I came across Cascade Alpine on Instagram and ordered their taster box. It is 5 meals, with 3 dinners and 2 breakfasts, so I split the reviews into 2. Oh, and it comes in a cute little box indeed. The little things make me smile.
The taster box ships free and comes out to about $14 a meal, which is a fair price for commercial meals now.
The bags the meals come in aren’t fancy, but they’re serviceable. And that is the thing: flashy bags might catch your eye, but it has nothing to do with what is INSIDE it!
Add in that the bags are well filled; it was a positive start.
If bought individually, the price is $16.00 per meal.
The first is a very hearty soup.
The directions call for two water options: 12 ounces for stew, 14 ounces for soupy. I chose 14 ounces, and it came out thick. You could actually eat it in tortillas as a filling and serve 2 hungry hikers. As a soup, it will fill you up. It is a very hearty serving.
Really nice flavor. It isn’t hot or spicy, but it has a nice spice blend. It has texture, which so many meals can miss. The chicken breast is shredded and melts into the soup.
530 calories for the bag, with 48 grams of protein.
Ingredients:
Chicken stock (organic chicken stock, organic vegetable stock [organic carrot, organic celery root, organic onion juice concentrate], sea salt, natural roasted flavor, organic flavor, organic turmeric concentrate, organic ground bay leaves, organic black pepper extract), chicken breast, onion, crushed tomatoes (tomatoes, citric acid), corn, white corn tortillas (corn masa flour, water, contains 2% or less of: cellulose gum, guar gum, propionic acid, benzoic acid, phosphoric acid [to maintain freshness]), poblano peppers, canola oil, cilantro, jalapeños, spice blend (monosodium glutamate, chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt), oregano, garlic, lime juice, chipotles in adobo (water, chipotle peppers, onions, vinegar, tomato paste, iodized salt, dried peppers, sugar, soybean oil, spices), dried Mexican peppers.
Do you crave Indian food on the trail that tastes like you ordered takeout from a local shop? This is for you. It is a vegan meal, but definitely doesn’t taste like it. It’s a comforting bowl of rice enrobed in sauce with a nice hint of heat. Not too hot, but not mild either. Maybe 1½ stars of heat.
Kirk said a bit of naan bread would have completed the meal.
550 calories and 14 grams of protein.
Ingredients:
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, water, salt, calcium chloride, sodium metabisulfite), basmati rice, tomato sauce (tomato puree [water, tomato paste], water, salt, citric acid, onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper), crushed tomatoes (tomatoes, tomato puree, sea salt, citric acid), coconut milk (coconut milk, water, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, polysorbate 60, xanthan gum, guar gum, potassium metabisulfite [preservative]), onion, cilantro, tomato paste (tomato pulp, citric acid), lemon juice, jalapeños, garlic, ginger, canola oil, spice blend (monosodium glutamate, tandoori masala [coriander, cumin, garlic, turmeric, ginger, onion, chili powder, black pepper, cloves, paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg], chana masala [coriander, unripe dried mango, salt, chilli red, cumin, musk melon, pomegranate seeds, dried ginger, salt black, black pepper, dried fenugreek leaves, cinnamon, mint leaves, cardamom amomum, cloves, nutmeg, caraway, mace, cardamom green], garlic powder, sugar, paprika, chili powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt).
There are a few meal choices that you can rate a company on. Beef stroganoff is one of those. This one does taste homemade. I rank all stroganoff meals against the first one I ever ate (so long ago) (yeah, Mountain House), and I would say Cascade Alpine hits it with this version. It has a nice sauce and good flavor. It is not drowning in sauce (yeah, calling you out, MH). The noodles and the meat came out tender. No crunchy chunks – which is why ground beef works far better than diced beef does in other brands. This is one of the best stroganoffs I have tried over the years.
Ingredients:
Ground beef, egg noodles (enriched wheat flour [wheat flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], eggs, water), yellow onion, beef stock, mushrooms, sour cream (cultured cream), heavy cream, water, butter (cream), Worcestershire sauce (distilled white vinegar, molasses, sugar, water, salt, onions, anchovies, garlic, cloves, tamarind extract, natural flavorings, chili pepper extract), all-purpose flour, parsley, canola oil, Dijon mustard (water, mustard seed, vinegar, salt), garlic, garlic powder, hot sauce (distilled vinegar, red pepper, salt), salt, black pepper, onion soup powder (onions, sea salt, hydrolyzed corn protein, onion powder, sugar, torula yeast, corn starch, caramel color, yeast extract), beef bouillon (salt, hydrolyzed soy protein, beef fat, corn starch, sugar, onion powder, caramel color, natural flavor), white wine vinegar, paprika, monosodium glutamate, baking soda, thyme.
The Takeaway:
We enjoyed all three meals. They rehydrated properly, were quite filling, and all had great texture and flavor. I would recommend checking them out.
FTC Disclosure: We paid for all products reviewed; these are our thoughts.
~Sarah