Heather's Choice Experience

[SLDMTN]

Maybe I'm biased, AK Pride and all, but I genuinely appreciate when a company owner takes the time to interact with our little slice of the internet. Also when they operate in a rather green market, if you will, and are not ashamed to support hunters. Top that off with the ability to take constructive criticism, well thank you Heather for being a class act.

I've been buying your product through Barney's Sports for awhile now. The Packaroons will be the death of me. At least one package never makes it to the hills. I love macaroons so these were right up my alley.

 

[mfolch]

Dear Heather, I noticed that almost all of your taste testers are based in Alaska. Perhaps it might make sense to expand the flavor profile and palate of your testers eastward and south. I know of at least one NYC-based hunter/hiker who would be interested in free shipments of your meals...

 

[Felix40]

Dear Heather, I noticed that almost all of your taste testers are based in Alaska. Perhaps it might make sense to expand the flavor profile and palate of your testers eastward and south. I know of at least one NYC-based hunter/hiker who would be interested in free shipments of your meals...

I can see it now...heathers choice teaming up with UNICEF to feed hungry hunters nationwide. Ha.

I'm very interested in these meals but being a diy kind of guy it just inspires me to get off my butt and make some meals for myself. I know for a fact that mountain house and other options I've tried are less than ideal so it's good to have options.

 

[napeequa55]

Haven't tried HC products before, just mountain house and B's pantry.

But the fact that Heather actually responded to this thread guarantees that I'll give it a try.

Pro-tip:

When I am rehydrating my meals I place them inside my jacket to insulate them instead of using a coozie. At night and in mornings the heat feels nice and it prevents the otherwise uninsulated meal from cooking. Be sure to wear a layer between your skin and the pouch to prevent burns though. And be sure the zip closure is sealed tight!


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[whitingja]

So I'm glad to see I wasn't alone here. I really love the complete balance of nutrition Heather is offereing. I loved the chili, packaroons and salmon snacks. But there is just something not right with the buckwheat breakfasts and chowder. There is an odd taste that makes it impossible for me to eat. I was really looking forward to the breakfasts because of the balanced nutrition it offered. Not sure if Heather might be able to explain what the strange taste is in the buckwheat breakfasts? Is it something that can be altered? I want to support the company. Any modifications on the way Heather?

 

[mrgreen]

I really love the complete balance of nutrition Heather is offereing. I loved the chili, packaroons and salmon snacks. But there is just something not right with the buckwheat breakfasts and chowder. There is an odd taste that makes it impossible for me to eat. I was really looking forward to the breakfasts because of the balanced nutrition it offered.

I noticed that with the buckwheat. I thought it taste sour, or tart.
Two things I want to mention, and then I'll be done with this topic. (I'm starting to feel a bit like I started a lynching.)

1)- I'll rehydrate in the pot from now on. I have another pot to use for coffee, and cleanup's not that bad.

2)- Why can't Heather tone down the heat? It seems like a recurring complaint. A person can always add spice if they want- I don't know anyway to remove some. Heck, even MREs include Tabasco.

Thanks to everyone that had some pretty good advice.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Pro-tip:

When I am rehydrating my meals I place them inside my jacket to insulate them instead of using a coozie. At night and in mornings the heat feels nice and it prevents the otherwise uninsulated meal from cooking. Be sure to wear a layer between your skin and the pouch to prevent burns though. And be sure the zip closure is sealed tight!


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This is a good tip. Dehydrated meals take longer than freeze dried, it's a fact of life. You can also put them in your sleeping bag if it's warm out and you don't need your coat. I usually put mine inside a fleece beanie and wrap it up in the hood of my bag if it's warm. Otherwise, I put them inside my jacket too.

 

[neverquit]

I liked every one I tryed. And I liked the heat. I don't even eat salmon at home but I love the chowder

 

[Ray]

One of the things that I am curious about is how many of you are low carb-high fat (LCHF, paleo, atkins, whole30, etc) in your daily life? If you are not LCHF in your daily life, why are you trying to be LCHF in the back country? It can take up to six weeks to train your body to adapt to LCHF. Some bodies can take even longer. No body can do it overnight while under physical stress. HC meals are not extreme LC for fat loss, but they are low enough that if you have not spent weeks teaching your body to improve its fat conversion processes, I would think you would have a pretty horrible experience after a few days of hard physical work.

The breakfasts do have more carbs in them than a pack of instant oatmeal, but the carbs are from coconut and dried fruit and not a bunch of raw sugar. There is just a little bit in there. And that is one of the things about the sour taste some are experiencing. You are not getting the instantly dissolved on your tongue sugar response you are used to. And some bodies have taste receptors that respond vastly differently than others for both salt and sweet conditions. The easiest solution is to add a pack of Raw sugar to the meal.

Any dehydrated meal should be heated using a cozy or some other kind of insulation to retain heat. You can also pre soak dehydrated meals with about half the water volume needed and then add boiling water to heat the mush up. I add ambient water when I start the stove and by the time the water on the stove is boiling the mush in the bag is softened up enough to rehydrate enough to be hot and edible. This worked great on my home made meals, so it will probably work fine for HC's as well.

 

[ssssnake529]

This is pretty much my experience too. Really disappointed in how the food tasted, particularly because the ingredients are all first rate. Took forever to rehydrate too.

Hate to bash Heather, I have read articles about her and she is a great person. That said, we ordered and tried some meals on an archery elk hunt this year and they were awful. My wife is a gourmet cook, so I am used to high end seasonings and food. Heathers spices are too strong, out of balance, and poorly orchestrated. Seems to me she is trying way too hard to be gourmet and the result is off.

Some of the buckwheat breakfasts we had to choke down, the salmon chowder was barely OK.

Set up camp exhausted one night and cooked an HC meal. Don't remember which one and don't see much on the website. The first time in my life I dumped my food in the bushes and then cooked up a Mountain House. So did my partner.

The Packaroons are great.

 

[kaycohen8]

Thank you from Heather's Choice!

I liked every one I tryed. And I liked the heat. I don't even eat salmon at home but I love the chowder

Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback. My name is Kayleen and I am the marketing coordinator for Heather's Choice. I have been involved with this company since our pre-Kickstarter days in 2015. I personally eat and enjoy all of the Heather's Choice meals and snacks regularly on my own backcountry expeditions. We really appreciate all of the feedback we can gather from our customers!

If you were unsatisfied with a product, we would be happy to replace it! Please reach out to [email protected]. Over the past year we have extensively overhauled our production process and are now enjoying higher quality output than ever before! We are also thrilled to now be sourcing Alaskan-raised meats; like grass-fed bison and yak.

To learn more about what's new with Heather's Choice, follow us on Instagram @heatherschoice.

Thank you kindly,
Kayleen

 

[TheCougar]

Wow, I thought I was an outlier. I tried a bunch of them last year - breakfasts, dinners, etc. I found the spices to be overwhelming and they rehydrated poorly unless I let them soak for an hour, kneeding the bag constantly, and keeping it shut to conserve the heat. I really really wanted to like them. I love the idea - the healthy, natural, and simple ingredients and the outstanding nutrition. I’ll eat the dinners, but I don’t look forward to it - the taste is just a little off. The buckwheat breakfasts however, I find totally unpalatable. Thanks to HC for responding to the thread - again, more reason for me to try them again and give it another shot when they come out with some new recipies.

 

[Tank76]

I purchased a couple meals and quite a few packaroons for an upcoming elk hunt. I haven’t tried the meals yet but I had to reorder the packaroons as they were excellent and my family and I have already eaten them ha ha! I’ll respond after trying the chili but the fact that the company is committed to being an active part of this community speaks volumes!


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[Blackwater8]

Packaroons were great. Espresso ones were my favorite.

 

[JohnLemon64]

If we talk about healthier food, i would go for asian, something like Chinese Launceston. As for me, it was the only cuisine that tasted okay, when docs said that i can't have BBQ at least every week, my guts just can't take it anymore. Haha, i could never knew that smoked meat can do such things to your body. But here i am, eating rice and chicken and i never thought i would say that, but i'm almost enjoying it.