Do Boil in the Bag meals still exist?
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Foil-packed fish is light and compact if you have to carry food for a ways.
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On the other hand... If I am somewhere that the pickings are slim, I can get by on a really limited and stupid diet for a while (and have done so). If I had to I could go 10 days on mostly tortillas, peanut butter, and jelly or some other equally limited/stupid diet and might prefer it to Mountain House.
When we've toured, we almost always have a couple packets of ramen/oriental noodles in our bags. If it comes down to it (and it did once) a bowl of those each can be dinner. It's not ideal, but it's something. College students live on it!
And it's better if we happen to have a small tin of chicken or a couple carrots or something hiding in our bags too.
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#28
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When we've toured, we almost always have a couple packets of ramen/oriental noodles in our bags. If it comes down to it (and it did once) a bowl of those each can be dinner. It's not ideal, but it's something. College students live on it!
And it's better if we happen to have a small tin of chicken or a couple carrots or something hiding in our bags too.
And it's better if we happen to have a small tin of chicken or a couple carrots or something hiding in our bags too.
#29
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I usually bypass the pre-packaged foods i our supermarkets and thus am not really familiar with what's available in them these days. I'll check out the three local supermarkets again this week to see what they have. I like to buy stuff ahead of my tours so that it's not a big outlay of money at one time.
I've often carried canned goods on my Northern Ontario, Canada logging/mining roads tours because there are NO places to resupply. My tours up there are usually two weeks long self supported. When I do that I'm not really concerned about the weight. Yes, noodles and rice can be a great staple if you use small tins of something for extra flavour and/or protein.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
I've often carried canned goods on my Northern Ontario, Canada logging/mining roads tours because there are NO places to resupply. My tours up there are usually two weeks long self supported. When I do that I'm not really concerned about the weight. Yes, noodles and rice can be a great staple if you use small tins of something for extra flavour and/or protein.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
#30
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That makes for a very different set of priorities than I (and probably most tourists) have when packing food. In those conditions I can see your approach. Still, in those conditions, I'd probably carry food as if I was backpacking and try to use mail drops every 4-6 days if there were post offices anywhere along the way. For me that would mean trying to keep food weight to 2-2.5 pounds per day, like I do while backpacking. If there were no available mail drops I'd definitely limit weight of packed meal as much as possible. Heck I'd even consider eating those horrible Mountain House meals if I had to carry two weeks of food at once. More likely I use a lot of dried stuff and bulk freeze dried stuff from Honeyville Farms.
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That makes for a very different set of priorities than I (and probably most tourists) have when packing food. In those conditions I can see your approach. Still, in those conditions, I'd probably carry food as if I was backpacking and try to use mail drops every 4-6 days if there were post offices anywhere along the way. For me that would mean trying to keep food weight to 2-2.5 pounds per day, like I do while backpacking. If there were no available mail drops I'd definitely limit weight of packed meal as much as possible. Heck I'd even consider eating those horrible Mountain House meals if I had to carry two weeks of food at once. More likely I use a lot of dried stuff and bulk freeze dried stuff from Honeyville Farms.
Never heard of Honeyville Farms.
Freeze Dried stuff from the sporting goods stores around here is quite expensive.
Cheers
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In 2016 I did a loop from/to Missoula using some of ACA's TranAm route. Stayed in Jackson, MT with a few people riding east in the TA. One guy, who reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite (both in looks and behavior) with a pony tail, had an entire case of Ramen bungeed precariously on top of the incredible amount of other stuff piled up on his rear rack. Dozens of packages, like he was disappearing from civilization for an entire month. I wish I had taken a photo.
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We used to have Woolworth's brick & mortar stores here in the U. S. when I was a kid, in the '60s, but I can't even remember the last time I saw one now. 🤔 But that was when you could still sit in a drugstore, & have an ice cream soda or something. Those days are long gone, darnit. 🙁😉
#34
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They are worth checking out... Some of their stuff is really excellent. Their shipping is a per order flat rate so for larger orders it is cheap. Not that great if you just want to buy one thing. I stock up on a bunch of stuff at once infrequently since unopened cans keep forever. Some of their stuff I use at home. I love the refried beans, the oats are great, the dried fruits are good, and so is most of their stuff. Some of their items I find do go bad for me before I use them after I open a big can if I am not careful. I find it helps to repackage some items in heat sealed foil packages.
https://honeyville.com/
https://honeyville.com/
#35
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These are pretty good. Heat in boiling water for 5 minutes.
https://www.costco.com/organic-tasty...100502845.html
I've tried a similar Chipotle bowl meal and a curry dish. There's also some rice ones and a rice/quinoa mix out there.
https://www.costco.com/organic-tasty...100502845.html
I've tried a similar Chipotle bowl meal and a curry dish. There's also some rice ones and a rice/quinoa mix out there.
Might have to look into that Loma Linda stuff. I've had some of their products, but was not aware of anything like that.
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https://www.dollargeneral.com/spam-s...ic-2-5-oz.html
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We used to have Woolworth's brick & mortar stores here in the U. S. when I was a kid, in the '60s, but I can't even remember the last time I saw one now. 🤔 But that was when you could still sit in a drugstore, & have an ice cream soda or something. Those days are long gone, darnit. 🙁😉
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#39
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As a way to extend/maintain the touring mindset and experience I sample stuff from the supermarket from time to time. I have found a lot of stuff I wouldn't feed to the dogs, but an occasional item is not bad. A lot of ramen or bean soup type meals are improved by the addition of some cut up jerky. Now I just have to start writing down the brands and flavors. Also looking for a source of dried shrimp, and freeze dried vegetables. Purpose made outdoor meals are too expensive and seem to be packaged in meals for more than one.
#41
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What about the famous Ramen bomb? I ate one on a bike overnighter, and I'd do it again. DON'T JUDGE ME.
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+1. The couple of times I took them on three-day backpacking trips I found some of the single portion ones to be a bit small for a relatively big eater like myself. One time I purposefully brought to egg breakfast packages because I found during a previous trip that one didn't cut it.
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The serving sizes are based on some decades old formula of what people eating several small courses in one meal would typically eat. They are not the number of calories that a backpacker or bicycle tourist would typically need to replenish calories after a long day.
I typically look for a breakfast in the 400 to 500 calorie range, supper in the 500 to 800 calorie range, depending on how hard I worked that day.
To compare to freeze dried, a serving of Mountain House Beef Stroganoff is 260 calories, that is half of what I want for a supper if I did not work too hard that day.
When I did Pacific Coast trip several years ago, there were two of us and we often mixed up one pot meals in the campsite. We often put one extra brick of ramen noodles in the supper pot to boost calories for the two of us.
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When I saw the title of this thread I was thinking the exact same thing. Good to see another ground pounder over here too. I've done many meals this way as well. The key is the freezer grade bag - heavier duty.
Agreed.
This isn't dried food friendly, but another freezer bag trick is to use larger gallon size freezer bags to make egg omelets. Mix what ever chopped veggies you want, meats, cheeses, etc in the bottom of a gallon bag. Then either use a carton of egg (you can get it in a pint or so size wax paper carton, like a cream carton, in some stores) or use fresh eggs - 2 or 3 depending on how big of an omelet you want to make. Mix the ingredients in the bag with the egg by squishing the bag around. Then close the bag except for a little bit and press out the air. Then roll the mix in the bottom of the bag over a fold in the bag to squeeze out the remaining air before sealing the zip loc entirely. Next - unroll the bag and dunk it in boiling water. Let the egg cook through for a couple minutes. Depending on how much "stuff" you mix in your omelet it may not hold together, no matter how long you try to cook it. If you have the proportions right it generally will hold together, though. When it is cooked - pull it out of the boiling water, open the bag, and slide out the omelet on to your plate.
SC Johnson's Ziploc® brand Bags and Containers are BPA free. Thier products are extensively evaluated for toxicity and safety and comply with applicable quality and safety regulations. ... Many reports of this study note that this chemical is commonly found in plastic food storage containers.
This isn't dried food friendly, but another freezer bag trick is to use larger gallon size freezer bags to make egg omelets. Mix what ever chopped veggies you want, meats, cheeses, etc in the bottom of a gallon bag. Then either use a carton of egg (you can get it in a pint or so size wax paper carton, like a cream carton, in some stores) or use fresh eggs - 2 or 3 depending on how big of an omelet you want to make. Mix the ingredients in the bag with the egg by squishing the bag around. Then close the bag except for a little bit and press out the air. Then roll the mix in the bottom of the bag over a fold in the bag to squeeze out the remaining air before sealing the zip loc entirely. Next - unroll the bag and dunk it in boiling water. Let the egg cook through for a couple minutes. Depending on how much "stuff" you mix in your omelet it may not hold together, no matter how long you try to cook it. If you have the proportions right it generally will hold together, though. When it is cooked - pull it out of the boiling water, open the bag, and slide out the omelet on to your plate.
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#46
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Ramen Bomb is a pkg of ramen plus a package of instant mashed potatoes plus some chopped up Spam.
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#48
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Ramen Bomb is a pkg of ramen plus a package of instant mashed potatoes plus some chopped up Spam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2n5A5dKOeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2n5A5dKOeo
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So if you go to your local grocery store, then you're familiar with pasta meals and rice meals.
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/b...ns/pasta-meals
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/b...ce-grains/rice
Pick one that is easy to prepare and that you like ... let's say this chicken rice for example.
Grab a canned chicken like this perhaps.
You can carry a couple of those on the bicycle and not overload yourself with food weight. Then at some point during the day, stop in at a grocery and pick up a carrot, some broccoli and cauliflower.
Pop it all into one pot ... and dinner is served!
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/b...ns/pasta-meals
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/b...ce-grains/rice
Pick one that is easy to prepare and that you like ... let's say this chicken rice for example.
Grab a canned chicken like this perhaps.
You can carry a couple of those on the bicycle and not overload yourself with food weight. Then at some point during the day, stop in at a grocery and pick up a carrot, some broccoli and cauliflower.
Pop it all into one pot ... and dinner is served!
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!