meal prep for dummies

[Spogatz]

+1 on the spork. Some people just can't get enough....

[Watson]

I've tried freezer bag cooking a few times with Lipton instant noodle mixes, various flavors. Every time, the noodles have tasted like the freezer bag (plastic) and had the consistency of wet cardboard. When I just leave the water in the pot, dump the mix in, and put the lid back on and put the pot in the cozy, it tastes great and is cooked right. What am I doing wrong, or does everyone think their FBC pasta meals taste like crap?

[Rocket Jones]

FBC works better for pre-cooked and dehydrated food like instant mashed, instant stuffing, instant rice, etc. For noodles, pre-cook and dehydrate. The Liptons (Knorrs) aren't pre-cooked, so you're trying to cook the food, not just rehydrating and heating.

[sarbar]

FBC works better for pre-cooked and dehydrated food like instant mashed, instant stuffing, instant rice, etc. For noodles, pre-cook and dehydrate. The Liptons (Knorrs) aren't pre-cooked, so you're trying to cook the food, not just rehydrating and heating.

Exactly. The Knorr meals are hit and miss for doing it FBC and are pretty bad no matter what Make your own meals of pasta, you won't regret it!

[greginmi]

That's why I stick with the rice-based Knorr sides. Always come out good IMO.

[Watson]

Thanks for the advice. I'll try it out with rice. I'm not really sold yet on FBC versus cleaning the pot yet though. More trash to pack in and out vs. no clean up.

[sarbar]

One thing to remember is you have to bag your food no matter how you prep it for carrying on the trail - so eating FBC doesn't add any more garbage.....

[kayak karl]

one pot, one lid, one spoon.

http://www.weainfo.org/en/art/26/

"Addressing hikers who commonly suffer food-borne illnesses, I recommend backpackers wash all utensils, pots, bowls, and mugs each day. Better yet, outdoor programs should adopt the "one pot system." My students each carry one pot, one lid, and one spoon into the field. That's it. Students choose meals that require boiling water. By boiling water in their pot each day and eating out of it rather than a bowl, they ensure their pot is disinfected most of the time."

[Watson]

One thing to remember is you have to bag your food no matter how you prep it for carrying on the trail - so eating FBC doesn't add any more garbage.....

Depending on the food, I think. Lipton noodle mixes and other things commercially bought would create more trash somewhere, either at home or on the trail. Transferring that to freezer bags would also increase your expenses by the cost of the freezer bags. Food dehydrated at home would need to be bagged, so that wouldn't make any more trash, and FBC would probably be the way to go in that case.

[Procras108r]

Depending on the food, I think. Lipton noodle mixes and other things commercially bought would create more trash somewhere, either at home or on the trail. Transferring that to freezer bags would also increase your expenses by the cost of the freezer bags. Food dehydrated at home would need to be bagged, so that wouldn't make any more trash, and FBC would probably be the way to go in that case.

Not necessarily.....I have added water directly into the Knorr's / Lipton's bags and folded over the upper portions to seal in the steam and heat as it hydrated and cooked. So not an extra FBC bag. Or, if I am adding more items to the Knorr's / Lipton's like I frequently do, I pour everything into a plastic ziplock with a screw-cap top. The lid holds in the heat / steam and the container acts as my eating vessel. Yes, one thing to wash since I am not eating out of the pot but it gives me the option to make a second item in my pot while I am eating from the plastic ziplock container.....or maybe I can be eating while I am purifying some drinking water.