Australian Hiker

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Outdoor Gourmet Vegan Lentil Dahl Review

The Outdoor Gourmet Company provides freeze dried meals to the Australian market. As far as commercially preprepared meals go and as the name suggests, they are a high end, high taste product. I’m a big fan of their current range and while I will very happily eat any of them, I do have my favourites.

The Outdoor Gourmet Vegan Lentil Dahl is the newest meal to the range. As the name suggests its a vegan offering and an addition to the meatless meal offerings hitting the market.

Unlike other companies, Outdoor Gourmet focuses on meals for two. These meals are larger than many of their competitor’s offerings weighing 190 grams and approximately 8-9% more than others which doesn’t sound like much but does help explain the premium price. I’m a big eater and after a two week long trip I’m looking for more calories having used up my body’s reserves. So by this stage I will often pack some two person servings to have every 2-3 nights. In testing this meal I did manage to get through all of it but it took me a while.

These meals are very easy to prepare and as long as you can boil water then you are set. Preparation time is only 10-15 minutes (but I suggest you go for 15). The recommended water addition of 500 mls is spot-on and was readily absorbed without leaving the meal looking like soup. The meal comes in a bag that is well designed – the bottom opens out to provide a flat base for those minimalists who want to leave the bowl at home. The option exists to tear off the top of the bag to allow easy access to the food but you if you have a long handled spoon, you won’t need to tear the bag. My other reason for not tearing off the top of the bag is that you minimise any mess – after you’re done you can re-zip the bag.

There is a bit of heat to this meal as far as spiciness is concerned but it’s not on the same level as the Tandoori Chicken meal. Most hikers will cope with the level of heat but it’s worthwhile testing this out at home prior to make sure it’s not hotter than you like.

The texture and taste of this meal is good and the various components that make up this meal resemble what they should, it doesn’t look artificial. In fact as far as vegan meals go, its enjoyable although some of the lentils are a bit firm even after 15minutes of soaking in hot water.

The obvious negative with any freeze dried meals, and in particular with Outdoor Gourmet offerings, is the price. The normal price sits around the AUD$19.99 RRP mark and at about $10.00 per person that isn’t cheap. Having said that, the products do have a long shelf life so you can stock up during the regular sales at the outdoor stores. Also, being some of the largest two person meals on the market when you factor that in, they work out to be quite economical.

The Outdoor Gourmet Vegan Lentil Dahl is a good meal option. While it’s never going to replace my favourite meal offerings from Outdoor Gourmet, I’d be happy to eat it on those colder nights when two of us are camping or during those big trips when I’m looking for lots of food.

We Like

• Three year warranty which means you can buy this meal when you see it discounted thereby reducing the price. You also know the meals will always be edible
• Minimal preparation time.  All you are doing is rehydrating the meal so once you add boiling water there’s only a 10-15 minute wait (allow 15 minutes to get a better meal)
• If you eat from the bag there is only the spoon to clean up. In fact you may not even need to carry a bowl at all thereby limiting the weight you carry
• This meal is as close to ‘homestyle cooking’ as it gets. It just taste good!
• Freeze dried. This takes much of the weight out of the meal and helps to limit the impact on your body
• Vegan so will also suit a range of non-meat eater palettes

We Don't Like

• The main negative of any commercially preprepared dehydrated / freeze dried meal is the cost. The Outdoor Gourmet meals are not cheap at approximately $10.00 per person for a meal
• Two person meals only (or one person if you’re really hungry)

Best Uses

Great choice for an easy to prepare meal whether it be on a short or long trip

The Outdoor Gourmet meals are really good for couples being just that little bit bigger which make all the difference after a week on the trail

Buy One

You can purchase the Outdoor Gourmet Vegan Lentil Dahl online from Wildfire Sports

Disclosure: Some of the above links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, we may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Please note that our affiliations do not influence, in any way, the independence of our reviews. If we don’t like a product, you’ll hear about it from us!

If you have eaten the Outdoor Gourmet Vegan Lentil Dahl or if you have questions, we’d like to hear from you. Post your comment or question below

Other Versions

The Outdoor Gourmet Company includes a range of nine main meals in a twin serve size. In addition to this current review these include:

Beef Bourguignon

Coq au Vin

Mediterranean Lamb and Black Olives

Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken) 

Tandoori Chicken with a creamy Yoghurt Sauce

Thai Green Chicken Curry

Wild Mushrooms and Lamb Risotto

Investment

AUD $19.99 RRP

Outdoor Gourmet Vegan Lentil Dahl as purchased

The bottom of the bag opens out to provide a flat surface. Opening out the base will allow the meal to more evenly rehydrate. If you don’t open the base out, you will get ‘dry pieces’ in your dinner

Outdoor Gourmet Vegan Lentil Dahl ingrediant list

Picture of the uncooked meal in the open bag

The meal now rehydrated and the bag ‘torn down’. The real food is recognisable in these meals. Using the packaging as a bowl saves carrying one when you really don’t need to

Disclaimer

This review was done with product purchased from a retail store by Australian Hiker

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