On the Road: Meals in a "Jar"

Exciting times!

I have started making Meals in a "Jar." Both DH and DD need something quick, easy, nutritious that can be done on the go. DH does not have the ability to "cook" per se, and DD needs 100% vegan. Neither of them can have their meals in a "jar" (hence the quotes). This time around I double bagged them in sealable baggies as both of them will be going through all of it within two weeks; next time around I will do them in resealable Mylar.

Answer? Freeze dried THRIVE food to the rescue. Quick. Nutritious. Healthy. Easy to pack. Easy to store. Stays good for days/weeks/years without spoiling. DH is cooking his in a Thermos. DD on a stovetop.

Yes. I'd be happy to come to your place (if you live in NE Texas) and do a meals in a 'jar' class. How about a Meals in a Thermos class? Email me here, otherwise, bookmark this blog, and sooner or later I'll put up a youtube video on my channel.

Or you can experiment and make them yourself by buying the ingredients at TexasFreezeDried.com.

Here's what DH's looked like:

Totally nothing fancy, right? Sorry. Told you, this was last minute. You want pretty in a mason jar? Schedule a class, lol. DH was taking his on the road, in a suitcase, on a 31 hour greyhound bus ride to Indiana (not kidding.) 

I made up multiples of: beef stew, taco soup, curry chicken stew with butternut squash and peanut butter, and curried chicken with mixed vegetables and brown rice.  Because I l=o=v=e Mountain House freeze dried meals, I threw in a couple of those too.

DH called tonight to "give me a report on your meals vs Mountain House." Frankly, I was a little worried. He said he did Mountain House yesterday (after sitting in a bus for 31 hours) and mine today (after being outside in the cold all day.) The following words are his:

"Liked the MH, it was very good. Certainly like the convenience of the mylar bag. But it wasn't very filling. I looked on the back of the bag: only 200 calories! How am I supposed to survive on 200 calories? But it was good.

"I made up yours, I had the chicken with rice and vegetables. I put it in the Thermos, and put two cups of boiling water in it." (Kathryn's note: shake up the Thermos and 'cook' it on its side. That's the secret to Thermos cooking.) "I let it sit for 15 minutes. It was 'almost' done, but the chicken wasn't quite rehydrated. So I put another 1/3 cup of boiling water, shook it up a bit and let it sit for another 5 minutes...and PERFECTION! It was very filling and felt like a real meal rather than a backpacking meal" (well yeah DH, that's because it is a real homemade meal.)

"Then one of the guys saw what I was eating and wanted to know what it was so I told him and he wanted to know where he could get some and I invited him over to try some out and show him how to cook in a Thermos."

Ah, DH is becoming a prepper 😍😍and a freeze dried foodie! 

Now you might think that DH was just being "nice." Trust me, if it sucked he would have said so, not only that, but this would have become a "what I will do next time" blogpost.

But seriously, I know why he felt such a difference (or at least I have a theory.) As I said, for backpacking meals, I am brand-loyal to MH. Because I am so well acquainted with their food, I can safely assert that, when compared to the diced portions of Thrive, they are about 1/2 to 2/3 the size. Their freeze dried potato dices for example, are about 1/4 inch in diameter, whereas Thrive's is about 1/2 inch, etc etc. So it's going to 'feel' less filling because it is less filling. But I know why they do that: IMO it's because MH is focusing on getting it 'cooked through' by steeping it in a mylar pouch, whereas Thrive is focusing on feeding you real food. And cooking it in a Thermos makes that possible. In addition, Thrive's is flash frozen just after it is picked at its peak ripeness, you really can taste the difference. MH is (IMO) the best of the backpacking best...but I wouldn't say it tastes 'fresh off the vine' like Thrive's does.

Ok, so here's the rough ingredients of the chicken curry with mixed vegetables and rice (hey, I threw it together...give me a break. Next time, I'll write it down.) FD=Freeze Dried, mine is from THRIVELIFE foods.

2/3 c. THRIVE instant brown rice

2/3 c. THRIVE seasoned FD chicken dices

1/3 c. THRIVE FD peas

1/3 c. THRIVE FD corn

1 T. curry powder

2 T. THRIVE tomato powder

1 t. THRIVE onion "powder" (this was actually FD onions which had turned to powder, lol)

I think one of those pouches has 1/3 c. of THRIVE FD zucchini too, just to use it up.

So money wise, the MH pouch was $4.88 at WalMart. Totally a good deal. But the homemade Freeze Dried meal with Thrive probably ran about $2, $3 worth of ingredients? And I still have food at home.

Or I did, until I made up a bunch of vegan meal fixins' for DD. 

But that is totally another blogpost. 

Real quick, before I go, non-vegans really ought to consider getting this month's THRIVELIFE special: Home Cookin' Ground Beef pack. At only $100 for 6 meals, it is a total steal. Stay tuned as I figure out how to down size them in to meals in a 'jar.'

As always, I welcome your comments, insights, thoughts. I love hearing about your experiences with FD food, cooking with alternative methods, and just life in general.

Until next time, Bon Appetit!