MREs or DIY ?

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jhrosier
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MREs or DIY ?

Post by jhrosier »

I just had a MRE for lunch. I bought a half dozen back in 2011 after the week-long power failure & decided it is time to use them up and restock. It was none the worse ( or better ) for its' age, better than going hungry. Spaghetti & meat sauce, BTW.
The meals that I got were an entree, a pop tart, a big cookie, peanut butter & cracker, drink powder, & flameless heater, and cost about $9 each when buying a half dozen or a buck less by the dozen. Not really inexpensive by my standards. My experience with the MREs, to date, is that it would take a couple of them per day to keep me happy.
I would like to restock with enough food to keep myself and the Missus fed for about a week. I see "bugging in" to be most likely so the supplies don't need to be portable.

How would you fellows handle it?

Jack
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Shrapnel
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by Shrapnel »

I have a couple cases of MRE's, but they are around 3,000 calories. If you are 21 and packing a 65 pound pack in the desert somewhere, that won't hurt you, but normally, 3,000 calories is a bit much.

I have gotten "Mountain House" meals at Costco and they are nearly the same price, but much better grub. The "Mountain House" meals are usually enough for 2 people per package, but the best thing is weight, ease of preparing and they are great meals.
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by GunnyMack »

Have been seeing commercials for another company on TV, but I can't remember the name. They claim 18 year life span, high quality stuff as well.
Buddy of mine that was mobile infantry absolutely hated MRE's, said he was always constipated when they would be out on maneuvers. MRE's are good to have around for sure.
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by AJMD429 »

For 'bugging in' just keeping lots of regular food stocked in the pantry/freezer and rotating stock can work well. If you like milk or other short shelf-life things get some freeze-dried instant.

Doesn't hurt to keep a few screw-top 5-gallon buckets set up with stuff 8th 'grab and go' in case a tank-car of something bad overturns upwind of you and you did have to evacuate.
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by tman »

Rather go hungry!
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by Blaine »

I always have a bag of rice, and lots of canned black beans, spam, and other stuff around.
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2ndovc
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by 2ndovc »

BlaineG wrote:I always have a bag of rice, and lots of canned black beans, spam, and other stuff around.
Same here. But I keep raiding the Spam supply. :oops:

jb 8)
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by Griff »

Shrapnel wrote:I have gotten "Mountain House" meals at Costco and they are nearly the same price, but much better grub. The "Mountain House" meals are usually enough for 2 people per package, but the best thing is weight, ease of preparing and they are great meals.
+1.
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by Blaine »

2ndovc wrote:
BlaineG wrote:I always have a bag of rice, and lots of canned black beans, spam, and other stuff around.
Same here. But I keep raiding the Spam supply. :oops:

jb 8)
I keep ten cans, and rotate thru them. A good meal anytime is a can of black beans, and can of corn mixed together, and properly spiced up and cheese.
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gundownunder
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by gundownunder »

The glove compartment has a fork in it along with a dozen cans of tuna and beans, or tuna and rice.
It isn't gourmet, but it will keep body and soul together for several days.
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geobru
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by geobru »

We bought a good dehydrator.
We no longer freeze corn out of the garden. It's in jars in the pantry. We dehydrate salsa. You can make a batch of something for a meal, dehydrate it, and chow down to a tasty meal when you need it. Just add water and you are good to go!
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by GunnyMack »

People never think of this but always keep a bird feeder stocked. Fresh meat! Between squirrels and doves and tweety birds all a guy needs is an airgun to keep eating. Yeah I know it's 'wrong' but when in need!
It's also why I feed my deer year round! This morning I had 13 deer here!
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Bronco
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by Bronco »

Milk was mentioned in here and I like milk!
Would like to share.... Nido, powdered whole milk is pretty darn close in taste to regular whole milk from the store. I found that mixing in hot water from tap mixes better than the warm mentioned in directions. Mix then wait to cool or get cold in fridge. Available at Walmart and such. Keep a can in trailer just in case to far to store. Was surprised how good it tastes.

Just trying to help.

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mikld
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by mikld »

When living in LA I became very aware on earthquakes, and along with First Response Team training with the LAFD (via my employer), I kept MREs at home and on my 30' sailboat moored in San Pedro. I had the full meals, just entrees, and a bunch of the snacks. Sometimes on trips on my boat we'd eat MREs and all were just fine, but a little "heavy" for my taste. Being in So. Oregon and still in earthquake territory, I've stocked up on MREs (we live in an all electric area and power outages aren't uncommon). I learned to drink a lot of water when eating MREs...

I'd rather have Hash and eggs at Maddie's in Harbor any day, but for fending off hunger, MREs do a good job...
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HawkCreek
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by HawkCreek »

When I was younger I went on a couple long vacations to foreign lands and more than once lived off of MRE's for extended periods of time. I can say without hesitation relying on MRE's as food would not be something I'd be willing to do again. I do have a few cases just in case but they are my last resort. They will mess your guts up and they are a VERY high calorie meal.

For backpacking I also prefer the Mountain House but their drawback is you must have access to water to rehydrate them before you can eat. MRE's are ready to eat out of the package. For the house I just keep a full pantry. Healthier and much easier on my stomach.
765x53
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by 765x53 »

I've never had MER's but, I could probably visit the Dollar General Store and put together a typical C-ration meal for 3 or 4 dollars, minus the cigarettes, matches , and toilet paper. With modern easy-open cans, I wouldn't even need a P-38.
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by JB »

I'm not really into the bugging out or in crowd, but I generally always have enough Spam, potted meat, etc. in the cabinets to make through unexpected snow storms, etc.
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mikld
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by mikld »

JB wrote:I'm not really into the bugging out or in crowd, but I generally always have enough Spam, potted meat, etc. in the cabinets to make through unexpected snow storms, etc.
And several cans of Vieeeeena sausage... :mrgreen:
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by mohavesam »

I've never found an MRE that is safe for diabetics. 3000 calories of starch & salt would put a guy into a near-coma unless taken with a handful of medications.

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1894cfan
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by 1894cfan »

I'd go half MRE and half Mountain House in whatever flavor floats yer boat. Check out Wall Mart, they sell 1 serving pouches for about 5.82. HTH
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by piller »

Back in the 80s, the Meals Refused by Ethiopeans were only 1percent better than leaves and dirt. The dreaded ham and chicken loaf often had bone and beak in it. I was already out before the ones with Tabasco came out. Mountain house for sure.
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jhrosier
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by jhrosier »

Thanks to all for your help and ideas.
I have concluded that the civvie "MREs" that I bought are overpriced by 4x.
Much of this is because they include things that I really don't need. like the flameless heater that adds about $2.00 to the cost of each meal. The extra ten bucks for five meals will buy a big bag of charcoal. Or, since I'm surrounded by trees for miles in every direction, simply bending over yields armloads of fuel for free.

I've seen, here and elsewhere, many favorable comments about Mountain House foods. I'm going out today to buy a few sample pouches to try.

My thought is to build my emergency food supply on a combination of store bought long term storage foods, like Mountain House, and grocery store items that have good shelf life.

I'm convinced that a good quality vacuum sealer would be a wise investment.

It seems that a lot of folks buy food dehydrators and later decide that it is too time consuming to pursue, and subsequently sell or give away the device. That sort of interests me as there are seasonal surplusses of fruit & vegetables.

My wife is retiring in the bext month or so and I expect to follow in a year or less, so we will have time, if not money, to pursue these ideas.

Jack
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Experience...

Post by jhrosier »

jhrosier wrote:....
I've seen, here and elsewhere, many favorable comments about Mountain House foods. I'm going out today to buy a few sample pouches to try....
A wise guy once wrote:Experience is what you get when you don't get what you expect.
Walmart has the Mountain House pouches for a very attractive price; until you look closely and notice that the regular pouches are 2-2.5 servings and the Wally World pouches are but a single serving. :x That is certainly an experience. :D

I bought a single pouch of the Beef Stew ($4.88) to try. My purchases will likely be online ( 29 servings for $58 ).

Jack
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by vancelw »

When I was in boot camp, 3 MREs a day was not enough. But now that my metabolism has slowed, I can split one and make 2 days lunch while I'm out and about. Mind you, I eat a good breakfast and supper.
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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by Sixgun »

My buddy owns a big gunshop/shooting range and he ordered a couple of months supply for both of us and charged me cost. Big shelf life....10 years iirc. I also see no problem buying a half dozen cases of various Progresso soup and rotate them with new cases from time to time. I also keep 50 gallons of water sealed up along with plenty of gas and diesel fuel that gets stabilizer put in and that too gets rotated.

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Re: MREs or DIY ?

Post by flatnose »

If you want to keep a weeks supply of food, just fill the freezer, and keep a sack of potato's in a cool dark place. A few tins of veggies and a camping stove or charcoal will also come in handy.
If power is out, load all the frozen food into a 5 day cooler with ice. No need to eat junk for at least a week.
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