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A couple of weeks back, I told readers about a new backcountry kitchen discovery: Chef 5 Minute Meals Chicken Pasta Parmesan (Pack of 6) — a meal that comes complete with eating utensils, napkin, salt and pepper and a built-in oven. That's right, there is a magnesium pad in the box that turns into steam when you add the included package of salt water (see below right).

Let the oven heat for two minutes, then put the meal upside down on the steaming pad for five minutes and you've got food heated to 140 degrees. Since the food is already cooked, you're only heating for eating pleasure.  You can leave it to steam longer if you want very hot food.

I bought several of the boxed meals and tried spaghetti and meatballs, chicken pasta parmesan and a chocolate dessert.

About the Taste

I think most backpackers share the sentiment that just about anything within reason tastes good when you're in the wilderness, away from home cooking.

The real test is whether the food tastes decent in your home, for lunch or dinner, when you can eat anything you want. From that perspective, Chef 5-Minute Meals passed the test. They are actually pretty tasty. The pasta wasn't exactly al dente, but not mushy either. There are no preservatives, no trans fats and about 4 grams of saturated fat. Calories were 220 for the chicken pasta and 260 for spaghetti. The Choco-la Burst dark Belgium chocolate dessert is 330 calories for two cakes with chocolate frosting and somewhat shockingly contains 23 grams of fat. Well, what better place to splurge than when you're hiking off thousands of calories each day?

As for the company claim that they are only 9 ounces, that is only half true because the actual food, minus all the containers, boxes, bags, etc. is 9 ounces. The total package is 1 pound, 1 ounce.  In addition, the box, which measures 6" by 8" by 2", is rather bulky for a small backpack.

Lightweight Worthy?

Life is but a series of compromises, a good friend of mine says often. And Chef 5-Minute Meals are just that. No water is required and no fuel, two important factors if you're someplace where water is scare or you are trying to conserve fuel.

If you took cold cereal for breakfast, had no coffee or tea, and took two of these Chef 5-Minute meals  you could leave your fuel and stove behind for the weekend and still get a hot meal and dessert. I would need to experiment with this, but I suspect you could remove the dinners from their packaging, bring one box and on styrofoam container to serve as the oven for multiple nights and actually be well within the ballpark of lightweight. Since dehydrated meals require water, stove and fuel to prepare, you can see the trade off.

Try it for yourself before you go on the trail.

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.

Related posts:

• Ultralight food: Chef 5 Minute Meals
• What Does Lightweight Mean?

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