# MRE's



## acidlittle (Jan 24, 2012)

I know MRE's are a good tool to throw in your preps, but I don't have any real experience with them, soooooooo

I was wondering what people use for MRE's, brand and most importantly what ones have good taste! I don't want to waste a bunch of money getting every single one and finding out I dislike half of them, this way I can get ideas for what I want to try.

Also this could just serve as a general MRE discussion. Some people make their own, if you do what do you put in yours? What is your caloric content/protien content?

I'm thirsty for info my friends!


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## Coyote (Jan 31, 2012)

I have the ones from the national guard. Plain brown box. The give them out during hurricanes here. I dont know about the calories,....never really examined them but they do fill you up if your hunrgy.
I suppose any that are mil-spec will be similar. Mine have the heaters packaged with them and everything all in the brown vac sealed bag. Some of them are really good,......like the chili mac,.....beef with noodles,.....but some are horrible,......eggs,....salisbury steak,..YUCK!

Id just try and stay with mil spec. They also come with some candy usually m&ms or skittles,...toilet paper,...matches,....instant coffee,......towelette,......

I've eatin them for a couple weeks at a time,.....not bad at all. It kind of starts all tasting the same,...but it is life sustaining.


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## Mad_Max (Jan 3, 2012)

I think you can order from cheaperthandirt or somewhere like that just samples of the items. Like a box of crackers or a box of entrees. I know our flea market guy has them, (under his chair). lol.


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## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

Get a bunch of Chef Boyrdee (mispelled?) and throw them in. Right now I have been seeing the commercials playing all the time. Why? Because Chef Boyrdee meals were the first things that were in original MRE's and right now times are hard, thus they are at a dollar. 

Get some local grown honey (not processed) and that will last you a lifetime. Peanut butter is getting very expensive, but has tons of calories. I've seen somewhere where you can buy just items from MRE's like mad-max said. I guess the makers of the products have left overs and dump them to the retailers. Personally I wouldn't pay $7 for one or whatever they are running now, since half the stuff I dont like. Also, I can gain more calories in $7 worth of something that I know I'll eat than a MRE. With a mre, I wouldn't eat that everyday but the ravolis I will, which makes it easier for me to rotate them through my inventory after a few years. Buy one, eat one, thats my rule.

Store what you eat, eat what you store.


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## acidlittle (Jan 24, 2012)

Yeah, I'll get a pantry set up, but I want stuff for my BOBs, stuff that is slim light weight and such...

Mountain houses are expensive.


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## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

acidlittle said:


> Yeah, I'll get a pantry set up, but I want stuff for my BOBs, stuff that is slim light weight and such...
> 
> Mountain houses are expensive.


Good point. I guess that figures a person if they are going to bug out vs bug in. You can't carry a years supply on your back if your bugging out.

I know that wise foods has a 15year shelf life on them.

x2 on the mountain house, stuff like that is very expensive. Lets hope nothing happens this year so they prices will come down.

Something to note, a person can live up to 2 weeks without food. Only a couple of days without water.


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## Leon (Jan 30, 2012)

I make my own out of things that keep well like dried fruits and jerky, maybe some crackers and a little disposable container of peanut butter and vacuum seal it all in compartments then seal the entire arrangement in another. They last a long time and are more to my taste. I try not to pack things that need heating. I think if you watch my VR to neverenuffammo, 10 items for shtf, You'll see some of the components. They are also thinner and lighter which to a runt like me is a real lifesaver.


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## acidlittle (Jan 24, 2012)

I don't plan on Bugging out, but if I have to evac the house because I'm out numbered and such and have to keep watch on it in the sticks until the persons leave, I need to be stealthy.

That's why I got the multicam Voodoo Matrix. Plus with the MRE's that are dry, you can store a lot of them/hide them in tighter spots compared to a can. I will have cans of food too, but just want to know MRE info because they aren't cheap and I'm not going to want to buy a bunch of them to sample.

I would get on cheaperthandirt. but I really like to buy local and keep my money in my community if I have the option.


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## Leon (Jan 30, 2012)

If you're bugging in for sure man, you can go so utterly simple it's stupid. Just about anything shelf stable at ALL lasts in a nice quiet cool basement. I shop at the Asian markets because they live surrounded by ocean, and their food stales very fast. They also don't use much BPA in their cans (opting for cheaper steel cans that survive rough ocean crossings better) and most of their dry goods come packed with oxygen absorbers and all that. Add a kitty litter bin and there you go- long term storage. I have opened cans 3 years past best by date to find nothing but delicious ready made pasta waiting for me. Then, you have the way they make those MRE's in the first place. They are horrible, I'll tell you from first hand experience with the later ones. Reminds me of gas station food. They are basically treated with steam or pressure in such a way as to disinfect them, then quickly sealed away in Mylar with a vacuum. Full of preservatives and flavor salts too.

Now, you have to realize those food products are mainly reliant on a vacuum. Nothing living can exist in a vacuum. And on the other side of that coin, most grocery stores don't care to lose food either and stock stuff that last a pretty frigging long time. I go with one of the first ever wartime foods developed- spam. I am begging to experiment with it and gotta say I ate way worse in high school. Stuff keeps like polished marble tiles. Smoked fish keeps for damn near ever, too. Hard tack, which is easy to make was what pulled us through the revolution. Bannock mix is great to vac seal because it keeps for way longer that way than most mre's and can be made from acorns or anything for free. If you take those loose plastic bags of generic beans straight from the store and seal them up tight with a vacuum sealer, they last like 5x longer and stay free of pests. Even your favorite cereals, tightly vac sealed will keep for at least 4-5x longer than normal. I'll put it this way (I like good food a lot) would you rather eat some generic high school tasting fake enchilada that hits like a brick and odd shaped and compact, or start your day with your own custom meal that cost you 70% less and still keep your comfort foods like pre-made brownies (yes brownies!) maybe a snickers bar instead, some bannock mix, dried apricots, container of powdered milk? Sounds better to me than [TUNA MAC FOOD WITH CHEESE, MEAL READY TO EAT] jesus ::cringe::

I should do you a video on it, they last just as long. I have lived on MRE's and I am telling you I'll take fresh rat before I'll take another mre. MRE = meals refused by Ethiopians.

Me I see people wrestle with obtaining mre meals and to me, I checked them out for about ten seconds having ate them and put my thoughts elsewhere. Morale can work with you or against you, and food like that is doing half the enemy's work for them I swear to gawd.  If that's the way you want to go I'd say get the better sounding ones. I have ate some I wondered how in the hell I choked that down. Seriously, there have been Ethiopians who the troops give them out, and they go sell it to a traveler instead of eat it. They're expensive, too.

You can also set aside dried meats and fruits dude- I done plenty of figs from my plantation five years ago that are still sitting pretty today in just the pantry.  Dehydrator and good sealer will pay for themselves by the end of your first years supply. Dinty moore is another brand that comes to mind who makes some stable stuff. There's tales of ppl opening cans in 1967 that were from the war and they were still good. It's out there, just have to step back and think outside the box.


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## acidlittle (Jan 24, 2012)

i have thought about creating my own but with my current living situation that is just not feasible.
Good info though.


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## Leon (Jan 30, 2012)

what's your main problem, maybe I can come up with something


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## acidlittle (Jan 24, 2012)

I live with my parents and have no room to store anything.


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## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

Here are some thoughts about storage, which seems to be a huge issue with a lot of folks.

1. Store some items in the attic
2. Store items in the crawl space of the home.
3. Rent a $15/month storage unit
4. Store some items in your trunk of your car.
5. Store some items in multiple go bags and put them in your car.
6. Store some items at work.
7. Store some items at your friends home or families. 
8. Burry some items (like below).

[attachment=0:2eurlkbz]burial tube.jpg[/attachment:2eurlkbz]


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## ratherbpreppin (Jan 31, 2012)

I'll eat anything that moves. Good idea on MRE's and getting the samples. I know that Mountain House is extremely expensive for what they are for. I'll buy sardines for now until I get stocked up on them and then think about buying mountain house.


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