Let’s talk desserts again. It’s an area that is often an afterthought for outdoor food companies, where they feel they must produce a dessert or two to snag more sales. Often people will buy only one brand, so it gets them from breakfast to bedtime.
I picked up the desserts at a local(ish) REI, so my choices were based on what that location had on hand. I also picked out nut free options (one brand I didn’t pick up as it contained almonds). As always, my youngest son’s safety comes first.
The contenders:
Backpacker’s Pantry Blueberry Peach Crisp. Weight of 4.6 ounces, cost of $8.99.
It is 2 servings. 21 grams sugar per serving.
Looking into the bag. The top of the bag is the peach slices, then blueberries, then the granola and oats. This was an odd thing reading the ingredient list. They have both granola, and then oats again listed.
The bag calls for 1¼ cups boiled water and a 7 minute sit time.
After checking it at 7 minutes in I let it sit for another 7 minutes as it was very watery.
Well….that extra 7 minutes didn’t help. This “dessert” was very watery. To me, this wasn’t a dessert. It was a very sugary and watery bowl of oatmeal. The peaches were good though. But the oats/granola mix was soft and crunchy, all at once. The watery part I just couldn’t get past.
To me, and me again, this was a sad excuse for a dessert. If I was having this on day 3, 45 miles in, I’d have been super disappointed.
Trailtopia Triple Berry Crisp Dessert. Weight of 4.2 ounces, cost of $10.00.
It is 2 servings. It’s 30 grams sugar per serving. It has no coloring added.
Like all of Trailtopia’s meals, the bag is low, wide and has a good bottom gusset that makes a bowl – that is sturdy. The bag is nearly all freeze-dried berries and a separate bag of crumble topping (which is gluten-free I might add).
It called for 1 cup boiled water for the berry part, and a 15 minute sit time. (The crumbles are added at the end.)
I have to say this: I would eat this at home if I didn’t follow a low sugar diet. I had a reaaaaaaally hard time stopping myself from eating it. It was THAT good.
The sauce is perfectly thick. It’s sweet, but not sickeningly sweet. The berries are rehydrated properly. The taste is like you cooked in in a pot to thicken it up.
And the crumble topping? It’s like chunked up cookies. It’s not soggy, it’s crisp and buttery.
It serves 2, though you might find it hard to share.
The winner in this review is Trailtopia. They get it – and are making desserts worthy of the cost (just as their cheesecake is the winner as well).
Also see a review from 2020 on a cherry crisp we reviewed.
DIY? Yes!
Warm Chia Seed Fruit Pudding Crisp
~Sarah
FTC Disclaimer: We purchased all products reviewed, and all thoughts are ours.