DIY meals for $4-6 that don’t require being dehydrated ?

[Aperventure]

Question I’ve asked myself is What food items can I assemble from Store that results in complete meals for $4-6 and doesn’t require time of dehydration or expense of freeze dried pre-packaged?

Prep/ cooking would be away from truck / SxS / motorized so no refrigeration or cooler but yes stove; dayhunts or backpacking doesn’t matter but weight sure does


My go has been:
Ramen, spam, sriracha peas, chives, dried onions & mushrooms w/ sesame oil

couscous fried in sesame oil then cooked with apricots & almonds. Spices if you want.

Anyone else got DIY meals for $4-6 that don’t require being dehydrated ? I’m wanting to diversify from these 2 cornerstones

 

[Ferrulewax]

Skurka's rice and beans goes on pretty much every single trip with me.... and I eat it at home sometimes too

Dinner Recipe: Beans + Rice with Fritos & Cheese

The most reliable crowd-pleaser in my recipe book. It goes on every trip with me. It never gets old. Clients rave about it.

andrewskurka.com

 

[180ls1]

Mass Gainer

 

[hoooogan]

Seems like the world is your oyster with those loose constraints. Are you using a cooler of some sort or does everything need to be (somewhat) shelf stable? Are you trying to cook or just heat/eat?

Cooler/fridge
Frozen "heat and eat" meals are awesome. I have a fridge in my truck, so I frequently take Trader Joe's meals since they have a crazy selection. Most are two servings but combine two packages and it makes a solid three person meal. They are generally anywhere from $2-6 per package. Takes 5-10 minutes to heat up. They don't need to stay frozen either, just on ice or refrigerator temp for a handful of days.

Shelf-stable
Honestly anything in a can is an option. A can of soup is really cheap, easy and filling. I have a couple Chunky soup cans and spam stashed in my truck for emergencies. If you like tamales, I'd recommend finding "walking tamales" at Walmart $2/ea. It is the masa part of a tamale without meat, in a shelf stable packet. Throw it on a tortilla with canned chicken and some hot sauce and you have a relatively shelf stable tamale burrito. Mac and cheese is always a win. I've even done a $5 footlong sub sandwich and leftover pizza for an overnight. Those will be fine for a day without refrigeration. Quite frankly, i've done a lot of leftover dinner for overnight meals. Might cost me an extra $1-2 to make a larger portion for taking the leftovers.

 

[Steve300xcw]

At my shop/ in the pickup/daypack. I go through a lot of tinned mackeral/oysters. Bit of horseradish or chile sauce and you're g2g.

 

[long hunter]

Pepperoni rolls, wrapped in plastic wrap will keep in a pack for 3-4 days.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Pepperoni pizza will do the same

 

[Aperventure]

Seems like the world is your oyster with those loose constraints. Are you using a cooler of some sort or does everything need to be (somewhat) shelf stable? Are you trying to cook or just heat/eat?

Cooler/fridge
Frozen "heat and eat" meals are awesome. I have a fridge in my truck, so I frequently take Trader Joe's meals since they have a crazy selection. Most are two servings but combine two packages and it makes a solid three person meal. They are generally anywhere from $2-6 per package. Takes 5-10 minutes to heat up. They don't need to stay frozen either, just on ice or refrigerator temp for a handful of days.

Shelf-stable
Honestly anything in a can is an option. A can of soup is really cheap, easy and filling. I have a couple Chunky soup cans and spam stashed in my truck for emergencies. If you like tamales, I'd recommend finding "walking tamales" at Walmart $2/ea. It is the masa part of a tamale without meat, in a shelf stable packet. Throw it on a tortilla with canned chicken and some hot sauce and you have a relatively shelf stable tamale burrito. Mac and cheese is always a win. I've even done a $5 footlong sub sandwich and leftover pizza for an overnight. Those will be fine for a day without refrigeration. Quite frankly, i've done a lot of leftover dinner for overnight meals. Might cost me an extra $1-2 to make a larger portion for taking the leftovers.

Good question, I didn’t specify since this is under cooking in the wild category I assumed that meant away from truck / SxS / motorized so no refrigeration dayhunts or backpacking

 

[Aperventure]

Mass Gainer

What is mass gainer?

 

[180ls1]

What is mass gainer?

Protein powder + powdered carbs/fat.

Punch it into google or youtube.

 

[gumby]

Tuna packs are one of my go-to options. They come in tons of flavors, have great protein and you can tuck a packet into a meal kit super easily.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

These ready to eat packets of shredded pork are great whether you simply throw them in your pack and eat straight out of the pouch or fry them up in a skillet at camp to make carnitas.

For eating cold on the side of a mountain somewhere, bring along a spoon or fork (or your hands will get greasy) and some corn tortillas, or crackers and cheese. They are less than $5 each and when paired with something like crackers one pouch makes enough lunch for 2 people. Usually located in the Hispanic foods aisle.

 

[Matt5266]

These ready to eat packets of shredded pork are great whether you simply throw them in your pack and eat straight out of the pouch or fry them up in a skillet at camp to make carnitas.

For eating cold on the side of a mountain somewhere, bring along a spoon or fork (or your hands will get greasy) and some corn tortillas, or crackers and cheese. They are less than $5 each and when paired with something like crackers one pouch makes enough lunch for 2 people. Usually located in the Hispanic foods aisle.

View attachment 1027252

Thanks, got a pack to try. Always looking to mix it up

 

[NRA4LIFE]

If you go with some Ramen, try the Shin Ramyun Black with beef bone broth (Costco is a good source). It is a step up from the regular stuff. I like the packs of chicken and tuna combined with some powdered gravy and pasta also.