Snacks and Side Dishes

Featured review by Bigger Al

This is what backpacking food should taste like! Mountain House has hit a home run with the Biscuits and Gravy, packing in much more flavor than expected, and really getting the textures spot-on. We take this meal along on pack trips, motorcycle tours, and I usually have one in my work truck for long jobs in the mountains. Adding an egg, either fired or hard-boiled, extends the meal considerably, and really gives a boost of nice protein energy.

Let me start out by admitting that I am a big fan of Mountain House meals. Their foods have been a part of my work and travel mess kit for many years. The B&G meal is pretty much the perfect go-to for any time of the day, and can be made into really tasty, filling fare with the addition of whatever you think might go along. We are fond of doing a couple of over-easy eggs and some sausage in camp, or dicing up some hard boiled eggs and beef sticks if we're on the trail or moving light.   The B&G has staying power for long days, and tastes much better than any instant oatmeal.

Read more: Mountain House Biscuits and Gravy reviews (5)

Reviewed by FromSagetoSnow

Great flavor and texture from a responsible company.

I really like outdoor foods which are responsibly sourced, artificial ingredient free, and have short ingredient lists. I think that food is getting too far from its roots and I believe that, while most health problems are induced by sedentary lives, overly processed foods also play a small factor in the overall decline in American fitness.  Because of this and my inherent frugality I have made my own jerky ever since I was old enough to carry a bow/rifle and hunt my own deer. I also make my own sausages, bacon, and a lot of my own energy/granola bars.  One of the best options in the hiking food department is jerky.

Read more: The New Primal Original 100% Grass-Fed Beef Jerky review (1)

Reviewed by FromSagetoSnow

Great flavor and texture from a responsible company.

I really like outdoor foods which are responsibly sourced, artificial ingredient free, and have short ingredient lists. I think that food is getting too far from its roots and I believe that, while most health problems are induced by sedentary lives, overly processed foods also play a small factor in the overall decline in American fitness.  Because of this and my inherent frugality I have made my own jerky ever since I was old enough to carry a bow/rifle and hunt my own deer. I also make my own sausages, bacon, and a lot of my own energy/granola bars.  One of the best options in the hiking food department is jerky.

Read more: The New Primal Spicy 100% Grass-Fed Beef Jerky review (1)

Reviewed by LoneStranger

Shredded potato in a light, easy to carry dehydrated form. Used alone or with other ingredients it creates a genuine potato experience that satisfies the desire for "real" food on extended trips.

You've seen plenty of folks on trail eating instant mashed potatoes. Maybe even eaten a few bags yourself. On the same rack at the store that has those pouches you may find these beauties hiding in plain sight. Nothing more than shredded potato, but your imagination is the only limit as far as what they can become. Prep: Package directions say to put dry potato in a bowl and add boiling water, stir, cover, and let sit for 8-10 minutes. My field prep process involved putting a single portion of potato into my silicon muffin mold and adding water from my coffee boil.

Read more: Idahoan Premium Hash Browns review (1)

Featured review by Dr. Bryan Ryles

Wow... excellent product that arrives in its own disposable wrapper. Even comes in an “organic” version. Inexpensive!

      a bit heavy for us UL backpackers   I wrote to a supplier for technical details    Neck warmer and fashion statement    Average length    Well, was looking  around my local market and found this on a shelf and thought I’d try this product. I’m getting tired of snack bars and gorp when hiking so decided to purchase one. This is a unique product that is filling, easy to eat, appears somewhat easy to find, and is less expensive then snack or protein bars. I understand it’s also somewhat popular among you simian types.

Read more: Banana reviews (4)

Reviewed by Kaylee

OMG.

So I assume that most of you have tried quite a few Backpackers Pantry meals — this one is the bomb.  I would eat this even if I'm not backpacking; that's how good it is. Of course, with a backpacking meal it's going to have a high sodium content. This probably has the lowest sodium content I found, at only 9% sodium (230mgs per half the bag). So perhaps this is an entree to eat on an easier day where you don't need to replenish those salts direly — So for someone who has hiked a short day, or the supper before a hike the next day.  This dish is a two-person entree, and since it is a rice dish I found it quite filling at 500 calories.  My favorite part of this dish is the flavor.

Read more: Backpacker's Pantry Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce review (1)

Reviewed by Brent Mills

This nut butter is a delicious high-calorie and high-protein snack for the trail. It combines sunflower butter with goji berries, hemp hearts, and chia seeds for extra nutrients. Pairs well with apples, but is delicious on its own too!

I first found YumButter at a Wegman's a few months ago. It has since become my favorite trail snack! YumButter makes three flavors of their YumButter Go snack pouches (Peanut butter, almond butter, and sunflower butter).  While all are delicious in their own right, it was the sunflower butter that really caught my attention. FLAVOR: Unlike most nut butters, the YumButter Go snack pouches are mixed with a few other things (chia seeds, hemp hearts, goji berries, etc.). These serve to add to the nutrition of the snack, but also add much needed variety to the flavor.

Read more: YumButter Superfood Organic Sunflower Butter review (1)

Reviewed by Andrew F.

A great addition in terms of variety and taste to the trail food/carbs category. Steve's dried blueberries taste great and have a consistency similar to raisins, as opposed to freeze dried blueberries I have tried. These reportedly pack 24 grams of carbs into once ounce.

I have been trying to steer away from energy bars lately. They can be dry, hard, odd-tasting, and they feel pretty artificial. I would much prefer a bag of dried fruit and nuts, maybe some chocolate chunks or m&ms mixed in. I always liked gorp as a kid. The trick is to mix things up, not use the same tired ingredients. Enter these dried blueberries as an alternative. I have been experimenting with dried un-sulfured apricots, banana chips, dried apples as something different than raisins and ran across these at a local Whole Foods.

Read more: Steve's Paleogoods Dried Wild Blueberries review (1)

Reviewed by Brent Mills

Amazing raw pumpkin seed snack!

There isn't all that much to say about these — they're delicious! I received a bag of these a few weeks ago in a care package from my brother. The jalapeno salsa is by far the best pumpkin seed flavor I have ever tried. I really need to learn how to make these at home. And until I get that spice mix exactly right, I'm going to be making someone over at Skout very happy. TASTE: These weren't nearly as spicy as I imagined from the name (in fact, not at all!). They tasted somewhat like salsa, but mostly just tomato, garlic, and salt came forward in terms of flavoring.

Read more: Skout Raw Pumpkin Seeds - Jalapeno Salsa review (1)