Re: Does anyone have any experience with Packit Gourmet?

I just now found out about them, after having also just bought a bunch of Backpackers Pantry stuff for the coming days up in the King's Canyon area.

They look great, at the very least: http://packitgourmet.com/

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Well, he see this one particularly hot chick and not does she bag he slackjawed, but he lets a "Whoa" slip out.

Never have had BP Pantry (ok, we had it maybe once when we took a couple hours
getting someones bearbag down at Smedberg many years ago)
(we were pretty pissed to find a bunch of crap power bars and bp pantry poo in it)
or Packit ...

This is what we usually eat:
http://www.ricearoni.com/Products/Pasta_Roni/Classic_Favorites

Love love love the Tomato one. All you need extra is a little butter and powdered milk.
They're maybe 2 dollars at Safeway. Repacked in zip lock bags you can fit A HUGE
number in a bear can...

Just bought some Packit Gourmet for my trip this coming week. I too was seduced by the descriptions etc. Will let you know how they taste. Surprisingly, they do pack down very well. I find that most of the BP and Mountain House prepackaged meals are so bulky the way they're freeze dried you can't flatten them down very well, even if you repackage.

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bill-e-g
This is what we usually eat:
http://www.ricearoni.com/Products/Pasta_Roni/Classic_Favorites

The Knorr pasta side dishes are also good and don't require repacking.
Add one of the Green Giant vegetable pouches and you have a meal for two. (The frozen pouches remain good for days after thawing since the pouch is hermetically sealed.)

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szalkowski

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bill-e-g
This is what we usually eat:
http://www.ricearoni.com/Products/Pasta_Roni/Classic_Favorites

The Knorr pasta side dishes are also good and don't require repacking.
Add one of the Green Giant vegetable pouches and you have a meal for two. (The frozen pouches remain good for days after thawing since the pouch is hermetically sealed.)

They used to have these Rice-A-Roni pouches that could easily be heated in a pan with about a tablespoon of water. The closest thing to those are the Uncle Ben's pouches.

I rather like Idahoan brand instant mashed potatoes. They just reconstitute with boiled water and also pack really small.

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bill-e-g
Never have had BP Pantry (ok, we had it maybe once when we took a couple hours
getting someones bearbag down at Smedberg many years ago)
(we were pretty pissed to find a bunch of crap power bars and bp pantry poo in it)
or Packit ...

This is what we usually eat:
http://www.ricearoni.com/Products/Pasta_Roni/Classic_Favorites

Love love love the Tomato one. All you need extra is a little butter and powdered milk.
They're maybe 2 dollars at Safeway. Repacked in zip lock bags you can fit A HUGE
number in a bear can...

You may be right on the money with the packability. Just got the shipment of BP stuff. The beef stroganoff is HUGE, and doesn't like to fold.

I have been experimenting with the Uncle Bens Ready Rice. Add a pack of Tyson Chicken and heat it in some chicken base. I cooked it up at home right out of the pack and it was good. Next I want to try dehydrating all of it and try it again.

I recently ordered from a similar online site that seems to share the same philosophy as Packit Gourmet, but it is called Packlite Foods.
http://www.packlitefoods.com/index.html

Packlite appears to be a small family-run business with a good selection of dehydrated one-pot dinners for "backpacking" that are 100% vegetarian, and free of preservatives, fillers and added msg. Their website and online ordering had some glitches when I ordered, but the owner was prompt with customer service.

I was happy with the hot dinners I ordered: Meals with Wheels (like Mac & Cheese with veggies), Mom’s Pasta Primavera and Bountiful Bean & Lentil Chili. I could tell by taste that the meals are not high-fat and not high-sodium. I did not get the urge to break out the salt packets, condiments or add spices. I did eat more than 1 serving, though 2 servings was too much (even for the husband, who is an extremely big eater). Dinners were priced at $4.75 for 1-serving , $8.25 for 2-servings and $14.50 for 4-servings (excluding shipping).

I used to eat a lot of Rice-A-Roni and would end up drinking a ridiculous amount of water due to the high salt. Even their lower sodium line still contains unhealthy levels of sodium, downright suicidal if you down the whole box yourself (I know because I have)!

The Packlite 2-serving pouches are about the same size or slightly bigger than the Rice-A-Roni box emptied into ziplock (Rice-A-Roni boxes are between 3.5 to 2 servings depending on the product). The Packlite dinners have alot of vegetables, compared to Rice-A-Roni that are carb heavy.

The owner communicated by e-mail to me that their product has no expiration date, storage temperature is not an issue, and that they have had hospitals purchase these meals as emergency food supply. I would exercise judgement on the expiration and storage temperature. I did find that their directed 5 minutes of cooking time (for the hot dinners) would yield some crunchy bits. Either pre-soak and stir constantly when cooking, or cook longer (8-10 minutes).

It's nice to have a healthy hot dinner that does not taste awful. Of course it tastes better if you add a little butter/olive oil (or powdered milk for those so inclined). For extended trips I would add carbs and protein to each serving to have more variety (eg. add saltine crackers and a pouch of tuna to the 2-serving Meals with Wheels to make a very hearty Tuna casserole for 2).

I second instant mash potatoes as the easiest and tastiest backpacking "hot" food. Good item to add to long trips, but mash for dinner every night will get to you in more ways than one ...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/2010 04:27PM by Ferrum.

Good stuff. Thanks for the serving suggestions. (pun intended)

We love the Idaho tatoes too. And Pasta Roni... and Knorr Side Dishes.
And tortillas with some Taco Bell hot sauce and Pepper Jack cheese..

But what did I have for din din Sat. night?
Can o Hormel Chili w/ Bean (tabasco variety)
Pop the can and eat... no heat required...
(1 night trip ... can bring just about anything...)

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bill-e-g
Good stuff. Thanks for the serving suggestions. (pun intended)

We love the Idaho tatoes too. And Pasta Roni... and Knorr Side Dishes.
And tortillas with some Taco Bell hot sauce and Pepper Jack cheese..

It's all the old standbys for backpacking or quick preparation camping that aren't the expensive freeze-dried stuff:

Knorr sides.
Idahoan instant mashed potatoes. I've also tried Betty Crocker Instant and would recommend feeding it to a pig.
Anything in a pouch (although the Rice-A-Roni stuff seems to be discontinued) - Uncle Ben's is good.
Quaker flavored instant oatmeal or instant grits. However - I'm thinking it's causing my blood sugar to spike with the inevitable sugar drop.
Velveeta shells and cheese. Pasta is easy enough to cook, but the key is to get some sort of cheese sauce in a pouch.

Packit Gourmet has some good eats. The name of the business should tip you off tho - not everything is add water, some things take a little prep, or a little different cooking method.

I've had some of the protein shakes - sometimes I'm happy with a cold breakfast - and they are very good if you have a container like a nalgene that closes tight so you can shake the typical protein shake clumps out. I tried the polenta - love polenta, theirs is spicy.

Some of the items in their grocery section can be hard to find elsewhere.

Pouches of Light Tuna w/ some Del Scorcho (Del Taco Medium).
Cheetos.

Ding Dongs
Ho Hos (H2O2)
Twinkies

If you use a normal size bear can for a short trip you can eat like a .

Ordered a bunch of Packit Gourmet food for my trip last week. Ultimately didn't end up eating much of it (appetite always seems to get depressed when I backpack). I did eat the Zydeco Red Beans and Rice w/ the sausage, the Market Pasta Puttanesca and some Berry Berry Jump Start Fruit Smoothies.

Zydeco - Pass. Too chalky and not enough flavor. The "Texas Sausage" was disappointing. Not much better than a Slim Jim.
Pasta Putanesca - Very good, fresh taste but a bummer you have to boil the pasta and waste fuel. Could have gone w/ the steeping method but I was hungry.
Smoothies - Great for the trail. I had these for lunch. Just add water and shake in a small water bottle.

I carried with me the TexMex Breakfast Taco but didn't eat it. I was sorely tempted on the last morning but was in a rush to get out and only ate the tortillas I brought.

I ordered the Southwest Black Beans and Corn Salad and the many Beans Salad but didn't bring them along.