Not much humor in my post. I'm seriously responding to the cost issue, which seriously involves the cost of time and spoilage.
I've never paid more than $6.50 U.S. for a Mountain House dinner pack in the U.S. and usually $1.50 less for breakfasts. I don't know anything about MEC or how Canadian dollars translate into U.S. dollars. I vaguely recall some other thread where something was harder to obtain and more expensive in Canada than the U.S.
Two cheeseburgers and fries are about $13 in my town at McD's and $18 at Five Guys. A sub at my deli around the corner is ~$8.00. A small pizza is ~ $12. Mountain House, bought over the internet, is less expensive than all fast foods around here. Plus, the packages last for 30 years. I always buy and carry too many on car and canoe camping trips, and have many left over from as long ago as 2004. That's also a savings compared to the quick spoilage I'd suffer if I prepared my own foods.
A pack of cigarettes is $10. A six pack of beer is about $7. Although I don't smoke or drink, even canoe camping vices are more expensive than Mountain House.
A Mountain House pack costs about the same as two gallons of gasoline, which will take my magic bus about 30 miles. I've driven as long as 10,000 miles on a cross continent canoe trip.
Others may think this is humorous, but it's true: In my family, on both sides, cooking skills died one to two generations ago. The height of epicurean cuisine were airplane meals, a very rare treat since we rarely had money to fly on family vacations. Yes, the sad and humble origins of a Mountain House disciple.
I'll omit my rant
in favor of salt, the traditional and beloved food preservative of all wilderness wanderers for about a
million years.