Freeze-dried meals, worth it or just posh pot noodles?

[Jason9]

Alright folks,

Been looking into freeze dried food as a long-term food option, you know, the camping/ration-type stuff that lasts decades and needs just hot water.
I’ve seen a few brands knocking about, and the variety’s not bad these days, curries, pasta, even veggie and gluten-free options. Handy enough in theory. Anyone here actually use them as part of your main stash, or are they more of a backup/luxury thing for bug-out bags and hillwalking? Are they decent after sitting on a shelf for years, or do they turn into cardboard? And are they worth the price, or just overpriced pot noodles in fancy foil?
Not after sales pitches, just real feedback from anyone who’s tried them in anger (or even just had them knocking about the cupboard for a while).

Cheers in advance.

[pseudonym]

Hello Jason, please make an introductory post as requested in the Forum Rules. Thankyou.

[Frnc]

When I first started prepping I got one of those 30 year tins. But now I just rotate normal food mostly. I do have a few backpacking meals in my bugout bag. These had about 7 years on them and expire in Oct 2026, so I'll use them and get some more around then. You need to make sure you get ones with a decent shelf life, some are shorter. I can see what makes they are if you want. The big tin is fuel your prep. If I was bugging out for more than a couple of days, I'd also grab some pasta, tuna and tomato puree from the kitchen. You can cook pasta like a freeze dried meal if you insulate the pot and leave it a bit longer than the time it would normally take to cook.

Pot noodles are ok as bugout food. In fact I buy boxes of 30 koka, which could be used bug in or out.

Also in my bugout bag I have a pack of Seven Seas ration bars. I've just noticed that these expire in August, so I'll order some more soon, and maybe try one. These have a 5 year shelf life, but some sellers on ebay sell small quantities with only 2.5 years, so you need to check. I have one in my basket that says expiry 2029 or better.

[Mark]

Alright folks,

Been looking into freeze-dried meals as a long-term food option, you know, the camping/ration-type stuff that lasts decades and needs just hot water.
I’ve seen a few brands knocking about, and the variety’s not bad these days, curries, pasta, even veggie and gluten-free options. Handy enough in theory. Anyone here actually use them as part of your main stash, or are they more of a backup/luxury thing for bug-out bags and hillwalking? Are they decent after sitting on a shelf for years, or do they turn into cardboard? And are they worth the price, or just overpriced pot noodles in fancy foil?
Not after sales pitches, just real feedback from anyone who’s tried them in anger (or even just had them knocking about the cupboard for a while).

Cheers in advance.

Hi mate
Yeah I tried them. I think all preppers fell into that trap at some point. While in theory this is a great idea I would suggest you buy a small pack and try them yourself first as everyone has different taste.
I tried them along with my wife and we both agreed that if shtf and this is all we had left we would use each other as target practice with our bows lol.
To us they were horrendous, similarly we tried the mre's aswell. We decided to just stock up on what we use normally and replace. Spam,tuna,pasta,rice,veg,fruit,and others. I should say that this is not a healthy option to do consistently so while things are good to mix in fresh.
Just our thoughts, hope it helps.

[itsybitsy]

Like most things in life, you tend to get what you pay for.

I use freeze dried mash from Idahoan in my everyday pantry and it's fantastic (apart from the garlic one which is rank, but that's to do with flavour, not product itself) I've also tried a few Mountain House freeze dried meals which are exceptionally good although they're not readily available in the UK an more) - their former distributor does offer a similar product which is apparently made with the same machines and comparable ingredients, called Fuel Your Preparation Emergency Foods, but I haven't tried those.

I'm mulling over getting some bits from these guys in the US, to sample, they come highly recommended by numerous preppery types so I'm keen to give it a whirl at some point.

https://freezedrywholesalers.com/

[Frnc]

Alright folks,

Been looking into freeze-dried meals as a long-term food option, you know, the camping/ration-type stuff that lasts decades and needs just hot water.
I’ve seen a few brands knocking about, and the variety’s not bad these days, curries, pasta, even veggie and gluten-free options. Handy enough in theory. Anyone here actually use them as part of your main stash, or are they more of a backup/luxury thing for bug-out bags and hillwalking? Are they decent after sitting on a shelf for years, or do they turn into cardboard? And are they worth the price, or just overpriced pot noodles in fancy foil?
Not after sales pitches, just real feedback from anyone who’s tried them in anger (or even just had them knocking about the cupboard for a while).

Cheers in advance.

Hi mate
Yeah I tried them. I think all preppers fell into that trap at some point. While in theory this is a great idea I would suggest you buy a small pack and try them yourself first as everyone has different taste.
I tried them along with my wife and we both agreed that if shtf and this is all we had left we would use each other as target practice with our bows lol.
To us they were horrendous, similarly we tried the mre's aswell. We decided to just stock up on what we use normally and replace. Spam,tuna,pasta,rice,veg,fruit,and others. I should say that this is not a healthy option to do consistently so while things are good to mix in fresh.
Just our thoughts, hope it helps.

I've eaten loads of freeze dried meals, and I've always liked them. I suppose when you've been hiking all day, anything tastes good. But I'd only normally have it if I was backpacking, camping wild and high, so weight is critical, and there are no shops.

[Mark]

Alright folks,

Been looking into freeze-dried meals as a long-term food option, you know, the camping/ration-type stuff that lasts decades and needs just hot water.
I’ve seen a few brands knocking about, and the variety’s not bad these days, curries, pasta, even veggie and gluten-free options. Handy enough in theory. Anyone here actually use them as part of your main stash, or are they more of a backup/luxury thing for bug-out bags and hillwalking? Are they decent after sitting on a shelf for years, or do they turn into cardboard? And are they worth the price, or just overpriced pot noodles in fancy foil?
Not after sales pitches, just real feedback from anyone who’s tried them in anger (or even just had them knocking about the cupboard for a while).

Cheers in advance.

Hi mate
Yeah I tried them. I think all preppers fell into that trap at some point. While in theory this is a great idea I would suggest you buy a small pack and try them yourself first as everyone has different taste.
I tried them along with my wife and we both agreed that if shtf and this is all we had left we would use each other as target practice with our bows lol.
To us they were horrendous, similarly we tried the mre's aswell. We decided to just stock up on what we use normally and replace. Spam,tuna,pasta,rice,veg,fruit,and others. I should say that this is not a healthy option to do consistently so while things are good to mix in fresh.
Just our thoughts, hope it helps.

I've eaten loads of freeze dried meals, and I've always liked them. I suppose when you've been hiking all day, anything tastes good. But I'd only normally have it if I was backpacking, camping wild and high, so weight is critical, and there are no shops.

Totally agree in regards to bugging out or like you hiking endeavours. The last thing you would want is to be lugging loads of tinned goods and then cooking equipment around.
Maybe I should have stated I meant for bugging in.
I suppose that brings up another topic out v in and the scenario around what is happening.
I tend to prepare for the most likely scenario that would happen in the uk. Electricity grid down, hospitals over capacity or transport links disrupted so food scarcity and so on.

[pseudonym]

I use both wet and freeze dried MREs and have at least 6 months worth of main meals. I have taste tested all and built up those that I preferred.

The meals work for me as they are all prepared and the wet MRES can be eaten hot or cold.

Having spent 22 years eating them in the Military and 17 years as a civilian after I can say production values and flavour variations have increased for the better from all counties that use them.

I know what a wet portion provides and some freeze dried meals can feed me 2 meals from the one pouch (that is not included in the 6 month calculation)

With the shelf lives I can store and forget for decades.

Each prepper has their own food insurance levels, your mileage may vary,

Good luck in your testing.

[jennyjj01]

Been looking into freeze-dried meals as a long-term food option...
are they worth the price, or just overpriced pot noodles in fancy foil?

Hi mate
Yeah I tried them. I think all preppers fell into that trap at some point. While in theory this is a great idea I would suggest you buy a small pack and try them yourself first as everyone has different taste.
I tried them along with my wife and we both agreed that if shtf and this is all we had left we would use each other as target practice with our bows lol.
To us they were horrendous, similarly we tried the mre's aswell. We decided to just stock up on what we use normally and replace. Spam,tuna,pasta,rice,veg,fruit,and others. I should say that this is not a healthy option to do consistently so while things are good to mix in fresh.
Just our thoughts, hope it helps.

As an armchair critic who decided not to use them, I concur with Mark.
They have a place in expeditions or moon missions, but are not a great option for emergency food reserves.
My reasoning against them.....
Expensive and mostly just pasta or rice calories with a flavour adjunct.
Example stash would be THIS at £1995 for 365 meals. BUT those meals are just 527 kCal. So it's a joke to call that a 12 month pack.
£5.46 per portion. If I wanted to spend £5.46 on a meal, it would more likely be a quarter jar of pasta sauce ( 20p ) a tin of some sort of meat or fish for maybe £2 a sachet of mashed spuds at 60p or a hundred grams of rice or pasta for 10p. Change left for a tin of fruit cocktail.
You can get a great mix of rice, pasta, dried spuds, oats, flour and oil for your kCalories and set aside a wide assortment of flavours such as canned tomatoes, assorted soups, cooking sauces, pestos, flavourings in many forms. Then augment with assorted canned meats and fish for protein. Add a few tins of fruit and veg and you could have plenty of change from your £1995 to buy teabags, powdered milk, wine kits, treats and supplements.
This way, you can also rotate the reserves easily into your regular diet. Shelf life is irrelevant because hardly anything would go unrotated for a year.

If you do want such easy ready meals, look at what's in the supermarkets. Plenty of sachet meals, noodles etc at far less than £5 a portion.

[Frnc]

Hi mate
Yeah I tried them. I think all preppers fell into that trap at some point. While in theory this is a great idea I would suggest you buy a small pack and try them yourself first as everyone has different taste.
I tried them along with my wife and we both agreed that if shtf and this is all we had left we would use each other as target practice with our bows lol.
To us they were horrendous, similarly we tried the mre's aswell. We decided to just stock up on what we use normally and replace. Spam,tuna,pasta,rice,veg,fruit,and others. I should say that this is not a healthy option to do consistently so while things are good to mix in fresh.
Just our thoughts, hope it helps.

I've eaten loads of freeze dried meals, and I've always liked them. I suppose when you've been hiking all day, anything tastes good. But I'd only normally have it if I was backpacking, camping wild and high, so weight is critical, and there are no shops.

Totally agree in regards to bugging out or like you hiking endeavours. The last thing you would want is to be lugging loads of tinned goods and then cooking equipment around.
Maybe I should have stated I meant for bugging in.
I suppose that brings up another topic out v in and the scenario around what is happening.
I tend to prepare for the most likely scenario that would happen in the uk. Electricity grid down, hospitals over capacity or transport links disrupted so food scarcity and so on.

Apart from the one big tin I bought when I was new to prepping, I've only bought a few freeze dried meals for the bugout bag. Bugging out is a last resort, but there are circumstances when you might have to. I don't have a car, just a push bike, so it would take a long time to cover much distance, so I need to be prepared for multiple days outside, on foot or bike. So I have lightweight tent, stove, pot etc.

My camping gear and food is in a lightweight pannier that goes on my front rack. It only weighs 3 kg including the pannier. That doesn't include sleeping bag, but it does include an airbed. The pot has a small gas cannister and stove inside. I also have a chain to hang it over a fire. It doesn't include a trekking pole for the tent. Pole is on the outside of my rucksack.

The Koka noodles, I just buy anyway, but that's another 30 meals for bug in or out.