My question is how many take in prepacked freeze dried foods that are bought vs taking in there own. I have always bought mine because it was convenient. It is a little expensive. I am considering doing it my self next year and am looking for some advice. I have looked at some things in books on what to do. What do you members think?

A dehydrator is a wonderful tool. Not only do you know what's going into your food but it's a lot cheaper too.

Hex

I really dislike the pre packaged freeze dried foods and would much rather put in a little extra effort and plan my own meals. You can get just about every thing you need from the local grocery stores. Make sure you check the directions and ingredients needed and make sure they are compatable with camp cooking, ie just add water mixes. You can do a lot with the foil packaged items like tuna, salmon, chicken and various seafood items. Also check out the rice, bean, and potato boxed items. Most of my trips are 4to 5 nights so I rely on alot of fresh items like steak, chicken breast, and polish sausage. It makes for a little heavier pack but is well worth it as far as taste. Check out some of the camp cook books at the local library. They have a ton of ideas and most of the stuff can be picked up at the local store. Good luck and have fun.

tony

I'm with Tony.

Used to do freeze dried.

Now I buy grocery store food and repackage it in ziplocks disposing of all cardboard-except the directions which are cut off and put in the ziplock.

I dehydrate burger, but use foil pack chicken or tuna as needed.

I throw chicken or tuna in vigo beans and rice-you can throw fish you catch in too.

I get Lipton noodle sides and add something to them

I bring hamburger helper

I bring Bear Creek Chili mix and add burger

I make tacos and put them on soft tortillas

I make spaghetti and dehydrate the sauce or the tomato paste to add to a sauce packet. I also add burger to the sauce for a hearty dinner.

I bring cache lake fry breads or travel with bannock for fresh baked goods.

With this I eat food I really enjoy and spend less money. It does require more work up front and more work in the kitchen in camp, but the results are worth it for me.

I just became aware of this site http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/ A friend of mine posted it on another board. If you like the convenience of freeze dried camping food but not the price, you should check it out.

I've had the urge to try MREs. Does anyone have experience with them?

TR

TR I have tried MREs on a trip (not in the BW) and I would not recomend them for a BW trip. They come with a ton of packaging and they weigh a lot. Most importantly though I thought they tasted awful.

I agree with jt. My son brought a couple MRE's on a trip a pcuople years ago. They'll never go with us again.

After being in the military for 10 years you couldnt pay me to take MRE's in to the boundary waters. Besides 12 meals comes in a case about the size of a coleman suitcase stove. Lots of trash is developed with each meal. Take a big trash bag if you are going to use them.

tony

My brother-in-law gave me 2 cases of MREs. I sampled one or two packets. Gave the rest away.

Put down those mre's. You can sucessfully make pad thai, proscuitto-fig-and polenta stew, and of coarse pizza. Super duper easy.
Pad thai= rice noodles, powdered coconut milk, dried mushrooms, chili flakes and peanut butter. Boil noodles and mushrooms together,add other ingredients to taste.
Proscuitto-fig-and polenta stew=instant polenta, parmesan, a rosemary sprig, dried figs, an onion,and sliced proscuitto. Cook polenta. In a seperate pot add the onion-chopped, dried figs, rosemary sprig, and cover with water. Cook until liquid is reduced and thickened adding salt and pepper to taste and serving the stew over the polenta with a heap of sliced proscuitto and parm on top.
Pizza=Jiffy pizza dough mix (or make your own dough, great afternoon project while fishing and mixing cocktails)oil cured olives, pepperoni or proscuitto, smoked gouda, onion, garlic, or whatever.
Make dough and par-cook it over a fire on a grill or griddle. Brush with olive oil or whatever you've got-butter. Top with desired ingredients, cover the whole lot with a hunk of foil and continue to grill until heated through. Serve with plastic bottled beer and whiskey chaser.

We took MREs into the BWCA on our first trip, figuring hey they're easy, no need to cook anything, and they are in air tight bags. As the name implies, they are ready to eat. This means they are very heavy as they contain liquid, a lot of trash, and some have that heater pack.
I can honestly say I have had worse food, but not very often (some early freeze dried foods come to mind). Some of it didn't taste too bad, but after a couple of days I was ready to eat anything as long as I didn't have to rip open another MRE.
They are currently in my storm room. If the house falls in around me, I'll think about eating one after a day or 2.

Beaver queen you can camp with me anytime!