Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Touring
Reload this Page >

Do Boil in the Bag meals still exist?

Notices
Touring Have a dream to ride a bike across your state, across the country, or around the world? Self-contained or fully supported? Trade ideas, adventures, and more in our bicycle touring forum.

Do Boil in the Bag meals still exist?

Old 11-09-19, 11:01 PM
  #1  
Miele Man
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 4,655

Bikes: iele Latina, Miele Suprema, Miele Uno LS, Miele Miele Beta, MMTB, Bianchi Model Unknown, Fiori Venezia, Fiori Napoli, VeloSport Adamas AX

Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1324 Post(s)
Liked 927 Times in 640 Posts
Do Boil in the Bag meals still exist?

There used to be a product called Magic Pantry that had a line of entrees that you simply tossed the bag into boiling water to heat before eating. I loved those. Unfortunately they are long gone = out of business.

Around here freeze dried foods are VERY expensive.

Does anyone make a boil in the bag meal anymore?

Cheers

Last edited by Homebrew01; 01-08-22 at 08:46 AM. Reason: Typo
Miele Man is offline  
Old 11-09-19, 11:47 PM
  #2  
CliffordK
Senior Member
 
CliffordK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Eugene, Oregon, USA
Posts: 27,600
Mentioned: 217 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18320 Post(s)
Liked 4,489 Times in 3,338 Posts
Hmmm...

Mountain House Freeze Dried. But, like you said, not cheap.

I think I saw a 5 gallon bucket of freeze dried entree for sale as an "emergency prepper" meal.

https://www.amazon.com/Emergency-Sur.../dp/B0029BE7AW

Not particularly cheap, but it might take a little while to munch through it.

Cup of Noodles?
https://www.riteaid.com/shop/nissin-...hicken-2-25-oz

Military MREs?

Last edited by CliffordK; 11-10-19 at 12:14 AM.
CliffordK is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 12:08 AM
  #3  
saddlesores
Senior Member
 
saddlesores's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Thailand..........Nakhon Nowhere
Posts: 3,652

Bikes: inferior steel....and....noodly aluminium

Mentioned: 24 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1053 Post(s)
Liked 339 Times in 228 Posts
Originally Posted by Miele Man
...Does anyone male a boil in the bag meal anymore?...
there be various noodle/sauce packets you can buy, then add a can o'tuna or some dehydrated meat or tofu.

simple enough to make your own, many websites with directions can be googled.

get yourself some boil bags and be creative....

https://www.packitgourmet.com/Cook-in-Bag.html
saddlesores is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 12:34 AM
  #4  
Darth Lefty 
Disco Infiltrator
 
Darth Lefty's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Folsom CA
Posts: 13,775

Bikes: Stormchaser, Paramount, Tilt, Samba tandem

Mentioned: 72 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3126 Post(s)
Liked 2,102 Times in 1,366 Posts
I think many of them still exist in the bottom of the camping junk box in everyone's garages.

But seriously... I recall seeing some only a few years ago. At the Winco grocery store, no less. I guess preppers want them? I think a lot of serious high speed backpackers now are taking their food in the form of things that don't need cooking
__________________
Genesis 49:16-17
Darth Lefty is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 02:34 AM
  #5  
CliffordK
Senior Member
 
CliffordK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Eugene, Oregon, USA
Posts: 27,600
Mentioned: 217 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18320 Post(s)
Liked 4,489 Times in 3,338 Posts
Weight still has to be a priority for backpacking, but the government is very anti fire, which leaves one with a stove & fuel. So, perhaps advantages of cold meals.
CliffordK is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 04:59 AM
  #6  
Machka 
In Real Life
 
Machka's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Down under down under
Posts: 52,152

Bikes: Lots

Mentioned: 141 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3203 Post(s)
Liked 595 Times in 329 Posts
Originally Posted by Miele Man
There used to be a product called Magic Pantry that had a line of entrees that you simply tossed the bag into boiling water to heat before eating. I loved those. Unfortunately they are long gone = out of business.

Around here freeze dried foods are VERY expensive.

Does anyone male a boil in the bag meal anymore?

Cheers
Do you go to your local grocery stores and camping/sporting goods stores?
Machka is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 06:12 AM
  #7  
staehpj1
Senior Member
 
staehpj1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Posts: 11,837
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1236 Post(s)
Liked 744 Times in 554 Posts
Just me, but...
I never found taking much food from home to be a good strategy unless packing for long trips away from restock points. Avoiding carrying food weight is pretty desirable IMO so buying as close to daily as possible is the way to go. So you really just need to pick and choose what is available from the stores when and where you are.

Packing lots of food for longer time away from restock points means lighter food. So I tend to take dried stuff, some foil packed stuff, and some other foods, mostly grocery store items (not much if any freeze dried most of which I hate). I have worked out what works for me over the years and for going off road away from stores i do as i would for backpacking.

FWIW there are a few freeze dried items that I really like. Freeze dried peas are one. They are really light and since fresh veggies can be hard to come by on some tours I sometimes break my own rules and take a bag of them with enough to last a while. Honeyville.com is a great source for dried and freeze dried products (not those nasty freeze dried meals). Most of what they sell is in great big cans with a super long shelf life. Most of it is good enough to eat even at home. The refried beans, oats, peas, mushrooms, and a few others are worth having for at home. I really love the refried beans and use them at home all the time. It is easy to make one serving at a time.

On another note I had some freeze dried meals that some European hikers left behind, that I grabbed out of the hiker box on a hike in the Sierras. While I generally hate freeze dried meals these were surprisingly good. They were a European brand that I had never heard of and they were delicious. I have never seen them available in the US. It may be that I was just super hungry, but usually my appetite is off a little and I am more fussy if anything when under the physical stress of a hard hike.
staehpj1 is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 06:54 AM
  #8  
Tourist in MSN
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,118

Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.

Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3426 Post(s)
Liked 1,441 Times in 1,122 Posts
I only remember having a couple boil in the pouch meals a couple times, I think that was in the 70s. We were winter camping in Northern Michigan UP, only 8 or 9 hours of sunlight every day, thus we wanted something that was extremely convenient so we brought a couple of them. Heavy but simple was our thinking. I think one pouch punctured while we were boiling it which really messed up that meal and also meant that the water we used to boil it was not going to fill our water bottles later. And they also needed a lot of stove fuel to boil up that much water when our water source was snow. Never tried one again, have no desire to do so.

Someone above mentioned freeze dried foods in bulk. Mountain House freeze dried meals are also sold in large number 10 cans. (Don't ask me why the can is called number 10, I have no clue.) For trips where I am going to be away from grocery stores for a couple of weeks, I have bought a can of Mountain House Breakfast Skillet and bagged up 10 individual solo breakfasts at home from one can.
https://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Hous...dp/B003Z45XVE/

I often will also mix one packet of Better Oats brand Instant Steel Cut Oatmeal with the breakfast skillet, add 10 oz of boiling water and wait for it to re-hydrate in my mug for about 8 to 10 minutes. A number 10 can is not cheap, but on a per serving basis it is much cheaper to buy a can at Amazon than small envelopes off the rack in camping stores.

I have not had a freeze dried supper in probably a decade, but if there was a flavor you liked you could also buy it in cans. Instead I just buy grocery store foods for suppers.

I used two of those cans this year, one for my Canadian Maritimes bike tour and one for a couple weeks of backpacking on the Superior Hiking Trail. The Mountain House cans that are unopenned have a shelf life of many years. I have a couple cans in storage waiting for future trips.

One serving of teh Breakfast Skillet also mixed in with one packet of oatmeal in the photo below, plus of course the obligatory mug of coffee waiting to be consumed.

Tourist in MSN is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 07:01 AM
  #9  
indyfabz
Senior Member
 
indyfabz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,062
Mentioned: 210 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18320 Post(s)
Liked 15,300 Times in 7,231 Posts
A sample:

https://www.rei.com/search?q=food
indyfabz is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 07:06 AM
  #10  
Tourist in MSN
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,118

Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.

Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3426 Post(s)
Liked 1,441 Times in 1,122 Posts
Or, spend a bit more time cooking up a meal?







I probably offended all of the Vegans out there.
Tourist in MSN is offline  
Likes For Tourist in MSN:
Old 11-10-19, 07:06 AM
  #11  
Machka 
In Real Life
 
Machka's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Down under down under
Posts: 52,152

Bikes: Lots

Mentioned: 141 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3203 Post(s)
Liked 595 Times in 329 Posts
Originally Posted by staehpj1
Just me, but...
I never found taking much food from home to be a good strategy unless packing for long trips away from restock points. Avoiding carrying food weight is pretty desirable IMO so buying as close to daily as possible is the way to go. So you really just need to pick and choose what is available from the stores when and where you are.



On another note I had some freeze dried meals that some European hikers left behind, that I grabbed out of the hiker box on a hike in the Sierras. While I generally hate freeze dried meals these were surprisingly good. They were a European brand that I had never heard of and they were delicious. I have never seen them available in the US. It may be that I was just super hungry, but usually my appetite is off a little and I am more fussy if anything when under the physical stress of a hard hike.
I'm with you.


And we ended up eating some sort of European brand of camping food at one place in Europe too because the campground was near a Decathlon Sporting Goods store, but other food places had closed for the day for some reason. We picked these things up and were pleasantly surprised ... or very hungry.
Machka is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 07:33 AM
  #12  
staehpj1
Senior Member
 
staehpj1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Posts: 11,837
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1236 Post(s)
Liked 744 Times in 554 Posts
Originally Posted by Machka
I'm with you.


And we ended up eating some sort of European brand of camping food at one place in Europe too because the campground was near a Decathlon Sporting Goods store, but other food places had closed for the day for some reason. We picked these things up and were pleasantly surprised ... or very hungry.
Good to hear that it isn't just me. I considered that I might have just been super hungry, but don't think I could be hungry enough to enjoy a Mountain House meal that much. On the other hand, to be fair I have not tried one in years. I am far from a picky eater, but they were bad enough that I wrote them off.

I'd actually reconsider using freeze dried meals when backpacking if I could buy meals like the pasta bolognese I got out of the hiker box at Red's Meadow in the Sierras. I will never buy Mountain House meals unless they were are better that the ones I have had in the past. They were simply awful.

The price is high, but I might consider freeze dried, if good, for the ease of quick packing and easy planning when away from resupply long enough. In any case I don't see much reason to consider them for on road touring unless you were touring somewhere that there are no stores for quite long stretches at a time. They would make planning a week or two of backpacking a lot easier though.
staehpj1 is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 08:56 AM
  #13  
stardognine
Partially Sane.
 
stardognine's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Sunny Sacramento.
Posts: 3,562

Bikes: Soma Saga, pre-disc

Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 972 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 643 Times in 468 Posts
Not for me, thanks. I'd rather just open a can of something, if it comes to that. 😉

This type of thing "should" have been a warning sign, when I was briefly married, way back in the '80s. The ex introduced me to boil-in-the-bag broccoli & cheese sauce, among others. We stayed married for "almost" a full year. 🙄😁😉
stardognine is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 09:02 AM
  #14  
stardognine
Partially Sane.
 
stardognine's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Sunny Sacramento.
Posts: 3,562

Bikes: Soma Saga, pre-disc

Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 972 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 643 Times in 468 Posts
Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
Or, spend a bit more time cooking up a meal?







I probably offended all of the Vegans out there.
We have Chestnut Hill branded foods here, in the Family Dollar stores. Their Spam knockoff didn't wow me, but they have canned roast beef & gravy, pork & gravy, and the inescapable canned chicken breast, that are all pretty decent. 👍
stardognine is offline  
Likes For stardognine:
Old 11-10-19, 10:46 AM
  #15  
mbusky
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Outdoors as much as I can
Posts: 87

Bikes: REI's COOP AVD1.1 touring bike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 24 Post(s)
Liked 33 Times in 19 Posts
FREEZER BAG COOKING

As a staple that I relied on while hiking the AT was a carb rich meal like this... Start with a bag of Knorrs rice or noodles side dish, they cost about $1.00 each, rip it open dump it in a zip lock FREEZER bag (add freeze dried bulk meats if wanted) squish out air, zip it up and pack them away. When ready add 10-12 oz boiling water, stir it up, let sit in a cozy which is basically a tin foil and bubble wrap and duck tape pouch that will work just fine, there are commercially made pouches available, supplement with pouch meat if wanted. Best part comes now, just EAT and clean spoon then properly dispose of just a bag. Later on eat a Snickers before bed and move on in the AM.

COZY PLAN
mbusky is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 11:10 AM
  #16  
chrisx
Senior Member
 
chrisx's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 924
Mentioned: 9 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 406 Post(s)
Liked 9 Times in 9 Posts
Keep plastic away from hot food!
Boil in the Plastic bag out of business?

Because boiling water makes plastic leach into your food.
The plastic lodges in you brain, and reduces your level of brain power.
chrisx is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 11:19 AM
  #17  
mtnbud
Senior Member
 
mtnbud's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Salem Oregon
Posts: 1,029

Bikes: 2019 Trek Stash 7, 1994 Specialized Epic 1986 Diamondback Ascent 1996 Klein Pulse Comp, 2006 Specialized Sequoia Elite

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 412 Post(s)
Liked 513 Times in 285 Posts
These are pretty good. Heat in boiling water for 5 minutes.

https://www.costco.com/organic-tasty...100502845.html

I've tried a similar Chipotle bowl meal and a curry dish. There's also some rice ones and a rice/quinoa mix out there.

Last edited by mtnbud; 11-10-19 at 11:35 AM.
mtnbud is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 11:57 AM
  #18  
mev
bicycle tourist
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Austin, Texas, USA
Posts: 2,279

Bikes: Trek 520, Lightfoot Ranger, Trek 4500

Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 462 Post(s)
Liked 250 Times in 171 Posts
Originally Posted by CliffordK
Hmmm...

Mountain House Freeze Dried. But, like you said, not cheap.

I think I saw a 5 gallon bucket of freeze dried entree for sale as an "emergency prepper" meal.
...
Military MREs?
I bought a bucket of Mountain House prior to setting off from Prudhoe Bay. It is 240 miles of almost entirely gravel from there to Coldfoot Roadhouse and another 240+ miles from there to Fairbanks. I brought seven days of food with me in mixture of freeze-dried and generally dried/no-cook foods.

However, for most other touring where I passed grocery stores or restaurants along the way, there is no need to carry much extra food - and I'll bias towards no-cook foods and buy along the way. In the lower-48 of US, I can't think of many places on paved roads where you aren't within are day of a small store or place to get something to eat.

Prior to leaving, I did experiment with MREs as well. They tend to be heavier and if you use the chemical warmers - you might have difficulty bringing them on a plane.
mev is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 03:11 PM
  #19  
mstateglfr 
Sunshine
 
mstateglfr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 16,538

Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo

Mentioned: 123 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10902 Post(s)
Liked 7,393 Times in 4,148 Posts
Originally Posted by chrisx
Keep plastic away from hot food!
Boil in the Plastic bag out of business?

Because boiling water makes plastic leach into your food.
The plastic lodges in you brain, and reduces your level of brain power.
You posted about plastic getting into water in another post about bottles.

So- how much is getting into our brains at any given time, and is it ALL plastic or only specific types?
mstateglfr is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 04:33 PM
  #20  
mbusky
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Outdoors as much as I can
Posts: 87

Bikes: REI's COOP AVD1.1 touring bike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 24 Post(s)
Liked 33 Times in 19 Posts
ZiplocŪ brand Bags and Containers are BPA free.

Originally Posted by chrisx
Keep plastic away from hot food!
Boil in the Plastic bag out of business?

Because boiling water makes plastic leach into your food.
The plastic lodges in you brain, and reduces your level of brain power.
SC Johnson's ZiplocŪ brand Bags and Containers are BPA free. Thier products are extensively evaluated for toxicity and safety and comply with applicable quality and safety regulations. ... Many reports of this study note that this chemical is commonly found in plastic food storage containers.
mbusky is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 08:48 PM
  #21  
Miele Man
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 4,655

Bikes: iele Latina, Miele Suprema, Miele Uno LS, Miele Miele Beta, MMTB, Bianchi Model Unknown, Fiori Venezia, Fiori Napoli, VeloSport Adamas AX

Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1324 Post(s)
Liked 927 Times in 640 Posts
Originally Posted by Machka
Do you go to your local grocery stores and camping/sporting goods stores?
Yes. Camping/sporting goods store is not that close and is Mountain Equipment Co-op which isn't the least expensive place for freeze-dried foods by far.

Cheers
Miele Man is offline  
Old 11-10-19, 11:58 PM
  #22  
Machka 
In Real Life
 
Machka's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Down under down under
Posts: 52,152

Bikes: Lots

Mentioned: 141 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3203 Post(s)
Liked 595 Times in 329 Posts
Originally Posted by Miele Man
Yes. Camping/sporting goods store is not that close and is Mountain Equipment Co-op which isn't the least expensive place for freeze-dried foods by far.

Cheers
So if you go to your local grocery store, then you're familiar with pasta meals and rice meals.

https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/b...ns/pasta-meals

https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/b...ce-grains/rice

Pick one that is easy to prepare and that you like ... let's say this chicken rice for example.




Grab a canned chicken like this perhaps.



You can carry a couple of those on the bicycle and not overload yourself with food weight. Then at some point during the day, stop in at a grocery and pick up a carrot, some broccoli and cauliflower.

Pop it all into one pot ... and dinner is served!
Machka is offline  
Likes For Machka:
Old 11-11-19, 03:59 AM
  #23  
ricrunner
Senior Member
 
ricrunner's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: New England Australia
Posts: 165

Bikes: Malvern Star Oppy S1 Gravel

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 58 Post(s)
Liked 11 Times in 8 Posts
Machka, thanks for this chicken breast in a tin, did not know you could get this here in OZ.
ricrunner is offline  
Old 11-11-19, 04:35 AM
  #24  
Machka 
In Real Life
 
Machka's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Down under down under
Posts: 52,152

Bikes: Lots

Mentioned: 141 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3203 Post(s)
Liked 595 Times in 329 Posts
Originally Posted by ricrunner
Machka, thanks for this chicken breast in a tin, did not know you could get this here in OZ.
Yep ... two different brands found at Woollies.
Machka is offline  
Old 11-11-19, 06:18 AM
  #25  
staehpj1
Senior Member
 
staehpj1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Posts: 11,837
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1236 Post(s)
Liked 744 Times in 554 Posts
Originally Posted by mev
I bought a bucket of Mountain House prior to setting off from Prudhoe Bay. It is 240 miles of almost entirely gravel from there to Coldfoot Roadhouse and another 240+ miles from there to Fairbanks. I brought seven days of food with me in mixture of freeze-dried and generally dried/no-cook foods.
I can see that as an easy way to pack for a section away from resupply. I'd consider it myself, especially if I had to pack for the section in the middle of a tour. I dislike the Mountain House meals enough that I'd more likely try to have a bucket of food packed up ahead of time and mailed to myself if necessary. I have worked out some things that work well for me for backpacking over the years.

On the other hand... If I am somewhere that the pickings are slim, I can get by on a really limited and stupid diet for a while (and have done so). If I had to I could go 10 days on mostly tortillas, peanut butter, and jelly or some other equally limited/stupid diet and might prefer it to Mountain House.
staehpj1 is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.