. Time for some other ideas.
I went off to REI and picked up a few ideas. We’ve been fans of the Mountain House camping meals for a while – they are quite salty though. More recently we tried a few of the Good-To-Go meals – which were pretty good.
This was also a great time to check out the camping stoves, teach the boy how to light them – and get the water boiling.
Here are the details. All prices are correct at the time of purchase.
Good-to-Go Oatmeal
https://www.rei.com/product/121301/good-to-go-oatmeal
https://goodto-go.com/products/oatmeal
$6.50
This was always going to be hit or miss. The reviews on REI are like Marmite – love it or hate it. Let’s see.
We followed the instructions to the letter. What resulted was a really strange gloop. The smell was kind-of-spicy, kind-of-porridge. The consistency was nutty. The taste was, in our opinion, quite vile. The vegetarian of the house however demolished a bowl after returning from a trail run.
Verdict:
3/10 for taste
2/10 for cost
We won’t be taking this on the trail. A real disappointment.
Backpacker’s Pantry Huevos Rancheros
https://www.rei.com/product/618926/backpackers-pantry-huevos-rancheros-egg-scramble-mix-2-servings
https://www.backpackerspantry.com/freeze-dried-food/breakfast/huevos-rancheros
$7.50
Ok – I did what quite a few others have done – and picked this up without reading the details. This is dried eggs; not freeze dried and dehydrated cooked eggs. It makes up about 300ml of egg/beans/cheese mix – that then needs cooking up in a pan. Not really backpacking food at all. That being said – it was good.
Following the instructions – this turned out really well. Could have done with a few minutes more to rehydrate the black beans – some were still a little crunchy. With some hot sauce this could be a real hit for car camping.
Verdict:
8/10 for taste
6/10 for cost
Not for the trail – but great for car camping.
Mountain House Scrambled Eggs with Bacon
https://www.rei.com/product/510120/mountain-house-scrambled-eggs-with-bacon-single-serving
https://www.mountainhouse.com/M/product/scrambled-eggs-bacon.html
$8.00
Reading the reviews and the instructions – there’s a “remove excess water” comment. Urg. Not what we want to be doing in bear country. Again – we followed instructions to the letter.
Very wet. Lots of excess water. Salty bacon too. Strange egg texture. As noted in the REI reviews – it’s unlike scrambled eggs and bacon. We would certainly try this with a tortilla and hot sauce. Concerned about the extra water though.
Verdict:
7/10 for taste
6/10 for cost
Mountain House Breakfast Skillet
https://www.rei.com/product/800872/mountain-house-breakfast-skillet-2-servings
https://www.mountainhouse.com/M/product/breakfast-skillet.html
$10.00
Pricier than the rest – but two huge servings. Hash browns, egg, sausage, pepper and onions.
This took a good while to rehydrate – but in the end was worth the wait. It looks a lot like beige gloop – but certainly textures and tastes were good. We think this would be great in a tortilla – and adding some hot sauce really lifted this one.
Verdict:
8/10 for taste
7/10 for cost
This was the best of the four.
