backpacking Archives - Pam LeBlanc Adventures

Farm to Summit makes dehydrated meals using ‘cosmetically challenged’ veggies

by Pam LeBlanc | Oct 25, 2022 | Blog

Farm to Summit, a woman-owned, Colorado-based company, uses farm “seconds” to make dehydrated meals for backpackers. Pam LeBlanc photo

I’m always on the prowl for good dehydrated meals to take on camping and backpacking trips.

I’ve long been a fan of Austin-based Packit Gourmet, which makes my hands-down favorite just-add-water dish – Dottie’s Chicken and Dumplings. But during a trip to Telluride for the annual Bluegrass Festival this summer, I met two women who’d recently started their own dehydrated meal company.

Related: Taste Testing Packit Gourmet

I had to give it a try.

Farm to Summit’s tagline is “dehydrated meals that give a damn.” I might add “dehydrated meals that taste like real food instead of salt and cardboard.”

Jane Barden and Louise Barton teamed up to create Farm to Summit, which makes sustainably farmed dehydrated meals for backpacking. Pam LeBlanc photo

Company co-founders Louise Barton and Jane Barden, a Durango-based couple, teamed up in 2020 to start the business. Combining their backgrounds in farming, fine dining and ecology, their meals are made with what they call “cosmetically challenged vegetables” from local farmers, the oft-discarded seconds that might not look as pretty as what you see on the Whole Foods Market shelf. You know the type – lumpy, oddball looking veggies that taste just as good as the perfectly shaped ones.

Barden grew up on her family’s farm in Michigan. She hates waste – especially unharvested veggies or “flawed produce.” She also worked in the restaurant. Industry. Barton, a botanist and research ecologist who loves to backpack, couldn’t find a backpacking meal she liked. The two teamed up to make their own.

When I met them at the Telluride street market, they sent me home with a packet of green chile mac & cheese ($13.50) to test. The packet sat in my pantry until last week, when I kayaked out to a floating campsite at Sea Rim State Park near Port Arthur, in southeast Texas.

Callie Summerlin of Port Arthur heats water for a dehydrated meal while camping at Sea Rim State Park. Pam LeBlanc photo

It’s easy to make – boil 2 cups water, pour it into the packet of dried noodles, let it sit 20 minutes, add cheese packet, stir, and enjoy. It’s way better than that neon-orange stuff that Kraft makes and you ate as a kid. The green chile adds a zing, but it’s not overpowering. And if you’re looking for a wallop of calories, look no farther. It packs 890 calories and 32 grams of protein.

For me, it ranks up there with Packit Gourmet’s line of foods

Farm to Summit is not sold in Texas stores, but you can order it online at https://farmtosummit.com. Shipping is free when you spend $50 or more.

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What’s biltong? A less sweet, higher protein type of beef jerky

by Pam LeBlanc | Sep 20, 2021 | Blog

Apex Protein Snacks makes biltong and meat sticks. Pam LeBlanc photo

Sunday’s trip to Inks Lake State Park provided the perfect opportunity to test out an array of meat snacks made by Apex Protein Snacks.

The company makes meat sticks and “biltong,” a drier, more shredded and less sweet version of beef jerky.

My initial reaction to the biltong, a type of dried, cured meat that originated in South Africa? Not enough flavor. Too cardboardy. But the snacks might make good fuel on a long-distance backpacking trip, when you need protein, but sweet stuff might sour your stomach.

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Apex bills its products as “Food Fit for Adventure.” I tried two flavors of biltong – spicy peri peri and mesquite BBQ. Per 1 ounce serving, the biltong had 90 calories, 2 grams of fat and 16 grams of protein.

By comparison, Jack Link’s beef jerky has 80 calories, 1 gram of fat and 11 grams of protein. But the ingredient panel for Jack Link’s jerky included sugar and brown sugar – two ingredients that don’t make an appearance on the Apex product.

In a nutshell, the Apex biltong had more protein and less sugar.

I also sampled a few meat sticks, which I liked better, although they still didn’t have enough punch for my taste buds. The original flavor had 90 calories, 11 grams of protein and 0 grams of sugar. The 1.5-ounce stick felt less greasy than some of the other brands I’ve tried, too.

The meat sticks sell online for $29.99 for a box of 12, although they’re running a $24.99 special right now. A 2.25-ounce bag of biltong costs $7.99.

A portion of proceeds goes to the company’s non-profit Kids in the Outdoors organization, which helps bring outdoor experiences to underprivileged youth.

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