Another ration I've had on the long train ride, and my first Canadian one to that.
It is quite hefty but the boxy shape makes for a rather easy packing. Definitely packed more tightly than MREs - but that also makes it tad more difficult to dig into the bag while looking for specific items.
- The IMP contents
On the first sight - quite a solid spread, with a nice variety of components. And may I say - I totally dig the maple leaf on the packagings!
First stop, the maple and brown sugar oatmeal. Easily mixable in the bag itself which is always a great plus. Thick and sweet but without being cloying. A friend from Canada told me it's his favourite flavour and I'm ready to wholly agree with him!
- try to take a focused photo of oatmeal on a moving train, I dare you!
I decided to wash it down with some coffee and... well, I'm not a coffee drinker. I take mine with so much milk and sugar, it's basically milk with coffee. So this one - even with the creamer and sugar - was waaaay to strong for me. Not in terms of caffeine, but the flavour. Not sure what's the proper way of calling that but for me - it was a very 'adult' coffee. Not to say it wasn't nice, cause it was - just not my cuppa.
The chocolate protein drink was more of a miss. I had trouble mixing it properly, and it had weird taste - like a very thin cocoa drink with something added. Finished it up but nope, not enjoying it.
This ride required me to change trains midway so while waiting for the next one to arrive, I heated up the main in the FRH scavenged from some Polish ration.
- Just look at that steam~!
Some fifteen minutes later I could finally open my lunch. And man - if I hadn't been getting hungry before, the smell alone would do that to me. It smelled like a real food, and definitely tasted the same. Rather peppery potatoes with bacon, onion and green pepper bits made me one happy camper. Also made me crave some scrambled eggs cause that's how I'd normally have that at home. It probably might've been made even better with an extra pinch of salt but since I've only thought of that near my last spoonful...
For the dessert I had the apple slices. They still had a nice bite to them, not mushy at all. Sweet but with some tartness, the kind of flavour we call wine-like here. That was some really solid fruit portion and together with the hash browns left me pleasantly sated.
On the last stretch of the ride I mixed the orange sports drink (quite naturally tasting, I must say) and nibbled on the corn bread (nope, still not a fan of that grittiness). I sampled the peanut butter and strawberry jam but left them for later. Jam was definitely high-sugar kind so too sweet for me but my mom will certainly enjoy it. And that left me with just the tictacs to refresh the breath.
All in all, a mixed experience for me. Definitely enjoyed the main, the dessert and the oatmeal. The drinks and sides didn't do much for me.
Something between outdoor and indoor...