Hi fellow hunters just getting ready for my mountain hunt for grizzly and caribou.
So getting ready to buy some mountain house food products.
Was hoping to get some info on what flavors are good and bad.
Thanks Slyfox.
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Hi fellow hunters just getting ready for my mountain hunt for grizzly and caribou.
So getting ready to buy some mountain house food products.
Was hoping to get some info on what flavors are good and bad.
Thanks Slyfox.
Mac and cheese product is terrible. Chilli mac and beef stroganoff are good, same with lasagna. Those are my favs.
Turkey tetrazzini good, potatoe meals negative (buy powdered galic flavoured spuds by Idohoan - yum with sliced heart or liver). They make a pack that has black beans in title, stuff nearly killed me sharing a tent with a guy who had a serious gas reaction to it... Twice!
you wouldnt be sorry to have all chicken teriyaki!!(spelling?)
Simple choices but some of the better ones of Mountain House - spaghetti with meat sauce, lasagna, chili mac, chicken vindaloo, and the breakfast skillet is not bad in a burrito.
Try uncle bens bistro rice, takes less water 100ml
And cooks in 3-4mins. I split up my dinners, 1/2 mountain house, 1/2 uncle bens rice, with some chorizo.
Less water, less gas to cook, and goes down better than MH. Lasagna, and stroganoff are the MH meal i can stomach.
The only MH I cant truly get down is the beef stew.
Ichiban chow mein is 500 cal/package, 2 packages make a good meal. It's cheap, light and has a pile of calories - good to have for a day or two.
The alpine air stuff is good, doesn't seem to be as much gas associated either.
Dont forget this girl....
http://www.heatherschoice.com/
make your own dehydrated meals....way better for you
I just made up a big batch of chili and got it all dehydrated and packed in to meal size vaccume packed portions. It was more of a test run before attempting other things-turned out great.
The Mountain House pro packs are vacuum sealed and pack way nicer. The only problem is there are very few options.
We eat Mountain House on some of our trips. They are certainly convenient and have a very long shelf life. Decent taste for space food too. I like the chicken teriyaki, chicken breast / mashed potato and some of the breakfast ones... like "omelet" or scrambled eggs with bacon.
Though a nice warm salty space food is good for morale and can give a little bit of energy, I find it's best to supplement with other food if possible. It's subtle, but if you're ever hunting and start to feel unmotivated like your halfassing stuff or giving it less than your all, it's easy to think "thats just how I feel today" ... question the food. A Mountain House exclusive diet can mess with ones head.
One of my favorites is store bought canned sockeye with the pop-top. Pick them up when they go on sale. Expiry is usually 5 years later and they're probably good for another 5 years after that. It's not uncommon to see cans >300 grams 2 for $5. That's a lot of protein/calcium and 2 or 3 of these in your pack isn't too bad unless you're going hardcore and counting grams. Add some fresh garlic or onion or mix it in with that Mountain House mac & cheese.
Frozen foods can last well into the second or third day of a hot September trip too. I've frozen things like cooked steaks, chicken, sausages, etc and even in 30 degree heat, they were great well into the second evening. Two less days of Mountain House is worth the extra weight and prep.
Had some MH lasagna once when it was real cold. Couldn't bring the water close to a boil. The end result was like Friday nights dinner during a Saturday morning hangover. Haven't been able to eat it since.
Some of there other stuff is.....OK.
You don't have to worry about constipation on a MH diet, along with that it's light.
I've never had a problem wolfing down MH after a day in the mountains - pretty much everything tastes good at that point.
I like Mac and Cheese & beef stroganoff best. Last year we also took some of the new Backpackers Pantry flavours and we liked them best. If I remember they were spicier Asian dishes.
MH chicken teriyaki was our least fave. To each his own. We all have different tastes.
Mountain house is awesome. its tasty, packed with calories, convenient. i take 90% mountain house on backpack hunts. i even eat it at home if I'm lazy, which is often.
it last for something like 15 years in the pouches. so unless this is the last backpack hunt you plan on doing, don't be afraid to buy a lot of extra.
theres a website called 72hours survival. they are located in burnaby i think and have the best prices around on mh. they offer free 2 day shipping too if you spend 75 bucks or something and no tax because its food.
order 2 or 3 of every kind that sounds appealing to you. eat one of each flavour and see what you like and make sure it all agrees with your stomach.
i get some from cabelas in the states too. they have some meals that they can't sell in canada due to food colouring or additives or something. doesnt really scare me because i only eat them a few times a year.
oh and MEC sells them too, and back packer pantry and alpine air, also have free shipping and definitely the best canadian selection.
good luck!
Personally I'm not a fan of the mountain house. It just seems like such a departure from my normal diet. Dehydrating meals at home seems to produce a much better meal in my eyes. Any sort of one pot rice or pasta meal seems to work well. Cook it up, spread on dehydrator trays and let it crank for a while. It can also be done in the oven at low temp with the door cracked. Once finished pack in ziplocks or vacuum seal.
When ready to eat add equal parts dehydrated food and water. Bring to a boil remove from heat and let sit for a couple minutes. Taste very similar to eating a meal at home. Way cheaper than mountain house and tastier.
It does seem that using ground meat rehydrated better than other cuts such as stew
anyways just my opinion.
Thanks for the info everyone some good ideas on this post... appreciate the help.
One thing I love about this site is that there is ALWAYS a NEGATIVE NANCY on almost every post. Wasn't inquiring about COST was inquiring about TASTE suggestions! Whatevs...#byefelicia
I have done lot's of mountain hunting and tried lots of different food on the mountain. Just thought I'd get some new ideas.
Thanks again!
Beef stroganoff
noodles and chicken
turkey tetrazzini
Lasagna with meat sauce
pasta primavera
sweet and sour pork.
I find that anything with noodles or rice are the best. Potatoes in things like the stews do not seem to soak up enough water so you end up with croutons.
pad thai in either MH or backpackers pantry... cant remember which but it was good.
Usually a MH user but this year I'm using Alpine aire. Wayy less sodium, and better selection of flavours. Heard nothing but positive feedback about them. Also for lunches I'll be eating peanut butter/honey bacon bagels. approx 700 cals for one 6.5 oz bagel. Then just the regular trail mix, cliff bar, and jerky for snacks throughout the day
Does anyone like the Canadian *Natures Harvest* meals. I like some of them very much, especially with a little personal modding, such as a bit of Olive Oil added and some extra time simmering.
For, shorter trips, I used to use *Magic Pantry*, now long gone and would mod these a bit into fairly decent dinners.
I like Granola bars and strong tea for breakfast and nuts, cheese pieces and jerky for lunch. Simple, works and is not overly costly.
Don't be afraid to try the"other" brands like backpackers pantry and alpine aire etc. While I find mountain house is pretty consistently good all their options are somewhat bland. Backpackers pantry has some good tasty options, I seem to recall some sort of Thai pouch being really good. A good variety is key.
Don't be afraid to spend a couple hundred bucks testing stuff out before the trip. A small expense that will make your hunt much more enjoyable.
Pepperettes, Ritz cheese crackers, jelly beans are some items I like to include in my lunches on top of the usual granola bars, jerky etc.
Do not underestimate the importance of good food on your enjoyment of a backpack hunt. I use to cheap out on my food and this is a big mistake,
I like to bring dehydrated fruit and vegitables from home. The fruit is great to snack on and the veggies are nice for extra flavor in the dehydrated meals.
Going to bump this thread.
Recently had the chance to get my hands on some Peak Refuel, and that stuff is leaps and bounds ahead of anything else on the market.
It is slightly more expensive, but well worth it.
Agreed as far as their dinners go but not a big fan of their breakfast skillet personally. The taste is great, but weight/cal and bulk are far behind some of the oatmeal/granola options out there.
That said, they aren't the cleanest foods out there either. Off-Grid Food Co. out of Washington state is a great option for those looking to eat actual food products. Another price point above Peak, but super good.
We started dehydrating our own meals last year. Never going back. Meals are the morale booster you need in the back country. A little taste of home goes a long ways. Not to mention the weight to calorie benefits. We have it down to an individual basis now, all of our portions are sized to the individuals appetite and calorie count. We make them throughout the year and then vacuum seal and freeze them.
I don't know the comparison for weight to calorie ratio, but the last time I ate a mountain house I shit my pants.
Ive been dehydrating for a few years. I've been loosely following "recipes for adventure". His method is to dehydrate everything separately and then assemble meals from all of the components. I do some of this and also just throw things like chili or spaghetti sauce right in the dehydrator.
My method might be stupid simple but it works for us. We cook our meals as normal only making a few extra portions. Once we are done eating we portion the leftovers out on a plate and measure what each of us would eat. Example: I eat a loaded plate and my son eats a plate and a half. Once cooled we dice the meal up into smaller pieces. I have an 8 or 9 tray Excalibur dehydrator. Each rack will hold almost 2 plates of food. I set the dehydrator for 12 hours and then check it the next morning. I use 6x10 or 6x12 4 mil sealable food bags from Stuffers. These are not the vacuum seal bags. I seal them in my Weston vacuum sealer. These bags are the right size, and thick enough that they don’t get punctured by the food particles. So far they keep very well in the freezer even thought they are not vacuum sealed. I may change it a vacuum seal bag but have yet to find one thick enough that it won’t puncture. We label them with the date, the meal, and the hunters name.
I shall be following thishttps://babang.xyz/assets/10/o.png
I like the Backpacker’s Pantry stuff - usually opt for the curries, Pad Thai, etc.
Im dehydrating my own. Have 15 right now. 4 different meals. Bubba's jambalaya, Chicken curry with rice, Chicken pesto pasta, Chilli macaroni. And a fruit cocktails for oatmeals or desserts.
All super high calorie and I add stuff to make them higher. Raisins, coconut etc.
Pasta Primavera is my favourite, the beef stew is pretty good... I haven't found a mtn house yet that wasn't delicious when I'm hungry in the backcountry. If the portions aren't big enough for you, add a bit more water, and some couscous.
If I'm in the mountains, I'm counting grams. In the last five years, I've also starting being more aware of my caloric intake. I've tried a few different approaches, but have swung back to Mountain House for dinner, just because it's easier, but assemble the rest of the food at home.
But one trick I've found that is a huge help, is adding oil to my meals. Breakfast is home made instant oatmeal, dump in a couple tablespoons of C8 Medium Chain Triglycerides and it give me more pep in my step then a shot of espresso, plus it is sustained energy. It's a very thin oil, so you dont notice it in porridge.
Atleast one snack a day is peanut butter and honey, 4:1 ratio. Creamed honey in the summer and liquid honey in the winter. This is another huge shot of lightweight sustained energy.
Dinner is usually about 1/2 to 2/3 of a Mountain House, that I breakdown into ziploc bags at home. Dump 2 tablespoons of olive oil in it and you have a 1000 calorie meal that'll keep you warm all night and weighs 150 grams.
I do have other food then that. But the oil helps in keeping weight down and calories up. I can hit 3000 calories in 1.25 to 1.4 pounds of food. That's removed 6-7 pounds out of my pack on a 10 day trip.