D.I.Y. Meals For The Trail
My eleventh and likely last meal trial, once again comes from one of Monica's 6 great recipes.
Monica's Recipe #6
Key Stats
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (per 3/4 cup serving). 211 calories, 11.2g fat, 715mg sodium, 247mg potassium, 16.4g carbs, 4.2g fiber, 1.3g sugars, 14.7g protein. Notable nutrients: calcium, vitamin C, iron
Total weight of dry ingredients in bag: 5.0 oz.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pasta broken in 2”pieces (use pasta that normally cooks on stovetop in 4 min. or less—thin egg noodles, angel hair pasta, or quick-cooking artisan pastas)*
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds or ground flaxseed (optional)
- ¼ cup freeze dried chopped chicken
- ¼ cup chopped roasted peanuts
- ¼ cup freeze dried mixed vegetables
- 1-1/2 teaspoons powdered chicken flavor base (or boullion granules)
- 2 tablespoons PB2 powdered peanut butter
- 1-1/2 teaspoons freeze dried cilantro (or ½ teaspoon dried cilantro)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch of ground cayenne pepper (or more if you want it spicier)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
- 1 cup water
*NOTE: If you're taking these instant meals on a hike, angel hair pasta isn't the best choice. It is so fine and "spiky" that the sharp pasta pieces may poke through the bag and make holes. Look for flat, fast-cooking artisan pastas instead.
**MY NOTE: I changed a couple things, instead of the noodles recommended I used a whole package of Ichiban (Ramen) noodles because I new they would hydrate well. Because of this change I increased the water added to 1.5 cups. All of this increases the serving size so be sure your pot can handle it all before you try it on the trail.
At-home preparation
TO ASSEMBLE: Add all ingredients except the water to a quart freezer Ziploc bag. Seal bag and store until ready to use.
Cooking instructions
TO COOK IN BAG: Bring water to a boil. With opened bag resting on plate or bowl, pour in boiling water. Seal bag and let soak for 9 minutes, turning bag upside down after 3-4 minutes to redistribute & mix ingredients. Open bag and eat directly from bag, if desired. Or, transfer to a bowl or mug for eating.
TO COOK IN MUG OR BOWL: Transfer dry ingredients to a microwave-safe mug or bowl; add water and microwave until water boils. Cover and let rest until ingredients have softened (4-5 minutes). Or, boil the water separately and pour it into the mug or bowl with the instant dry ingredients; stir, cover, and let rest for 9 or 10 minutes.
Gathered ingredients
Combined ingredients
Ready for the pot
Ready for water
Cooking
Ready
Served
My Rating
- 4 out of 5
What I liked:
- The taste was quite good, however, I think because I used a whole package of Ramen in place of the 1 cup of noodles suggested, the flavour may have been diluted. I decided to use a package of Ichiban (Ramen) because I new the rehydrating would be quicker and easier, perhaps this is why the taste was only "quite good" instead of excellent.
- I really enjoyed the texture created by the peanuts and vegetables.
- The Ichiban noodles hydrated as expected and were perfect, at least for the trail.
- The PB2 powder was a great suggestion in place of using peanut butter that would normally need to be stored & squeezed out of a tube, saving mess, hassle and an extra container to be carried.
What I disliked:
- The taste was a lot more tame then I'm use to with Thai food, however I blame the amount of noodles I used. Perhaps for my taste only using a pinch of cayenne powder wasn't quite enough.
What my fellow tasters thought:
- Everyone enjoyed this meal but agreed with me that the taste was a little tame for Thai.
My thoughts and recommendations:
- This meal will definitely join my menu on the trail, however I think I tweak it a little.
- I will increase some of the flavour ingredients to match the amount noodles that come in a package of Ichiban.
- For my tastes I will increase the peanut powder a bit as well as the cayenne powder.
- One other thing I did differently because the amount of noodles used was increase the water to 1.5 cups which worked perfectly.
- Don't forget the 3/4 oz of olive oil to up the calories.
- By the way with all the success I v'e had using my pot in these tests, I'm done with cooking out of a freezer Ziploc bags. If I don't leave it too long the dirty pot should be easy enough to clean with a little river water and my fingers.
- Happy Trails
Key Stats
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (per 3/4 cup serving). 211 calories, 11.2g fat, 715mg sodium, 247mg potassium, 16.4g carbs, 4.2g fiber, 1.3g sugars, 14.7g protein. Notable nutrients: calcium, vitamin C, iron
Total weight of dry ingredients in bag: 5.0 oz.
Total weight of dry ingredients in bag: 5.0 oz.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pasta broken in 2”pieces (use pasta that normally cooks on stovetop in 4 min. or less—thin egg noodles, angel hair pasta, or quick-cooking artisan pastas)*
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds or ground flaxseed (optional)
- ¼ cup freeze dried chopped chicken
- ¼ cup chopped roasted peanuts
- ¼ cup freeze dried mixed vegetables
- 1-1/2 teaspoons powdered chicken flavor base (or boullion granules)
- 2 tablespoons PB2 powdered peanut butter
- 1-1/2 teaspoons freeze dried cilantro (or ½ teaspoon dried cilantro)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch of ground cayenne pepper (or more if you want it spicier)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
- 1 cup water
*NOTE: If you're taking these instant meals on a hike, angel hair pasta isn't the best choice. It is so fine and "spiky" that the sharp pasta pieces may poke through the bag and make holes. Look for flat, fast-cooking artisan pastas instead.
At-home preparation
TO ASSEMBLE: Add all ingredients except the water to a quart freezer Ziploc bag. Seal bag and store until ready to use.
Cooking instructions
TO COOK IN BAG: Bring water to a boil. With opened bag resting on plate or bowl, pour in boiling water. Seal bag and let soak for 9 minutes, turning bag upside down after 3-4 minutes to redistribute & mix ingredients. Open bag and eat directly from bag, if desired. Or, transfer to a bowl or mug for eating.
TO COOK IN MUG OR BOWL: Transfer dry ingredients to a microwave-safe mug or bowl; add water and microwave until water boils. Cover and let rest until ingredients have softened (4-5 minutes). Or, boil the water separately and pour it into the mug or bowl with the instant dry ingredients; stir, cover, and let rest for 9 or 10 minutes.
TO COOK IN MUG OR BOWL: Transfer dry ingredients to a microwave-safe mug or bowl; add water and microwave until water boils. Cover and let rest until ingredients have softened (4-5 minutes). Or, boil the water separately and pour it into the mug or bowl with the instant dry ingredients; stir, cover, and let rest for 9 or 10 minutes.
 |
| Gathered ingredients |
 |
| Combined ingredients |
 |
| Ready for the pot |
 |
| Ready for water |
 |
| Cooking |
 |
| Ready |
 |
| Served |
- 4 out of 5
- The taste was quite good, however, I think because I used a whole package of Ramen in place of the 1 cup of noodles suggested, the flavour may have been diluted. I decided to use a package of Ichiban (Ramen) because I new the rehydrating would be quicker and easier, perhaps this is why the taste was only "quite good" instead of excellent.
- I really enjoyed the texture created by the peanuts and vegetables.
- The Ichiban noodles hydrated as expected and were perfect, at least for the trail.
- The PB2 powder was a great suggestion in place of using peanut butter that would normally need to be stored & squeezed out of a tube, saving mess, hassle and an extra container to be carried.
- The taste was a lot more tame then I'm use to with Thai food, however I blame the amount of noodles I used. Perhaps for my taste only using a pinch of cayenne powder wasn't quite enough.
- Everyone enjoyed this meal but agreed with me that the taste was a little tame for Thai.
- This meal will definitely join my menu on the trail, however I think I tweak it a little.
- I will increase some of the flavour ingredients to match the amount noodles that come in a package of Ichiban.
- For my tastes I will increase the peanut powder a bit as well as the cayenne powder.
- One other thing I did differently because the amount of noodles used was increase the water to 1.5 cups which worked perfectly.
- Don't forget the 3/4 oz of olive oil to up the calories.
- By the way with all the success I v'e had using my pot in these tests, I'm done with cooking out of a freezer Ziploc bags. If I don't leave it too long the dirty pot should be easy enough to clean with a little river water and my fingers.
- Happy Trails
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