For a long time, Evan dehydrated all of his own backpacking meals to get proper nutrition and avoid fillers and corn starch (which he's allergic to). On an elk hunting trip, brand ambassador Ken Galbraith shared a Peak Refuel meal and Evan knew he'd never mess with dehydrating his own meals again. The Peak Refuel meals are too tasty, nutritious, and easy not to use! Put boiling water in the bag, wait 10-15 minutes, eat with a long handled spoon, and throw the bag away. Sure, they cost a fair amount -- but when you factor in the quality and the amount of time and money you would spend approximating the same thing yourself, you'll realize they're a good value.
Along with being a great choice for your next hike, these meals are good for contingency planning- a couple in the car and a couple in the pantry and you have a good source of calories that can be stored for up to 5 years. Technically the food may keep longer, but the taste can start to degrade after that time. Although the serving size is 2, it ends up being the right amount for an ample mid-day meal for a single person. Make sure the water is boiling hot and wait at least a full 10 minutes for rehydration. It also doesn't hurt to go a little over on the amount of water. If you need "readers" and don't carry them on the trail, it is helpful to use a paint pen to indicate the water needed for a given meal in LARGE print on each bag (water amounts vary between meals).
While they have quite the menu, we are offering our 9 favorite meals (E = Evan's favorite, S = Scot's favorite, W = William's favorite, N = Nick's favorite):
- (E) Chicken Alfredo Pasta - 48g of protein, 830 calories
- Biscuits & Sausage Gravy - 34g of protein, 1100 calories
- (E) Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli - 52g of protein, 1000 calories
- (E) Chicken Coconut Curry (GF) - 44g of protein, 850 calories
- Beef Pasta Marinara - 49g of protein, 1040 calories
- Chicken Pesto Pasta - 43g of protein, 920 calories
- (W) Breakfast Skillet (GF) - 31g of protein, 540 calories
- Sweet Pork & Rice (GF) - 40g of protein, 800 calories
- Chicken Teriyaki Rice (GF) - 40g of protein, 580 calories
Every pouch contains two servings, and the macros listed above are for the whole pouch. Complete ingredient and nutrition facts are provided in the images. Please refer to the Peak Refuel website if you need further info.
*Instructions for different recipes may vary. Freeze-dried meals are fully cooked, so lukewarm or even cold water will dehydrate these just fine in a pinch.