Wise Foods is a company that specializes in ready-made food storage meals (with emphasis on the storage). These freeze-dried / dehydrated meals are packaged in an airtight NITROGEN PACKED Mylar pouch, and only require adding water and then waiting 10 – 12 minutes to prepare. (This makes these meals ideal for backpackers.) The company states that these meals can be stored for up to 25 years.
Wise Foods offers a variety of meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They offer meals (in pouches) that serve 4 adults as well as a specialty line of Outdoor Meals which makes 2 jumbo servings. These meals can be bought in bulk so that an emergency shelter can be stocked, or some of the Gourmet Outdoor Meals can be bought individually.
However, Wise Foods is giving everyone the chance to try before they buy, by offering free samples. Simply go to their website and click on the “Try a free sample” tab in the top corner on their home page. (Or, just go here.)
I filled out the form a little over a week ago and within a few days I received a single bag of the Cheesy Lasagna (as seen in the picture above). There was also a brochure in with my free sample for Wise Foods. I also received an email from them in which the owner simply inquired as to how many I had in my family and what my food storage / goals were.
I have not been able to try out the meal yet, and will probably not get to until the weekend after next (I want to try it out while on the trail rather than at home). Before I go though I plan on repackaging the meal into 2 separate bags since 4 servings will be a bit much, especially for just me.
As for the details, the package is in an off-white packaging with the Wise Foods logo on the top and then Cheesy Lasagna underneath. There is also a description: “Pasta with Parmesan and Romano cheese, tomato sauce, onions and spices.” Below this is the serving size, 4. The net weight of the package is listed also on the front at 9.6 oz, however on my scales I get 9.9 oz.
On the back, the directions state to “Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, add contents of the package into boiling water and stir. Turn off heat, cover and let stand for 12 minutes stirring occasionally.” After this is the nutritional ingredients.
The directions on the back contradict the directions on the web site, since on the site they say to add the water to the bag. Maybe these directions are for certain meals, and not this one. I would find it hard to believe that 4 cups of water would fit inside this pouch anyway.
Thanks for the heads up Stick. I just ordered one. Unfortunately for me, I am a vegetarian and it looks like the only meal that would work for me is the mac & cheese. But I’m giving it a try. Maybe they’ll have more vegetarian options in the future.
Hey Stick, thanks for the write up. I just got off the phone with one of your followers and he referred me to your site. A couple of comments; the pouch displayed above is our Emergency Food designed for Long Term Storage, the Nitrogen flush gives it the mentioned 25 year shelf life. This 4 serving pouch requires a seperate container for preperation as you are correct 4 cups of water will definately not fit inside the pouch. The instructions you found on the site are for our “prepare in the pouch” Outdoor Meal that contains 2 servings, and require 2 cups of water which you can add to the pouch and use the zip seal to aid in the preparation, you can find info at this link http://www.wisefoodstorage.com/outdoor_meals.php?content=outdoor_meal_variety , Again thank you for the write up, anyone wishing for additional info can click the link in Stick’s article or drop me an email at dkunkel@wisecompanyus.com , and Jason drop me a note and I’ll help you out with our vegetarian options.
Dale Kunkel
Wise Foods, Inc.
Dale, Thanks for checking out the site and thanks for the clarifications. And of course, thanks for the product. Like I said, I am planning to getout for at least a day hike weekend after next and I plan on carrying the Cheesy Lasagna as my meal. Also, I must say that I came across the site by way of the Backpacker.com forums, so word on your site is definitely out there. So, again, thank you and good luck with everything. Chad
Thanks Dale,
I stand corrected. Actually, Rob and Brian have explained to me that all of your food is vegetarian (made with Textured vegetable protein). Woo hoo! I have the creamy chicken pasta which I will try out soon and then I want to try the others.