Light weight, dried meals, who makes the best?

[Chris the Cat]

Who is out there making the ( relatively! ) good stuff?
Need some light weight meals for Norway in Feb.

Just the main meals please, I have heard Mountain House are good?
Thoughts please cats.

Advent best.

Cat.

 

[stuey]

You had best re-mortgage your house buddy...
Average prices for a main meal are about 5quid a go!
Em and me bought a dehydrator for the same money it would have cost us to buy enough dry meals for our cycle tour a couple of years ago. Its nice to know what is in our dehydrated food now and its great for preserving all sorts of other food year round.

Mountain house is tasty scran though if you have no choice.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

 

[Chris the Cat]

Hey my friend, thanks ( I think!! )
Needs must buddy, will try and pick up some cheap rat-packs and some of the goodstuff.
Will pick up some fresh and salami out there but need to keep the weight down for the flight bags.
Hope you are both well ( and Hector! )

Chris.

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

Like Stuey says its not a cheap game with premades. Ive spent a fortune this year on mountain house and real turmat meals for my trips. after seeing the rats Pete has made in the dehydrator ive taken the plunge and ordered one.

 

[Teepee]

I've started making my own up after seeing Shewie's homemade Rats

Bought a big Andrew James dehydrator for drying the meat, fruit and veggies and then add these and all the herbs and spices to the dried staples. Beef or veg suet at 900 cals/100g (thanks Woody) is proving a winner for providing the fats as it doesn't soak into the dried mix and go rancid.

I don't have a vacuum sealer so the portions go into the freezer with a silica gel packet to keep them fresh.

Looking at the energy provided per weight for the Turmat meals, It's comparing favourably and I can add all the extras I want in it. Without the meat, I reckon I'm on a couple of quid a meal max.

 

[PDA1]

+1 on DIY.
Look up "Hungry hammock hanger" for a good You tube channel (also known as babelfish5) showing how easy it is.

 

[Chris the Cat]

Man, you two cats are killing me! lol!!
Can't see me getting that facility together for myself this side of the trip, so need back up.
Picked up the Dep bags boys, grade 1+ I would say, no super grade around but I think you we be happy.

C.

 

[British Red]

Chris,

If you go on the mountain house site, you can buy individual freeze dried components (e.g. shrimp, beef, peas, corn etc.) and make up your own meals. They also do freeze dried fruit etc..

Also look at the Fuishion shop - they do dried tomato powder, and even dried yoghurt powder!

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Fruishion?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

A combination of the Mountain House and Fruishion stuff, throw in some Smash and Pasta and you have everything from a great cottage pie to a spag bol - all from dried ingredients

Red

 

[rik_uk3]

Drytech make the meals for the norge rat packs but they are very pricey http://www.expeditionfoods.com/online-shop?clickref=9055078-441614&gclid=CIeJkfGVj7sCFdHItAodyVAAIA Mountain House are OK but the portions are small and the food value is not great.

Look at things like Oat So Simple, mix with dried milk and sugar, two sachets give 200 cals plus what you'd get from the milk and sugar. Rice, pasta, smash as a base and add your salami/sausage/corned beef/tuna in oil/dried veg/(lots) butter etc. Chocolate, long life pita bread; vacuum packed bacon will last a long time. Batchelors Pasta 'n' Sauce are a good standby. Use imagination, look at the food value and put your own packs together.

 

[Chris the Cat]

Cheers Red, cheers rik.

Chris.

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

the mountain house large portions are circa 1000 cals per meal. turmat beef stew is about 750.

are you looking at these for Dinner Chris? i thought we were making stew?

 

[Chris the Cat]

We are making stew Paul, just thinking of some as back up, or the odd day one fancies a savory breakfast
( which I found myself craving on my last cold weather trip!!
Not looking for many, so I can buy the best I guess!
Other than that, is cooking imgrediants, flapjacks, treats and such!
See ya soon mate.

C.

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

i get all mine from here mate

http://www.outdoorsgrub.co.uk/index.php

 

[ged]

Don't ignore packets of noodles. They're light, there's very little refuse and with a bit of imagination you can spice them up more than the (essentially useless) little flavouring packet that comes with them. I've more or less lived on them for the past three months, chasing badgers around Gloucestershire.

 

[Nice65]

Hey my friend, thanks ( I think!! )
Needs must buddy, will try and pick up some cheap rat-packs and some of the goodstuff.
Will pick up some fresh and salami out there but need to keep the weight down for the flight bags.
Hope you are both well ( and Hector! )

Chris.

Salami doesn't have to be heavy, but the fat in the fresh version will be something you need. Dried salami or Wurst might be a better option. I don't know where you're landing, but I'm pretty sure the local shops and supermarkets will offer a good range of preserved meats. Norway is cold, they know about that stuff.

And, as mentioned, get a load of noodles. Pretty empty carbs, but can be tarted up with packet soup mix etc.

 

[rik_uk3]

http://www.fatsecret.co.uk/calories-nutrition/vesta/beef-risotto/1-packet is a very handy site for planning meals for your trip.

750 cals in a can of corned beef
360 cals in a packet of Batchelors pasta n sauce
200 cals from a tablespoon of butter
100 ish from some dried full fat milk

Total around 1400 and enough for two people so @700 cals at a cost of less than £2 each.

 

[Chris the Cat]

Good work chaps, cheers.

C.

 

[Chris the Cat]

i get all mine from here mate

http://www.outdoorsgrub.co.uk/index.php

Nice link mate, thanks!

C.

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

http://www.fatsecret.co.uk/calories-nutrition/vesta/beef-risotto/1-packet is a very handy site for planning meals for your trip.

750 cals in a can of corned beef
360 cals in a packet of Batchelors pasta n sauce
200 cals from a tablespoon of butter
100 ish from some dried full fat milk

Total around 1400 and enough for two people so @700 cals at a cost of less than £2 each.

Pasta n sauce is a staple of my dried lunches. Corned beef may be a bind at minus daft though

 

[rik_uk3]

You stew the corned dog with the pasta

If you don't home dry these are cheap enough

Or http://www.amazon.co.uk/Buy-Whole-F...d=1385915937&sr=1-1&keywords=dried+vegetables A kilo of dried veg is a LOT of veg when rehydrated. 50g would be a good sized single portion

Lentils, split peas, butter beans are all great dried foods. Glad I spotted this thread, got me thinking about a few things.