[Dane]

For those of you who put together your own backcountry dinners - when it's all said and done, do you feel you're actually saving money? Not just CAN you, but DO you save money? What if you aren't dropping a bunch of money up front for bulk, and just buy ingredients as you need them? Still cheaper?

[Malachai Constant]

A pack of ramen with a retort pack of tuna is pretty cheap

[Opus]

I've been making a lot of my own dehydrated dinners the past few months in preparation for an Appalachian Trail section hike, and just to try it out. The cost really depends on what you are making and the ingredients you use. I made a big pot of minnestrone soup and dehydrated it, netting about 8 hearty servings. It was very cheap, I'd guess about $1.50 per meal. A few others that I made came close to $3.00 per meal. Still cheaper than a Mountain House but not significantly so including all the work to make it. Personally, I just like cooking so it's fun for me. It also lets me choose exactly what goes into my meal and how its seasoned. A few weeks ago I made an instant curry to satisfy Thai food cravings! Cheap and light too. The coconut cream powder provides a lot of calories. Ingredients: Coconut cream powder (Viet Wah or Uwajimaya) Curry paste, vacuum sealed in 2 tbsp portions Dehydrated veggies Small can of chicken Instant brown rice

[nuclear_eggset]

Since I get to dehydrate my own meals, yes, yes and a thousand times yes, cheaper to do my own. Ditto with making my own dried fruit, IF it's on sale for cheap.

[sarbar]

I buy everything in bulk (the basic ingredients) such as veggies, fruit, grains, meat, etc. Since I always have tons of items on hand my cost per meal goes down dramatically. If it is an item I can't get, I dry it (such as canned artichokes and Jasmine rice). As well....I have total control over my meals. That alone is worth all of the work. If you live on a special diet or have to avoid things you learn quickly you cannot purchase commercial meals. I live on a lower sodium/no fake colorings/flavorings diet and avoid most preservatives. That isn't easy to follow buying commercial meals. The other big thing is serving size and calories. Many commercial meals are notoriously low in calories and small. So a person buys a 2 person bag of MH Beef Strognaff. Then you look at the back and wonder...how is this going to fill me up? A serving has only 320 calories yet over 1K of sodium! And 2 grams of fiber. So a typical hiker eats the whole bag, consuming 2100 mg of sodium in one sitting, yet only 4 grams of fiber and 640 calories and is STILL hungry. Make your own meals and you can be filled up!

[sarbar]

And on the buying as you go principle? Sure you can save if you buy wisely. A tub of veggies from Just Tomatoes can be found in many grocery stores. A box of instant rice from Costco is under $5 and will last all summer. Look at it this way.....the upper end FD meals are running $9 to 13 for ONE BAG nowdays. You can do better even with the cost of buying a $3 packet of chicken. Your food will taste better as well

[Ski]

Edmund Hillary was eating canned pineapple at the South Col. Life is too short to live on Top Ramen. Buy your own stuff in bulk. Dried. From the Food Co-Op or some place where you can find good products at a reasonable price. Pack up your own stuff. Outside of cooking time and the amount of fuel required, you can't beat pasta for filling the gut and providing the carbs you need.

[sarbar]

One trick is to partially cook the pasta at home and dehydrate it. (I usually cut 2 to 3 minutes off) You can dry pasta in your oven, no need for a dehydrator! Then you have "instant" pasta. It just needs boiling water to cover and 10 to 15 minutes sit time and then proceed.

[dicentra]

[dicentra]

[T Mary]

Funny how we want to eat on the cheap in the backcountry! I don't spend any more or less money putting my own meals together for backpacking than I do when I'm eating at home. I don't buy in bulk, but I've collected enough of those little packets of condiments to be featured on that reality show about hoarders! Sarbar is absolutely dead-on about the pre-packaged meals--too much salt, too few calories, and portion control and taste issues. After reading Sarbar's and Dicentra's books and websites and trying some of their recipes, I'm eating better and enjoying my food more when I'm backpacking. I'm able to put together meals that I would normally eat at home, and it makes a difference, especially on multi day trips.

[Dane]

And partially cooked/dehydrated pasta will keep for a few weeks to a couple months?

[sarbar]

[Dane]

[dicentra]