The 2013 "No Mountain House Challenge"!

[Aron Snyder]

There's going to be a bunch of my Mountain House meals in the classifieds soon as I will be attempting to use only home made dehydrated meals and bars for 2013.

My wife kept track this year, and I spent over $2,000 on backpacking food!!!! So we've been doing some figuring and dropping that $ amount down to $400-500 should be relatively easy if I make everything at home.

So who's with me?

 

[Shrek]

Thats kicking bills buts ! Thats a new bow's worth of savings I bet the home cooked will be better in every way , nutrition , cost, and taste.

 

[Aron Snyder]

I made these yesterday, and you're right, they taste much better and are much healthier!

 

[JGO]

I would like you to create a knowledge repository on this site. Something more than just a thread. By doing so, I believe that this endeavor of yours could prove to be one of the more valuable items on this site, for all of the reasons listed by Daveinjax. There a many places on the web to learn more about creating your own backpacking food, I would like this site to be the one stop shop for me to come and learn all things related to backcountry food. You could become the backcountry foodie guru....

 

[Becca]

I made these yesterday, and you're right, they taste much better and are much healthier!

Is that a dedicated "kitchen havelon" Aron, or do you just use it on baked goods when you aren't butchering critters??

 

[Aron Snyder]

That's a dedicated kitchen Havalon!

 

[pyroducksx3]

I would be interested in this as well but dont really have the expirementing time. Are you going to be posting recipes and steps on how to do this?

 

[shaun]

Thats a big chunk of change. I plan on buying a dehydrator this year just for that reason

 

[Aron Snyder]

I will be posting my meals/recipes for sure.

I suck at cooking, so anything I post should be easy enough for the worst bachelor on the planet to make!

Getting things narrowed down at the moment, but I have a good starting point for homemade meals from breakfast through dinner.

At this point, everything I've cooked has come out better than what I can purchase, so things are looking good for 2013!

 

[coOverwatch]

So… let’s start from the begging… what dehydrator..

Also… Wasn’t Becca and others working on a cook book. Think I saw a thread awhile back with lots of recipes…

 

[CritterGetter]

Im down for the cause. I hate mountain house anyhow. I usually only eat one ever 2-3 days and live off of honey stinger items and jerky. I know its not good for me and all that. I'm not giving up my waffles anytime soon tho!

 

[Rizzy]

2K is a lot of groceries.......and a lot of hunting!

I have started using "alternative energy" instead of mountain house this season with good results. The MH eggs in the morning is the hardest to give up, but the dinners meals are not. There is so much sodium in those things that it makes you go through more water and then have to pee at 4AM.

I do not have a dehydrator and don't feel I really need one at this point. I can make great jerky in the oven and there are some options available at the grocery store.

The Salmon and Tuna packets are great. They are a little heavy but require no hydration and no cooking. I guess you either carry the water in your hydration bladder or carry it in the meal, either way your packing it most of the time.

The microwavable macaroni and cheese are good also. I vacuum pack 2 packages for a meal and it takes up 1/4 of the space of a MH pro pack. Just add boiling water and then drain the excess if necessary. Then add the cheese or skip the cheese and add olive oil, garlic salt, or whatever you feel like. I like cheese and a tuna packet.

Cup of noodles crushed up and vaccum packed is another good one, its cheap and easy.

 

[ScottR_EHJ]

I'm in. Saving money is always a good thing.

 

[actionshooter]

I don't know that I'm quite ready to give up my Backpackers Pantry just yet, but I would love to hear different ideas to change things up.

 

[MattB]

From my limited research, the Excaliber line of dehydrators gets high marks.

 

[Ozz08]

Sounds like a great idea for you Aron. For me I don't have the time or patience and I don't spend nearly as much time in the backcountry to make it worth it for me. For my scouting trips and hunts I spent around $400(maybe a tad less) on all my food and I can live with that.

 

[CrzyTrekker]

I'm in. Very interested in cheaper/more nutritious food. Don't know where to start (dehydrator?) so I will be watching this thread.

 

[Aron Snyder]

[video=vimeo;54243943]http://vimeo.com/54243943[/video]

I'm using a Nesco American Harvest dehydrator and my Crock Pot is from Bed Bath and Beyond

 

[CrzyTrekker]

Thanks Aron. Showed this to my wife. She said we have all this stuff in our kitchen. "Really?" "Yeah, how do you think I've been making your elk jerky?"

Goodbye Mountain House.

 

[RockChucker30]

I used food I made on my elk hunt this year. Primal cereal, jerky, and trail mix with some Lara bars and some kind bars.

Next time ill go all in on the no cook foods so I can leave the gas stove at the truck and take an UL alky stove to heat water for coffee or tea.