Outdoor Herbivore

[maverick]

Anyone try their meals before? They have a large and varied selection, including vegan and gluten free meals.
http://outdoorherbivore.com/

[jdille]

I've been ordering from outdoorherbivore.com for about three years now. I'm vegetarian and use the meals to supplement what I dehydrate or put together myself.
I really like her chickpea sesame penne, the cheddar mac and lemongrass curry. Also, the sunflower salad is pretty refreshing on a hot summer day and doesn't need heat. I find that she makes really good, flavorful food.
The only issues I've had are:
-Longer cooking times than the instructions indicate (easy to fix with a longer soaking time)
-I'm cooking for two people and the hungry single is not big enough for us but the hungry double is usually just a little too much food. Obviously subjective.
I think she makes good food. I don't buy any other prepackaged backpacking meals.

[maverick]

Thanks J for chiming in with that info on the meals.

[Ska-T]

I ordered and ate half a dozen of their entrees on backpacking trips. Those meals were shared with my brother on one trip and a friend on another trip. Two of us are plants-only vegetarians. All of us had the same response to the Outdoor Herbivore entrees.
1. The food is too heavily spiced. It isn't that the spice is too hot or repulsive in flavor, it's just that it is overpowering and unappetizing. When the meal was done none of us wanted more.
2. The entrees vary widely in the caloric content so it is hard to plan meals, but in general the volume is too small for two and too large for one. The volume of water used isn't very consistent, but that is less important.

[maverick]

1. The food is too heavily spiced. It isn't that the spice is too hot or repulsive in flavor, it's just that it is overpowering and unappetizing. When the meal was done none of us wanted more.

Well that is definitely not an endorsement and a 180 from the previous review. Which particular meals did you try Ska?

[Ska-T]

We tried the following entrees: Blackened Quinoa, Chickpea Sesame Penne, Chunky Chipotle Chili, Cibola Couscous, Curried Apple Couscous, Lickety-Split Lentils, and Savory Lentil Simmer.

Unfortunately, too much time (several years) has passed for me to remember which entree tasted the best or was the most successfully prepared.

Background of the "food critics".
My brother - gourmet cook including a TV appearance as 'celebrity' chef.
Me - pragmatic cook that prepares 90% of my own meals.
Friend - typical cosmopolitan eater willing to try diverse foods.

For optimal health considerations, 4 years ago I switched from an omnivore diet to a plant diet (whole plant foods), therefore I really wanted to like the offerings of Outdoor Herbivore. I hope they improve their entrees with consumer feedback (although they didn't respond to my email, which was sent in response to their asking for a review).