Today's (4/6) woot.com item is various flavors of Mountain House meals. Good deals to be had, if you like freeze dried meals and don't mind buying the big cans rather than individual pouches.

I can vouch for the deliciousness of their beef stroganoff, spaghetti, and chicken stew flavors. I haven't had any of the others. I'd be nervous to eat chili mac in the back country... at least there are latrines in the BWCA. I've been curious about their turkey tetrazzini for a few years but haven't ever gotten it.

The #10 cans are a great deal if you have a way to vacuum seal them again after opening them. I've also just used a whole can for a meal when I have a large group of hungry guys. 5-6 guys can take down a whole can when they're real hungry. I've still always transported them in their own sealed bags as opposed to the cans for weight and pack-ability.

Do they actually need to be vacuum sealed or just air-tight? It seems like the pro-paks are vacuum sealed, but the regular pouches appear to just be sealed with plenty of air space inside. Chili mac is definitely a good flavor. In addition to what you listed, I'd also throw in that, biscuits and gravy, breakfast skillet, and Italian pepper steak. I bring tortillas to make fajitas and breakfast burritos with the last two.

JUST SAY NO to their Spaghetti Marinara! Worst freeze dried crap I ever tried to eat! We buried it rather than try to stomach it.

JUST SAY NO to their Spaghetti Marinara! Worst freeze dried crap I ever tried to eat! We buried it rather than try to stomach it.

quote ozarkpaddler: "JUST SAY NO to their Spaghetti Marinara! Worst freeze dried crap I ever tried to eat! We buried it rather than try to stomach it."

I've had their spaghetti with meat sauce and it was awesome. At least I loved it. I also hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and had been on the trail all day the first time I tried it. Never had the Spag-mar.

I have done that with a couple dishes before, though... some kind of couscous which was flavorless paste, and powdered eggs.

I looked over Backpacker's Pantry offerings on REI.com and I was intrigued by some of the Indian and Thai curry options. I don't see any Mountain House flavors like that, though.

I think if I got a #10 can, I'd vacuum seal the whole thing up into 1 serving portions anyway.

Here is a story.........backpacking Isle Royale and knew I would be able to catch fish for dinners. Well, yup you guessed it........no fish. Well thats not totally true I did catch one really fine northern pike which I probably could of eaten on for a week if I could of refrigerated it.......But I let it go.

So, I am wading in the water at Lake Chickenbone fishing for dinner. I'm cold and my tummy is rumbly when these folks walk up and ask if I'm catching anything. "well I haven't and I'm fishing for dinner"..........they got the hint and gave me several freeze dried Mountain house dinners, some Gorp and extra oatmeal. The Mountain house was Lasagna and it was Soooooo good! And of course immediately after dinner I did catch a walleye, a small pike and a decent perch so go figure.

I like the Lasagna really well but hands down my favorite is Pasta Prima vera. I usually get a #10 tin every year of the stuff. Really good.

Another excellent lunch (my all time favorite actually) is the Mountain House Granola with blueberries and milk. You can really make some miles with this stuff........very tasty and is usually my backpack lunch for each and every day. Make sure you have a long spoon.

FWIW.......if you use the individual serving sizes I like to carry some tiny cable ties and, after rinsing the pouch out, I fold very tightly and secure with a tiny cable tie. Then into a gallon ziplock. The cable tie helps keep everything tight and compact.

About all the freeze dried stuff I pack is mostly Mt House from #10 cans. Richmoor is gone and cache lake got pricey Imo.
I vacume- seal a can into hearty two-person servings just pre-trip and freeze what I Don't pack for later. Have used up to a year later.
My favorites are beef strogenoff, chicken stew, chili mac, breakfast skillet#10?.
Also get corn,peas, (add-lib to the chicken or beef stew with a bit) and strawberry slices. This year we may try the blueberry granola too. With a group of 4 it is well worth the trouble and packs tightly. No pre-trip deflating and taping the factory 2 or 4 -seeing bags for compressed pack ability. Cheaper too. Sometimes we repeat a meal in a week and I usually hope it is the strogenoff! :)

I keep reading this title as "Mountain House freeze dried grubs," and have to read through it again to make sure it's not one last April Fools item I missed...

food
this has been my go to food for my solo trips, and my wife likes it as well. i also use hawk vittles. there has not been one meal that i did not like.
i sure like the ease of boiling water and re-hydrating.

quote schweady: "I keep reading this title as "Mountain House freeze dried grubs," and have to read through it again to make sure it's not one last April Fools item I missed...
"

Ha! thats funny.........but hey, grubs are staple fare in different parts of the world, probably tastes a lot like.......a grub.

OTH.........Do yourself a favor and do get the Granola with blueberries and milk. Very tasty IMO. Makes an awesome traveling lunch......or a dessert for that matter. I find myself trying to get every last morsel and will eat it each and every day for lunch and never tire of it. Good energy as well.

I like to take a mix of freeze dried and real food. Me thinks freeze dried gets a bad rap rather unfairly. Or maybe its that I am not particularly fussy. Seems to work out and that without lots of hassle.

One last thought on freeze dried........they say let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes. Bah, nonsense. Get yourself a "Cozy" and let it sit for 15 minutes minimum and you will have a far superior product. With the cozy its still "burn your mouth" hot. They make cozies to fit almost every pot imaginable or you can get a custom cozy at Anti Gravity gear. Cozies will help save lots of fuel as well........For example I like old fashioned oats instead of instant (instant gives me the runs)..........just boil your water, add oats and put inside the cozy and wait 5 or 10 minutes........perfecto and still piping hot!

Anti Gravity Cozies

Make yourself and your friends cozies

Reflectix. Home Depot.. Cheap per unit.

We bring the the Mountain House Just in Case pack along with frozen steaks, eggs, bacon, potatoes, etc on our trips. It helps lighten the load of "real" food and it tastes good too. Be aware that the serving size says each pouch is for 2 people. Each of us can eat a whole pouch for dinner along with a decent portion of fish fillets after a day of paddling/portaging/fishing. We used to bring only "real" food on all our trips but the quality of this stuff has really improved and it definitely helps us with the weight of the food pack without sacrificing much in terms of good grub.

We save one or two of the zip lock pouches and wash them out to use as an easy way to store and transport fillets while we are cleaning fish and transporting them back to camp. Usually we set it up where one bag is filled with lake water to use as a rinsing station and the other is used as a clean, sealed transportation unit. The rest of the bags get burned in the campfire. Just kidding! LOL!! Happy Friday :)

quote jamotrade: "We bring the the Mountain House Just in Case pack along with frozen steaks, eggs, bacon, potatoes, etc on our trips. It helps lighten the load of "real" food and it tastes good too. Be aware that the serving size says each pouch is for 2 people. Each of us can eat a whole pouch for dinner along with a decent portion of fish fillets after a day of paddling/portaging/fishing. We used to bring only "real" food on all our trips but the quality of this stuff has really improved and it definitely helps us with the weight of the food pack without sacrificing much in terms of good grub."

You can find it for about $60 if you shop around but this link gives you the idea...

Mountain House Just In Case

Other than vegetables - and I think FD veggies beats dehydrated for taste, nutrition, and appearance - the only recent MH FD was the chicken fajita wraps - which were surprisingly tasty.

I got talked into a FD meal on a recent trip and read a lot of backpacking boards and blogs. They liked Good-To-Go FD meals a lot - many 5 star reviews. I got the favorite one of many - pad thai - and all I can say is that backpackers must have a very low standard for good tasting food.

I remain leery of opening FD meat and repackaging for more than one trip. Seems ripe for bacteria.

I love the blueberry granola, too. It's my go-to breakfast most of the time, unless I oversleep or I'm in a hurry and then I just eat a Cliff bar and some jerky while I'm packing up. I never thought about it for lunch, but it's quick and easy... good idea.

There are some other great varieties of companies making these now. I just got a vegetarian box from backpackers pantry. I'm looking forward to throwing some fish in after it's mostly reheated. I always make sure to pack a 2 or 3 oz container of frank's red hot just to add some flavor to the less tasty meals if i need a little more zip. Do any of you bring a condiment for such a use?

Yes, always a tiny bottle of Tabasco - but I prefer Cholula or Frank's in general.

We always raid a Chik Fil A the day before we leave and grab a bunch of their mayo packets, too... they go great on pita sandwiches (or a burger at night) for the first couple days. I wouldn't risk it much longer than that. Mustard only for the rest of the trip.

I have a gallon ziplock full of various condiments I have grabbed from fast food places over the course of time. We usually bring a handful of each type of condiment. FYI Famous Dave's has big packets of their BBQ sauce that can really help in a pinch if you overcook something or need to mask a bad flavor.

if you can get a good price on the #10 meat cans - I highly recommend. They are expensive, but really help bulk up the entrees with calories/protein.

quote BuckFlicks: "I love the blueberry granola, too. It's my go-to breakfast most of the time, unless I oversleep or I'm in a hurry and then I just eat a Cliff bar and some jerky while I'm packing up. I never thought about it for lunch, but it's quick and easy... good idea.
"

Totally agree on the blueberry granola! Beats the heck out of oatmeal and it is good. I have been known to eat it at home...

quote yellowcanoe: "Make yourself and your friends cozies


Reflectix. Home Depot.. Cheap per unit."

As someone who is functionally incapable of sewing much of anything, I simply use a dense weave skiing cap for a cozy on my aluminum coffee pot which I use for just about everything cooking. And it doubles as a hat when its cold

With a large group everbody -except me- liked it. Fortunately we had a variety of foods. After 8 days, 10 lbs lighter, and very hungry... I still could not stomache it.

quote sunnybear09: "

As someone who is functionally incapable of sewing much of anything, I simply use a dense weave skiing cap for a cozy on my aluminum coffee pot which I use for just about everything cooking. And it doubles as a hat when its cold"

Cool, I'll have to try that and save on underwear.

I wonder why some love it and some dislike it so much?

Camp Chow

quote sunnybear09: "

quote yellowcanoe: "Make yourself and your friends cozies



Reflectix. Home Depot.. Cheap per unit."

As someone who is functionally incapable of sewing much of anything, I simply use a dense weave skiing cap for a cozy on my aluminum coffee pot which I use for just about everything cooking. And it doubles as a hat when its cold"

Double duty for all.. very good
But Reflectix requires no sewing ability.. I hate my machine.

It requires a little duct tape that is all and if you miss ( I have trouble with duct tape sticking to everything it isnt supposed to) its doesn't require a seam ripper.

Picked up a pouch of the blueberry granola to try yesterday. It is gone now. I see a can in future. Thanks.
I also am thinking of the 'seafood chowder'. Maybe adding some corn and chunks of pike would be tasty.

quote overthehill: "Picked up a pouch of the blueberry granola to try yesterday. It is gone now. I see a can in future. Thanks.
I also am thinking of the 'seafood chowder'. Maybe adding some corn and chunks of pike would be tasty."

Years ago when my wife and I got married, we rode our tandem around MN for a couple weeks for our honeymoon. One of the meals we had-cannot recall the manufacturer-was called seafood delight. It was the worst, most vile thing either of our taste buds have ever tasted. Since then, whenever we eat something we do not like, we always say, "This, or seafood delight? Which is worse?" Seafood delight always wins.

Even though freeze dried food has come a long way-and I love seafood-I will never purchase any freeze dried food with "seafood" in its title!

My understanding is Cache lake chowder is good.......or so that is the common consensus. I have oft thought of adding chunks of fish to a chowder......why not?

The breakfast skillet bags are my favorite. It says a meal for two. I have fed my family of five numerous breakfasts with one pouch. We prefer to take along bags of flour tortilla shells and if we have a cooler a jar of our favorite salsa. If backpacking or without a cooler, McDonalds has a decent salsa packet you can collect that they usually hand out with breakfast burritos. Just ask for extra, they can add a nice flavor to your hiking breakfasts or other Mountain House entrees.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it but I almost always use less water than recommended on the package. I don't like the food as soggy as it seems to be when you add what they recommend. Remember, you can always add water later but you can't take it out once you add it.

Never cared too much for MH.

quote QueticoMike: "Never cared too much for MH."

Gotta pick and choose........I remember forcing myself to eat their instant eggs in Glacier because I couldn't dispose of it ant other "bear safe" way. Worst "food" I have ever eaten. Maybe they are better now.

Ya gotta try the Granola with milk and blueberries. Scrumptious........either that or I am so famished from backpacking that anything tastes good. Oh, and the vegetarian dish Pasta Prima vera.......really is tops with a pile of walleye filets. I will probably always bring that. The rest I am like you, a little less keen on, but I'm not to fussy.