Backpacker's Pantry Charros Beans & Rice

This VERY FILLING dinner will stuff the most hungry appetite whether on a quick overnight trip, thru-hike, or even at a long, busy day at work. Backpacker’s Pantry Mexican Charros Beans & Rice has become a game-changer for store-bought dehydrated meals:

OK for vegan/vegetarian Ddets, great calories-to-weight ratio, and most of all DELICIOUS!

Receiving new items from Backpacker’s Pantry for testing was a nice challenge, being that I’ve been cooking and dehydrating my meals personally for several years now. Besides my lacto-ovo vegetarian diet (vegetarians that eat eggs and dairy) providing limits to available pre-made meals, overall taste seemed to consistently suffer, time after time. "NOT SO" has become the case after reviewing Backpacker’s Pantry Mexican Charros Beans & Rice!

Specs

Makes two 14oz servings

Net Weight: 8.3oz/238g

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 2/119g

Servings Per Container: 2

Calories 400 (Calories from fat 25)

Total Fat 3g (5%)

Saturated Fat (0g)

Trans Fat (0mg)

Cholesterol (0mg)

Sodium 1090mg (45%)

Total Carbohydrates 82g (27%)

Dietary Fiber 13g (53%)

Sugars 8g

Protein 16g

Vit A 40%

Vit C 60%

Calcium 10%

Iron 100%

Taste: After a recent overnight with a couple of fellow backpackers, all three of us unanimously agreed that this dish was BY FAR the best of all three, but also EXCELLENT! The mixture of long grain brown rice, pinto beans, quinoa, and faux-meat TVP (textured vegetable protein) had a fantastic taste. Sweet and smoky, salty and savory, this meal hit the spot!

Prep: This two-portion meal calls for 2.5 cups/600mL of boiling water added to the obvious cook-in-the bag container. After removing the O2 absorber, adding the H2O, and stirring, 15-20 minutes is called for. This (as usual) does not account for additional time needed based on elevation; Times double every 5,000 feet of elevation gain, based on the printed instructions.

I tested this meal after 20 minutes, also inside a pot cozy. The first bite or two had only a little bit of remaining crunch, which quickly disappeared as I devoured both servings.

Don't forget to remove the oxygen absorber!

Satiety: Short of the two bites I lent to my hiker buddies (begrudgingly), I ate both portions on an impatiently hungry stomach. If it weren’t for testing purposes, I wouldn’t have normally stretched my insides to this extent. When I find myself out on the trail, I normally find that I can eat voraciously. This bag of beans and rice truly stuffed me! 

Energy: Not only did I not eat for the rest of the evening after dinner, I broke camp pre-dawn without eating (typical for me), and had loads of energy for hours. Typically I stop and break after an hour or two in the morning to eat cereal, or some other kind of quick no-cook breakfast; not so the day after this dinner!

Claims: Backpacker’s Pantry claims to be an innovation leader in delivering the finest tasting foods to outdoor enthusiasts worldwide. "Our lightweight, delicious meals are packed with nutrition to fuel even the most extreme adventure, and they require only minimal preparation to enjoy!" I believe these claims to be valid, however I now feel that the best pre-made dehydrated meals are much closer-than-ever to everyday good old-fashioned home cooking!

Packaging: Backpacker’s Pantry bags undergo a nitrogen flush, a vacuum seal, and each package contains an oxygen absorber yielding their pouches a 7-year shelf life. The packaging is made from a non-recyclable BPE free material, allowing the food to be cooked in the bag. 

Best For: These Backpacker’s Pantry pouch meals are best for not only hikers and backpackers, they do very well for anyone on the go. In the past, I used to keep a pouch or two in a work desk drawer for those busy days!

Conclusion: If you are looking for an easy and filling dehydrated meal, Backpacker’s Pantry lives up to, and surpasses most, if not all of the big-brand dehydrated meals that are currently available. Chow down!!! Many thanks to the people at Backpacker’s Pantry for the opportunity to test this product for the Trailspace Gear Review Corps!