Mountain House Pro-Pack Chili Mac with Beef

Summary

All in all, at the end of a long day, this provides a warm meal that is very easy to prepare but the taste could be better.

I found the meal overall to taste okay. There was some spice to it but it was one noted and could use some more complexity. 

Comparing it to a standard canned chili mac found on the shelf it was just a notch below. I realize that it may be asking a lot from a cheap and easy hiking meal and in the future I will probably bring my own spices to bring it to taste (which may be what was intent by the manufacturer). I should be noted though that most of my family did enjoy eating it and I may just be picky.

From a nutritional point of view this meal provides a good amount of calories, protein and carbs for a dinner at the end of a long hike but contains too much sodium. At about 54% of your daily sodium this is too high unless you consume most of your salt at the end of the day.

To cook this meal all you have to do is boil 1 3/4 cups of water, add to the bag and seal it until. The instructions stated that it should take about 7-8 minutes to rehydrate but when I tried it after 8min the noodles were still slightly hard. It ended up taking about 15min for the noodles to soften to the texture that I prefer.

Overall this is a decent meal because of its convenience, space and weight savings at the cost of some taste that can be remedied by bringing your own spices. 

I love the stuff, always keep a couple of bags in my fishing boat.

Try adding a 10.5 oz. can of black beans to the mix before serving and if available eat with taco chips.

With the added beans, it's more than enough for two people.

One word of warning, if you're not used to the spices, it will backfire - enjoy