Peak Refuel Chicken Pesto Pasta | Freeze Dried Backpacking and Camping Food | Amazing Taste | High Protein | Real Meat | Quick Prep

I travel overseas often to places like India where the food, at the very least can make you very sick, and at worst actually kill you. Having been sick several times in various cities and generally linking it to the lunches served at the plants I'm consulting at, I have taken it upon myself to 'bring lunch from home'. Every hotel room in a 'Western Hotel' here (Marriott/Hilton/Hyatt) has a boiling pot and ready access to bottled water. So, I use a lunch type thermos and make dehydrated meals in my room in the morning before leaving.Over the last couple months I've tested many different varieties and brands. This one was different in that it was clear that the ingredients making up the 'sauce' were moister than most and it had real identifiable pasta. The difference was amazing. I think mostly the 'moisture' was in fact oil as this dish was a bit on the oily side. But overall it had the best combination of taste, texture, appearance and smell of any of the dozens I've tried to date.The only real 'negative' is that this package was bulkier than other products out there. It's relatively flat, like Backpakers Pantry products. but it's overall thickness is more akin to a Mountain House Pro Pack. So if space is a consideration, this may not be the best choice. My plan is to pack enough of these for 1 or 2 a week as a 'treat' and fill the rest of the week with lesser, but also less bulky, items.

My 6 year old ranked this 100/100. She isn't a picky eater. In the same breath she ranked the MtnHs Chicken and Mashed Potatoes 100/100 and the MtnHs Beef Stew 80/100. Yes we are learning fractions this week. My 20 month old also ate this the best of the 3 options (maybe because it stuck on a fork better?...or because it looked like the goose poop our dog was after?...Toddlers?)I thought this brought a nice change of pace to our options. Ease of prep was nice (a single long 10min..I am not good at timing when my kids are with me). I would give the flavor 80/100 (I am also doing fractions). This certainly isn't my favorite taste compared to most of the MtnHS options I've had, but I will gladly pack this again if I have the kids in tow.Overall: Great for my kids. Flavor-Good. Ease of Prep-Easy. Do Again-Any Long Weekend.

I tried this on my most recent outing into the Sierras. It was tasty and I'll consider it again after my current stash of meals runs low. So why the 4-star vs 5-star? It would have been a 4.5 if that was an option. The chicken didn't fully rehydrate so it was a little chewy/crunchy while the noodles were tender. But it was tasty and pesto is just the thing for the mountains. I would gladly eat this without the chicken.I don't think my prep technique was at fault. Rather than let it re-hydrate in the foil pouch, I transferred the pouch contents into a quart freezer bag so that I could let it re-hydrate in a Reflectrix-formed bowl. It's something I use with all dehydrated meals to hold the heat longer and provide some structure when eating. (On longer trips I transfer meals to the freezer bag before I go and save weight.) I added the directed amount of water, stirred, closed the Reflectix, stirred again at about 7 minutes. waited until 15 minutes had elapsed (it calls for 10), then stirred and dined. Everything was hot and well hydrated except the chicken.

Arrived in January 2020 with an expiration date of October 2024. This is a very, very short shelf life for a freeze dried meal. At this price point I really wasn't expecting such a deal breaker.

I have been eating Mountain House meals while recreating outdoors for more than a decade and they are delicious. But, Mountain House hasn't drastically changed their inventory in the past 10 years and I was getting bored with my options. This was the first Peak Refuel meal I tried and it was awesome! I wished it wasn't priced so high, but I was impressed with the flavor and will continue to keep trying this brand of dehydrated meals.

'Every' Peak Freeze Dried Meal I've tried, 'tasted' and enjoyed are by far My Favorite of 'all the other Freeze Dried Trail Meals I've 'Ever' eaten and enjoyed throughout my four decades of being in the woods and ready for a 'Filling as well as Tasty' meals before bed each night on the trail, I've always wondered why Freeze Dried 'Anything' always cost more than fresh but I still pay the high price for Peak Freeze Dried Meals without question.

Flavor is okay, but not so good as to justify nearly double the cost of other brands. The chicken had slightly better flavor and texture, but pasta is pasta.Lower the price 60% and I'll consider buying again. Until then...

I was disappointed in this. I re-hydrated this very well at 10,400', but the reconstituted chicken was still pretty bad. The taste was also lacking. I understand they were trying to keep the sodium low, but there are alternatives to making it taste OK. I'll avoid this brand and go back to Mountain House.