# Which Freeze Dried Food??



## hemrides (Sep 19, 2010)

I have been reading about some of the different brands. I have only used some of the food for back packing. Is Wise Snacks a good brand? Can folks provide feedback for the one they use and why.

Thanks,
Dave


----------



## Zanazaz (Feb 14, 2012)

FWIW, I'm not sure a lot of people here use much in the way of freeze dried food on a regular basis. If they have it's stored for the long term. Hopefully, everyone who stored freeze dried food have tried whatever brand they have stored, because you don't want to end up storing you don't like, and have to depend on!

That being said, I think you're going to have to try different brands to determine what you like best. Some companies have sampler packages that let's you try different types of meals, etc. Only you can determine what's good for you.


----------



## TexasPatriot (Jun 24, 2012)

We use Shelf Reliance. We store it for long term and use it as much as possible in our daily diet. It is a top quality product. The company stands behind everything they sell. We have been purchasing from Shelf Reliance for almost 2 yrs now and are very happy.
We originally purchased two years worth and add to that almost weekly. With a shelf life average of 25 yrs, I don't feel we can ever have enough as long as we can keep adding storage space.
Shelf Reliance is the only company that I am aware of that you can sign up with and actually earn money for stuff your gonna buy anyway.
www.myfoodstore.shelfreliance.com
This is my wife's website. We like it so much we started turning other people on to it. I'm not trying to sell you anything just want to make sure you can deal with someone who will help you get want you want.


----------



## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

I stocked up on FD because of the long term storage and no need to rotate feature. I bought mostly ingredients not prepared meals. I did buy some of the wise canisters due to smaller portion size than the #10 cans but have not tried them. I figure if there is ever a need for me to use them they will taste better than the alternative.


----------



## SuspectZero (Feb 3, 2011)

I cant stand Wise. Not sure what it is but the after taste and "textured vegetable protien" turns me off. I have used mountain house in the #10 cans and use the smaller ones for BOBs. My kids eat them when we camp and wife even got a case of the chicken and rice for work cuz she liked it so much. Mountain House is real meat. I have used it for years and have no complaints. If its for your BOBs I would recomend a MRE or 2 just to have on hand in case water needs to be conserved.


----------



## Lake Windsong (Nov 27, 2009)

I suggest buying a variety of brands in the small backpacking size you probably have purchased before and trying them with your family. That's the most economical way to make sure that what you stock up on in larger quantities will actually be used and liked by you and your family/prep group. Especially for kids and the elderly, having familiar, comforting foods in stressful situations is important for helping them cope mentally/emotionally. Example, beef stroganoff is a comfort food for me. I found Mountain House brand is closest in taste to what I cook, so that's what I bought. But our family's tastes vary, so we have a variety of brands and types of food stocked. So buying a bulk order of one brand wouldn't work in my case. I would 'save money' but not have the best combination of foodstuffs for who I am preparing meals for.


----------



## invision (Aug 14, 2012)

I am sampling different brands right now, I also look at protein, carbs, fat, etc. To me Wise seems ok, but Mountain tastes better....


----------



## DJgang (Apr 10, 2011)

TexasPatriot said:


> We use Shelf Reliance. We store it for long term and use it as much as possible in our daily diet. It is a top quality product. The company stands behind everything they sell. We have been purchasing from Shelf Reliance for almost 2 yrs now and are very happy.
> We originally purchased two years worth and add to that almost weekly. With a shelf life average of 25 yrs, I don't feel we can ever have enough as long as we can keep adding storage space.
> Shelf Reliance is the only company that I am aware of that you can sign up with and actually earn money for stuff your gonna buy anyway.
> www.myfoodstore.shelfreliance.com
> This is my wife's website. We like it so much we started turning other people on to it. I'm not trying to sell you anything just want to make sure you can deal with someone who will help you get want you want.


Just book marked your wife's site. I've purchased from shelf reliance but haven't opened anything. Mostly purchased real meat because my husband snarls his nose when he sees me open my canned meat, so I thought I would try freeze dried. I may open a can this winter to try out. I want a rotation unit so bad !!!! That may be my next purchase, they were on sale quite a few months back and I let it slide. I would love to purchase a years worth and then start actually using it in everyday meals. Anyway..... I may start ordering again. I'm getting an antsy feeling and I'm not liking it... Got to do something soon!

Do you have to sale so much a month to receive or maintain a 'consultant' status?


----------



## kejmack (May 17, 2011)

We tried different ones and went with Mountain House. It seems to taste the best. I don't buy the meals. I buy the meat, veggies, etc separately and make my own meals from scratch.


----------



## ajsmith (Feb 1, 2010)

We buy Mountain House mostly because we like the taste, but also because of the availability. Wal-mart and Bi-mart carry it in there camping sections. My wife says it tastes fair, I really like most every item I've tried and my daughter loves the Beef Stew...


----------



## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

I like variety. So I have MRE entree's, Mountain House, Thrive, and some different types of Costco products like the ARK buckets which are supposed to be a 30 day supply for 1 person, they have 2 kinds, a veggie and a meat. You can also buy rice in 20# bags for 10-12 bucks, and that will store for 30 years or so, but it's not really loaded with nutrients, mostly just calories. Beans store for long periods of time as well, and I have a bucket of the costco TVP beef on the way. 281 servings for $65 is good to go if you're living on a budget. Mix that with rice and beans and you've got some edible food that will be safe and reliable for a long time.

I'm just now getting back into dehydrating and cooking a lot again, so I'll probably start making my own veggie soup mixes and then vacuum seal the packages. 1 cup of dehydrated mix + 6 cups of simmering water = soup. I am not a big fan of veggie soup, I like some form of dead animal on my plate 3x a day... but in a pinch I'm known for my ability to adapt 

Ideally I want to start doing this from my own garden... for right now I'll just use store bought produce but if I can transition to growing it myself before things get nasty, it will just be that much easier for me when I have to try it when everything is working against me.

back on topic for freeze dried, costco also has 6 pack of the coffee cans with a variety of meats. I've found that when they put these things on sale it's almost impossible to beat the price. On a week to week basis, I'm trying to add 1 or 2 cans of Mountain House or I might get another big bucket of the TVP, each payday. Just add a little at a time to keep increasing my stores. If I was in a position where I didnt have anything at all and on a budget, I'd buy 1 or 2 of the TVP buckets and bunch of rice and beans (on separate trips from separate local grocery stores LOL!) and then I'd start branching out to other types and flavors. Having something now is better than having a great plan that never materialized later. 

Or as I saw on readystore.com when I was buying MRE entrees once... "preparing a year to early is better than a second to late!"


----------



## TexasPatriot (Jun 24, 2012)

DJgang said:


> Just book marked your wife's site. I've purchased from shelf reliance but haven't opened anything. Mostly purchased real meat because my husband snarls his nose when he sees me open my canned meat, so I thought I would try freeze dried. I may open a can this winter to try out. I want a rotation unit so bad !!!! That may be my next purchase, they were on sale quite a few months back and I let it slide. I would love to purchase a years worth and then start actually using it in everyday meals. Anyway..... I may start ordering again. I'm getting an antsy feeling and I'm not liking it... Got to do something soon!
> 
> Do you have to sale so much a month to receive or maintain a 'consultant' status?


No. Signing up as a consultant gets you better pricing and allows you to receive commissions and free product for purchasing what you are most likely going to purchase anyway. I believe the only requirement for consultants is that you maintain a $50 a month Q.
If you email my wife, she can tell you more about it. We are truly happy with Shelf Reliance and its products.


----------



## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

If you have friends that are into prepping, and want to host a prepper party, I talked to a lady at one of the Crossroads of the West shows and she told me that they do parties kind of like what tupperware parties were (yeah I'm dating myself I know, but I was never at one except when I was like 4 or 5 and my mom was selling it) 

Anyway, she said that the party host gets 10% of what is spent is credited to the host as money to spend on merchandise. So if your friends spend $900 and buy a bunch of freeze dried food, you can get $90 worth for free because you hosted the party!

I'm pretty sure she was shelf reliance affiliated, and it sounds like emailing TexasPatriot's wife is the best way to get the facts.


----------



## DJgang (Apr 10, 2011)

TexasPatriot said:


> No. Signing up as a consultant gets you better pricing and allows you to receive commissions and free product for purchasing what you are most likely going to purchase anyway. I believe the only requirement for consultants is that you maintain a $50 a month Q.
> If you email my wife, she can tell you more about it. We are truly happy with Shelf Reliance and its products.


I will definitely send your wife an email. Be easy to spend 50 a month, especially on good stuff.


----------



## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

We eat the freeze dried fruit from Emergency Essentials (www.beprepared.com) regularly, Provident Pantry brand, & love it. They have just come out with the smaller cans to make it more economical to try new things.

We store a few days worth of Mountain House entrees. We went to a local store & bought all the meals that seemed like something we'd like, fixed them all at once & we all tasted each one & decided what to buy from that. One thing we noticed is most of them had an over abundance of sauce, enough to add rice, noodles, or potatoes to it to stretch the meal & reduce the cost.

All this stuff goes on sale frequently So a little patience can save you some money. Before you buy, Google reviews on different brands to see what others are saying. Also, don't forget to figure the price of shipping into things, some places will be cheaper on the item but considerably more expensive in shipping. Good luck!


----------



## EarlyPrepper (Aug 28, 2012)

I use Shelf Reliance, The Ready Store, Emergency Essentials, Ready Reserve, MRE's and others as sales arise. I have a monthly shipment from Shelf Reliance, and have purchased some good items from the other 3 as well. I, too, am a Shelf Reliance consultant, but buy my stores from all over. I also get regular shipments from Ready Reserve too.

We use the DH & FD foods in daily cooking now, replacing anything we open, and continuing to add to the bulk. No where near where I want to be yet, but I will get there.

The only one I have not "really" liked are some of the Wise foods, a bit bland, but others are good. 

In the end, if (when) I need the stores, we will have about 6 months (when I get to fruition) for my family and I, which gives is time for plan formulation, gardening, hunting, curing, etc... God willing, it will never be "needed" in its' entirety, but I am planning for what I can swing and hoping for the best.


----------

