alan s 

Excellent! Lots of great ideas.

Asphalt Hero

Millet porridge is the tastest porridge I eat along or with one companion. Boil water, put there a millet. Boil until it completely absorb the water. Then put it to plates, add condenced milk and mix. It's easier than preparing usual millet porridge at home. But not less tasty. It's also easy to wash the tableware.

cbike

I've stated it quite often but here it goes again. Nido is great tasting powdered whole milk.

For the short trips that Alan is taking Mountain House is just fine. For long trips it's probably to expensive.

Some of my hot meals were (all cooked in a pot):
- Canned roast beef & instant rice
- Tuna in pouch, mashed potatoes flakes with Nido and dried mixed vegetables
- Chicken in pouch and broccoli rice

alan s 

Frustrating weekend. Had everything packed and ready to go, but called off the trip. Too much last minute work on Friday, wasn't feeling great on Saturday, huge thunderstorms predicted for Sunday (and actually were pretty bad). Plus, the ground was saturated from the previous week's rain.

Nice thing about touring food is that is can stay packed in bags for a long time. Next weekend is looking promising.

staehpj1

I have looked in local grocery stores and have yet to find this product. I did see something with that brand name in a Super Walmart on one of my recent tours (I forget whether it was on the Southern tier or the Pacific Coast). That was on shelf with the infant formula, so I am not sure if it was baby formula or whole milk. If I remember correctly the label was in Spanish and it was in a huge can (3.5 pounds maybe). Is that the same product?

alan s 

Finally got in my overnight trip. The C&O Towpath was in pretty good shape, having dried up considerably over the past two weeks. Rode 60 miles in 5 hours on Friday, arriving at the Killiansburg Cave hiker-biker campsite (Mile 75) at 8:30, just as it was getting dark, so no time to do any real cooking.

I quickly boiled a pot of water, which was enough for the Mountain House beef stroganoff. While that was "cooking" in the pouch, I also heated up a pouch of Uncle Ben's cheesey rice and added a pouch of chicken. The rice and chicken was decent, but the beef stroganoff was really quite good.

It sure was nice having a hot meal at the end of the day, and one that required minimal preparation, as it was completely dark by the time everything was ready. The only hitch was that I inadvertently forgot to pack two additional bottles of water, so no hot coffee or oatmeal for breakfast. The water at the hiker-biker sites is safe to drink, but foul tasting. Picked up some city water in Brunswick and had a nice hot cup-o-noodles and coffee for lunch.

staehpj1

I found that to be pretty variable from pump to pump along the C&O. Some are fine and some not. Stock up a bit when it is good and pass when it is not.

cbike

Sounds like it is the same one. It's popular with the Hispanics and Walmart does carry it if there is a Hispanic population near by. Most Caucasians don't have a clue what it is so inquire with a Hispanic employee and your chance is higher. It's sold as small kids drinks (after they are done with infant formula) and it's not cheap.

https://www.nestlenido.com/

cyccommute 

I'm the same. I have a couple of very well traveled Mountain House meals (about 4000 miles and counting) that I would only eat if I couldn't find road kill. I do eat them if I am backpacking or bikepacking to remote areas but I'd almost prefer eating grass.

A couple of things I've found on my tours are Zataran's rices. If I'm close to a grocery store before I camp, I'll buy fresh chicken and/or sausages that can be used in their Jambalaya rice. If I'm going to be to far from camp to carry products that need refrigeration, I'll carry foil packed meats like chicken or Spam (Helmart carries them every where) which aren't too bad. Spam goes particularly well with Red Beans and Rice.

I've also found that Target is carrying some very nice one-pot side dishes. They have a mushroom gnochi that is very yummy and a welcome break from rice dishes. They also have a tortellini dish that is very good. Add foil chicken and you have a very good meal or you can eat them alone. The only problem is finding a Target store.

I would suggest staying away from anything by Korr. Filling but very tasteless.

benda18

Are you guys talking about Mountain House in a brand-specific matter or using it as a synonym for all dehydrated meals? Personally, most of the stuff I can't stand but there are a couple varieties of Natural High that I kinda enjoy and find satisfying.

kinda surprised nobody has mentioned eggs yet. there are cheap and effective ways to prevent them from cracking and depending on the egg they can be kept un-refrigerated for extended periods of time.

staehpj1

Not exactly health food, but Spam can be quite tasty. I especially like it fried until a little crispy on the outside. It is also yummy in a grilled cheese sandwich especially with a slice of fresh tomato.

cyccommute 

Mountain House is a brand. REI carries it but all freeze dried meals fall into the same category...okay but only if you don't have anything else.

DTSCDS

Ahhhh yes. . .I remember my first backpacking trip with a load of dehydrated meals. The first night we made camp and broke out the cooking gear. I remember pouring the boiling water into the brightly colored package and waiting in anticipation for the feast we were about to enjoy. As the meal rehydrated we lovingly stared at the beautiful picture of the gourmet food that was awaiting us inside only moments away.
I can't adequately express my disappointment with the bowl of HELL that it turned out to be. The pain is still fresh in my mind.
The whole situation sucked so hard that when I think about it my ears pop.

Niles H.

For the combination of price, nutrition, availability, ease of preparation, light weight, cardiovascular health benefits, versatility, protein, insoluble fiber content, complex carbohydrates, absence of synthetic additives, range of both sweet and savory possibilities, etc., (one-minute) oats are a great food -- especially if you learn some new ways, including the savory, of flavoring them. Most people have barely scratched the surface here (as elsewhere), and go with the grooves of habit, the very narrow grooves of habit.

Staggerwing

Target has all sorts of interesting, and generally, quite tasty, pre-packaged meals under their house label. They aren't inexpensive, although cheaper and tastier than the camping specific brands. Check out the country of origin on the back too. Seem to remember several of the pasta dishes were from Italy, along with a couple of Indian sourced meals.

Try a couple at home first. Note they can often be depackaged for considerable volume savings. Can get rid of the box and plastic bowl on the one single dish meals and just prepare directly in your pot.

If you like ramen, I've taken to adding a tablespoon or so of PB to one of the spicy versions. A backwoods pad thai, if you like.

Niles H.

If prepared properly, oats can have a texture more like rice or couscous. They are higher in soluble fiber than other grains, lower in insoluble fiber, higher in protein, and higher quality protein, and contain some unusual compounds that lower bad cholesterol levels and reduce cardiovascular problems.

venturi95

So many great ideas, I'm getting hungry! Yeah, oats are really sustaining and tasty while riding. I can cook pasta in a minimal amount of water (and thus less fuel burned). Experiment and see for yourself... I had some pesto from a steel toothpaste tube that was suprisingly good over capellini. A proper instant soup is always a good quick-pick-me-up.