# ReadyHour Survival Food Review



## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

A couple weeks ago, I spent a whopping $40.70 and ordered some one-of packages of survival food from ReadyHour. I was told I needed to do a review of them, so......... _here it is!_

I ordered the following:
Spaghetti
Creamy Alfredo Pasta
ChiliMac
Travelers Stew
Potato Soup
Pudding

A couple things I want to emphasize with these meals: They are NOT 'freeze-dried'. They are NOT 'add x cups boiling water and mix'. They are simply long-term food storage. The manufacturer claims 25 years. Sadly, at my age now I doubt I'll be able to actually test that.

Because they're not like 'backpacker' meals, you actually have to _cook_ the entrees (the pudding is an exception, more on that later). This means you'll need to account for the fuel you'll need to cook it, plus the water to not only make the meal but also do the dishes afterwards. (Suggestion: Get paper plates and bowls. Not styrofoam, but paper. Paper you can burn after a meal if you need the heat.)










Next is serving size. I'll use the spaghetti as an example. The package says 8 servings, 3/4 cup net each. 3/4 cup isn't much of a meal. Consider your situation when the world's gone to hell in a handbasket, the grid is down, you're spending every waking hour just trying to survive, and you get a measly 3/4 cup of spaghetti for your meal. Even if you are capable of making 2 other meals during the day, 3/4 cups just isn't going to keep you fueled up. Maybe it's enough to be a side dish for the main dish, but the truth is.... 3/4 cup is a starvation ration. Two servings might suffice as a 'proper' meal, three if you're physically active all day every day. So take that into account if you order meals like this (Wise, Auguson Farms, ReadyHour etc).

Each package contains enough material to make what ReadyHour claims to be the serving size. If there's 8 servings, as in the spaghetti, you _might_ feed 3 hungry people for dinner. Four or five if you've got some other things on the table (side dishes, salads, bread, dessert etc). So you just throw the entire contents in 7 cups of boiling water, cook for 5 minutes, then simmer on low until the sauce is rehydrated and the pasta is fully cooked. That's fine if you're feeding a group, but what about those who are solo or are a couple? Can you cut down the portions and only prepare a portion? Absolutely! In fact, that's what I've done for my 'testing' of these products.

I simply poured out the entire contents only a scale (zeroed out to account for the bowl I was using), then divided the weight by the number of meals I think it will make. I then prorate the water in the instructions accordingly, and make it in a smaller batch instead of preparing the entire contents. This way I don't have to worry about refrigerating any left-overs, nor suffer from appetite fatigue eating the same thing for several meals in a row. Keep in mind, however, that making them this way may cause you to have slight differences in the meal from one serving to the next due the separate ingredients in the package not being perfectly divided up. But it is doable. I used a Sharpie to write my 'personalized' directions right on the package so I'll be better prepared to make the next serving.









Just make sure to cut the packages open with a knife or scissors so you don't mess up the zipper portion of the bag. Close it back up and it'll stay on the shelf long enough for you to prepare and consume the remainder. This way you won't have to eat spaghetti for 3 or 4 meals in a row. You can stretch it out over a week or so.

As for my thoughts on the 6 items I purchased. Keep in mind, I'm going to be a food critic here, and it's strictly my opinion only and will be based on 1-5 stars. Your mileage may vary.

Spaghetti: Fairly good. 4 Stars. As stated before, there's not really 8 servings unless you're running a daycare for toddlers. But it's very likeable.

Creamy Alfredo Pasta: Much creamier and richer than anticipated. 5 stars. I expected a chalky meal but was pleasantly surprised. It's far better than the packages of a similar product by Knorr.

ChiliMac : Much like the spaghetti, but with a lot more sauce. 4 stars.

Travelers Stew: Not my cup of tea, I'm afraid. But then again, I'm used to stew with some beef in it. This is more of a vegetable soup with a bit of elbow macaroni in it. Palatable? Sure. Yeah, in tough times you'll eat anything. But did I like it enough to order more? No. 2 stars.

Potato Soup: I was going to wait until tomorrow to make this, but since I'm already hungry after saving the 3/4c of spaghetti, I'm making it tonight so I don't have to go to bed hungry. As with the others, it's surprisingly creamy.









The potato chunks were a bit tough and chewy, but it may be due to my impatience and not letting them set on the stove long enough to rehydrate. I'll still give it 5 stars.

Pudding. This was the real winner of the six. Yeah, hearty meals are great and all, but there's nothing wrong with something sweet either. And this one you don't have to cook. It's a lot like making KoolAid or chocolate milk. It's a homogeneous powder so you can make as much or as little as you desire. And it is GOOD!. It rivals the pudding cups you buy in the store for you lunch box. It far and away exceeded what I was expecting: bland and chalky. It truly is rich and creamy. Serves nicely refrigerated, and equally so if it isn't and is room temperature. On my 1-5 star scale, I'll give this a 6.

I can't speak for any other menu items as these are the only 6 I've been able to put a spork to. But they certainly are a great addition to your prepper panty. Considering I can break the packages down into smaller one-time meals, I'll start experimenting with repackaging single servings for camping and backpacking use.

Here are links to the 6 items I purchased:
Spaghetti
Creamy Alfredo Pasta 
ChiliMac
Travelers Stew
Potato Soup
Pudding

You can also buy them in larger quantities (boxes of several packages) here.

I did order boxes of the 5 items I liked to add to my long-term storage panty, plus two more singles to try them out as well. Why don't I order some of the other offerings they make? Simply put, I don't care for them. Not that they're not any good, but I just don't like certain dishes. Yeah, I get the argument that when things are bad, and you're really hungry, you'll eat anything. But, if I have a choice today on what to spend my money on, hell yea I'm going to order what I think I'll like. No sense spending it on food I'll be miserable eating, regardless of how good it is to someone who likes it.

As Ronnie Reagan once said, "Well, there you go!"


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## paulag1955 (Dec 15, 2019)

I've generally tried to buy ingredients rather than complete meals, because I think I get more bang for my buck, but I've recently come to think that it might be a good idea to have some ready-to-make complete dishes handy, too. Thanks for the review. I had never even heard of this brand.


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## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

Just came across this video tonight...Les Stroud...Survivorman.

Got a lot of respect for his knowledge and talents.

Anyway...he made a video about food and Caronovirus.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

I'll toss a quick one in here as I tried it for lunch: The Macaroni and Cheese.

As I don't make the entire package, I weighed the contents first. Package is marked as being 339 grams, I poured it out and it weighed 320. Oh well, it makes for easy math in my head as there's 4 servings and I'm making one.

Entire package calls for 4½ cups of water, so I start with just a tad over one and mix in 80 grams of product. It didn't take long to bring this to a boil and evaporate the water out of the pan. The noodles were far from done, so I tossed in another half cup. That wasn't quite enough, but the elbows were done enough to try it out.

As before, the marked 1 cup serving isn't a meal.... it's a side dish. If I were to make a meal, I would double it.

It was quite creamy and tasty. I'm sure if I had started with closer to 2 cups of water, the pasta wouldn't have been a bit chewy. But that's the reason I start with purchasing smaller quantities... to both find out if I like the meal, as well as to start experimenting on how to make smaller portions than the entire package.

Next time I order, I'll buy a case of 6 packages.


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## paulag1955 (Dec 15, 2019)

Back Pack Hack said:


> I'll toss a quick one in here as I tried it for lunch: The Macaroni and Cheese.
> 
> As I don't make the entire package, I weighed the contents first. Package is marked as being 339 grams, I poured out and weighed 320. Oh well, it makes for easy math in my head as there's 4 servings and I'm making one.
> 
> ...


So is the only advantage this has over Kraft Mac & Cheese that the only added "ingredient" is water?


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Excellent review BPH! Slippy Approved.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

We have MRE's the real ones . They are not really for day today use . More for when time of conditions just will not allow preparing other food. In the first stages of SHTF a lot needs to be done. Being freed up from worrying about food buys you a lot of time.
MRE's were not really meant to sit down and eat the meal all at once. You picked at it over time spread the calories out. Spent many days living off them.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

paulag1955 said:


> So is the only advantage this has over Kraft Mac & Cheese that the only added "ingredient" is water?


I doubt the Kraft stuff has a 25-year shelf life.


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## paulag1955 (Dec 15, 2019)

Back Pack Hack said:


> I doubt the Kraft stuff has a 25-year shelf life.


I don't see why it wouldn't if you repackaged it.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

paulag1955 said:


> I don't see why it wouldn't if you repackaged it.


Maybe it would. Maybe it wouldn't. I just don't want to invest the time and material to test it out.


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