Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Paleo meals to go - Product Review


Oh so delicious Mountain Beef Stew in the Mountains


I was given two Paleo meals to go in exchange for doing this review.
Paleo meals is located in Colorado and this is what their website says:

“We are happy to announce that finally, there is a place you can purchase freeze-dried meals that adhere to the general principles of the Paleo Diet!  Sometimes a snack just isn't enough and you need a solid meal, whether you are backpacking in the wilderness, camping, competing in ultra marathons, undertaking an epic adventure, participating in extreme events, traveling, or anytime you do not have access to fresh foods and your own kitchen.  Paleo meals to go are a great option! “

I was given these to review


I don’t know much about the Paleo diet, but I am very sensitive to MSG and I know that MSG is not part of the Paleo diet.  I really struggle to find savory prepared foods that are not loaded with MSG, so I have to make most of my backpacking foods at home with my dehydrator.  I wish I could freeze dry foods, as freeze dried foods cook faster, taste better and weigh less.

Paleo meals to go are freeze dried.  The Beef Mountain Stew weighs just 4 ounces in the package and contains 300 calories, so it gives you 75 calories per ounce and that’s including the package.  I really enjoyed the Mountain Beef Stew.  I took it on a day hike and I had it for lunch.  It was super easy to cook with water that I heated with my alcohol stove.

Skip ahead to 7:25 in this video to see my cooking, eating and reviewing this meal:



Cooking time was about 5 minutes. Freeze dried foods really do cook fast.  The stew tasted so delicious!  It also filled me up, I wonder if it really was just 300 calories, because I almost could not finish it before my stomach got too full.  Maybe the lack of MSG to excite and kill my neurons caused this meal to be more filling?

 It tasted really good, the spices were just right and the main ingredient is beef, so it was very meaty.  The celery and other vegetables also made the stew taste good.  Honestly the Mountain Beef Stew is one of the best tasting things I have eaten in a long time.    If I had the money, I would buy a bunch of these to take on day hikes and backpacking trips.   It is so nice to find something tasty packable and healthy.



I don’t like to cook foods in a bag because I worry chemicals from plastic leaching into the hot water, so I would probably cook these in my cook pot if I was on a backpacking trip.  For just an occasional day hike I would go ahead and eat these out of the bag with my long handled titanium spoon.

The other meal I was sent was a breakfast.  The breakfast was called Coconut Berry breakfast.   My daughter and I shared the breakfast meal in a motel room in Los Angeles.  We heated the water in a microwave oven.  

 I really like both coconuts and blueberries but I was not enamored with this breakfast.  The blueberries were too sour for my liking and the coconut flavor did not seem to come through very strong.  The package contained enough food for two, but my daughter would not eat hers at all, so I ate the entire thing, even though I did not think it was the best tasting thing I have ever eaten.  At least is was a good healthy meal.   I'd like to try their other breakfast that is mango flavored.

So there you have it, I loved the stew but did not really care for the breakfast.  If money was no object, I would buy the "Beef Mountain Stew" by the case.   It tasted that great!  It is also healthy and it packs and cooks easily. 

Visit the Paleo meals to go website to see all of the foods that they offer.. https://www.paleomealstogo.com/

The package matches my backpack too, what if I just wore this package on the outside of my pack all the time?  Could I convince the fine folks at Paleo meals to send me more Mountain Beef Stew?

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