Backpacker's Pantry Cold Pasta Salad - Serves 2

Convenient and Tasty
The Backpacker's Pantry Cold Pasta Salad not only tastes good, it's a welcome convenience too. Some times you don't feel like firing-up the stove and the option to just add cold water is nice, especially if you are tired or hot. I've also saved it for the last night of an extended trip when I'm concerned about how much fuel I have to spare.

versatile, tasty, and filling
This is one of the more versatile, tasty, and filling options from Backpacker's Pantry (BP). Cold Pasta earns five stars from me for the general product category. Still, none of the instant meals will be as high in quality or taste as a meal made from scratch. Nonetheless, the 'just add water' meals can be incredibly convenient and thus worthwhile. The package's instructions call for cold water, but one can alternatively use hot water for an equally yummy result. Just be sure to reduce by roughly half the time that that the meal soaks. It is helpful to have the cold water option to avoid using fuel+stove, for example during lunch, a rainy day, or as an emergency meal. Cold or hot, it's a surprisingly flavorful meal with a good balance of carb, protein, and fat, which can be difficult to obtain, particularly for instant meals. Of course, virtually anything tastes good out there but even meat eaters should be pleased. There are sufficient calories per serving (~ 420) to constitute the main component of a multi-course dinner at the end off a moderately challenging day. Most will need a bit extra - perhaps soup, gorp, or dessert - to feel fully satisfied (for reference, I weigh ~165 lbs). Many competitors, and even other options from BP, often contain far fewer calories per serving, or achieve high calories purely with fat. Read the nutrition labels! BP has ~dozen meals with b/w 400-600 calories per serving, all with less fat and more carb+protein than competitors - these meals are often my main course on longer/harder trips for which 'just add water' at the end of the day is welcome. If you like Cold Pasta, check out these other dozen or so options from Backpacker's Pantry too. All are worth considering for your next trip.