Over the years we have reviewed Trailtopia meals several times. I am a fan of their commercial freeze-dried meals and have found most to be good-tasting and reasonably priced. We picked up two more meals to try out recently.
The two meals we chose were pasta-based and 1 person sized meals.
This 1-serving meal retails for $4.50.
It is 2.5 ounces dry.
216 calories, 1 gram fat, 241 grams sodium, 12 grams protein.
Ingredients:
WHEAT NOODLES (WHEAT FLOUR, SALT, EGG POWDER, SPICES), DRY MILK (NONFAT MILK, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN D3), CURRY, GUAR GUM, DRIED ONIONS, FREEZE DRIED GREEN PEPPERS, FREEZE DRIED RED PEPPERS, SPICES
I opened the bag, and there wasn’t much in it. I was shocked at how little food was in the bag dry. If I was depending on this to fill me up after a hard day, I would be very disappointed. I knew it was vegetarian (so no meat) but the vegetables are minimal. And it felt like it was a tiny brick of ramen used.
It is prepped with 1½ cups of boiled water. Stir well and let sit for 10 minutes.
It is a thin broth and very yellow from the curry powder. Be wary, this will stain if you spill it.
I usually prefer lower-sodium meals, but this one needed salt. Curry can have a flat flavor without enough salt, and that was the main profile I got when tasting it. It simply needed more substance.
I wasn’t a fan of it. It might have been better if it had added more veggies and a pinch of salt. But frankly, this was paying for the convenience of having ramen in a sealed mylar bag.
The boys would not try it. They didn’t like the smell (though they do eat curry at home) and thought it looked “too watery”.
3-ounces dry, in a low profile mylar bag, makes for easy prep and eating.
The one-serving meal retails for $7.50.
The meal has 360 calories, 9 grams of fat, 654 mg of sodium, and 19 grams of protein.
Ingredients:
MEDIUM EGG NOODLE (SEMOLINA FLOUR, DURUM FLOUR, EGGS, NIACIN, IRON, THIAMIN, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID),
SOUR CREAM POWDER (SOUR CREAM (CREAM SOLIDS, CULTURED NON-FAT MILK), CITRIC ACID, TBH), FREEZE DRIED COOKED BEEF,
YEAST EXTRACT, FREEZE DRIED MUSHROOMS, GUAR GUM, DRIED ONIONS, SPICES
The one-serving meal has ample pasta, beef bites, and mushrooms. The meal calls for 1 cup of boiled water. Stir well to get into the corners, and mix the dry sauce powder well.
It rehydrated perfectly in the mylar bag. The beef is in tiny dice, which rehydrate well. I applaud Trailtopia for using the small dice. In brands that use big chunks, often the center is crunchy inside.
The boys enjoyed this meal. The sauce isn’t pasty or thick and has a mild but satisfying flavor.
I would highly recommend this meal if you need an affordable commercial meal.
FTC Disclaimer: We purchased the product used in this review. All thoughts are ours.
~Sarah