I (Camille) went on my first backpacking trip last week! It was amazing to spend four days by a lake, swimming, watching fish jump, and filtering my water from cold mountain streams. The best part of the trip: being full on delicious food the whole time! I’m going to list here some of my favorite (and least favorite) meals that I tried.
I also realized in the process that next time I fly on a plane or travel to a place that is less vegan/gf friendly I can bring this food with me and won’t have to worry about not having access to a kitchen or restaurant where I can eat. In airports or cities you can go to any coffee shop and get boiling water to re-hydrate these meals. Also, lots of these meals only need cold water so that’s even easier.
As I write this, I’m living through a heat wave in the Pacific Northwest and enjoying eating some of these backpack foods so that I don’t have to turn on the stove and add to the heat in the house.
For this post I’m going to focus on meal-like foods although I stocked up on granola bars and chips as well, however that will have to be another post!
Outdoor Herbivore: love this company! While I sometimes struggle to navigate their website, their food is both scrumptious and feels good inside my body. Lots of great veggie options that remind me of the food I eat at home and make me feel like I could spend weeks on the trail.
Favorites
Sunrise Tofu Scramble - salty deliciousness. Note: I love salt and this is the perfect amount for me - if you aren’t a salt lover this might be too salty for you.
Hop Pea Slop - I’m so in love with this creamy crunchy veggie salad - this is probably my favorite thing by Outdoor Herbivore.
Open Sky Yasai - such good veggie yumminess. Would go GREAT in Ramen.
Naked Freckle Burrito - so good, medium spicy (perfect for me) and very beany. Ate with corn chips and that was delightful!
Instant Hummus - medium spicy very flavorful hummus.
Did not Love
Lemongrass Thai Curry — If you love spice you will love this, however for me it was too spicy to even finish.
Maya Kamal Everyday Chana and Everyday Dal: Pre-made food that needs to be re-heated (when we ran out of cooking fuel I ate them cold and that was delicious as well!)
Right Rice: *This brand uses some pretty heavy food moralizing claiming that rice made from beans and vegetables is more ‘right’ than rice. The centering of thin white beauty standards and attempting to label rice (a staple product eaten all over the world, and integral to many food cultures) as ‘wrong’ is deeply disturbing. It is also about twice as expensive as pre-made rice. Labeling this more expensive product as the correct or superior option is another way that, as a society, we label people with less money as morally inferior.* I choose to eat their product because de-hydrated rice-substitute made of beans and veggies feels good in my body. I want to share this as an option for folks who are looking for different tasty food options and am mindful that this product has very harmful packaging and ethos.
Tasty Bites: We really enjoy their brown rice and have yet to try their other products.
Miracle Noodle Pad Thai: *The amount of food moralizing on this package stresses my body out, so adding a trigger warning for diet culture.* I did enjoy the flavor and texture of this pre-made ‘pad thai’ it was a low to medium spice level and good both cold and hot. I needed two packages for 1 serving.