What’s your meal prep look like?

[mcrawfordaf]

This is for a 4 day solo hunt several miles in.

-oats, dried apples, protein powder
-brcc coffee bags
-Aussie bites and RX bars
-instant potatoes with hidden valley ranch mix and dehydrated smoked pork butt and mixed veggies to add to the mash

[Stein]

Home made oatmeal

Bars, nuts, meat, cheese

Freeze dried meal

Easy.

[Sundance]

Breakfast- 2 packs oatmeal, diced figs and dried candied apples, 1 pouch Justin’s almond butter w/ honey packed in mylar bag. 800 calories about 5-6oz boiling water. 2 Starbucks via packets.

Lunch- 2 mini landjager sticks, 2 Beechers flagship cheese sticks, small handful marcona almonds, 4 TJ’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups. 800 calories no water needed

Dinner- peak refuel meal, I try to stay with the 800-1000 calorie options, amount of water varies. 1 packer miso soup with 10oz hot water (sodium boost, good flavor, no caffeine)

Daily food weighs roughly 1.3-1.5 pounds depending how heavy I pack the breakfast and lunch bags. When I fill my Nalgene bottle at night I can almost squeeze my dinner and breakfast prep out of that liter.

[highcountry_hunter]

Wake up with brcc instant coffee and cliff bar

Mid morning breakfast of either oatmeal or a peak refuel breakfast, I pack the same amount of each.

Lunch of flavored tuna packet with a packet of mayonnaise added, honey stinger waffle with Justin’s almond butter

Dinner of peak refuel, a few mini bite size mini candy bars after supper.

Try to suck down 1 serving of Liquid IV per day.

[mcrawfordaf]

Man I love those Peak Refuel meals - easily the tastiest most satisfying freeze dried meal I've had but at $14/pack it just isn't conducive to my budget. I opted to use the dehydrator and everything on hand. The only things specifically bought for the trip was the instant mashed potatoes (I never eat these at home - real potatoes > instant) and the BRCC coffee bags. Everything else was found in the pantry. I smoked the pork butt last weekend and worked all week dehydrating the apples, veg and meats. My wife also made some fruit leathers from frozen berries we needed to use, so I'll be taking those up as well.

[Sundance]

Man I love those Peak Refuel meals - easily the tastiest most satisfying freeze dried meal I've had but at $14/pack it just isn't conducive to my budget. I opted to use the dehydrator and everything on hand. The only things specifically bought for the trip was the instant mashed potatoes (I never eat these at home - real potatoes > instant) and the BRCC coffee bags. Everything else was found in the pantry. I smoked the pork butt last weekend and worked all week dehydrating the apples, veg and meats. My wife also made some fruit leathers from frozen berries we needed to use, so I'll be taking those up as well.

Sierra trading post sells the peak meals for 9.99, not huge but it all adds up. I looked at buying a freeze dryer like Harvest Right and doing them myself, but it just doesn’t pencil out.

[highcountry_hunter]

My buddy found these deals called Frooze Balls, they’re a date covered in chocolate or peanut butter. Like 300 calories each little ball and delicious. They’ll be in my pack next year.

[CP]

For those of you that pack in dehydrated foods like this, where do you get the water to rehydrate the food?  Find it locally and boil, filter or chemically treat it? 

[highcountry_hunter]

For those of you that pack in dehydrated foods like this, where do you get the water to rehydrate the food?  Find it locally and boil, filter or chemically treat it?

I pull it out of a stream or creek then use a Steripen to sterilize it.

[boneaddict]

Some of my spots I take it straight from the stream, some spots I use a water filter.

[mcrawfordaf]

My buddy found these deals called Frooze Balls, they’re a date covered in chocolate or peanut butter. Like 300 calories each little ball and delicious. They’ll be in my pack next year.

Looks like they a wide variety of flavors too. I might have to try some of these. Paired up with the Aussie bites that’s 400+ calories in two tiny portions. 

[huntnnw]

Does the dehydrated pork rehydrate? I tried doing chicken in tiny pieces and it wasn’t edible

[mcrawfordaf]

Does the dehydrated pork rehydrate? I tried doing chicken in tiny pieces and it wasn’t edible

It rehydrated pretty well actually. Still some chew to it but was satiating after all day tromping up and down drainages. I probably could’ve let it sit in the water sealed up a little longer before adding to the potatoes.

[Sundance]

For those of you that pack in dehydrated foods like this, where do you get the water to rehydrate the food?  Find it locally and boil, filter or chemically treat it?

Depends on the area, ideally I only carry 1-2 liters at any given time. I scout for water, some areas it’s everywhere, others not so much. I use a sawyer squeeze bag, not the easiest but light weight and works fine (drinking water). I usually grab a couple dirty bags of water before dark, one I just boil for meals and hot drinks, the other I filter for drinking water. I only filter water then boil if it’s really dirty from a shallow pond.

[huntnnw]

For those of you that pack in dehydrated foods like this, where do you get the water to rehydrate the food?  Find it locally and boil, filter or chemically treat it?

Almost everywhere I hunt I am filtering water. Very few places I pack in water cause it’s to far to get it

[Magnum_Willys]

Carry a water pump filter or hangbag. 

Which Peak Meals are you liking best???

[KFhunter]

I have discovered veriety salsa packets off amazon

Like to toss appropriate packets in with the days meal preps, biscuits and gravy will get 2 franks red hot packets etc

[Sundance]

Winning flavors of Peak for me are Beef stroganoff, chicken pesto pasta, chicken coconut curry, cheesy chicken broccoli, chicken Alfredo. I always add 1/2oz more water then called for.

I ditched the steripen because it requires batteries and doesn’t filter the water, only sterilizes it. Sometimes the water I grab is murky, discolored, or gritty. The filter bags clears all that crap out.
https://www.sawyer.com/products/squeeze-water-filtration-system
This one is a favorite of thru hikers on the PCT, working fine and is weight conscious. A couple of my friends use platypus gravity bags, much easier to use and larger volume, just a weight penalty. I’ve looked at the Grayl system, but haven’t tried it yet.

[mcrawfordaf]

I'll definitely have to look into the variety hot sauces KFhunter! I used to trade the "desserts" from MREs for the mini tobasco bottles that came in other certain MREs when I was in the Air Force. Hot sauce can make even the worst pack meal palatable.

As for Peak flavors - I'm with Sundance on the Chicken Alfredo and Chicken Pesto Pasta. They're better than some restaurant pastas I've had 

On this particular trip I biked in which afforded me the ability to bring all the water I needed with - but I do have a Lifestraw bag filter in case.

[KFhunter]

I haven't found a reason to not pack my katadyn pump, I've got it setup so all I have to do is pop off the end of my bladder that goes in your mouth, and attach the pump there

Don't have to dig the bladder out of the pack to fill it, not even to open the lid. 

I use the military camelback 3L and really like it.

[highcountry_hunter]

I have discovered veriety salsa packets off amazon

Like to toss appropriate packets in with the days meal preps, biscuits and gravy will get 2 franks red hot packets etc

Tribal trails has that little island of condiments by the deli. Last Friday I was in there and asked what the limit is on hot sauce packets, they told me to take as many as I wanted so I loaded up.

[KFhunter]

I have discovered veriety salsa packets off amazon

Like to toss appropriate packets in with the days meal preps, biscuits and gravy will get 2 franks red hot packets etc

Tribal trails has that little island of condiments by the deli. Last Friday I was in there and asked what the limit is on hot sauce packets, they told me to take as many as I wanted so I loaded up.

  brilliant!

[snake]

I haven't found a reason to not pack my katadyn pump, I've got it setup so all I have to do is pop off the end of my bladder that goes in your mouth, and attach the pump there

Don't have to dig the bladder out of the pack to fill it, not even to open the lid. 

I use the military camelback 3L and really like it.

Ive tried a variety of filters and I like the Katadyn pump the best.  Its the best overall for volume of water and light weight in my opinion. 
The Platypus gravity bag is great if you are camping very close to a water source and dont plan on moving much. IMO.