Ben’s Original™ Street Food I Trail Cooking

Wandering through grocery stores got boring during the pandemic years, as so few new items came to market. Over the last year, it has changed, reverting to its 2019 state. I’m seeing new items in stores, not just online (which was a real phenomenon during the 20-24 period, where I’d see items advertised on social media but not in physical stores).

This is a benefit for all of you, as I am discovering new shelf-stable, ready-to-eat foods that are easy to take outdoors. Not everything has to be dehydrated or freeze-dried. It can be tort packaging, similar to how MRE meals are processed. These meals can be eaten right out of the packaging, cold, or they can be heated up – either by soaking the package in hot water or heating the contents in a nonstick pan with a bit of olive oil. Ben’s meals come in a plastic tray, and the food inside reminds me of the meals sold in pouches—same texture. The tray makes it microwave-friendly, though.

I saw the line from Ben’s Original™ Street Food at a local grocery store in West Virginia last week and decided to pick it up to review. I found them with the shelf-stable meals, often located near the aisle where canned goods are sold, such as soup, ravioli, and similar products. The store had 3 of the six varieties.

I had to laugh a bit, as they are West Virginia ready – no artificial coloring stamped proudly on the packaging. All ready for our new state law!

Overall, the ingredients are not bad, except for the soy protein isolate in one of the meals. They are labeled to use bio-engineered (BE) ingredients, which is a newer term for genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Looking at the ingredient lists, it is the soy used, and it is most likely the soybean oil used in all three. Soy is one of the top genetically modified crops (GMOs) in the world. It is up to you to decide if you are comfortable with that. In general, I avoid seed oils, but when it comes to hiking food, which I don’t eat often, I’m more likely to eat it without worrying. It’s not an everyday thing. Not even a monthly thing!

420 calories, 12 grams of fat, 11 grams of protein, and 590 mg of sodium.

I found this to be too oily in texture. The rice has a texture similar to orzo pasta, and is chewy. It has potential, but I wasn’t a huge fan of it. Twelve grams of fat is a lot for the size of the portion.

380 calories, 7 grams of fat, 10 grams of protein, and 590 mg of sodium.

The burrito bowl has less fat. On its own, it is overwhelming with the spices. As a wrap, it would be better if tempered with lots of cheese.

400 calories, 9 grams of fat, 14 grams of protein, and 580 mg of sodium.

Of the three choices, this is the only one to contain soy protein isolate.

I didn’t try this one, as I am allergic to red beans (kidney beans). I am one of the people who get awful stomach aches from kidney beans, due to the lectins in them, even if the kidney beans are fully cooked. Ford tried it out for me. His opinion was that it was the best of the three meals, but the spice level was too warm for him.

My thoughts:

At $3 each, I found that to be a fair price for what it is. They had reasonable sodium levels. They are shelf-stable.

I wouldn’t buy them again. I couldn’t get past the rice texture; it was oddly chewy. But that isn’t to say you wouldn’t like them. Everyone has different taste.

~Sarah