And with a modern diet increasingly geared towards convenience and health-consciousness, many see freeze-dried food as a means of meal prep with an advantage. Whether you’re a halfway-hiker looking for an easy meal on the trail, an exec short on time or someone stocking a Hugo-awards worthy survival bunker with gourmet foods these semi-prepared meals may just be the answer. But which freeze-dried meals are the right ones for you? With myriad options to peruse, how does one choose the packaged sustenance that’s just right? We’ll look at freeze-dried food and what to look for depending on the situation.
Understanding Freeze-Drying
But before we get into the debate as to which makes the tastiest freeze-dried meal, let’s first take a brief look at the process itself. Freeze-drying – technically known as lyophilisation – removes ice from previously frozen food by sublimation. The food is preserved by the process; it’s virtually identical to the original, in terms of appearance, barring any flavour, nutritional and, often, textural alterations.
Assess Your Dietary Needs
One: determine your dietary needs. Are you vegetarian? Gluten-free? The higher-protein diet of the Bolivian Amazonпарures? If you know what you need, that cuts off a lot of the mystery.
Consider the Shelf Life
Perhaps the most compelling advantage of buying freeze-dried meals is shelf life, but again, this is not all created equal. Check packaging expiration dates and storage instructions carefully. A good chunk of meals last around two decades, but many have much shorter lives that are closer to five years or less. If you plan to eat your freeze-dried meals often, you should buy goods that match your usage and home storage.
Read the Ingredient List
Needless to say, you need to know and implicitly trust everything that goes into what you eat: products with few and simple natural ingredients. Avoid eating (carrying) meals whose constituent parts are too complex, too sophisticated: too many additives, preservatives, artificial flavours, vitamins, salts, colourings, trans-fats, hydrogenated oils … in other words meals with too much stuff that is too unnatural, and which interferes with foods’ nutritional content and healthfulness. The cost (energy-wise) of freeze-drying versus other traditional methods of cooking – especially with good-quality ingredients – means that good freeze-dried meals should, at minimum, be as good and nutritious (and non-harmful) to the body as a good well-tended-to meal at home.
Check for Allergen Information
Are you allergic or sensitive to some food ingredients? A simple review of the allergen statement on the label will often tell you. Many food producers of rehydration foods have been clearer in their allergen statements concerning some of the more common food allergen offenders: nuts, soy, dairy and gluten. Don’t eat them if you don’t tolerate them.
Evaluate Nutritional Content
In the end, though, freeze-dried meals should be just that – convenient, and nourishing. It’s obvious, but not every company offers balanced nutrient profiles in their freeze-dried foods. Check the labels at your local supermarket: look for meals with adequate protein, carbohydrate and fat. Try to make your meals be a balanced mix of calories. Protein meals will keep you satisfied for longer than a carb-based food.
Taste Matters
But, you know, taste is another thing, too. And we all have taste. Well, I say that and hope nobody gets upset. What I really mean is that we’re all a little bit like Goldilocks. Try some and find the one that’s just right for you. Several companies sell mix and match sample packs so you can try a range of backpacking dinners and choose what you like.
Portion Sizes
Consider the portion sizes Available portions are marked out, from a single serving to family standard pack. Pick the same as your appetite and how much you need to feed.
Packaging and Preparation
Pay attention to packaging and the preparation instructions (some freeze-dried meals require rehydrating with hot water, while others can be prepared with cold water). If you’re backpacking in the wilderness or in the outer edges of Earth, make sure preparation doesn’t involve warm water, a higher-order behaviour than just stirring your food bowl after you take it out of your backpack. If you’re going camping, vacations or homedinners, then go ahead and stick to the programme.
Price and Budget
Quality should be your first concern, though price will be a factor. And indeed, there is a wide range of prices for freeze-dried rations. Know your budget, and select the highest quality food you can find at a price you can afford.
Environmental Impact
For those consumers with an eye toward sustainability, looking into the source of your food and choosing sustainable and ethical food options is a great step in the right direction. Avoid fried food and look for those freeze-dried meals whose brands use responsibly harvested ingredients and eco-friendly packaging.
Conclusion
Big Food also makes RTE and dehydrated meals, though after several airboat rides, some tentside, backcountry grubbin’ from my knapsack and trail food backpack, after culling your dietary fudges, your palate sprouting like a tongue in a vivarium, checking your terms of shelf life, your price, your ingredients, your allergens, your nutrition, your enviro footprint of your packaging and your production, you’ll find your best freeze-dried meals-for-weight, for your life, for yr cause.
FAQs
Are such freeze-dried meals nutrinitions? nutrifts of fresh food?
Freeze-dried meals retain most of the nutritional quality of fresh food. They’re nutrinet-packed preprepared meals.
I if you were still discriminated against and it could be you and you could have, you know, a Near East Ancient Grains and a freeze-dried chicken with a Couscous Primaveria, a Tuna Primavera and then just give a you know ‘your’ liver and onions meal. And say OK, if you suddenly found out, I if you were still really like you were discriminated against, I would say well, we will just make sure those three components, there you go, you have your liver and onions. I if you…Yeah I so these companies … have customisable option so if you want like, I mean … you want a vegetarian meal, do you want a gluten-free meal, a low-sodium meal, you can have that.
As a complete meal, does it require special equipment for preparation?
To prepare meals that are freeze-dried, all you need is just hot water. Adventure travellers and outdoor enthusiasts can easily enjoy the meals wherever they are without any additional equipment.
Can a weight loss diet involving freeze-dried meals promote loss of weight ?
Yes, a weight loss diet on which a shake-based freeze dried meal is one component, with proper portion control, would promote weight loss.The nutrition would need to be balanced through consultation with a nutritionist in terms of daily dietary needs.
What gives with the meals in a bag?
Freeze-dried meals are great for their convenience, but as with other lackluster space food, they might be a bit bland – and you’ll have a tough time comparing them with fresh food. When your stomach’s rumbling, say, a few thousand miles from the nearest Ajax restaurant, that won’t be a problem. You can order packages beginning at six meals, starting as low as $6 per plate. (Prices listed are per individual.) Price: 1/5
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