Heather’s Choice Review

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-PmEVMydPg[/embedyt]Heather’s World

After backpacking many years and choking down countless dehydrated meals, you can imagine my excitement when I licked my spoon after stirring a Heather’s Choice meal to rehydrate.  All I could muster was a bunch of mmmmm’s, ahhhhhh’s, and other wordless expressions.      

My first encounter with Heather’s Choice was the Chipotle Cherry Chili.  Now, I know what you may be thinking.  Cherries, chipotle and Chili?  It’s sounds odd.  My wife says it sounds perfectly normal and she’s right most of the time, so let’s just go with it.

My first impression is a meaty, zingy flavor with a hint of smokiness and bbq.  The cherries don’t overpower the meal but you know they are there.  The meal is light weight, around 4 ounces.  I remember asking myself, “is this going to be enough?”, but after rehydrating the meal plumped right up and became dense and weighty.

The ingredient list is simple and straightforward with no fillers. Texas quail, tomatoes, carrots, onion, chipotle peppers, bing cherries, garlic, chili powder, apple cider vinegar, cumin, sea salt and black pepper.  The protein source in all of Heather’s Choice meals are from sustainable sources.  And that’s why we dig her.     

Dinner for night number two was the Smoked Sockeye Salmon Chowder. I think my first words after opening the package was “wow”… just the look of it dried was amazing. The taste was fantastic. I might be a little biased here because salmon is one of my favorite fish to eat so if you’re not a big salmon or fish fan then this might not be the meal for you. I did not find it fishy tasting at all, just a pleasant smoked fish flavor.

Again, the ingredient list simple: cold smoked wild Alaskan sockeye salmon, olive oil, dark rum, brown sugar, sea salt, peas, carrots, potatoes, powdered coconut milk, dill weed, cayenne and white pepper.

On the texture side I was a little unsure of how I liked it. The salmon  felt like an al dente pasta. After thinking about it, I figured if the salmon had been any other way it would have turned out mushy. On a scale of 1 to 10 it’s an easy 9.

Now let’s talk about my breakfast, first up was the Apple Buckwheat which was my favorite breakfast of the two and let me tell you there was no shortage of apples in the meal.

I had never had buckwheat before so I was not expecting much from this meal but it turned out that is was filling and quite delicious. I would describe it as tasting like apple pie filling, only not as sweet. The ingredients are buckwheat, black chia seeds, coconut milk powder, flaked coconut, shredded coconut, hulled hemp seeds, dried apples, and apple pie spices. It takes about 5 minutes to hydrate with hot water which was great because in the mornings I don’t like to dilly dally.

The Cherry Coco Nib was chock full of cherries and obviously had similar flavors as the Chipotle Cherry Chili although not my first choice, it was still delicious and very filling. 

Each breakfast meal I had (the Apple Buckwheat and Cherry Coco Nib) packed 540 calories and 21 and 25 grams of protein. As I stated earlier both were delicious. They left me full and satisfied and they are all gluten free.

What really surprised me was how long all the meals stayed with me.  All the meals I tried lasted. I never woke up ravenous (I’m a big breakfast eater) and I never was starving at lunch time.

It’s clear that Heather goes the extra mile when putting together these meals. The calories, fat, and protein are meticulously proportioned in each meal. She focuses a lot on protein. To quote her, “Protein is our favorite macronutrient, because it is very satiating (you will feel comfortably full after our meals) and it is critical for muscle repair, growth and maintenance.”

I can’t end this post without talking a bit about the price because I had some commenters on my youtube channel mention it.  Yes, Heather’s Choice a little more pricey than other meals out there.  The meals run about $15.00 a piece and the breakfast $8.00. (Although, they are sale right now! Check it out!)

But there’s no crap in them y’all.  This is sustainable protein, if you care about that and I do, and it’s real nutrients.  You don’t feel hungry later and you have the nutrients for your body to recuperate after a long hike and/or to prepare for another day’s worth of hiking.

One more thing.  You know how you feel after a 5 day hike?  That feeling of wanting to stuff everything you can find in your pie hole?  Just really smash your face into everything?  I don’t feel that way when I eat Heather’s Choice.  Just putting that out there.

In conclusion I think Heather’s choice deserves a spot in your pack. I know it will be in mine and I look forward to trying some of her other meals.