Backpacker Magazine – April 2005

Four Top Trail Meals

Testers' favorite backpacking entrees

by: The Backpacker Editors

Tags:
• Food & nutrition
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• Skills
|
• Food
|

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Eric and Laura Poole know trail food better than anyone should know trail food. As the magazine's Get Out More! Road Team, they logged 598 miles on the trail last year--and another 27,000 road miles crisscrossing the U.S. conducting backpacking clinics. Because they consumed countless camp-cooked meals along the way, we knew we'd get good beta when we asked them to put more than a dozen new entrées to the test. You'll find these four winners in their packs this season.

©Mitch Mandel

Backpacker's Pantry
Chicken Saigon Noodles
9.63 oz. (two servings), 550 calories per serving, $7.95

Flavor A well-balanced blend of soy sauce, garlic, chili, and cayenne peppers gives this ramen dish a satisfying kick. The small chunks of chicken, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, and other veggies reconstituted quickly, but if you break up the noodles before adding water to the package, do it lightly so you don't puncture the bag.

Fuel 78 grams of carbs, 25 grams of protein, and 17 grams of fat provides a good nutritional balance, but a big eater could finish this on his own.

Contact: (800) 641-0500; www.backpackerspantry.com

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