We have traditionally packed individual dehydrated portions for meals for each of our party of 4-6. Heat and re-hydrated the meal in a mug/cup with a cozy. Instead of packaging the individual meals I am considering packaging the meal in one large bag and then separate/divide the meal into individual portions in camp. This would save allot of time in the packaging process & use allot less bags etc.

Has anyone tried/done this? Pro's & con's?

I have tried both. The biggest reason I have stuck with the individual meals with a large group is the variation of eating preferences in our crowd. The other main reason is that I have found that you can keep smaller individual packets drier and thus- safer from bacteria.

CON’s: It’s way easier to use the individual meals. And, if you have a bunch of them pre-made and lying around or stashed in the freezer, it also cuts way down on the planning, like 90% less work in planning. Easy to make adjustments if your party size changes.
Group dynamics are complex. Sometimes you’re herding cats. Better to have individual meals. Otherwise, your vacation is not a vacation.

PRO’s: Saves tons of space from packaging and less garbage to haul around. If you also bulk cook in one big pot, the big covered pot of boiling “whatever” will start at 212F and end up at about 190F after 10min. An insulated freezer bag kind of thing goes from about 185F to maybe 170F over 10min. So the big pot retains more heat, cooks better, and maybe sanitizes bacteria better.

Foods rehydrate at different rates. Meats can take a long time and like higher temperatures. Vegetables taste best when rehydrated cold for several hours (or all day), and then cooked very slightly. If you dump everything into individual meal pouches to rehydrate, you can sometimes end up with chewy meats and mushy everything else. For comparison, I dehydrate vegetables and fruits fresh or slightly blanched, and then often let them rehydrate for several hours in a thermos or one of those twist-loc plastic containers on the trail. Then, I will mix those in with whatever is cooking in the big pot right at the end of the cooking cycle. Depending on what you are cooking, can be much better texture and flavor. Easier to do that kind of thing when cooking as a group or using bulk ingredients vs. with just the individual pouches – but not impossible with the individual pouches.

There’s no rule that says you can’t bring some individual bag meals, and also some bulk packed stuff too to save some space here and there.

Another CON for the larger size bags vs smaller individual size ones is the ingredients tend to not get equally distributed so someone may end up with something not quite right in their cup, that is unless you cook the whole large sack meal in one pot and then dish it out to everyone.

I only do "one pot" meals. Saves bagging and garbage to carry out. We are usually bigger groups of 6-9 people. The only time I do individual meals is for food allergies or vegetarians. Most meals I can add the meat(dehydrated) after the vegetarians take their portion out. I do my own dehydrating and thus can control what is in each meal.

I always put meals for large groups into individual baggies because:

1) If one small bag gets punctured, it doesn't ruin the entire meal; and,
2) If folks eat meals out of the baggies, there is far less time spent cleaning dishes afterward.

IF you travel with teenagers, stay with the individual meals. That way they can choose their own dinner each night. There is less eye rolling and huffing going on...

quote jcavenagh: "IF you travel with teenagers, stay with the individual meals. That way they can choose their own dinner each night. There is less eye rolling and huffing going on..."

Seriously? I can't imagine that on our Scout trips. One pot, eat it or don't eat.

quote billconner: "

quote jcavenagh: "IF you travel with teenagers, stay with the individual meals. That way they can choose their own dinner each night. There is less eye rolling and huffing going on..."

Seriously? I can't imagine that on our Scout trips. One pot, eat it or don't eat."

Funny I always pack the individual meals for my crowd- but the Mommy in me says- for the Scouts....

These are growing boys, working hard in the woods- they are going to be STARVING when dinner comes around.

My evil thought- this is a great moment to force them to eat better than they normally would, a time to try something they may never eat- but might like. Sure one pot for the little buggers! Do a meeting where you teach them all how to cook and dehydrate if they want to get picky!