Hiking Meals Comparison: Pre-Cooked, Dehydrated & Freeze Dried

Join our trio of trail food testers — Farris, Joanna, and Jess — as they sample the most popular brands of pre-cooked, dehydrated, and freeze-dried meals to discover which ones are actually worth the hike.

Pre-made hiking meals aren’t cheap. And there’s nothing worse than getting on the trail to discover you’ve hiked for hours to eat unappealing mush. Hiking meals don’t hit the same at home so testing them beforehand can be difficult, and frankly, who has the time?

We tasted a bunch of meals from the most common brands of pre-cooked, dehydrated, and freeze-dried meals to try to find the winners, both for ourselves and for you.

Here’s how it went.

Why am I the right person to do this review?

When I’m not editing articles for We Are Explorers, I’m busy putting my food science degree to use as The Hikers Nutritionist and writing an e-book about hiking nutrition (if you’re interested, check out my survey!). I’ve been on more overnight hikes than I can count, more than five of these being up to a week in length both solo and with mates. I know what my body needs energy-wise and I’ve spent many trips testing meals to find my ideal fuel. I’m also well acquainted with the kind of fatigue that can make a sweaty bag of scroggin clumped together with melted chocolate taste like the best thing ever.

To help provide a more rigorous taste test (yay science!) I recruited my husband, Farris, and our hiking buddy Joanna to help me taste test a bunch of popular meals on a recent multi-day hike. Loaded up with more food than we’ve ever taken on a trail, we set off for a week of passionate disagreements and shared looks of wonder over just about every meal.

Essentially I’m the right person because I know food, and I had a couple of hungry people in my life happy to answer questions for a free feed. Let’s press on.

Three hungry hikers: Farris, Jess, and Joanna | @sinnstagram_

What’s the difference between pre-cooked, dehydrated, and freeze-dried meals?

Understanding these distinctions will help you choose the best fuel for your next adventure.

Pre-cooked Meals

Pre-cooked hiking meals offer convenience with minimal preparation. Ingredients are typically fresh, and recognisable as real foods, and they’re an ideal choice for car camping or short hikes as they weigh more. Shelf life can be shorter but meals are typically pricier as they taste the best and the texture of ingredients is not affected.

Dehydrated Meals

Dehydrated meals are lightweight and tend to be cheaper than pre-cooked. Vitamins and minerals more sensitive to heat can be lost in the dehydration process so nutritional content is slightly compromised. The same heat often causes altered textures on rehydration. These hiking meals can also lack freshness as they rely on more processed ingredients to preserve the food through multiple temperature changes.

Freeze-Dried Meals

Freeze-dried meals preserve the texture, nutrients, and flavour more effectively than dehydrated meals but as a result tend to be more expensive. Typically they require more time to rehydrate and heat. There tend to be fewer processed ingredients compared to dehydrated meals, but additives for flavour enhancement are still quite common.

What should you look for in the ideal hiking meal?

Firstly, the ideal hiking meal is going to look different depending on the type of trip you’re on – car-camping vs overnight hiking vs multi-day hiking.

On a camping trip, you can bring a chopping board without having to lug it up a mountain. On an overnight hike, throwing in some extra weight for a decadent meal feels worth it. But on a multi-day, you’ll be shedding grams, likely hiking slightly hungry, and just about ready to lick the inside of your scroggin baggy.

When you’re considering the ideal hiking meal for you, you need to consider the following:

• Taste – You’ll be fantasizing about this meal all day, make sure it’s worth it
• Texture – If food feels gross in your mouth, you won’t enjoy it. There’s a reason we don’t all eat mash every day
• Aroma – Is it enticing, or revolting? Forcing a meal down is a great morale killer
• Energy requirements – Do you know how much energy your body needs? If you’re serious about hiking, this is something worth knowing. Is it enough food for you?
• Cooking time and method – Do you need water? Gas? How much? 
• Serving and clean up – Can you eat it directly from the packaging? Is it easy to clean? Will you need extra water for washing or rubbish bags to carry-out waste?
• Sustainability – How much garbage will this produce? Was it made in Australia?
• Shelf life – If you’re a bulk shopper for those sweet discounts, but an infrequent hiker, this is especially important
• Weight – It might taste good but if you can’t physically carry it, it’s useless
• Price – Obviously

Consider what pot size you’re bringing, plan how you’ll measure water (water requirements vary a lot between meals), and bring long-handled cutlery like these ones from Sea to Summit

Pre-Cooked, Dehydrated & Freeze-Dried Hiking Meals Reviewed & Compared

When it came to dinnertime after a day on the trails, my hiking buddies and I cooked and taste-tested meals by popular hiking brands, allocating one night to each brand so we had a fresh palate. We used the same rating system to consider the taste, texture, aroma, and aftertaste before giving each meal an overall flavour score out of 5. 

0 = awful.

5 = amazing. 

Key macronutrients are listed on the product packaging according to their per serve quantities – this means that you’ll get the noted amount of protein, fats, carbohydrates, and total energy if you eat the whole meal. But for the section titled ‘What Were the Best Meals Overall’ where I compare all the meals to determine which one was the best value for money, and had the highest protein content, per 100g measures were used.

Rather than delivering you hours of detailed reviews, we’ve got an in-depth review of each brand and the full range of meals they offer to publish in the coming months. For now, this is a quick overview of a single meal from each brand. We’ve shared our highlights, the lowlights, and the occasional next morning gastrointestinal upset. Yep – we were thorough. 

Strive Foods – Butter Chicken

Meal Type: Dehydrated Meal
RRP: $12.99
Packed Weight: 85g
Flavour: 4.5/5
Cooking time: 5 minutes + 2 minutes standing time
Protein/Fats/Carbs: 10.3g/9.3g/34.1g
Total energy: 320.3 calories

Meal Overview

The Butter Chicken meal by Strive Foods is preservative-free, nut-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free. Normally at this point I’d assume it’d also be flavour-free, but Strive Foods has figured out a way to make their meals delicious, fresh, and nutritious while catering to dietary restrictions. What sorcery this is – I don’t know, but they can keep it up! The ingredients are real wholefoods and all meals are made in Tasmania. 

We used to have to buy these online, but Strive Food is now stocked in Anaconda stores so it’s even more convenient to grab some for your next hike. 

Meals are vacuum-sealed which reduces bulk, but they’re also rigid so you end up with wasted space anyway

Preparation & Cooking

Our preparation of this one fell over slightly as we poorly estimated what 375ml was – whatever you do, make sure you either mark up an existing pot or take a small measure so you can add water accurately! While Farris assured me he enjoyed his Butter Chicken soup (that’s what you get if you overdo it on the water!), it certainly wasn’t meant to be eaten that way! 

Compared to the other meals, the downside of this one is that it needs to be cooked in a pot, which means more dishes. But it also means the bag is clean and if you’re only eating Strive Foods, the rubbish you carry out won’t smell. It’s also really annoying trying to measure out 375ml, especially if you’re estimating.

I swear there’s rice and chicken in there… given the preparation of this meal couldn’t have gone worse and it still tasted good, I’m impressed

Flavour

Despite this one having way too much water, we all loved it. It was warming, hearty, and filling, and we didn’t feel weighed down after eating it. It’s rare to get that light feeling after a dehydrated meal and we’d all happily eat it again. The serving size was just right, although guys or gals with big appetites might find it on the lighter side if they’ve had a big day on the trails.

The chicken was slightly gristly in places, but it tasted and felt more real than the plasticky meats from other meals, so this was more of a plus than a complaint. 

Fazz said: ‘Even when you add too much water, butter chicken soup is delicious’. 

Joanna said: ‘Yum. Strive Foods meals should be a standard item in a hikers meal kit’. 

Wait, this wasn’t meant to be a soup? Really regretting the choice of a spork right now

Campers Pantry – Indian Chicken Pilaf

Meal Type: Freeze-dried
RRP: $16.95
Packed Weight: 100g
Flavour: 5/5
Cooking time: 10 minutes standing time (boiling time not included)
Protein/Fats/Carbs: 13.4g/10.8g/33.9g
Total energy: 296.4 calories

Meal Overview

The Indian Chicken Pilaf by Campers Pantry was the grand finale meal of our hiking trip. By the time we got to this one we felt like reviewing connoisseurs. Legitimately the word ‘aromatic’ had been busted out so many times that it had begun to lose all meaning. Campers Pantry is Australian-owned food manufacturer located in Launceston, Tasmania. They take premium local produce and transform it into clean, tasty food for outdoor adventures. 

Of the ingredients in this meal, 65% were from Australia with each one recognisable as a real food – not an E-number in sight! 

Tasty, fast, light – agreed

Preparation & Cooking

Like Strive Foods, Campers Pantry vacuum-packs their meals, keeping them small and preserving pack space for other items. The cardboard sleeve can be left at home to further reduce size, and the innovation here didn’t go unnoticed. 

Despite the instructions saying you could flatten out the bottom of the bag and roll the top over to allow the meal to stand in hot water, the bag doesn’t have seam lines in the right place to accommodate this (it wouldn’t sit flat) and there wasn’t enough bag left to fold it over without leaving a gap. It was also quite difficult to open the bag without awkwardly ripping it down the side such that a bowl would be impossible. Ultimately, we found it much easier to pop these into our pot with the lid on, which to be fair is recommended ‘for best results’. The convenience of cooking in the bag would be nice, but I wouldn’t rely on it. 

Flavour

The peas and beans were the slightest bit rubbery but both were floating around in an amazing well-balanced sauce with a generous portion of chicken. And it was chicken that tasted like real chicken! This was the meal we raved about the most. We discussed the basmati rice for a solid minute, rice. It was that delicious. Even with the slightly odd texture of the veggies, it was the winner in the taste department hands down. 

Fazz said: ‘100g of bloody excellent! The sauce was delicious and it smells so nice too – like it’s homemade. 

Joanna said: ‘Oh, WOW!’

Good to see a paper bag rather than plastic. Great for the Earth and much smaller to transport out in our rubbish bag

Back Country Cuisine Elite – Biryani Lamb

Meal Type: Freeze-dried
RRP: $24.99
Packed Weight: 175g
Flavour: 2/5
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Protein/Fats/Carbs: 33.4g/41.3g/69.6g
Total energy: 797 calories

Meal Overview

Historically, Back Country Cuisine meals have given me gastrointestinal grief post-meal – most likely due to the long list of additives, preservatives, and artificial ingredients in them (check out this ingredient list on this meal from their standard range to see what I mean). 

Thankfully, the Biryani Lamb by Back Country Cuisine is part of the Elite Performance range of meals, and the list of processed ingredients is far shorter. It’s been formulated to be higher in calories to fuel adventure, while remaining light and practical to carry. It’s also gluten-free. On the surface, it sounds pretty good. 

My beef (ha!) with the new range is that the use of white rice instead of whole grains reduces the fibre content overall. Presumably this is so we feel fuller, but it’s technically also cheaper to produce this way. Digestive discomfort is more likely as white rice is high in starch. Coupled with the low fibre content, this meal is likely to sit in the gut longer – potentially leading to bloat and/or constipation.

Our guts did not love this meal. And the aftertaste wasn’t good

Preparation & Cooking

Freeze-dried meals better preserve the original nutritional content of the food compared to dehydrated meals, but they can also take three times as long to rehydrate and heat. After boiling 250ml of water we needed to let this meal stand for 10-15 minutes before it was ready. This was fine on our warm, lazy hike when we had plenty of time to cook, but on a cold hike with short days, I wouldn’t want to wait that long. 

Flavour

This meal had us divided. The serving size was great for the guy in our group but Joanna and I could easily have shared it. It smelt appealing and had a good aftertaste. The unnatural appearance of the lamb was off putting, but to be fair it would have been cut into the rectangles to aid the freeze-drying and rehydration process. Waiting longer for our food to rehydrate just so it could taste plasticky and a bit odd wasn’t a great experience though. 

Fazz said: ‘The sauce was delicious, and the serving of lamb generous, but there was something just not right about it. I’d buy it because it’s food, but it’s definitely got an artificial taste’. 

Jess said: ‘This was gross. The corn is simultaneously hard and mushy. Nothing feels or tastes like real food and I couldn’t finish it. Wouldn’t buy’.

Nothing about this perfectly flat rectangular lamb and half disintegrated corn was very appealing. Honestly, the best part about this meal was the fork.

Radix Nutrition – Turkish Falafel

Meal Type: Freeze-dried
RRP: $13.90
Packed Weight: 131g
Flavour: 4/5
Cooking time/water required: 5 minutes/250ml
Protein/Fats/Carbs: 31g/30g/47g
Total energy: 605 calories

Meal Overview

The Turkish Falafel by Radix is a great choice for vegetarians (it’s also gluten-free!). The real standout with this meal is that it comes in three different caloric size options – 400 calories, 600 calories, and 800 calories. 

Aside from the fresh ingredients, complete protein profile, and 5% fibre included in every meal, this is a feature I wish was more common across pre-prepared hiking meals. Being able to take precisely the amount you know you’ll need prevents food wastage, going hungry, and carrying too much. Love it. 

The Radix Nutrition meal packets stood firmly on uneven surfaces – another win

Preparation & Cooking

The packaging was easy to open and stood flat for pouring boiling water in. Closing the seal was tricky without burning our hands on steam (though that’s a common problem across many meals). This meal was very easy to clean up, and the bag strong enough to be reused. 

You might have noticed that despite both this meal and the previous Back Country meal both being freeze-dried, their rehydration/cooking times are very different. This is most likely due to differences in freeze-drying processes but ingredient selection (some foods rehydrate quicker than others), and different meal volumes (BC meal is 425g, and Radix is 381g) will also play a part.

Flavour

This meal scored really well overall. Despite the slightly spicey aftertaste we had comfy guts and felt full but not stuffed. The portion sizes are generous and it tastes really good with a serving of Debs potato if you want to bulk it up further. It’s the kind of meal that leaves you feeling fresh at the end, and it was just downright yummy. If you’ve got a vegetarian coming on a hike, they won’t be disappointed with this one. 

Jess said: ‘It grew on me as I ate more. The texture is varied with plenty of crunch from all the seeds’. 

Fazz said: ‘It doesn’t taste like falafel, but it’s fresh and I’d definitely eat it again’.

I’d recommend throwing a few servings of Debs potato into your pack so if you’re hungrier than anticipated you can bulk up your dinner easily

Alps & Amici – Turmeric Chickpea Curry & Cumin Rice

Meal Type: Freeze-dried
RRP: Curry: $22, Rice: $13
Packed Weight: 200g (Curry + Rice, 100g each meal)
Flavour: 3.5/5
Cooking time: 10 minutes (20 minutes if using one pot) 
Protein/Fats/Carbs: (Curry: 6.4g/13.9g/15g) (Cumin rice: 4.89g/0.6g/38.2g)
Total energy: 405.5 calories (Curry: 223 calories) (Cumin rice: 182.5 calories)

Meal Overview

The Turmeric Chickpea Curry by Alps & Amici is technically 31% onion and 25% chickpeas so arguably it should be renamed the ‘Turmeric Onion Curry’, but it tasted amazing so I’ll forgive the misnomer. It’s also gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan-friendly. On the advice of Alps & Amici we paired the curry with their freeze-dried Cumin Rice, which bumped up the total calories and macronutrient (that’s protein, fats, and carbs!) content. The ingredients list was all real foods, with nothing artificial.

This range of meals began when the chefs at Alps & Amici Foodstore started selling freeze-dried versions of their popular fresh meals after their customers expressed interest in taking their food on hikes. The popularity of their restaurant-quality meals increased exponentially and now freeze-dried meals are a major part of what they do. 

Most Alps & Amici meals serve two people, so these meals (this one included) are best suited to people hiking in pairs

Preparation & Cooking

These had the biggest bags of all the meals – 16x23cm – which meant despite the low weight, they took up a lot of physical space in our packs. The size and quality of the bags do lend themselves to reuse though so it’s not a reason to avoid them. The bags held their shape well, stood easily, and were simple to rinse out afterwards. Cooking was pretty easy but having to cook rice, plus the sauce for three people with only two small cooking pots meant we had to do multiple boils. The large bags also made us pretty grateful that we had Sea to Summit Ultralight Long Handled Sporks to eat with. 

Flavour

Originally this was our highest-scoring meal in regards to taste. It had a moderate amount of spice – enough to give it some pizzazz without being overwhelming, making it a great choice for kids or fussy eaters. The cumin rice was delicious and balanced out the mushy sauce perfectly. The curry wouldn’t be a substantial enough meal without added carbohydrates, and we’d all happily stock our kitchen with a lifetime supply of the cumin rice. Seriously.

Unfortunately, this meal resulted in one member of our group experiencing indigestion, which resulted in the lower overall score. Despite that, we’d gladly eat hiking meals from Tassie-based Alps & Amici again. I’ve certainly eaten many meals that have messed with my guts hiking, and all things considered a little bit of acid reflux and slight indigestion is a lot better than other, more explosive reactions. 

Fazz said: ‘This is a great warming winter meal. It just started to taste slightly bland in the last few bites, but I’d absolutely eat it again’. 

Joanna said: ‘A pappadum would have been nice! I’d buy it as a meat alternative, 100%. It’s a winner!’

My mouth is watering remembering how good this tasted

Offgrid Provisions – Frank & Beans

Meal Type: Heat & eat/pre-cooked
RRP: $21.95
Weight: 300g
Flavour: 4.5/5
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Protein/Fats/Carbs: 31.7g/29.5g/31.6g
Total energy: 507 calories

Meal Overview

After devouring a serve of Frank & Beans by Offgrid Provisions and realising how delicious campsite dinners could be, we’re confident that Offgrid is now our top brand pick for camping meals. But for multi-day hikes, despite the heavenly taste, we can’t justify the 300g weight (the heaviest meal by far). This meal was the second highest in energy, protein, and carbohydrate content. Unfortunately it’s also very high in sodium which will make you feel thirsty.

All Offgrid meals are hearty with generous portions, and if I’d had a day in the cold this is exactly what I’d like to eat at the end of it. 

Can we all take a moment to appreciate how nice this packaging looks? It’s trendy as! Probably just made it look uncool with the use of the word trendy, but this attention to design is refreshing

Preparation & Cooking

While this hearty meal from Offgrid was ridiculously easy to cook – just whack the entire packet in a pot of water and boil for five minutes, it was a bit confusing. We were unsure if we needed to hold the packet off the bottom of the pot (would it burn?) so we held it slightly above the surface of the pot to be safe (annoying). It’s also handy to have a small towel to dry off the outside of the bag when it comes out the pot.

Flavour

Oh man, we didn’t realise food could taste this good on a hike! It smelt tantalising, the texture was interesting without being distracting, and even though it had a tonne of beans, our guts were good. 

With a whopping 40% of the Off Grid Frank & Beans Meal being chorizo sausage, it shouldn’t have come as so much of a surprise how big the sausage inside was. I guess we weren’t expecting it to be whole? While it resembled a giant something else in the packet (yes, we were giggling like children), it was easy to cut into and the whole meal was wonderfully well-balanced, if a bit on the salty side. 

Fazz said: ‘I love beans and these are obviously fresh and really well cooked’. 

Jess said: ‘Bloody delicious. I’m not a fan of beans but I’d happily eat that every day’.

Farris also said: ‘It came out like a slow poo, but it really tasted very nice, nothing like poo, I imagine. This probably isn’t what Offgrid wants to hear – can I say this?’

On Track Meals – Beef Bolognaise

Meal Type: Heat & eat/pre-cooked
RRP: $13.95
Packed Weight: 250g
Flavour: 4/5
Cooking time: 3-5 minutes
Protein/Fats/Carbs: 7.9g/7.3g/3.2g
Total energy: 217.3 calories

Meal Overview

The Beef Bolognaise by On Track Meals was cooked in Australia from 61% fresh Aussie ingredients. Campers Pantry and Off Grid also have high percentages of home-grown ingredients. Interestingly this meal is halal suitable – something uncommon just about everywhere but especially so in the niche hiking meals category. This was done to make the meal accessible to as many people as possible, a nice touch.

On Track Meals specialise in fresh pre-packaged foods and use retort packaging to lock in the nutrients and ensure a long shelf life. Note that if you want to cook this at home (it tastes like it belongs on a dinner table) it cannot be heated in the microwave. Less conveniently, you’ll need to factor in a carbohydrate to eat the bolognaise with as the meal sachet only contains the bolognaise sauce.

This was so much quicker to prepare than freeze-dried and dehydrated meals. For a quick, no-fuss meal you can’t go wrong with this one, especially if you pair it with my go-to buddie Deb (potato!)

Preparation & Cooking

This meal was super quick and easy to heat – chuck the whole packet into your pot of already boiled water and leave it there for four minutes (by now we were tipping the bag wouldn’t burn if it hit the bottom of the pot so we risked it and it was fine). While you need to cook a carbohydrate like pasta to go with the sauce, if you’re clever you can use the same hot water and keep prep time pretty quick. We cooked a handful of random spaghetti from the pantry to go with this, which took a good few eight minutes more, but if you opted for something like Debs potato you’d be eating in no time.

Flavour

Aside from the odd texture, this could have been made on my own stove. The flavour was full, the meat tasted and looked like real meat, and it smelt like spaghetti bolognaise. If we buy bolognaise, this is what we expect to eat. Unfortunately, the texture was quite gritty. It didn’t make it taste bad, but it was distracting and very noticeable. The sauce was also quite watery – unnoticeable with Debs potato as an accompaniment, but it meant the sauce slid off the pasta and the last mouthful was watery sauce.

Jess said: ‘Nice sauce, but it was very grainy and it was hard to ignore’. 

Fazz said: ‘This tasted like a proper home cooked meal, but the texture was a little strange’. 

Legit rivals the taste of my Mum’s spaghetti, and that’s just about the best in the world. Yes, that’s real beef. And real onion. Real everything.

What Were The Best Hiking Meals Overall?

Total Energy

Highest – Biryani Lamb by Back Country Cuisine Elite (187 calories)
Least – Indian Chicken Pilaf by Campers Pantry (74 calories)

Protein Content

Highest – Frank & Beans by Offgrid Provisions (11g)
Lowest – Butter Chicken by Strive Food (2.6g)

Sodium Content

Most – Biryani Lamb by Back Country Cuisine Elite (509mg)
Least  –  Indian Chicken Pilaf by Campers Pantry (114mg)

Packed Weight

Lightest – Butter Chicken by Strive Food (85g)
Heaviest  – Frank & Beans by Offgrid Provisions (300g)

Value For Money

Best (the most calories per dollar) – Turkish Falafel by Radix Nutrition (44 calories per $1)
Worst (the least calories per dollar) – Indian Chicken Pilaf by Campers Pantry (17 calories per $1)

Taste

Best – Indian Chicken Pilaf by Campers Pantry
Worst – Biryani Lamb by Back Country Cusine Elite

Best food to take to bulk-up meals or accompany sauces? You guessed it, Debs potato!

Final Thoughts

On a nutritional basis, there isn’t a clear winner for every hiker here – the ideal meal depends on the hike, what your body needs on the trail, and what you prioritise most.

If you’re all about being ultralight and shaving weight, you cannot go past Campers Pantry and Strive Food meals. Both brands offer incredibly light meals with packaging that’s easy to clean, and have the lowest prices and sodium content (by a country mile!) of all the hiking meals compared here. The compromise is that they also have the lowest calorie and macronutrient content, so while you’re carrying less and paying less, you’ll also get less energy overall. Makes sense.

As a nutritionist, I determined my overall preference by casting aside the best/worst winners and focusing on the brands in the middle of the pack. I was looking for a meal with great performance across multiple metrics. While On Track Meals very nearly got my first place vote for their balanced nutritional profile and excellent flavour, they were pipped at the post, somewhat unsurprisingly, by Radix Nutrition (the clue is in the name!).

Radix came out on top with low sodium (199mg), solid energy (159 calories), and high protein (8.2g), fat (7.8g), and carbohydrate (12.2g) content. The low pack weight and second lowest price per 100g made it irrefutable.

So what now? Use our results to help choose what meal you try next. Your opinion may differ, or maybe it already does – let us know in the comments!

FAQs Hiking Meals Comparison

How did each meal compare in terms of sodium per 100g?

• Indian Chicken Pilaf by Campers Pantry – 114mg 
• Butter Chicken by Strive – 141mg 
• Turkish Falafel by Radix – 199mg
• Beef Bolognese by On Track Meals – 278mg
• Turmeric Chickpea Curry & Cumin Rice by Alps & Amici – 420mg
• Frank & Beans by Off Grid – 507mg
• Biryani Lamb by Back Country Elite – 509mg

How did each meal compare in terms of protein per 100g?

• Butter Chicken by Strive – 2.6g
• Indian Chicken Pilaf by Campers Pantry – 3.4g 
• Turmeric Chickpea Curry & Cumin Rice by Alps & Amici – 3.7g
• Beef Bolognese by On Track Meals – 7.9g
• Biryani Lamb by Back Country Elite – 7.9g
• Turkish Falafel by Radix – 8.2g
• Frank & Beans by Off Grid – 10.6g

How did each hiking meal compare in terms of price per 100g?

• Butter Chicken by Strive – $3.33
• Turkish Falafel by Radix – $3.65
• Indian Chicken Pilaf by Campers Pantry – $4.24
• Turmeric Chickpea Curry & Cumin Rice by Alps & Amici – $5
• Beef Bolognese by On Track Meals – $5.58
• Biryani Lamb by Back Country Elite – $5.88
• Frank & Beans by Off Grid – $7.33

How can I compare hiking meals myself?

You can do what I did and painstakingly compare nutrition panels in an Excel spreadsheet. An easier option is to use the free Yuka App. It will provide basic analysis of meals like these and draw your attention to pros and cons. No app is perfect, but it’s a great place to start!