Vegan Shelf-Stable entrée Pouches: How Do They Compare?
By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
A Multitude of Meals Ready to Eat
When I was grocery shopping for a 10-day camping trip, I was struck by the shelves filled with shelf-stable pouches. These squeeze packs offer a variety of foods, are usually quick to prepare, and are relatively lightweight. An additional plus for those of us whose camping stove is temperamental, is that, in a pinch, many of them could be eaten without having to be heated. Of course, these pouches are not just for camping. They offer the same convenience and variety for meals eaten at home or at work. They could be useful to have on hand in case of a power outage also.
With the help of Vegetarian Resource Group volunteer Stephanie Kumar, I examined the nutritional content of pouches of vegan entrées from several different companies. These companies included A Dozen Cousins, Backpacker's Pantry, Beanvivo Organics, Fillo's, Loma Linda, Maya Kaimal, Nature's Earthly Choice, Saffron Road, Somos, Tasty Bite, and The Good Bean. We collected information on 73 products that were identified as vegan on the package, or the company website, or both. Note that some companies make both vegan and nonvegan products, so check the package or website before buying.
Worldwide Flavors
Many pouches featured Indian foods including Chana Masala; Spinach Dal; Chickpea Tikka Masala; Delhi Potatoes; and Dal with Green Garbanzos, Corn, and Coriander. Others offered beans with a variety of seasonings such as Puerto Rican Pink Beans, Cuban Black Beans, Chipotle Refried Black Beans, Peruvian Lentils, and Creole Red Beans. There were also several different kinds of chili including Santa Fe Green Chile Stew and Three Bean Chili. If you're looking for a hearty meal, you could try Three Sisters' Southwestern Quinoa and Beans, Puerto Rican Rice and Gandules (pigeon peas) Sofrito, Pad Thai with gluten-free noodles, and a Jamaican Jerk Bowl with Jackfruit.
Nutritional Considerations
The labels on about 80% of pouches reported a serving size of half a pouch, while about 20% said the entire pouch was a serving. Regardless of the label's serving sizes, hungry folks may eat the entire pouch. Products where the serving was a half-pouch had between 80 and 310 calories per serving, while products where the serving size was listed as the entire pouch had 190 to 480 calories per serving. I found that I needed to add grains and vegetables to the products that I tried to have a filling dinner. For example, I mixed one of the dals with couscous, cauliflower, and broccoli to make a meal for two people.
For hungry hikers, here are the products with the most calories per serving:
- Loma Linda bowls (Greek, Hawaiian, Sweet Potato Harvest), 360 to 480 calories per pouch
- Backpacker's Pantry Louisiana Red Beans and Rice, 330 calories per pouch
- Backpacker's Pantry Chana Masala, 310 calories per half pouch
The products we looked at had 4 to 18 grams of protein per serving, making them a reasonable source of protein. Adding grains and vegetables and chopped nuts will increase the protein content. Generally speaking, these were not high-fat products, with fat ranging from 0 to 16 grams per serving. Most products were very low in saturated fat; 85% had fewer than 3 grams of saturated fat per serving. Products that contained coconut or coconut milk were often higher in saturated fat, having 3.5 to 10 grams of saturated fat in a serving.
The sodium content of products ranged from 65 milligrams per serving to a whopping 1,490 milligrams per serving. Label reading is important if you are looking for a lower sodium product.
Here are the lowest sodium products that we found:
- The Good Bean Santa Fe Green Chili and Mexican Smoky Chipotle, 65 milligrams in a half-pouch serving
- The Good Bean Low-Carb Classic Chili, 115 milligrams in a half-pouch serving
- The Good Bean Indian Coconut Curry, 210 milligrams in a half-pouch serving (Despite containing coconut, this product is low in saturated fat.)
- Nature's Earthly Choice Barley & Lentils, 290 milligrams in a one-cup serving
The fiber content of the products we surveyed ranged from 1 to 15 grams of fiber per serving.
Higher fiber products include:
- Loma Linda Ultimate Chili, 15 grams in a one-pouch serving
- Loma Linda Sweet Potato Harvest Bowl, 13 grams in a one-pouch serving
- Backpacker's Pantry Cuban Coconut Rice & Beans, 13 grams in a half-pouch serving
- Fillo's Mexican Mayocoba Sofrito, 11 grams in a half-pouch serving
Everyday Convenience
Most of these pouch meals are super-quick to prepare. Typically, they are ready after 1-1 1/2 minutes in the microwave or 3-5 minutes on the stove. Backpacker's Pantry products call for adding boiling water, sealing, and letting the pouch sit for 15-20 minutes.
For those looking for gluten-free options, try products from A Dozen Cousins, Backpacker's Pantry, Beanvivo Organics, The Good Bean, Loma Linda, Saffron Road, Somos, and Tasty Bite (most products). And, if you prefer products with organic certification, look for pouches from Beanvivo Organics, Maya Kamal (most products), Nature's Earthly Choice, and Tasty Bite.
A drawback of these products is that they may not be recyclable because their packages consist of multiple materials. In addition, they are relatively expensive compared to preparing dishes from scratch using dried or canned beans. Still, they are convenient and can provide a quick meal.?
Thank you so much to volunteer Stephanie Kumar for her extensive work on this project.
