Need some help to plan

[8thsinner]

Hi guys
I am looking for a little input into putting together my own mini food pouches, not entirely ready to eat but enough in there for a small meal ready to eat then other stuff using water as a base. I am trying to put something together cheap, and using somewhat commercially available sealed goodies, eg KFC wipes, sugar etc Just to maximise waterproofing and lastability.

For my main meal I want to vacuum seal some home made beef curry, stroganof , chilli carne just to start with. This will probably be about 3x1x4"
Each total pouch has to be about 6 x 1.5 x 4 inches, though it can cram up as the pouches i want to use are some what elastic up to about two inches thick and weight isn't really an issue for these rations.

These are the options I am considering. And anything thing that says zip loc means I don't know of suitably available sealed options.

Main
Curry as above

Snacks and or lunch
Cuppa soups or something similar.
Party size snickers bar
Sugared friut things
Jerky or as a soup supplement
Looking for self sealed hard candy sweets (any suggestions?)
Lunch sized pepperami
Raisens in ziploc
Dry biscuits would be nice but don't know of any small cheese packs sealed

Extra carbs, I would like to add as a filler just not sure about it's size vs value.
Cous Cous
Lentils
Rice, Really not sure what to go with as I don't know of any small vacum sealed portions in this side of the world.
Parched corn vacum sealed (in time)?
Bannock in ziploc, enough for one patty
Pemmican would be nice but not affordable right now
Cornmeal (haven't tried it but looks small and usefuly packable)

Drinks
Probably hot chocolate x2=creamer powder in ziploc. (don't like coffee) Don't know any sealed tea bags

Flavourings
BBQ sauce sealed in foil, from super saucy noodles
Curry powder in foil packs from local bought stuff
Salt & sugar, mainly for rehydration, one portion worth in zip loc
creamed coconut sachet for soup or stew and high calories and quite small
Tiny bottle of chilli oil tobasco mini bottle from mres
OXO singly sealed in foil (bullion cube)

Cleaning up and utility
Tin foil sheet or two
Baking paper
Kfc wipes or baby wipes in ziplocs
Sealed pack of storm matches from mres
Puritabs pack of ten
Freezer bags x 2 for water and mixing bannock
Might add snare wire so I have a few back ups.


I am hoping to get out of this a small breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, meal and drink for bed. Now I know it's not going to supply all the calories I need in such a small container but it should be enough to supplement any foraging. And these will most likely get thrown into camping supplies with other foods, at least for now.
I will try to test these packs by not eating much for a day then going out and seeing how they hold up during a days work. And of course I will share my findings, but any advice on testing these in bushcraft applications would be welcomed.

Please share how you would pack such sized pouches.
Thanks

 

[spartacus]

Hello there, If you had access to a dehydrator you can make all your meals then just add water. I saw another site where the guy called himself the backpack chef or something similar. You'll get loads of ideas on his site. I make my fruit leathers and they are great. I'll be interested to hear how your plans goes. Good luck

 

[8thsinner]

I do like the idea of fruit leathers but don't have a dehydrator made yet, I will get to it one day.

So I started putting this together earlier tonight and so far I have got.

Alpen 41g breakfast pouch from hospital repackaged in zip, too much vacuum otherwise.

Drinks zip
Dried skimmed milk (pints worth) for cereal and chocolate
Hot chocolate 2 heaped table spoons
Echinacea tea bag

Utility zip
10 storm matches
striker
P-38
10 Aqua tabs
1 Sterilising tablet

Flavours zip
BBQ sauce foil sealed
Beef seasoning foil sealed
Curry powder foil sealed

2nd flavours zip
Sugar
Salt
Pepper

Loose
Mini bottle tabasco
Cuppa soup Knor vegetable
Baking paper
1x2' tin foil
Plastic spoon

Bannock zip 5 Table spoons worth makes a patty about 3" round
Ingredients are
1 cup flour
1/3rd cup dried milk
1 table spoon dark brown sugar
1/2 table spoon light brown sugar
Half tea spoon baking powder
2table spoons oil
Violent dash of cinnamon
Makes three portions, 2 1/2 spoons of water

Just smeared honey over the test piece and it's lovely, Might try to find a way to carry honey for it. Maybe double zip it and tape it up.

There is enough space left for the pepperami, and the curry meal, maybe the jerky if it's repackaged good. But thats me out of room probably.

Every thing goes into two separate freezer bags, reserving one for mixing bannock up.

I will probably mess around for a few days yet to see what other ways I can do it so keep sharing please.


I am not sure about this list so far though, the alpen, might try and change it out with a little more bannock and something more suitable for a lunch, then again the alpen, tea and bannock for breakfast is pretty okay breakfast. spiced veg soup for lunch, curry for dinner with hot chocolate. Pepperami for a snack is a bit lame on it's own.

Would you change this so far?

 

[Graham_S]

something I've used in the past, Is Cous-Cous, a chicken stock cube, dehydrated onions/mushrooms in a ziplock, with mini pepperami.
Add boiling water to the Cous-Cous mix, set to one side, leave for five minutes.
chop up the pepperami into it,
Eat and enjoy.

 

[gregor-scott]

Dry biscuits would be nice but don't know of any small cheese packs sealed

baby bell? they do a cheddar version now, also cathedral city do snack packs and I'm pretty sure that tesco do snack cheeses that are all sealed, can't you just cling film a piece cut off a block?