MRE's

[TucsonMax]

Costco is having a sale on what they call "Emergency Food Kit" 275 servings, 9 different varieties in a nice bucket for $85 which incudes shipping. Description says: good for 10 or 20 years depending on storage temp. (NOTE: these need water and heat source.) I don't think you have to me a member of costco to buy from them online.
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...rodid=11219554

[Mischief]

That's because no one wants to think about the rest of that crap. But the food is something universal everyone can complain about in a joking fashion.
You know how it is...

Old cadence:
They say that in the Army, the food is mighty fine.
But a chicken jumped offf the table and started marching time.
They say that in the Army, the coffee's mighty fine.
It looks like muddy water, and tastes like turpentine....
etc.

GEE mom I wan't to go
Gee mom I wan't to go
Gee mom I want to go home

[Rick]

Read the comments on the Costco stuff. One guy has $20K in freeze dried food according to him. Seriously.

[Schleprok]

Have had C rats and MREs. Gotta say the C rats were circa WWII, and we ate them in the early 80s. Pretty nasty tasting, coulda been a time (40 year) thing. Still carry my P38, actually upgraded to one with a built in mini spoon (extra leverage for tough cans)

MREs are good "emergency" food. Not something you really want to eat everyday. Most dehydrated food I have seen are single (or double) serving of one entree.

MREs are a complete meal. I have seen them for $5-$8 for individual MREs.

Contents vary from meal to meal. Even similar meals sometimes vary contents. Such as drink powder, jelly flavor, etc.

MREs can be eaten cold. The heater is activated by a small amount (shot glass) of water. Do Not dispose of the heater in the bush, carry it out please....

For those who have never had the pleasure, let me open an MRE and list the contents.
Menu: Beef Stew (nothing but fingers required to open)
Entree
Heater bag (with instructions)
Strawberry dairyshake powder (may be koolaid, or ??? in another meal)
apple jelly (some have grape and even peanut butter)
crackers
cookies
instant coffee
sugar
non dairy creamer
gum
salt
pepper
wet wipes
toilet paper
tiny bottle of tabasco
and a book of moisture resistant matches (paper matches)

much more than you'd get in a similarly priced dehydrated meal. Plus, you don't have to use up your limited water supply to make it edible.

Some MREs are better than others. If you like SPAM, try the ham slice. Pot roast is very good, beef stew also.

[Schleprok]

Also, I save the drink mix if there are kids around. Gives them something besides water in an already weird situation.

[oldsoldier]

Does anyone purchase MRE's to keep on hand? I have been looking at them online and even on ebay they seem to be very expensive.

Try cheaperthandirt.com they recently had MRE's for $40 a case BUT MRE's don't keep well in temp extremes I buy a lot of mountian house dehyd's from www.beprepared.com they range from $3.95 fo a single entree' to around $8.oo for one that has 4 servings.

[Winnie]

I've been looking into emergency food too, yet again the prices over here are approx double what you guys pay. for the moment I've gone for energy bars, Kendal mint cake(OMG that stuffs good!) and a few quick cook dried meals from the supermarket that I've eaten before. I'm a bit dubious about buying MRE's from the internet as I won't know the shelf life till they arrive.
However wychwood jnr's RAF buddy may come thru with other goodies for the BOB!

[Rick]

Wychwood - There are a LOT of shelf stable foods on the market today. Look for dehydrated soups and I know Heinz has marketed the thermocups in the UK. I think their Heinz Beanz and also Hoops Pasta is available there. Tuna is now coming in self serving, shelf stable packaging as well as chicken. You don't have to concentrate on MREs or the like. Really give your local market a look and I think you'll find many foods that are now shelf stable that you can incorporate into your planning.

[Winnie]

Great idea Rick, there are plenty of long life items I can use, one of those Doris moments again! (the Kendall mint cake is staying in there tho!!)

[Rick]

Of course, if the Queen Mum DOES offer up some Royal grub there's no reason not to take it.

[Trouble]

I never really liked MRE's... some taste like plastic. I usually just make jerky or pemmican, since they both should have a long shelf-life. I'd pretty much agree that dehydrating your own food is better than buying MRE's.

[Sarge47]

I like MRE's & have gotten many of them for free from a supply Sergent that I befriended at our local National Guard. Yeah, they don't taste all that great but so what, they'll be used in a SURVIVAL situation, right? The price was right & besides, I drink our of a hard-plastic Nalgene bottle. Also what do you think, that we're going gourmet now? Most of you guys are talking about eating the local vegetation & insects anyway, so you think they're going to taste better than MREs?

[Rick]

I don't have a problem with them. I have several A-Paks here. But, if you can't get them or don't like them there are alternatives.

[Winnie]

Of course, if the Queen Mum DOES offer up some Royal grub there's no reason not to take it.

It would be bad manners not to! LOL

[Tundrascout]

Regarding vacuum sealers - I've been told that the investment in a commercial grade chamber sealer is worthwhile in the long run if you do a lot of sealing - in ease of use, speed and quality of packaging. I believe a lot of the guides up here use the commercial vacmaster series and have considered getting one myself when I can scrape together the cash. Planning on filling the freezer in a few short weeks and considering a foodsaver for the short term. Anyone use one of the commercial ones though?
Also, anyone try running one off of a 2k watt modified sine wave AC Inverter?

As for MRE's, they are great for a long term bunker or cache, a quick meal on the go or a temporary food source, or if a meal is needed without a light source, but I cant see packing a crate of them very far. As with Katrina, I am sure they would be dropped not long after an event. Dont get me wrong, they have thier uses, but also some limitations - it all depends on what you are prepairing for.

[crashdive123]

Tundrascout - I haven't used aany of the commercial vacmaster series. In looking up some info it seems as though their produt line ranges from a smaller counter top model for under $200 to very large models for thousands of $$$. Not finding a listing of power ratings on any othe the models I would imagine that the smaller counter top model would operate off your 2000 watt inverter. I would definitely contact the manufacturer to be sure befor purchase.

[Oscar]

i have a book called

Freezer Bag Cooking. Got it on Amazon.com author is Sarah Kirkconnell. The stuff you can make yourself instead of MRE is amazing. I have experimented with a few things in this book and changed them around by just adding stuff together or omitting some also. Each meal just takes hot water and presto in 10 mins you can be filling your belly with darn good tasting dehydrated vegis, sauces, and canned chicken or tuna mixed in. I have not tried canned b eef with anything yet but this is a great helper to get your mind around some food ideas that YOU like. I added powdered milk to every thing i tried and it made for a better creamer dish. Some are watery and gross but will fill your hole. The milk made the recipe. I say try it out and tweak it for your taste. If you explore the gorcery in the dried mix isle area you can steal this and that from different foods and mix them with others.

Dehydrated vegetables are really not bad at all and do taste pretty good.
I tried a wild rice soup with extra powdered milk in it with some extra freeze dried veggis and canned chicken. i was amazed at how good it really was. I placed it in a quart sized freezer bag with about one cup of very hot water and then closed the bag. i made a pouch from closed cell bubble wrap insulation you see in the hardware store to wrap pipes for insulation. It has a crome like outersurface but is all plastic. I used duct tape to make the insulated pouch. I kneeded the pouch gently for 10 minutes while the food hydrated. After that I opened it up, and tried the chicken, wild rice soup dish and it was darn good for dehydrated stuff. I could do that for a while if I had to and the cost per meal was extremely low. plus it will keep forever and is not so calory laden that it gives you the s%$t's.

[Jendeere]

I have been buying Mountain House products, they taste pretty decent. I have found the #10 cans of food to be cheaper than the pouches, but the pouches are easier to prepare. Just dump hot water right into the pouch. The #10 cans are easy, too but take a little more prep. I bought the 7 day kits for each member of my family in case we have to up and leave. So far we have tried the scrambled eggs with bacon, chili mac, chicken and rice, lasagna and the stroganoff.

Right now, vitacost.com has the 7 day kit on sale for $99.80 if anyone is interested. 7 day kit Its the cheapest place I have found for mountain house foods unless someone is having a good sale.

[Rick]

Jendeere - If you haven't figured it out we're all about storing what the family will eat. Most of us anyway. If they eat Mountain House, good for you. Just don't spend a small fortune on foods that no one will like. It will just add one more misery to your predicament. And don't forget to add in some comfort food. If you have kids then marshmallows or something similar could be a real treat in a bad situation. Food is a good way to lift the spirits.

[crashdive123]

And Spam, don't forget the Spam.