question about food for my pack

[kickstand]

Good to see you Mike. Hope life is treating you well.

[eodmike]

It's goin! Hope you've been well!

[Boston_Joe]

MREs in the news.

http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/2015/12/30/army-needs-volunteers-eat-only-mres-21-days-straight/78011512/

http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/tech/2015/08/02/army-tests-new-mre-packaging-fresher-food/30885867/

[unseenone]

Looks like you might be close enough-- Participants must be within a reasonable drive to ARIEM's Natick, Massachusetts, location,

[Boston_Joe]

Not me. At least not for the last couple of decades.

[Celt]

Has anyone had any experience with Heater Meals? The shelf life of their EX product is 5 years and they appear to be nutritionally better for most people than MREs.

https://heatermeals.com/shop/heaterm...orted-entrees/

Heater meals are ok, they aren't very compact and take up a lot of room. I don't care for them much because they have a lot of sugary sweet foods in them but that's my opinion. They are marketing towards a much younger crowd in the military who like that type of thing. They were developed because they are less expensive than an MRE and for folks who are on a forward operating base/training environment or Forrest Service types at base camp to get a nutritional meal that's hot when a traditional meal isn't available for a fraction of the cost of an MRE.

The MRE is one of the best all inclusive meals available in my opinion but they do have limited shelf life. They do freeze rock solid if left exposed to freezing temperatures without insulation. The problem isn't so much about freezing and thawing (I think someone else chimed in about this) it's because the wrappers develop pin holes and go rancid on the quick when exposed to air. MRE's are extremely durable but you have to pay attention to them. The expiration dates are hit and miss much like anything else, I've had MRE's that were 5 or more years beyond expiration and were fine. The cheese had an off color and the pound cake was beginning to harden but still completely edible. When you are hungry who cares anyway...

If you have ever broken into a MRE that has a pinhole in one of the packets you will immediately know it's bad because it smells similar to that of a decomposing body. Ok, maybe not that bad but it is surely offensive. I would suggest rotating the MRE's every couple year or two and eating the rotated ones on a camping/backpacking etc trip. At the very least you will begin to know what you like and don't like that way with them and they won't go to waste. Freeze fried foods tend to handle the extremes for much longer durations but they require water to reconstitute them. You can eat them dry in a pinch and get calories but they aren't super tasty that way. Their biggest drawback is you need a water source and a heating source to have a good meal. The upside is they generally taste really good, meet your nutritional needs and are very lightweight and packable. I'm sure all of this is all clear as mud now...

[Boston_Joe]

Celt, you've expressed things very well. I am trying to balance several factors into my thinking.
1-Size/portability: Can carry them without weighing myself down and taking up valuable pack space.
2-Ease of use: True ready to eat vs self heating vs external heat source.
3-Shelf life/packaging durability: The drawbacks here are well documented. Where you gain here you lose in other areas.
4-Cost
5-Taste: Some are much better than others but when the SHTF who cares.

[Cwi555]

All good points.

Celt, you've expressed things very well. I am trying to balance several factors into my thinking.
1-Size/portability: Can carry them without weighing myself down and taking up valuable pack space.
2-Ease of use: True ready to eat vs self heating vs external heat source.
3-Shelf life/packaging durability: The drawbacks here are well documented. Where you gain here you lose in other areas.
4-Cost
5-Taste: Some are much better than others but when the SHTF who cares.

[CoastieCWO3Ret]

In my GHB, I have 6 CLIF bars, 6 single serve SPAM packs, and a box of cheap granola fruit bars. I figure I can stretch that out to 2, maybe three days. I keep at least 12 of the .5 litre water bottles in the trunk also. I work 12 miles from home so I could be home the next day and still have plenty of provisions. I have made meals with instant rice, dehydrated veggies and meat, in vacuum packed Food Saver bags, for my backpacking trips. There are many websites I found by googling "backpacking menu" which have many recipes. These meals are ultra-light and only require adding boiling water right to the vacuum bag, stir and eat. I also keep a couple of these in the trunk.
I don't consider nutrition a serious factor in the food I keep in my GHB. As I am only moving 12 miles through mostly rural country, getting home is more important to me than ensuring I have a properly balanced diet along the way. Just my humble opinion...

[FLPrepper]

Try XMREMeals.com

They are a little more expensive, but much more convenient and they really do taste great. Average calories per meal is right around 2000.