Pre packed boil in the bag type food recommendations?

[peter2407]

Both for myself on the boat and daughter doing DofE. Alternatively, how does one create ones own boil in a bag type food?

 

[prv]

The Army's ORP packs are not bad, though surprisingly expensive when I've seen them for sale - perhaps there's a "wannabe premium" for being the genuine article

Might dried stuff be better for the daughter's hiking? No point carrying water (in the food) around all day if it's available at the camp site. Presumably she's not going to be forced by tactical concerns to eat it cold from the pack while hiding in a bush, so the necessity for cooking is not the problem it is for the Army

"Sous vide" is the posh cheffy term for boil in the bag, which might help your searches.

Tins just as good as pouches for boat purposes.

Pete

 

[NOHOH]

And don`t forget to wash it down with a bottle of dehydrated water......Just add water and hey presto........water

 

[MoodySabre]

Go Outdoors have loads http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/search/go?view=grid&w=food

 

[duncan99210]

Searching 'ration pack' on eBay turns up lots of MoD 24 hour packs. The meals are pretty palatable and they come with sachets of extra sauces to make thing tastier. If you use a mess tin of water, float the meal in the water and bring it to the boil over a camping gas stove it's ready to eat. Use the water to make a hot drink and eat the food out of the sachet, no washing up. The packs were going from £8 plus p&p upwards, so reasonable value.

 

[no3l]

We always keep a couple of tins of M&S Chicken curry on board for emergencies.

 

[RichardS]

Look at the "look what we found" http://www.lookwhatwefound.co.uk/ website.

A lot of DofE students use them and you can sometimes buy their products in some cheap places like Home Bargains.

A word of warning ..... the chilli is very good but DO NOT BUY the "extra strong chilli with Habaneros" if you see it anywhere. I ate one of these on the boat and almost burned my throat it was so strong and I like hot curries and chillis. We tried another packet at home by adding it to a homemade chilli but it was still on the hot side for the wife and kids. In the end we threw the final pack in the bin. It's virtually inedible!

All the other meals are excellent.

Richard

 

[VicS]

The dehydrated water tablets are very useful .... that ones that breakdown and react with oxygen to produce water when exposed to sunlight. You can get several litres from just one small tablet.

 

[Alpha22]

If going down the MoD rat pack route... beware... some of the contents have functions other than nutrition. The "Biscuits Brown" have the special characteristic of 'bunging you up' ..... the fruit biscuits can offer the opposite effect!!!! Beware!!!

 

[pmagowan]

It is easy to make your own. You simply make up the dish of your choice and put it in a plastic bag immersed in boiling water. As long as it is hot through then seal the bag, dunk it to make sure the top is sterile and bobs your uncle. You can get special bag sealers that melt it closed but improvised solutions will work. The vacuum will come when it cools down although you should try to trap as little air as possible. A proper vacuum suis vide (sp) machine is expensive and not really necessary. You can do the same with jars and various airtight containers. if you plan in advance you can make a bag or two with every meal on shore and thus amass a good selection. They can be kept indefinitely if out of the sunlight.

 

[RichardS]

The dehydrated water tablets are very useful .... that ones that breakdown and react with oxygen to produce water when exposed to sunlight. You can get several litres from just one small tablet.

Yes ..... pure crystalline condensed hydrogen. Excellent stuff. Can be used to power cars as well. :encouragement:

Richard

 

[bbg]

This should give you lots to think about.

http://en.lyophilise.fr

When I made freeze dried food, I did not follow the directions. I found that doing so did not hydrate the food well enough. Instead of pouring boiling water into a bag, I emptied the pack into a heavy-duty tupperware-type container. IKEA has some very good heavy-duty plastic containers, with a small vent on the lid that lets air in/out. Then I added the boiling water and let it sit for 5 minutes or so and stirred it all up. Usually it was very thick, so I just kept adding more boiling water and waiting until I was sure it was fully hydrated and as palatable as possible.

It is not good for your gut to eat freeze-dried food that is not fully hydrated.

 

[Seajet]

There's a lot of boil in bag and freeze dried meals on Amazon.

 

[bendyone]

"Look what we found" from Waitrose and prob bally others http://www.waitrose.com/shop/DisplayProductFlyout?productId=94343

 

[doug748]

As bendyone has said, the Waitrose product is available from other sources. I have found it under the Snak Shop brand at discount shop B & M. Can't remember the cost but it was pretty cheap (under a pound). Sorry I only bought one to try now.
It is very mild but easy to spice up.

 

[CLP]

The "Look What We Found Foods", already mentioned are excellent, almost gormet standard. There are many flavours and they are "real" meat, veg etc. They are precooked and just need heating up. At a pinch they can be eaten cold. Waitrose, Tesco's and others have them. Also look at Tilda's various precooked rice bags. Again, excellent quality, many flavours, just need heating up, can be eaten cold if you want. Added to a pan with one of the LWWF bags and you have a really tasty meal ready in less than 5 minutes. Add a "nan bread" if you like, these are available in small packs and can be found with long use by dates up to 2 months ahead.

 

[RichardS]

"Look what we found" from Waitrose and prob bally others http://www.waitrose.com/shop/DisplayProductFlyout?productId=94343

As bendyone has said, the Waitrose product is available from other sources. I have found it under the Snak Shop brand at discount shop B & M. Can't remember the cost but it was pretty cheap (under a pound). Sorry I only bought one to try now.
It is very mild but easy to spice up.

If someone from "Look What We Found" reads this, I hope at least they refer to post #7 before deciding who should get the complementary gift pack. :encouragement:

Richard

 

[ronsurf]

The "Look What We Found Foods", already mentioned are excellent, almost gormet standard. There are many flavours and they are "real" meat, veg etc. They are precooked and just need heating up. At a pinch they can be eaten cold. Waitrose, Tesco's and others have them. Also look at Tilda's various precooked rice bags. Again, excellent quality, many flavours, just need heating up, can be eaten cold if you want. Added to a pan with one of the LWWF bags and you have a really tasty meal ready in less than 5 minutes. Add a "nan bread" if you like, these are available in small packs and can be found with long use by dates up to 2 months ahead.

I found these in Sainsbury's £1.80 a pop, occasionally reduced to £1. The chilli con carne is excellent as is the Thai Curry. Good enough to eat. Never sure if they are meant for 1 or 2 people, but I eat the whole packet anyway.

 

[pmagowan]

I went on an ad lib trip to Sanda last year when I went to the boat to check everything and the weather was so nice we nipped across for supper and got back at 1am. We had not packed anything for the trip so had to rummage about in the bilges where we found some LWWF chilli con carne and some rice. They were about a year out of date but tasted great with a bottle of red plonk.

 

[ghostlymoron]

As has been mentioned, there is no need for weight saving with food on a boat so tinned stuff is ideal and a 'one pot' meal of meat, veg and potatoes tastes pretty good and doesn't generate much washing. Morrison's do quite a good range at reasonable prices.
Boil in the bag are more exotic and convenient too but more expensive and I'm not sure on shelf life.
Somebody raised the subject of naan bread. I'm always disappointed by supermarket offerings - they are nothing like the ones you get in restaurants, the latter are soft and fluffy, the former hard. Has anyone found a source of good ones? They're a bit of a fiddle to make, chappattis are easier.