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Forgive me if there is info out there already...couldn't find exactly what I was seeking.

I'm working on my bug out bag and plan to get enough MREs for about a week. (2 adults, 3 kids)

I'm looking for opinions about MRE brands that have good products. Compact, tasty, with a good shelf life, etc. What brands do you like and where is the best place to get them?

Thanks for your help!

When you need to eat an MRE, you will be so hungry that it will taste good.

I'm not joking.

Meanwhile order a bunch and try them when you're not in a pinch. They cost only a few bucks each. None of them is a gourmet meal or even as palatable as a TV dinner. The packaging is interesting if you're an engineer.

- Jim

A bottle of Tobasco is one of the most prized possessions among troops that have to eat MREs.

There just might be a reason for that.

MIL-STD MREs contain a tiny bottle of hot sauce. I still have one for sentimental purposes.

I just could not choke down the graham crackers with peanut butter. I guess I was not hungry enough.

Seriously, though, you don't know how hungry you will get until you have to do everything by hand with no electricity or automobiles.

- Jim

"Best MRE" is a lot like asking "Is it better to be shot dead with a 9mm or .380?"
Not sure if you’re asking about Ready to eat meals? or military issue Meals Ready to Eat aka MRE's

If the latter, they go for about $10 a piece on the open market, and your more than likely to find supplies that are several generations older then what is being issued as new stock for the military.
Been eating the darn things since 1985 or so…. And I can say none are good, but later generation stuff is better than earlier…

There are generally 24 meal types in each generation….. some are hold over from prior issue, some will be new meals.
12 meals in a case, two cases comprise the full meal selection.
Of the last three or four generations issued, all are eatable, all are better hot then cold, all can be eaten cold, all are full wet pack, no dehydrated products (minus beverage)

Generally, a MRE contains the following items:
• Entree - the main course, such as spaghetti or beef stew
• Side dish - rice, corn, fruit, or mashed potatoes, etc.
• Cracker or bread
• Spread - peanut butter, jelly, or cheese spread
• Dessert - cookies or pound cakes
• Candy - M&Ms, Skittles, or Tootsie Rolls
• Beverages - Gatorade-like mixes, cocoa, dairy shakes, coffee, tea
• Hot sauce or seasoning - in some MREs
• Flameless Ration Heater - to heat the entree
• Accessories - spoon, matches, creamer, sugar, salt, chewing gum, toilet paper, etc.
•
Each MRE provides an average of 1,250 calories (13 percent protein, 36 percent fat, and 51 percent carbohydrates) and one-third of the Military Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamins and minerals. A full day's worth of meals would consist of three MREs

Pawpaw wrote:A bottle of Tobasco is one of the most prized possessions among troops that have to eat MREs.

There just might be a reason for that.

My father would talk about eating with the Vietnamese he advised back in the day, and he would always mention Tabasco sauce, which kind of struck me as being odd. I asked him about it, and he gave me a look, and said:

"Son, if you put enough Tabasco sauce in ANYTHING....it tastes like TABASCO sauce."

Lesson learned. Served me well throughout my days.

Anyway....

I would try to find plain old G.I. MRE's, as they are all decent enough if you are hungry, and some aren't bad at all even if you're not. The best G.I. meals are the LRRP rations, as they load more calories into the same sized bag, and the main meals are usually tastier. The only problem with the LRRP rations is that the main meals are dehydrated, so you'll have to rehydrate them. Worth the effort IMO, however, some view that as a disadvantage due to the greater demands on a possibly limited water supply.

I would be very interested to hear some opinions or suggestions on "ready to eat" meals. I had been looking online and lot of them seem to be pretty pricey for what you are getting. I am looking for stuff that would be much lighter weight than the current cans of food I've got in my bug out bag. Cans are cheap, calories dense, and way heavy. As a bonus though they contain water though.

Texas Dan Mosby wrote:I would try to find plain old G.I. MRE's, as they are all decent enough if you are hungry, and some aren't bad at all even if you're not. The best G.I. meals are the LRRP rations, as they load more calories into the same sized bag, and the main meals are usually tastier. The only problem with the LRRP rations is that the main meals are dehydrated, so you'll have to rehydrate them. Worth the effort IMO, however, some view that as a disadvantage due to the greater demands on a possibly limited water supply.

Even better are the cold weather rations.. LRRP rations are ok, lighter to carry, but not as platable as current issue MRE's.
The COLD weather rations (pre 2010 packaged and these were two differnt meals, current issue, it's the same meal for both uses) also dry pack tend to be liked better then LRRP, have more cal, and are issued in a full days rations in two bags.

You can find out a decent amount of info on MIL Rations here
http://nsrdec.natick.army.mil/media/fact/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 Advanced Thermal Processing (ATP)

 Allergen Information for Operational Rations

 Extended Preservation of Fresh Fruits and Vegetable (FF&V)

 First Strike Rations (FSR)

 Food Packet, Survival, General Purpose (GP)

 High-Pressure Processing (HPP)

 Historical Look at Rations

 Hot Beverage Box

 Humanitarian Daily Ration (HDR)

 Institutional-Sized Pouch (ISP)

 Kosher and Halal Rations

 Meal Cold Weather (MCW)/Long Range Patrol (LRP)

 Meal, Ready-to-Eat, Individual (MRE™)

 MRE™ Improvements (Historical)

 MRE™ Improvements (Current & Future)

 MRE™ Combined Fact Sheets

 Modular Operational Ration Enhancement (MORE)

 Navy Standard Core Menu (NSCM)

 Packaging Integration Team (PIT)

 Performance Optimizing Ration Components

 Polymer Film Center of Excellence

 Polymer Nanocomposites for Packaging Applications

 Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Kefir

 Revolutionary Packaging Technologies

 Shelf-Stable Pocket Sandwiches

 Tailored Operational Training Meal (TOTM)

 Tamper Evident Combat Rations

 Time-Temperature Indicator Labels on Meal, Ready-to-Eat Rations

 Tube Foods

 Unitized Group Ration (UGR)

 Unitized Group Ration – Express(UGR-E™)

 Unitized Group Ration - A (UGR-A) Menu Improvements

 Unitized Group Ration - Heat & Serve (UGR-H&S) Menu Improvements

 Vegetarian Meals in the Meal, Ready-To-Eat™ (MRE™)


Thats the folks that designed, tested, and approved for production all of the rations we eat, individual MRE, to the wet pack group rations (UGRA)

I ate MREs in Afghanistan quite frequently and didn't need to. I guess my taste buds are defective...

In pricing MREs I've noticed that if you read the fine print some come with the heating capability and some without. I would make sure you get the ones with heat.

I have ordered through shelf reliance and been able to get the 12 pack current release (with heat) delivered for about $90 which comes out to $7.50 a meal. I believe each meal is about 1500 cal.

Note: in order to activate the heating element you have to add water to the chemical pack. Doesn't have to be clean water, just has to be water.

Buncha sissy boys ....during 'Cane Rita we received cases of military MRE's and I found all very good. Afterwards I kept a bunch on my boat and ate them instead of cooking...that is until my wife took em away, I was gaining too much weight. We did receive some food packets similar to MRE's that the U.S. gave to foreign disaster victims; I can now say I understand why they hate us!

jmra wrote:In pricing MREs I've noticed that if you read the fine print some come with the heating capability and some without. I would make sure you get the ones with heat.

I have ordered through shelf reliance and been able to get the 12 pack current release (with heat) delivered for about $90 which comes out to $7.50 a meal. I believe each meal is about 1500 cal.

Note: in order to activate the heating element you have to add water to the chemical pack. Doesn't have to be clean water, just has to be water.

Just a side note.
shelf reliance shows the MRE with heater (the only way they come packaged for the MIL) at $99 per case plus shipping and tax.

And the list of entrees they show, is many generations old....and a mix of stuff never created for, issued to the Military... Makes me think shelf reliance does not produce MRE's for the military???

Cheese Tortellini with Marinara Sauce

• Beef Stew with Potatoes and Vegetables

• BBQ Chicken with Black Beans and Potatoes

• Chicken Noodle Stew with Vegetables

• Pasta with Marinara Sauce and Veggie Crumbles

• Chicken Rice with Vegetables

• Vegetarian Chili

• Lentil Stew with Potatoes and Ham

• Pinto Bean Stew with Ham


The other thing to watch for is shelf life.... The TEch that goes into the production, packaging and handling of a MRE spec'ed for MIL use is several orders better then what I have seen on a few of the civilian versions of MRE. Perhaps that is just the lawyers speaking for the company to limit liability, not sure... just know it's much different then what we get.

Genuine MRE are supposed to last for decades. Unfortunately, they are made by the same people who supplied $600 hammers.

The civilian, camping, and famine-relief type aren't guaranteed to last as long, but they probably are made in the same factories.

I gave one to a bum who claimed to be a veteran one time, and he got a little annoyed with me.

Whether you drink liquid water or eat food, your body doesn't know the difference. Some fresh fruits and vegetables, like watermelon and lettuce, are nearly pure water by weight.

The MREs that have reactive heaters do use a little water which is not edible after that (what's left is toxic). It's only an ounce or two.

At the latitude of Texas solar ovens are an option. If you want to spend money and plan up-front, you can also have solar-electric cells or a windmill charging batteries and run a microwave oven from that setup.

- Jim

The MRE's being sold though shelf reliance appear to come from "MRE STAR"
http://www.mre-meals.net/products.php?c ... +MRE+Meals" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Which sells them for $69 a case, and free shipping if you buy two cases.

MRE STAR claim to be a DOD supplier, but it's not a name I recognize in eating the things for a very long time.. So who knows, different packaging for those sold under contract to the MIL? Or they may sell to DOD, but for FEMA, or some other use…

Oh, and if you buy MRE's with the flameless ration heater Dont forget to to buy a few "Rock or Something's"