Probar, Superfood slam: delicious. Great half of a lunch. 10/10 sporks!
Probar, almond crunch: mediocre flavor but same great lunchtime calories you can expect from the brand. 6/10 sporks.
Mountain House, chicken dumplings: perhaps one of my favorite meals, ever. Admittedly, my perception of freeze-dried greatness might be due more to the circumstances of the meal than the food itself. This was my first ever backpacking dinner and the culmination of a very long hike. 10/10 sporks!
Epic, cranberry buffalo jerky: not especially filling, but nice to have meat on the trail. 6/10 sporks.
Tanka, jerky bits: bit tastier than the Epic bar, but much more expensive per calorie. 7/10 sporks.
Putting semi-dried apricots and cherries in your morning oatmeal: not as much of a treat as I expected. Actually, kinda made the oatmeal harder to eat. 4/10 sporks. Recommend sticking with the humble raisin instead.
Maple almond butter single serving packet: package size was convenient and easy enough to rip open and lick the last dredges out. The plastic packaging did seem like a bit of a waste though. Note that adding this to the aforementioned cherry apricot oatmeal does not improve the flavor. 8/10 sporks.
Mountain House, pasta primavera: not exactly filling or tasty. 5/10 sporks.
Chicken flavored ramen: the classic no-nutrition meal. This would benefit considerably from added vegetables or meat. But the cheapness cannot be underrated. 7/10 sporks.
Semi-dried figs: kinda expensive, but much better trail snack than those damn dried apricots and cherries. 8/10 sporks.
Freshly picked cherries for $2 per lb in Washington state: a goddamn steal and phenomenal roadtrip snack. There’s really no need to mess about with the dried variety. 10/10 sporks.
Not stopping to get avocados at 6 for $1 outside Fresno: A real missed arbitrage opportunity, should have bought in bulk and shipped them home. But at least learned the lesson to err on the side of stopping. 0/10 sporks. (Review is of my failure to stop.)
Bob’s Red Mill, lentil soup mix: serviceable, adaptable, but probably easy enough to mix your own cheaper lentils. Good with lots of spices, potatoes, and onion. 8/10 sporks.
PB + Js out of the back of the truck: best enjoyed while talking to a brother or childhood best friend on the phone after a few days alone in the woods. Filled with nostalgia for the mind and body. 10/10 sporks.
Peaches from Beth’s backyard: unreal, so juicy and fresh. Eat at least a dozen, because they’re good for you and taste better than candy. 11/10 sporks.