Original Post
Written by
Edited November 29, 2023
at 08:46 AM
by
Mountain House Freeze Dried Meal Kit
3 Beef Stroganoff
2 Scrambled Eggs
3 Chicken & Dumplings
4 Lasagna
3 Granola
$69.99, $30 off regular price
https://www.costco.com/mountain-h...42273.html
63 Comments
Your comment cannot be blank.
Featured Comments
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
We've tried a handful of different brands and these ones always win out on taste. We get a few at a time to have as back-up camping meals in case something goes wrong with what we cook or if we're too tired to do anything more than boil water.
Except the eggs. I like eggs and I'm not a picky eater but every dehydrated egg meal I've ever had including these is disgusting. They turn into little yellow sponge cubes that taste kinda like eggs but kinda like sponges.
The wife and I have a reasonably large rotating supply of rice and beans and a few other things. We don't eat rice and beans straight, they're part of recipes. If SHTF then we won't be able to get the other ingredients. Our rice and beans become really boring, and lack the dietary variety we need long term. Mountain House provides variety to go along with the cheap staples. The best part of this setup, buying in bulk is cheap. Freeze dried food isn't that expensive if you only buy it on sale and not when people are panic buying during a crisis.
Plus one for the granola!! Delicious. I like the stroganoff and lasagna too.
What exactly do they eat from the grocery store? Like granola in zip lock bags? What about for dinner and meals?
3 Beef Stroganoff
2 Scrambled Eggs
3 Chicken & Dumplings
4 Lasagna
3 Granola
$69.99, $30 off regular price
https://www.costco.com/mountain-h...42273.html
7500 total calories, or 4 days worth of food at 1850 calories per day, for $70
I can get chili beans on sale which have a great balance of protein, carbs, and fiber along with sodium and potassium for 70 cents per can on average... 350 calories per can... so 100 cans for $70 which would give me 35000 calories.
For the variety these are fine, for those people who must eat something different all the time and can't rough it for awhile, but there are far more cost effective ways of bulk prepping. Granted I add liquid sucralose to my chili beans to make them taste like a better version of baked beans which adds cost.
This particular deal has around the same value as buying costco canned chicken at it's in-store price of $12.99 for 6, but there you are getting high quality protein over mostly refined carbs.
https://www.costco.com/kirkland-s...34960.html
I think I'll pass on buying these meals. There are canned options that exceed calories for dollar significantly and many more examples than I just listed. These are just examples I've bought and consume.
One more example available at costco in store... Marie Callender's angus beef chili in a pull top can... 560 calories per can... 8 cans for 12 bucks... so 26133 calories for $70.. and it's delicious. I own and eat this stuff too.
When you graduate to the CDT we can chat.
I can get chili beans on sale which have a great balance of protein, carbs, and fiber along with sodium and potassium for 70 cents per can on average... 350 calories per can... so 100 cans for $70 which would give me 35000 calories.
For the variety these are fine, for those people who must eat something different all the time and can't rough it for awhile, but there are far more cost effective ways of bulk prepping. Granted I add liquid sucralose to my chili beans to make them taste like a better version of baked beans which adds cost.
This particular deal has around the same value as buying costco canned chicken at it's in-store price of $12.99 for 6, but there you are getting high quality protein over mostly refined carbs.
https://www.costco.com/kirkland-s...34960.html
I think I'll pass on buying these meals. There are canned options that exceed calories for dollar significantly and many more examples than I just listed. These are just examples I've bought and consume.
One more example available at costco in store... Marie Callender's angus beef chili in a pull top can... 560 calories per can... 8 cans for 12 bucks... so 26133 calories for $70.. and it's delicious. I own and eat this stuff too.
You buy mountain house as it's light weight freeze dried. Of course most heavy canned food will cost less per calorie
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
It takes a big man to admit when he is wrong, I am not a big man
https://mountainhouse.c
The 3 sources of energy are carbs, protein, and fats. Carbs and protein are 4 calories/gram and fat is 9 calories/gram. Dried pasta which we think of as pure carb and glutton (a protein) is 100 calories/oz, although the theoretical limit of carb or protein is 113 calories/oz (the reality is dried pasta still has a little bit of water in it). Processed foods usually have some fat sources added in, so it brings the calorie/oz average above 100. That's why most junk foods like chips/ritz/goldfish/etc are 150 calories/oz. For reference, this mountain house mix is 7500 calories/57.2 oz or 131 calories/oz. You can have some foods that are slightly below 100 calories/oz if you balance it out with enough above 100 calorie/oz foods.
Some menu ideas:
Breakfast: Pop Tarts, instant oatmeal, essential breakfast mix, protein bars
Lunch: tortilla, cheeses (string, babybel, cheese spread), pepperoni/sausages, tuna/chicken packets
Dinner: Ramen, instant mash potatoes, Knorr sides, mac-n-cheese, tuna/chicken packets
You can add condiments and choose different flavors of ramen/knorr/mashed potatoes/tuna to create variety. You can add peanut butter or oil to any of these meals to bring up the calories/oz. Tortillas and cheeses aren't quite 100 calories/oz, usually around 80 calories/oz but it's close. Tuna and chicken packets completely break the rule of 100 calories/oz; it's best to limit how many packets to bring and eat them first. If you have access to a full grocery store, it's better to substitute bacon bits in their place. During the day, you can snack on junk food.
You can also bring some less dense foods as a luxury item, so long as you limit how much and eat them first like a bag of spinach or a de-boned rotisserie chicken.
When you graduate to the CDT we can chat.
This is at best, 2 days of food for $70, on a deal, that would have to be shipped to resupply points. If you did the CDT, you'd know that it's completely unrealistic to fuel 5 months of backpacking at $35/day for just food. Also, if the CDT was such a tough trail, then why does it have less total ascend than the AT.
Mountain House in past year has increased pouch exp date to 25-30 years
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.