My real job is as an editor at Backpacker magazine, and as such, I get to try a whole lot of meals that come in foil pouches and are designed to keep forever and be really easy to prepare (usually just add hot water). As in, I’ve tried pretty much all the vegan ones out there. There are quite a few good options (shout out to Backpacker’s Pantry Pad Thai!), but I’d like to introduce you to my absolute favorite: Good To-Go’s Classic Marinara with Penne.
Good To-Go is a little company from Maine, started by a chef who was appalled at the other options out there, especially how ridiculously much sodium they tend to include. Plus other unpronounceable chemicals. This chef, a talented lady named Jen who I’ve met many times and genuinely like, decided to make something better—real food that’s just as easy to make. And lucky for us, three of the meals she’s invented so far are vegan.
There’s a Smoked Three-Bean Chili that’s decent, but chili’s never my fave; an Herbed Mushroom Risotto that’s full of nooch and a super-yummy side dish; and of course my true love, the Classic Marinara with Penne.
You cook it by adding boiling water to the pouch and waiting 20 minutes for everything inside to get soft and hot and yummy. Pro tip: that water really does need to be boiling hot. The noodles are gluten-free, but have a great texture and no one ever seems to notice (except the gluten-free folks, who are over in the corner dancing a little jig). The marinara sauce is better than anything I’ve ever met in a jar. The meal is easy and filling (460 calories per serving), and only slightly more expensive than other foil-pouch meals of this type ($6.75 for the one-serving package, $11.50 for the two-serving one).
Here’s a picture of the Marinara making my day better on a camping trip on the coast of Turkey. This stuff is seriously worth carrying around the world. Give it a go!