Using Freeze Dried Meals While On The Road

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

camperAL

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Posts
1,614
Location
Indiana
Greetings,

Thought I would put this subject in this section as smaller RV's like I am interested in, need to maximize space, weight and efficiency. I've used freeze dried meals while camping and hiking and they are a good way to have an easy meal while doing activities. I personally prefer Mountain House products. While they sale these in pouches for one or two meals at a time, you can also buy larger quantities in cans. I thought these might be an ideal way to supplement your food pantry while on the road without adding much weight or space.

A typical can has about 11 or 12 servings. Cans come in cases of 6, so that would be roughly 66 to72 servings of entrees. Add another case of vegtables, fruits and deserts, would keep a couple of people going for about a month. While I wouldn't want to live off these, seems like the perfect way to keep food on hand and compliment items in your refrigerator, can goods, and other food items you might have stored for trips. Also would enable you to stay somewhere a bit longer without giving up a spot you like and having to run to a store.

While I realize that most people camp near communities and so forth, I am sure some like myself like to be out in areas where there might be less options or having to run a distance to get stocked back up (savings on fuel might justify keeping these handy). Freeze dried meals are a bit expensive, about $18 to $24 per can they do offer a more self sufficient life when camping out in the boonies. Perhaps there are things I am overlooking that people would like to add on food storage or making the most out of your limited space. I hope to see some good ideas here. My best to everyone!

CamperAL
 
camperAL said:
I've used freeze dried meals while camping and hiking
I always have a few freeze dried meals in my RV, (as well as some MRE's) for emergencies, but  didn't know they were sold by the can.  I am into backpacking, so I know about the meals otherwise.

BTW, are you a member of this forum?


-Don- Reno, NV
 
There is a company called "Daily Bread" which sells Freeze Dried and canned food (Sealed in tins, not pouches, keeps a LONG time) this is kind of "Shelter food" to be honest,  I've tried their products and the food was good.

I may, some day, invest in an order,  but just now it is priced out of my range.. (Since you need to buy bulk)  http://www.dailybread.com/ if you wish to check 'em out.  If you do order from them please let me know. 

but to be honest.. The price per meal is not all that bad.
 
One thing we used to do in my back packing days was to freeze food made at home in those seal-a-meal pouches. I carried a small soft cooler in my pack with one of those blue ice thingies. At meal time I would simply drop the pouch in a 1 pound coffee can of boiling water to reheat it. I've tried it with several casserole type dishes, what we call sheepherders (breakfast with eggs, potato's, sausage, onion, and cheese), and even tried it with slices of Round Table Pizza. Over 3 or 4 days, the blue ice, while allowing the frozen meals to thaw a little, still kept them plenty cold. I gladly carried the little extra weight in exchange for some good food. The idea could easily be used in a camper as long as the pouches can be kept frozen for a while.
 
DonTom said:
I always have a few freeze dried meals in my RV, (as well as some MRE's) for emergencies, but  didn't know they were sold by the can.  I am into backpacking, so I know about the meals otherwise.

BTW, are you a member of this forum?


-Don- Reno, NV

I didn't know a non member could post..have to admit that till you asked I hadn't thought about it either...another member added that the "poster" might have had an agenda with the post..that I would have thought was under the "overseers" domain.
 
Daily Bread looks interesting,but why don't they post prices?
I would like to order a couple of the emergency kits.
I did request a sample to be sent.
Larry
 
Hi Average Bob and all,

I am actually a graphic artist and live about 2,000 miles from Oregon where the Mountain House products are made (they were also instrumental in preparing astronaut food aboard missions). I don't have a dime in their product or get any type of compensation from them. I do like their product. I also wouldn't try to break forum rules of commercial posts. I like this forum in so many ways and don't want to be expelled!! I do appreciate the post by the other member who posted another company that people might try, including myself. So the topic was generated to see if people are aware of the cans which are a good way to store and take freeze dried foods.

Hi Icemaker,

Always appreciate your posts here! When I saw his post asking if I was a member of this forum, I thought the same exact thing. What he was asking if I was a member of a forum in the link which I am not. I'll probably go and check out that forum though as I am always interested in items related to backpacking.

Hi Water Dog,

Actually that is an excellent idea. Where you would save space, is not having the bulk items you would have to put together to generate the meals. You could make a bit extra when doing meals and freeze them at home (if you are not full timers) and build them up until travel time. Seems like you could switch ice packs even in the small freezers that B Vans have and keep food for some period of time. It would have to take two or three times more space if you tried to prepare such items on the road. Also as you said good home made food for the road and easy prep. Best to all!

CamperAL
 
camperAL said:
Hi Average Bob and all,

I am actually a graphic artist and live about 2,000 miles from Oregon where the Mountain House products are made (they were also instrumental in preparing astronaut food aboard missions). I don't have a dime in their product or get any type of compensation from them. I do like their product. I also wouldn't try to break forum rules of commercial posts. I like this forum in so many ways and don't want to be expelled!! I do appreciate the post by the other member who posted another company that people might try, including myself. So the topic was generated to see if people are aware of the cans which are a good way to store and take freeze dried foods.....

CamperAL

Relax.  No problemos that I can see.  8)
 
Icemaker said:
I didn't know a non member could post..have to admit that till you asked I hadn't thought about it either...another member added that the "poster" might have had an agenda with the post..that I would have thought was under the "overseers" domain.
Well, I have nothing to do with the Mountain House company (Oregon Freeze Dry, IIRC)but I also think they are the most tasty of all the many different brands of freeze dried meals that I have taken with me backpacking. If he said another brand then perhaps I would question it :D .

However, I thought the freeze dried meals I  had in Vietnam (LRRP meals) were the best of all. But perhaps that was only because they were so much better than the C-rats that almost anything else would taste good. I cannot remember who made those. Perhaps it was Mountain House!

BTW, any of these freeze dried meals should be good for more than 25 years in storage if not opened.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
We have found several freeze dried vegetables that prepare as good as frozen vegetables and are close to fresh.  We buy them in the 5lb cans from Honeyville ( http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/?gclid=CIWwwe7T3K4CFcbc4Aodcgtcag ).  We take Ziplocked gallon bags of corn, peas, broccoli with us for meals.  Have gotten the eggs but a 5lb tin is just to much.  Not as good as fresh eggs but fine for baking, etc.  We don't do meats.  Carry cans of beef, spam, tuna, salmon... with us.  Carry some powdered milk for baking.  Carrying these products just reduces the pressure of having to schedule grocery store restocking stops.  For us it's a convenience issue not a space issue.  Also since we rely on an ice chest we are limited to fresh food stocks.
 
Len and Jo said:
Carrying these products just reduces the pressure of having to schedule grocery store restocking stops.  For us it's a convenience issue not a space issue.  Also since we rely on an ice chest we are limited to fresh food stocks.

Hi Len and Jo,

Curious, how often you and others have to make trips to restock your items in your conversion van? I realize there isn't an exact time each time but you probably know within a few days.

This is my thought as well of not having to schedule a run into town. If you are assign a camp spot, then it should be there when you get back but if you are somewhere that you can camp anywhere you want then having the supplies on hand can strech out your trips and save a good camp spot.

I plan on probably doing a grocery store stop once every two weeks, twice a month. Having items that don't need to be refrigerated and help you save trips in my opinion makes good sense as well as saves fuel until you are ready to make your stops. We tend to plan multipal stops for a single trip into town (when at home) as we live out in the country. Just makes good sense and interesting to see there are people using the freeze dried option.

Beside freeze dried, there are many dehydrated foods in grocery stores that can be used as well. It is just a matter of finding out what you like.

CamperAL
 
mnmnutswer said:
Not for me to much like c-rats or MRE's had my fill. It's fresh food for me or drive on.

Add me to that list. 30 years in the military I don't want anything that even slightly looks like a MRE.  And I ain't gonna sleep in no tent either. Thats what motorhomes are for.
 
Tombstonejim said:
Add me to that list. 30 years in the military I don't want anything that even slightly looks like a MRE.  And I ain't gonna sleep in no tent either. That's what motorhomes are for.
 

c-rats or k-rats, I don't know which was worse. I don't know about MRE's, as they came out after I retired. The only thing good about them is that they kept you from starving, and they made good trading material with the Koreans for some good rice dishes. Even the Kim-Chee tasted better. I don't know how old some of them were, but one time I got a package of Lucky Strike's in the green package out of one carton.

Lee
 
;D I ate too many c-rats to appreciate freeze dried food too.They are convenient when traveling, they fill the hole in a pinch but that is all the good I have to say about them.
 
We ate freeze dried foods back in our backpacking days. I spent a lot of time figuring out ways to carry GOOD lightweight foods and enjoyed replacing those freeze dried packages.
 
M1894 said:
 

c-rats or k-rats, I don't know which was worse. I don't know about MRE's, as they came out after I retired. The only thing good about them is that they kept you from starving, and they made good trading material with the Koreans for some good rice dishes. Even the Kim-Chee tasted better. I don't know how old some of them were, but one time I got a package of Lucky Strike's in the green package out of one carton.

Lee
I was stuck with C-rats, so the MRE's are fine with me. But we can no longer buy the military ones, which were the best of all the MRE's I've tried. The MRE's were MUCH better than the C-rats. The military  MRE's had to pass a taste test vote unlike the C-rats.

BTW, I hated the ROK meals. I cannot stand kim-che. I only tried them once and that was enough. I will take most (not all!) of the c-rats over the ROK meals.

MRE's seem a bit heavy for any serious backpacking, but are a good change from the freeze dried stuff after a few days in the boonies. MRE's can be kept in a RV for emergencies, but the military ones are no longer available to the non-military public.  There are other brands that are okay, which we may buy, but these not as good as the military ones.

The MRE's do NOT last as long as freeze dried meals. But they do last. Here is some info on MRE storage (but this chart is for the military MREs):

The following chart was provided by my wholesaler for the MRE's.  It was developed by the Gov't. and states potential storage life at
certain temperatures.

120 deg        1 month
110 deg        5 months
100 deg        22 months  < 2 years
90 deg          55 months    4.58 years
80 deg          78 months    6.5 years
70 deg          100 months    8.3 years
60 deg          130 months  10.8 years

below 60  -- not enough data available.  Projections are that the 130 month life would be extended.  Do not allow to fluctuate in and out of
freezing.


-Don-  Reno, NV
 
Never thought about how long we want to stay out w/o going to a grocery store.  Have always used the non-perishable food stock as fill ins or back-ups.  As I said the vegetables we use all the time because they are of good, almost of fresh, quality.  We also take grocery store long life stuff: Like, boxed pasta, elbow macaroni,  scallop potatoes, fresh potatoes, carrots, gravy mixes, dry Knorr soups, etc.

When we backpacked (few days a time) or canoe camped (week at a time) we always budgeted the food for specific meals and days to make sure they lasted the trip but did not take to much because of weight & fuel concerns.
 
Back
Top Bottom