There is a growing (though still not big) market for vegan and plant-based backpacking meals. The two companies in this review both make vegan/plant-based meals. Nomad is also gluten-free, while Firepot offers meals with gluten (pasta).
The difference between the two companies is how the meals are dried for long-term storage.
Firepot is one of the outliers that uses dehydration, clinging onto it. There are only a few companies left that do this. I dehydrate food quite often at home in a food dehydrator. What you put into the dehydrator is the most important part. Firepot cooks the meal, then dries it, rather than making a meal out of individual dehydrated ingredients. There are a couple of drawbacks, which I will talk about later in the review.
Nomad Nutrition uses a fancier version of freeze-drying called REV technology.
Now, then, can their claims be held up? That’s a tricky one. They talk about how they don’t like traditional freeze-dried food, but a huge issue is that you get what you put into the machine. Commercial freeze-drying was not high-end for a very long time. The few companies that did it didn’t have to be masters at it, nor use high-quality food. There would always be a line of customers to buy it. The article is from 2018, so it is older. But I will say this: freeze-drying has vastly improved since 2018. That is because so many people realize they can do it and use high-quality ingredients in the process now. In 2018, it was far different in the commercial meal niche.
The two meals I picked up are both takes on the classic Spanish Paella. Traditionally, it is a rice-based dish flavored with Saffron and can be whatever you want it, from meat, seafood, and vegetables. A dish that has a story but is a “each cook makes it their own” recipe. In these meals, they opted for a vegan experience.
I would quantify both these meals as Hippy Hut™ members. Being that both have the qualifications: rustic, earthy spices and vegan. That isn’t an insult, just a category if you will. Both are reasonably low in sodium, having 330 mg sodium per serving. Which is very, very low for commercial meals.
The Comparision:
Nomad Nutrition Spanish Paella
For a single serving bag, retail is $13.50. Weight of 4 ounces. Called for 1½ cups boiling water (the sticker on the back of the bag is different than what is shown online on both NN’s website and Amazon). Sat for 15 minutes.
Ingredients: Potatoes, Onions, Rice, Split peas, Bell peppers, Corn, Crushed tomatoes, Chickpeas, Kalamata olives, Dehydrated potato flakes, Sundried Tomatoes, Olive oil, Paprika, Black pepper, Cayenne, Saffron, Sea salt.
Nutritional: 530 calories, 16 grams fat, 11 grams fiber, 13 grams protein, 330 mg sodium.
On Amazon.
Pros:
Looked like an actual meal.
Ingredients were easy to tell what was what. The olives and chickpeas were plump and regular-sized.
The lower cut bag so no food-covered knuckles, the bag opens wide.
The rice isn’t the main focus.
Cons:
I felt that it called for too much water. It was very liquidy, almost stew level. I let it sit in a bowl for another 15 minutes, and the meal vastly improved in both water (it was still wet but had absorbed more. The legumes were also more tender then.
The Take-Away:
When I first opened the bag after hydration, I wasn’t impressed. There wasn’t much food, and the aroma and taste were overly powerful. But, after letting it sit for another 15 minutes, it seemed to mellow out. The meal had heat and spice and was very flavorful. That extra time it also plumped up the rice and vegetables.
Kirk’s view was the flavor was great, but the substantial pieces of food could trigger sensory issues in some people.
Just let the meal sit for 25 to 30 minutes for the best texture.
The two-person serving bag retails for $14.50. Weight of 7 ounces. Called for 2½ cups boiling water. Sat for 15 minutes.
Ingredients: Cherry Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Paella Rice, Onion, Fennel, Red Pepper, Celery, Olive Oil, Red Chili, Parsley, Garlic, Salt, Paprika.
Nutritional: 320 calories, 11 grams fat, 9 grams fiber, 8 grams protein, 330 mg sodium.
On Amazon.
Pros:
A large amount of dry food.
Fragrant.
Better if one has food sensory issues, as it is like a casserole that is mostly smooth.
The meal is actually two real-sized portions.
Cons:
With the water added, the bag was nearly full. I had to carefully close the zip top, as the water kept splashing out.
The entire Mylar bag was full of rehydrated product, which came out in a tube shape. This was not appetizing. I couldn’t stir it up; it was just a big mass of very moist rice. When I turned over the bag, it was like canned cranberry sauce coming out; it just slid out.
The other ingredients were so small, cut into tiny pieces. You have to do this when dehydrating so that it dries evenly and also rehydrates quickly.
The smoky aroma/flavor just tasted/smelled very off. Honestly, it didn’t improve the dish.
Is mostly rice.
The Takeaway:
After plating up the dish I tried it and did not like it. I walked away and Kirk tried it 15 minutes later. The heavy smoke smell/flavor had tampered down and was good now. The rice also wasn’t a mass of gluey texture, it had relaxed a bit with sitting.
I don’t say it often, but this meal had far too much food in the bag. Plating it up helped the texture.
Kirk liked the texture of this meal considerably more than the Nomad one, but he felt it was a sensory thing. He said what would be perfect would be to serve the Fire Pot with the Nomad over it. He wasn’t wrong. That was actually quite delicious.
I don’t feel there was an obvious winner with these two meals. They are similar but vastly different. If you are not used to a wide variety of spices and heat, you may not like these meals. But if you like a varied diet, you might enjoy them.
FTC Disclaimer: We bought all products used in the review. All thoughts and opinions are ours.
~Sarah