Peak Refuel Homestyle Chicken & Rice

Flavor. That is the most important part! While on a recent 3-day/2-night backpacking trip, one very skeptical friend of "eating out of a bag" actually enjoyed this dinner! And second, the amount of water needed was right on, which seems to be a frequent challenge with some meals.

So, this one will be in my pack again. And again. It even pleasantly surprised my dear hiking partner, who was extremely skeptical of eating any of "that fake trail food you do".

And to be fair, there are some camp meals that are light on the flavor department, or some that I've tried that end up soup, even after diligently following the directions and measuring and timing to the "T".

We did a three-day, two-night backcountry, and low enough miles that we were indulging in hot coffee and breakfast, and then hot meals for dinner as well every day. Of course, I might indulge in those necessities regardless of the length, some things are not worth sacrifice! So with a quick boil, and only one cup (8 oz) of water, we felt this was a legit two servings. For us. On a short trip.

I know for some this may be one serving, or perhaps after a longer trail and some raging "hiker hunger" kicks in. But for those weekend jaunts, we were both full. Listed as having 740 calories and 40g of protein per pouch, that seems adequate. Packaging is a bit on the larger size, and if I were doing a longer trip, I'd definitely want to repackage for space. 

Most importantly, after a long day of ups and downs and bog walks, this felt like a real meal. Chicken, noodles, and veggies. 

Easy enough to flatten after and pack out in an Opsak as a trash bag. That part is about the same with any pre-packaged meals, so if I am not re-packaging, the most important part is flavor, I feel fed and nourished afterwards, and it's not soupy!

Background

I feel like the backpacker/hiker/camper's quest for the best food is one of our most important missions! New cottage brands of dehydrated or freeze-dried meals keep popping up (and that's not a bad thing at all!) and I keep trying any I stumble upon. Few are repeats, that's what matters.