I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer!!

[DownYonder]

I'm heading out next week for a 4D/3N trip and decided to carry a different freeze dried meal. Picked up a vegetarian chili and decided I should probably try it before the trip. So, the directions say to just add 2 cups of boiling water, stir completely, cover and let sit for 10-12 minutes. I break out a 1/2 cup measuring cup and proceed to fill it twice and pour into a pot. Brought the pot to a boil, added to the pouch, mixed it up and zipped it shut.

12 minutes later I open it and commence to eat'n. The flavor is really good but the texture is not great. I've eaten about 1/3 of the pouch when it hits me .............add 2 cups of water.......I added 2 - 1/2 cups. OH MY.

As I sit here typing, my stomach is starting to feel a bit bloated. I will report back in a few hours and let you know what the results of re-hydrating chili in your stomach are. It might be graphic!!

[Slo-go'en]

I hear a story about a racoon who ate a whole bag of freeze dried food and then got thirsty. Apparently the results were not pretty.

[Venchka]

If the taste was good, what brand and name of the meal on the package?
I don’t like soupy meals. I would have started with 1.5 - 1.75 cups. Maybe added a bit more water.
Thanks!
Wayne

[DownYonder]

AlpineAire - Mountain Chili For freeze dried, pretty good.

[Odd Man Out]

That doesn't really qualify as a disaster. Here are my favorite camping food faux pas stories.

When I was in Boy Scouts, the scout (not me) in charge of shopping for food thought it would be good to have Sloppy Joes for supper. So he bought several cans of Manwich Sloppy Joe mix. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that the ground beef was not included. So we each ate a hamburger bun and drank a can of Manwich sauce for supper. Yum!

A friend of mine went on a 5 day backpacking trip with a buddy of his (not me). His buddy said he would take care of all the food and asked "do you like Falafels?". My friend said "yes, I do". After the first day, my friend realized that his buddy had packed nothing except for falafel mix for all 5 days. By the end of the trip he found out why they call it "falafel". If you eat them all day, every day, for five days, you "feel awful".

[swisscross]

I dehydrate my own meals and never know how much water I need to reconstitute them. some times they are dry, others soup...still just food.

[Venchka]

AlpineAire - Mountain Chili For freeze dried, pretty good.

Thanks! I’ll add it to my Chili assortment.
Wayne

[MtDoraDave]

...but did you remember to remove the oxygen absorber thing?
More often than not, I forget to remove that until after I've poured the boiling water into the pouch.

[kestral]

...but did you remember to remove the oxygen absorber thing?
More often than not, I forget to remove that until after I've poured the boiling water into the pouch.

could be worrisome at high altitudes!

[nsherry61]

If you add to much water it's soup. If you don't add enough it is a dry meal. No worse that eating a meal of saltine crackers. Freeze-dried food doesn't suck moisture out of your stomach any more than any other equivalently dried food.

[Mother Natures Son]

Could be worse. In the 60s when I was in Boy Scouts, some nameless leader thought it would be a good to stretch the budget a little and pick up WW2 Sea Rations. For those who never ate 30+ year old food you are not missing anything.! We (The Scouts.) asked the leader NEVER bring them again. We were all sick as a dog after eating them for a week!

[MuddyWaters]

I dehydrate my own meals and never know how much water I need to reconstitute them. some times they are dry, others soup...still just food.

I dehydrate mine.
I weigh before and after
Pretty much nails the water needed.

[swisscross]

I dehydrate mine.
I weigh before and after
Pretty much nails the water needed.

Bahh, that would mean I would have to buy a scale...then I would end up weighing all my gear. Spending more money on lighter equipment and ignoring my belly fat.

matters not, if soupy, I drink the liquid. If dry, add more water.

[MuddyWaters]

Bahh, that would mean I would have to buy a scale...then I would end up weighing all my gear. Spending more money on lighter equipment and ignoring my belly fat.

matters not, if soupy, I drink the liquid. If dry, add more water.

Quickly learn oz water per oz food types

Then its just math

[Alligator]

I dehydrate mine.
I weigh before and after
Pretty much nails the water needed.

That's a good tip, never thought to try that. I usually do all right with the estimation but have a scale handy anyway so might as well weigh beforehand.