Well, after Menu 12 (the icky veggy burger), this was a nice change. The hamburger patty was served with barbecue beans (the barbecue sauce was a separate tube) as the main side, and two "bread" loafs to eat with it. There was nothing particularly exciting about any of this, but I can imagine that some hungry GI on maneuvers isn't going to care that it's a little on the bland side. To eat, take bite of patty, bite of beans, bite of bread, drink of the orangeade mix (packet comes with the MRE, I mix with double the recommended amount of water and it's still a bit on the over-sweet side), repeat until done.
To summarize: Edible and goes down easy. Nothing special, but not something to trade away either.
-- Badtux the Food Penguin
Umm, Why are you eating MREs? They'd have to pay me to go near one...
ReplyDeleteI could eat one, I mostly stick with simple foods and am thankful to have them.
ReplyDeleteBut I eat to live, not live to eat.
MRE's are part of my disaster and camping supplies. They have a limited lifespan and the ones I can get are nearing the end of that lifespan, so I rotate them through my gullet as they hit their "Best by" date and get some more through my sources.
ReplyDeleteMRE's are part of my disaster and camping supplies.
ReplyDeleteAh, for disaster or hard times I stock rice and beans, lots of them. They keep well and are good for years.
Keeping just a few weeks worth of stuff on hand doesn't take long to use up. I keep a years supply on hand.
I hope it doesn't get that bad, but you never know.
If it ever came to the point where I had to spend a year eating beans and rice and whatever sprouts I can rummage from nearby fields, I think I'd rather die.
ReplyDeleteOkay, maybe not. But that ain't much of a diet, dude. No wonder you're so cranky all the time, you've got gas 24 hours a day!
I've never understood the civilian fascination with MREs. They are expensive, horribly space inefficient, go bad, and chock-full of all kinds of stuff that you really ought not to be eating. Like the ludicrous sodium content, which will eat up your water supply. There are reasons why it's in there, but they don't really apply to civilian lifestyles.
ReplyDeleteFor disaster preparedness, it's better to buy stuff specifically made for that. Like emergency rations. Ass loads of calories in a much smaller and stable form, though probably a bit worse for you.
For dicking around out and about, I'd rather take a can of chili. With beans. Lots of beans. ;)
While much of what you say about MRE's is true, they do have one advantage for the desert traveller -- they need very little water to prepare, and require no cleanup that might require scarce water. In addition, while they are hardly the most taste-filled food around, they are definitely more palatable than freeze-dried. Believe me, I have pretty much every kind of disaster food available here, and would not go through the hassle of getting MRE's via the grey market if there were no advantages to them. I would not carry MRE's with me while hiking -- too bulky and heavy -- but as something to keep in the Jeep when on a long desert trip, I find myself eating MRE's much more than I eat freeze dried. Though I must admit that cheese whiz, tortillas, and hard salami get a good workout too, since they travel well and similarly require no water to prepare quesadillas with sausage.
ReplyDeleteThe other staple of my diet in such circumstances is tuna (pouch tuna) and ramen noodles. But even a penguin gets tired of eating fish all the time...
Agree on the yuckiness of freeze-dried. But by emergency rations, I meant stuff like Mainstay bars. 3600 calories in a block one third the size of an MRE.
ReplyDeleteThey also require almost no water, mostly through seriously scary amounts of fat/oil. But they are less palatable as "food" as pretty much every other option.
Well, compared to a can of chili with lots of beans, I suspect your "Mainstay" bars would taste great :-).
ReplyDeleteI don't have any pure "disaster" food. It's all camping food, in the end, as it gets rotated through the system, and if it's inedible (or nearly so) I don't want it. That's my problem with most of those "food bar" things, they're pretty much inedible. I do agree that for someone who doesn't go camping (and thus has no need of this kind of food), MRE's and freeze dried and such probably are *not* what they should have in their disaster pantry... but it fits my lifestyle just fine, thanks!
- Badtux the Outdoors Penguin