I know we have other threads about meals in a jar but I just found a site that has some easy recipes. Here is a sample of a meal in a jar: Looks delicious and healthy. Here is the link to her site that has recipes and she also has a book. Chef Tess Bakeresse: 52 Method Jar Info
Have found that the biggest advantage of meals in a jar is to use them to turn long term survival food into something we are comfortable eating on an every day basis. Too much salt, but the spice packages that come in the dry x-bean soup, pea soup, etc packages are a perfect example.
They are just add hot water recipes or add to boiling water. The foods used are dehydrated foods/ prepper foods. From the page I linked, here is one of the recipes Chef Tess Louisiana-Style Chicken and Rice Gumbo with Okra 1 cup Freeze-dried Chicken (one can make 12 quart-sized meals) 1 cup instant rice 1 cup freeze-dried Okra(optional) 1/3 cup Freeze-dried sausage (optional) 2T cornstarch 1/3 cup dehydrated onion 1/2 cup Freeze-dried bell peppers 1/4 cup tomato powder 2T powdered butter 2T Worcestershire Sauce Powder 2T dehydrated parsley flakes 1T dehydrated minced garlic 1 tsp Buffalo Wing Sauce Powder 1 1/2 tsp chicken bullion powder (optional) 1/2 tsp Hickory Smoke Powder To prepare meal: Add 4 1/2-5 cups boiling water to the meal mix. Simmer 5-7 minutes until rice and vegetables are tender. Yield 6 cups prepared gumbo.
Exactly but you can control the sodium and ingredients. Plus you can put the foods in food saver bags if you want to take hiking. I stopped buying the pre-made meals dehydrated foods; I found that making my own and seasoning to our liking tasted better. Some FD food companies offer pantry can sizes so one can start experimenting in cooking FD food.
Freeze dried not dehydrated.Freeze dried food is good. FD pineapple is my favorite. I eat it straight out of the can. Same with corn. I noticed health food stores are starting to carry freeze dried snacks. These are pricey but good Thrive Life Freeze Dried Snackies™
Freeze dried icecream is..... interesting. Tastes like icecream, but the temp and texture take some getting used to.
Gumbo without okra is soup! That looks like a good recipe. Several years ago my wife and I put up a variety of meals in a jar. We just winged it on soups and stews but the Mrs made lots of cookie mix in a jar for gifts. We ate them all within a year or two and didn't notice degraded quality.
I have never added water to my FD ice cream. I just ate it out of the can, maybe one or two chunks at a time. Wasn't sure what it would do when it hit my stomach. The thought of adding water to it just did not sound appetizing.
I ate it from the dry - no water. Kinda like themarshmallow things in a box of Lucky Charms cereal but with icecream taste.