Tramping Food: Real Meals

 A look at the Real Meals range of entrees

Tramping food is one of the most important items you will carry with you when you are venturing into the outdoors. To perform at your best you need the right type and amount of food to keep you moving. One option is the use of freeze dried and pre packaged meals. 

Classic packaging for a Real Meals

I often use freeze dried meals when I am out by myself...they are the easiest and most efficient way to provide yourself with sustenance. One of my favorites at this time are the Real Meal range. Many trampers believe they are the best freeze dried meals available here in New Zealand. 

Real Meals...some history:

Real Meals as a company has only existed for a couple of years but its history is much longer than this. Originally the company was called Absolute Wilderness and they were a fixture in the South Island and especially Nelson region for over a decade. If you could find their products you would be using them as they were quality meals.  

Absolute Wilderness meals...basic black packaging

Absolute Wilderness traded right through the 2010's up to 2021.  While their products were always difficult to find in the shops the full range could always be ordered online from their Nelson headquarters. Starting out with only a couple of meals they eventually increased their range until they had about 15 different meals available covering breakfast, lunch and dinner options. My favorites were the Creamed Rice, Wilderness Stew and Chilli Con Carne. 

Homemade ration pack for the Paparoa Track in 2020

A couple of years ago the company was brought out by Nathan Fa'avae the well known adventure racer and educator. Nathan was a fixture of most of the multi discipline events through the 2000's including the Coast to Coast,  New Zealand Adventure Racing Team and GODZone. His purchase of the company has seen its fortunes revived and it is now available in many outdoor sports and hunting stores right across the country. 

Nathan Fa'avae

I am hoping that the company will continue to increase their menu range over time as they gain market share and recognition. All of their products are delicious with some of the original Absolute Wilderness range still manufactured and the addition of many new and innovative entrees. 

A look at the Real Meals range...

Real meals have menus for breakfast through dinner with additional desserts and drinks. They regularly swap out items from the range and bring in a couple of new items every six months or so. At the time of this blog this is their complete range of meals:

Breakfast

Bircher Muesli

Banana Oat Porridge

Honey Yoghurt

Boysenberry Yoghurt

Eggs, Cheese & Chives

Lunch

Couscous Salad

Mexi Nachos

Bacon Mash

Cheesy Mash

Dinner

Sri Lankan Chicken Curry

Wilderness Stew

Tom Kha Gai

Macaroni and Cheese

Beef Stroganoff

Moroccan Tagine

Dal Makhani

Desserts

Apples with Creamed Rice

Tropical Pudding

Chocolate Cake Pudding

Others

Berry Smoothie

Mango Lassi

Baby Beetroot

Fruit Trio

Basmati Rice

The dinner meals are equally good for lunch or a savory breakfast and the Apples with Creamed Rice is one of my favorite breakfast meals. I'm not big on powdered milky drinks but I'm sure their Lassis and smoothies are going to be as good as any of the main entrees. 

Jon's personal picks...

I have yet to try a Real Meal that I do not like...they are all delicious. That said there are a couple which I really enjoy and buy often. I have four that I would like to talk about...the Apples and Creamed Rice, Sri Lankan Chicken Curry, Beef Stroganoff and Cous Cous Salad.

Apples with Creamed Rice:

To start the Apples with Creamed Rice is meant as a dessert but I most commonly use it as a breakfast meal. I love Creamed Rice and the Real Meal version is top notch. It reconstitutes really well, is sweet without being overly sweet, the fruit is delicious and it is filling. 

Real Meal: Apples and Creamed Rice

I get VERY sick of eating porridge (Oats/Oatmeal) all the time and I'm constantly looking for something else for breakfast. I pair this with some protein...cheese, salami or other dried meat as this meal is light on protein.  I sometimes add extra raisins to the pack because I love raisins and nuts are also a great addition.

It can be eaten cold but is best warm....

Couscous Salad:

I notice this is no longer on the Real Meal website but still available in shops. I was turned onto this by Marlee one of my tramping companions on the Abel Tasman Coastal Track back in October. She was eating these for lunch and I really liked the look of it.  It is lovely with a nutty, spicy flavor with a subtle under current of lemon and mint. This is an excellent dinner meal but it is really good for lunch as well.

Real Meal: Cous Cous Salad

 Couscous Salad is a vegetarian meal but you can pep it up with the addition of fresh/dried vegetables, stock cubes, dried meat or fish. I like this for dinner with some Backcountry dried vegetables, chicken stock and a tuna packet.

Yum!!!

Sri Lankan Curry:

This is my favorite curry from the range and I am always impressed whenever I tuck into one of these. It reconstitutes really well and the taste, consistency and appearance is just like a takeaway curry. It is mildly spicy without being hot and the flavor is deep through the vegetables and chicken in this meal.

Real Meal: Sri Lankan Curry

The meal as it stands is low on carbs so I always have this with some freeze dry rice, mash potato or a Naan bread. I just add this to the meal pack with the requisite amount of hot water and hey presto a power packed dinner meal. 

Beef Stroganoff:

This is my second favorite in the Real Meals range of freeze dried entrees. I initially ignored this one but I took a pack with me on a tramp earlier this year and it is really good. As well as the classic sauce it has pasta so this is a complete meal which requires no additional items. 

Real Meal: Beef Stroganoff

The sauce in this meal is rich and savory and it has nice chunks of meat, vegetables and spices. The pasta is a flat sheet pasta that rehydrates well. It is as tasty as any Stroganoff I could make at home and is now one of my go to meals for tramping. 

Honorable mention goes to the Wilderness Stew, Cheesy/Bacon Mash and Dal Makhani which are all good and worth a try...

Where can I buy these..?

So you ask...these meals are good but where can I buy them?

They seem to be widely available in most of the better outdoor and sports stores that sell camping/tramping equipment. Since the company changed hands they are much more visible and I have seen them in stores right across the South Island. I'm not sure about coverage in the North Island...

I like Apples with Creamed Rice for Breakfast

Here in Christchurch they are available at Hunting and Fishing, Bivouac, Macpac and Kathmandu shops. Hunting and Fishing have the widest selection and they have almost all the menu items. I have also seen them at Further Faster a really excellent independent outdoor shop. 

Real Meals have a range of entrees

They sell Real Meals in the Torpedo 7 in Nelson but not the one here in Christchurch. Some supermarkets in smaller towns like Hanmer, St Arnaud, Motueka, Te Anau and Lake Tekapo also stock them. There is a list of retailers on the Real Meals website with locations and website addresses. 

There is a list of retailers here

As with Absolute Wilderness the complete range is available online and you can order them for delivery through the Real Meals website. If you cannot find them in your local area this is your best option.

Real Meals Homepage

If you are thinking about taking some freeze dried meals on your next adventure you should really consider using a Real Meal. They are tasty, nutritious and much better than the other brands available here in New Zealand. The next time you visit your local outdoor retailer have a look at their food selection and see if they sell Real Meals. 

NB: I am not associated with this company I just really like their meals.