With parks and backcountry camping sites starting to reopen it is finally feeling like summer. For me summer means spending time outdoors enjoying the warm, sunny weather before the cold Canadian winter comes back. There are few things better than relaxing around a fire after a long day exploring the outdoors, and a just-add-water dehydrated meals are a classic go-to camping dinner.
One of my favourite ways to spend time outdoors is camping! The best part of camping is building a fire at the end of the day and making a huge meal. Especially after a long day of hiking or canoeing, there is nothing better than sitting by the fire. In early July I had a week long portaging trip through Algonquin Park. This means not only a lot of campfire meals, but also the challenge of making the meals light enough to carry along the trails.
Usually for this sort of trip I’d buy a pre-made dehydrated meal. When every gram counts food can add weight fast, and these are lightweight, filling and usually tasty. The only downside is their price. At three meals per day for seven days, the price would have been $250 per person, and it seemed a bit high of a price tag for me.
After a bit of research (and a few beers) I came up with the idea to dehydrate meals myself! Although this seemed like a much harder plan the next day, the dehydrator was already bought so I did some research and came up with a plan.
Testing Results of Various Dehydrated Meals
The main focus of my research and testing was on the dehydrating itself. The trick I found was to keep your meals low fat and low moisture as much as possible to slow the drying time, as well as prevent them from not drying all the way.
Next I focused on how I would carry and rehydrate them on the trail. A week of eating nothing but dehydrated meals at home later, I had a good idea of the best methods.
Getting a vacuum sealer was a life saver. It helps to shrink the size of each meal while carrying and create portions that are easy to cook and eat while out on the trail.
When cooking, I find the best way was to add the boiled water a bit at a time. This was you can stop right when everything is perfectly rehydrated and prevent the meal from being soggy. Dehydrating your favourite sauces is also a great step to take. You can add them into a variety of meals, giving an extra punch of flavour and/or spice.
Results
Below is a full list of the products that I got off Amazon. At less that $100 of equipment and around $100 of groceries (for two!) it was as a much cheaper – and arguably tastier – alternative to store bought meals. I also included a list of recipes that I have tested out on the trail.
Products
Recipes That Can be Dehydrated
Spaghetti ‘Bolognese’
Soy Jerky
Happy camping!
Note that above there are affiliate links. They don’t cost you any extra, but I do make a small commission off them, which really helps out.
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