Meal prep bags are a waste of trail time

I know the standard advice: batch‑cook on Sunday, portion into zip‑lock bags, and haul them on the hike. That whole system assumes you’ll eat the exact same meals day after day and that the extra prep time saves you on the trail. In practice I’ve found the opposite.

1. Weight variance – A full week's worth of pre‑portioned food adds roughly 1 kg to your pack just for containers. That alone forces a slower ascent and higher fatigue.
2. Menu fatigue – Eating the same chicken‑rice‑broccoli combo for three consecutive days blurs the line between “nutritious” and “boring”, leading many to over‑eat or snack on unhealthy trail bars to break the monotony.
3. Failure rate – Bags get punctured, spices spill, and a single broken seal can contaminate an entire day's worth of food. The time spent fixing or improvising outweighs the minutes saved by not cooking on the trail.
4. Opportunity cost – The few hours spent chopping and sealing on a Sunday could instead be used for a short hike that familiarizes you with the terrain and gear before the actual trip.

My workaround: pack a lightweight stovetop, a small supply of raw ingredients (dehydrated veggies, quick‑cooking grains, jerky), and allocate 10‑15 minutes each evening on the trail to assemble a fresh, varied meal. The added prep time is negligible, the weight stays lower, and the taste variety keeps morale up.

Anyone else found the “pre‑packed bag” myth more hindrance than help?