Sometimes the Best Outdoor Meals Come in a Pouch

"No longer do you have to crunch your way through chalky chili or pasty pasta, with only the desiccated comfort of an astronaut ice cream for dessert. Instead, freeze-dried meals have grown into a diverse category with options to suit just about any dietary preference or need. You can still get classics like chili and mac and cheese, but now there is also dal bhat, mushroom risotto, biscuits and gravy, and more."

"But the best - and perhaps most surprising - thing about this new class of freeze-dried meals is that they actually taste pretty good. Here are some of the best freeze-dried backpacking meals on the market right now. For a simple, trail-friendly breakfast it's hard to beat granola - so much so that it feels a little silly to buy a prepared pack of it. But Mountain House has done a standout job incorporating powdered milk and freeze-dried blueberries in reasonable proportions. Once you rehy"

Freeze-dried backpacking meals have evolved from chalky, pasty options to a diverse, flavorful category that includes dal bhat, mushroom risotto, biscuits and gravy, and classics like chili and mac and cheese. Modern products emphasize nutrition and ingredient quality with claims such as protein, fiber, and whole vegetables, and require only hot water to rehydrate. Quality and taste have improved, reducing reliance on cold canned beans or dry sandwiches. Prepared breakfast options like granola with powdered milk and freeze-dried blueberries illustrate improved composition. A range of dietary preferences can be accommodated by current freeze-dried offerings.

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