The way to a man’s heart is his stomach. When that man is a prepper, and a blogger, nothing could be more true. With that said, I was overjoyed recently when I was contacted by one of our local freeze-dried companies. They were wondering if I would be interested in sampling a couple of their entrees, and writing my opinion on them. Not exactly a difficult decision there.
What made this choice even better was the timing. I just happened to be heading up that weekend with the guys for a little man-camp time. What a better way to test things out.
One of my favorite things about this sample was that they sent the individual portion boil-bags, perfect for backpacking. When you are storing for your long-term food supply, you’ll likely be looking at larger amounts of food, probably #10 cans. For hiking though, these are perfect.
On a long hike, freeze-dried food really shines. As a kid I remember hearing about it and wishing I could have some for camping, but back then it had an even higher cost margin over basic foods than today. Thankfully with the growth of competition from companies like Daily Bread, prices have come down overall. Freeze drying brings food down to the lightest weight possible. And unlike normal dehydration you can have a wider selection of cooked entrees.
Cooking the meal of course can’t be simpler. Using my small stove pictured I boiled a small amount of water (2 cups), poured in the bag, and let sit for a few minutes. Anybody who hasn’t actually tried a freeze-dried meal is really missing out on the joys of this process. This bag of powder quickly reforms into real food. Actual noodles, sauce, and meat that reshape, and hold real color.
This is an important part, especially if you are feeding a family. My kids can be the kings of picky, and yet unlike your average camp cooking you don’t fear dishing this out in daylight. The food actually looks good, smells good, and has the correct texture. Anybody who’s had partially rehydrated food knows why thats a big claim to make.
Specifically, this stroganoff is a winner. I ate the two serving portion myself, of course. High altitude, extra calorie needs, please remember those when planning how much food you need! It tasted great, seasoned, lacking only a bit of pepper (which I like more of than most people).
Lightweight, less work, less water needs, less fuel needs, and real comfort food. All of these combine to make a winning product well worth bringing in as part of your long term food storage.
As for getting the food, Daily Bread’s concept is to take the work out of planning your meals by selling pre-designed meal plans. You can “subscribe” to get monthly deliveries of your food in a pay as you go plan. These deliveries give you #10 cans of foods such as this that you can then use as needed to feed your family, whatever the size.
I just requested a sample. As a MANY year user of Mt House and Richmoor, well…..we shall see how it compares.
Too bad they do not publish prices on their website.
Bob
III
I got a sample, their food is good, but watch out some of is has hydrogenated oils which are very unhealthy. And wow, did you see their list of famous supporters? Not a sane person among them.
Other than short term, low quantity excursions where light weight is a primary concern, I can’t find any reasons to recommend foil-wrapped freeze dried food for preparedness plans. It’s expensive ($!) and keeps for only two years – less if the foil is damaged, which is very easy to do in a pack.
Preppers should focus on training to use basic storage staples and adapting them for the trail. With a small pressure cooker you can make a great, filling meal of brown rice and beans with the almost same amount of fuel as making a single freeze dried entree, and feed three times the number of people. Throw in some dehydrated onions, garlic and veggies and you’ve got yourself a gourmet feast at a fraction of the cost of foil wrapped fancy food.