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Paleo Meals to Go – The Best Freeze Dried meals we’ve tasted

I don’t follow a Paleo diet, but if it tastes as good as these meals I might. Paleo Meals to Go sent us 3 of their gluten free, grain free, milk free, soy free, nut free, shelf stable, and protein-rich freeze dried meals to test out and they were all fantastic. They are seriously the best freeze dried meals that I’ve tried – and it takes a lot to knock the Pad Thai off its throne.

We’ll look at each meal in a moment, but first I’d like to talk about what we liked so much about them.

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Clean Tasting. Most freeze dried meals get goopy and give you a heavy feeling after eating them. It may be because they’re grain free, but the Paleo Meals to Go that we tried tasted fresh, flavourful and yet didn’t give us that heavy in your stomach “I need a nap” feeling.

Lots of meat. These meals had 32 to 42 grams of protein in them. The Beef meals had chunks, literally chunks of beef. There was no ground beef or chicken in these meals. They were loaded with tasty, glorious, and copious amounts of protein. When you’re putting in the miles, protein is important for muscle regeneration. These meals will bring out the cave man in you.

Fresh Ingredients. Bright green and orange vegetables await you. seriously, look at the photos. They use coconut sugar and sea salt to sweeten and flavour the meals too, which taste delicious.

Now, on to the meals. First off, we loved each of them and would take them on any trip in the future. Two of our kids avoid gluten, so these would be ideal for them too. Check out the video of the trip we taste tested them on to see our reactions.

Bedrock Beef Chili

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Mrs. Adventure loved this one. Lots of big chunks of beef, fresh tasting. This mild chili had a perfectly balanced flavour and wasn’t overpowered by tomato. The Sweet potatoes were a delicious addition. Beef is the first ingredient! 5/5

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Ingredients: Beef (Beef, Salt), Sweet Potatoes, Onions, Tomato Powder, Seasoning Blend (Chili Powder [Chilies, Salt, Spices], Spices, Granulated Garlic), Carrots, Coconut Sugar, Red Bell Pepper, Green Bell Pepper, Tomatoes, Sea Salt.

Caldera Chicken Curry

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I’m not a huge chicken fan, but this one was surprisingly my favourite. The Coconut sugar and Pineapple were what did it for me. Pineapple slays me and that, with the curry spices were absolutely fantastic. Chicken is the first ingredient! 5/5

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Ingredients: Chicken, Pineapple, Spinach, Coconut Sugar, Red Bell Pepper, Seasoning (Garam Masala, Spices, Curry Powder), Onions, Celery, Sea Salt.

Mountain Beef Stew

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We ate this for breakfast, overlooking the mountains… and fought over the last spoonfuls. This good ol’ fashioned stew hits the spot. This may have been Mrs. Adventure’s favourite. The mushrooms were big, juicy and fresh. The celery was plentiful and green. Beef is the first ingredient! 5/5

Ingredients: Cooked Beef (beef, salt), carrots, onions, mushrooms, celery, spices (spices, granulated garlic), sea salt.

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Conclusion

You don’t have to be a Paleo adventurer to enjoy these meals. Even if you’re not you need to check these meals out. The fresh ingredients, delicious recipes and abundance of protein will leave you full, energised and ready for adventure. Check out Paleo Meals to Go and tell us which meal looks most appetising to you.

 

Full disclosure:

Paleo Meals to Go supplied us with these meals free of charge for review. All opinions are our own and reflect what we would tell family and friends.

Salazon Salted Dark Chocolate Bars – Review

Is there anything better than chocolate when on an outdoor adventure?… besides bacon I mean. Well we had the chance to try so samples of some of the best chocolate I’ve tasted in a long time. Delicious dark chocolate with just the right amount of salt that comes in a variety of flavours. We are hooked on the quality and flavour: not too sweet, not too salty, just delicious.

We were sent the Trail Series of bars – carefully tailored for the outdoor adventurer.

What is Salazon?

Salazon is organic, fair trade dark chocolate sourced out of the Dominican Republic that has been salted with solar-evaporated sea salt.

What is the Trail Series?

The Trail Series is 3 different 2.75 ounce salted dark chocolate bars. Each supports one of three different scenic trails in the USA: The Continental Divide Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail. They do so by donating 2% of their gross sales to the different trail associations.

We received two of each:

  • 57% Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt & Caramel – Certified Organic and made with Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa beans
  • 57% Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt & Coffee – Certified Organic and made with Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa beans
  • 72% Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt & Almond – made with Certified Organic chocolate and Fair Trade Certified cocoa beans

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Salazon has partnered with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy for its Caramel bar, the Pacific Crest Trail Association for its Coffee bar, and the Continental Divide Trail Coalition for its Almond bar. The packaging for each bar depicts actual scenery captured on the trails.

The bars themselves are pretty awesome to stare at too. They cry world explorer with their eclectic map.

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Testing / Testers

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The bars were shared between our explorers (junior and adult). We tried to be fair to them and to you by trying them at home, before the trip as well as on the trail.

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What did we think?

Fantastic! These were all incredibly delicious!

The Salted Caramel had just the right level of Caramel. There are nice sized pockets of soft caramel that weren’t too sweet or overpowering. They complimented the dark chocolate very well, without making it taste artificial.

The Salted Coffee was the same. There was an excellent balance of flavours here.

The Salted Almond bar is a much higher cocoa content (72% instead of the 57% of the other two bars) and it was a good choice. It’s more savoury than the other two. The almond pieces, like the caramel are distributed well and add a refreshing crunch to the bar.

Due to the higher cocoa content, we didn’t have problems with melting. Well, there was one exception to that. One of the bars was carried against someone’s back in their backpack. The result was a bit deformed, but it in no-way took away from the deliciousness of the bar.

Conclusion

You won’t go wrong with these delicious salted dark chocolate bars. They are delicious and refreshing as a trail snack, or even as a late night snack at home when the kids have gone to bed. On top of being delicious, organic and fair trade (as well as being part of the Rainforest Alliance), 2 percent of the gross sales of these bars is donated to the support of  the Triple Crown of American Scenic Trails. You’re enjoying fantastic quality chocolate and you’re helping to keep these amazing trails open and enjoyable for future generations.

At $4 MSRP (Less if you buy more), these bars are more expensive than energy bars, but a fair price for the high quality chocolate that you’re purchasing.

I strongly recommend keeping your eye out for these bars and definitely recommend you give them a try!

Greenbelly Bars Review

When you’re packing for a hiking trip, you need a balance of enjoyable meals and caloric density. Your body needs fuel to keep you going through your day, but that food needs to be packable and tasty. Enter Greenbelly Bars.

 

I’m always on the lookout for new options for Backpacking food, so I was happy to receive a set of Greenbelly Bars for the trail. I’m happy to say, that after testing, they are kid and adult approved.

 

Brand Background:

 

Greenbelly Bars was founded by Chris Cage, a world traveller and thru-hiker. His expeditions led him to develop food ideal for the adventurer. He worked with a food scientist to ensure a good mix of what the body needs in a bar that you’d want to eat. The end result were bars that account for 1/3 of your regular nutritional and caloric needs (600+ calories per pack) and that come in one of three flavours: Dark Chocolate Banana, Peanut Apricot and Cranberry Almond.

 

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The Greenbelly Bar is also socially and environmentally conscious. In addition to partnering with Leave No Trace, they’ve partnered with the Atlanta Food Bank. For every bar you purchase, a meal is given to someone in need.

 

Let’s take a look at the Features, the brand and the taste of these bars:

 

Features:

  • All Natural Ingredients (see below)
  • Nutritionally Balanced
  • 3 Flavours (Dark Chocolate Banana, Peanut Peach, Cranberry Almond)
  • Package Size: 4″x 3″ x 1″ (2 bars)
  • Weight 6 oz (2 – 3 oz bars)
  • 33% of your daily nutritional needs (~600 calories per bar)
  • MSRP: $49.99 for a 12 pack ($4 per bar)

 

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Testing:

 

I ate them… well not all of them, I shared them with my son. I was given one pack of each flavour (each flavour contains two bars). We divided use between a winter adventure and a day at the office. Since these are bars designed for all travel use I figured I’d see if they still tasted good when I wasn’t on the trail.

 

First off we found them to be very filling. Some foods leave you hungry soon after being eaten. The combination of ingredients left us feeling satisfied without weighing us down.

 

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My son obviously preferred the Dark Choclate and Banana, but I found that all of the bars had a good flavour. I was expecting something tasting much sweeter than these do, but because a significant portion of the calories come from fat, it can be almost savoury.

 

I had to do a double check for my tastebuds and I wasn’t sure what to make of it at first, but when I went for a day eating the bars I found that I much preferred them to the candy bar like options that one finds on the market today.

 

These bars come in at $4 each, which may seem steep, but here’s how I look at it. First of all, they provide as many calories as a Freeze Dried Meal, which costs much more ($7+). They require no cooking time, so you can leave the stove behind. There’s no mess or clean-up. They taste good. You’re helping a good cause.

 

Kickstarter Campaign

 

On March 3rd, 2015 Chris is starting a Kickstarter campaign, so check out their site GreenBelly Bar for more details.

Martha Bar Natural Energy Bars review

I am a compulsive chocolate lover, which is to say that a day without chocolate always seems to have a bit of a hole in it. I am also the type of person who runs from one thing to another, literally and figuratively: running, travelling, working a couple jobs, etc. so you can imagine how pleased I was to receive some energy bars to try that had a thick layer of chocolate covering them. They were Martha Bars.

The taste was was very satisfying, with a crunch and a chewiness that reminds you that all of the natural ingredients are real and high quality, and without leaving you with the heavy feeling of a rock in your stomach. They’re absent of chemical aftertaste that you can taste in some mass-produced bars. Instead, present is a delicate balance of the flavors of chocolate, peanut butter, cranberries, and vanilla in which no flavor overpowers the other. I would have liked to see the nutritional information and ingredients on the bar itself, but all information is available on their website: http://marthabar.com.

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You can order these bars there:

Box of 10

  • 10 bars per box
  • $2.50 per bar
  • $25.00 per box plus $5.80 shipping
  • $30.80 total price

By the case

  • 40 bars per case
  • $2.50 each bar
  • $100.00 per case plus $12.35 shipping
  • $112.35 total price

When I looked at the website and saw the protein and fat content of the bar, I assumed it would be better for a recovery snack after running than energy before or during, but it didn’t seem to throw off my running at all when I had one before running a few miles.

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The bars definitely suit well for something to carry while hiking, as a snack between meals, or even as a light breakfast, keeping you full for several hours while going about your daily business.

Overall, I would highly recommend MarthaBars to active people who like chocolate. I would also love to see what other flavours that the company may develop in the future.

Colleen U.
The Outdoor Adventure Team
Colleen is a Physical Therapist, runner and all-round adventurer

Note to the reader: We received the Martha Bars free for review. All opinions are honest and those that we would give to friends and family.