Thank you to Radix Nutrition for sponsoring me with a selection of their meals! Here is my honest review of their products.
Who are they?
Radix Nutrition is a New Zealand-based company renowned for their applied nutrition. They work with athletes and healthcare practitioners, their website is full of inspiring stories from sportswomen and men who enjoy their meals to boost their performance.
All Radix meals are sorted into the following ranges: Wellbeing – all about health; Performance – aimed at muscle recovery; and Expedition – for high-level endurance. They also have other (super specific) meals to choose from & more are coming up. These include fodmap, vegan and ketogenic meals + smoothies. Their company philosophy is explicitly environmental, and they are working to make their entire supply chain and production sustainable. I used to work for an environmental NGO, so this is right up my alley!
I’ve judged the meals based on the following criteria: Taste, texture, nutrition and how well they reheated. Right out of the package I was impressed with how much information about the meals was provided. All macro nutrients are tracked, any add-ins are clearly specified (whey protein), and there were no obviously-artificial-cause-I-can’t-pronounce-the-name ingredients listed at all. Thumbs up for solid whole food profile! Now, onto the review…
Mixed Berry breakfast
From Radix’ Performance line, it’s a mixture of berries, seeds, nuts, cereal-like puffs and added protein. Also comes in an apple & cinnamon version. Radix does a wellbeing, performance and expedition version of these two breakfasts, so if you want to go hardcore or share with a friend you can buy a bigger packet.
As my fellow hikers know all too well, you can go so wrong with porridge. Most instant oatmeal packets are gluey, bland things that will make you cry after a few hundred kilometres. Also, they’re usually low in calories and have to be supplemented with a bunch of extras you need to carry separately. But not this powerhouse! The Mixed Berry Breakfast is like a cross between porridge and a berry granola crumble.
The sweetness from the banana and the tart berries balances out really well, and the nuts keep their crunch without going soggy. A+ for texture and taste, and it also reheated really quickly.
A breakfast and dessert in one!
Grass-fed Lamb with mint & rosemary
This dinner is from Radix’ Wellbeing line, so it’s lower in calories and perfect for trekkers who find they can’t always finish a 2-person serving.
This meal was a perfect symphony of spices. You could tell each spice apart; they penetrated the lamb meatballs and caught the attention of several passer-by’s when we were out testing. All the veggies retained their distinct texture and the lamb meatballs didn’t go all soggy as reheated meat sometimes does. Dad served as taster nr 2, and this was his favourite meal of the three. After our outdoor test he actually took it back to our house, reheated it in a pot and enjoyed it with a glass of red wine!
Radix has a variety of lamb dishes – testimony to their NZ origins – and I kept another one they sent me to enjoy fully on a trek! Lamb dishes seem pretty rare on the freeze-dried menu of most other brands, so stock up if you’re partial to hobbit style “roast mutton”!
Asian style Wild Alaskan salmon
The most calorie-rich freeze-dried meal I’ve ever had, Radix’ Expedition line is sure to power you through you most hardcore adventures. The Expedition meals are great for intense mountaineering adventures, especially in colder climates where you need more calories to sustain body heat and weight.
Us Norwegians are particular about our salmon, and the density of the salmon meatballs took me by surprise. But Asian-style flavours are always a favourite, and the mixed veggies and coconut milk makes for a nice semi-spicy blend. After a very unfortunate encounter with salmon jerky on the John Muir Trail, I’ve mostly laid off fish on my hikes. But Radix’ salmon is fishy without being too fishy. It’s also a great source of healthy fats, which I think many protein-obsessed hikers neglect on long trails. To my pole-faring friends, this one is for you!
overall pros
I love that they have categorised their meals based on nutritional value. Most brands simply state the protein content and total calorie count, but Radix has really gone the extra mile to ensure their meals are as nutrition-packed as possible. If you are, like me, picky about the fuel you feed your body – you can chill out and know that Radix got you covered. You can also tailor your diet depending on what your body needs and what kind of adventure you’re on.
What struck me about all the meals was how well the ingredients retained their distinct flavours and textures. Too often I find that backpacking meals turn into a mush where you can’t tell any of the ingredients apart -the whole thing just tastes like curry spice or teriyaki or thyme. Throughout their meal ranges, Radix has kept a distinctive kiwi touch while also using flavours from Morocco, India, Mexico and more.
These meals are a knockout compared to the standard green Backcountry Cuisine I suffered through on the Te Araroa trail. The meat in those bags looked like little post stamps, square and tough as leather. Once properly rehydrated, the Radix meals provide proper texture, you can tell their freeze-drying process is a notch above your average backpacking meal.
All the bags were very lightweight, and as for user-friendliness? It’s a freeze-dried meal. You pour water into the bag, stir and wait. Doesn’t get much simpler than that.
overall cons
I tested these meals on a freezing cold day in Norway, and the temperatures impacted the reheating process as expected. It was a bit of a balancing act to keep the pouches tucked inside my jacket to keep them warm, while having to open them to stir the liquid in without them getting cold. The salmon meatballs took a good while longer to reheat than the 10-15 min stated on the packaging. It’s not a massive problem, just be prepared for some shuffling if you’re taking them to cold climates, but in summer you should be fine.
Also, the meals are very rich in flavour – so if you’re a strictly white bread/pancakes/margarita pizza/mac ‘n cheese person you might find them a little intense.
Shipping:
Radix currently ships to New Zealand and Australia, but they have plans to expand their shipping to the UK & EU (how terrible it is to say those two separately…) in 2020.
Thanks again to Radix nutrition for sponsoring this post – I’m envious of my Aussie & Kiwi hiker pals who get to enjoy this stuff on their trekking adventures!
