Many of us are in the process of deciding what precisely is making the cut this fall for our backcountry meal plans. I had the opportunity to try five of Good To-Go’s meals in a side-by-side comparison to see which one of their many options would make it in my pack. Of their almost 20 offerings I sampled the Cuban Rice Bowl, Mushroom Risotto, Pad Thai, Carrot-Ginger Power Bowl, and Thai Curry. Since they are all made right here in the USA (Maine) with ingredients you and I can pronounce, I’ll focus mainly on taste, texture, as well as ease of use.
My two favorites in the bunch were the Mushroom Risotto and the Cuban Rice Bowl. The risotto’s sauce had an earthy, creamy taste to it, and the way my rice cooked it had a perfect al dente crunch. If you are camping by a vehicle, or can save a couple parmesan cheese packets the next time you order pizza, bring one of those along as a topping to make the risotto truly next-level.
The Cuban Rice bowl definitely brought the Cuban flair. It was heavily spiced, but not “spicy” – if that makes sense. All together it had good flavor, it’s just hard to compete with that risotto.
If eating healthy is your jam, these next two would be the ticket for you. The Carrot-Ginger Power Bowl was a good on a couple fronts in that it not only needed minimal water (along with substantially less time), it also does not require a stove. As someone who cold-camps often I found this to be rather attractive – as would anyone counting every ounce or always on the go. The flavor was good with a delightful crunch to one of the ingredients. One of the components probably cooked a little too long as it was a tad chewy, but the crunch helped make up for that. It definitely tasted “healthy.”
The second in the “healthy” category was the Pad Thai. While it definitely tasted healthy, I was longing for a little more flavor. This potentially could have been solved with a little added seasoning if you are the type of person who packs that in with you.
Disclaimer – I’m not a coconut fan. If you are, the Thai Curry may be the one for you. Be wary if you are following up the milder Pad Thai with the Thai Curry as it was definitely on the spicy end of the spectrum. As a typical curry it had a delightful smell of cinnamon, but the coconut and the spice made this a no-go for me, personally. I would recommend reducing the water slightly as mine was a tad bit runny.
If it wasn’t clear from the first meal I touched on – I loved the Mushroom Risotto. The Cuban Rice would be a close second. If I’m cold-camping, I’d probably have the Carrot-Ginger Power Bowl with me versus eating granola bars the entire time, and since it’s quick you can pretty much eat it at any point in the day.
One item to keep track of when cooking these – they all use slightly different amounts of water. Something to be aware of as you go to cook: Make sure whatever you are using to boil water can estimate to the 25mL mark. That said, even if you were to overshoot on the water you’re still going to end up with a top-notch meal.
You can purchase Good To-Go meals here: https://goodto-go.com/
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