Dollar Store MRE

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by Coyote Ridge, Aug 24, 2019.


  1. Coyote Ridge

    Coyote Ridge Monkey

    Hey everyone,
    Here's a video I made about making your own MRE's.
     
  2. Out in the woods

    Out in the woods off-grid in-the-forest beekeeper

    If you want MREs just go on-base and buy them. Every base has a Commissary and they sell MREs.
     
    Gator 45/70, mysterymet and HK_User like this.
  3. HK_User

    HK_User A Productive Monkey is a Happy Monkey

    Must have missed that aisle!

    I always go for the High Priced Flank Steak.
     
    Ganado, Gator 45/70 and Oddcaliber like this.
  4. Illini Warrior

    Illini Warrior Illini Warrior

    not my idea of an MRE - to me an MRE has some longevity and stores well >>> tossing some retail snack food in a bag is hardly the same ....
     
    Gator 45/70, Alf60 and HK_User like this.
  5. duane

    duane Monkey+++

    Keep some dried fruit, jerky, water, soup mix,, cream of wheat, oatmeal, instant rice, a couple cans of chili, couple cans of spam, etc in refrig at work. Part of get home bag and handy to grab when hungry and rotate it out. Take apples, cup of soup, etc in for lunches and rotate them as well. Saved a lot of money over the last 40 years, is handy, and beats sandwiches. Good chocolate bars, 70 % cacao, trail mix, cheese, etc, make excellent snacks and would all give me 3 or more days of get home food at 3,000 cal a day. Have key to work so can pick up as needed. Have bag in car with dry food, canned food, canteen and cup, stove and fuel, but would fill with extra water and food from work if I could. I have never got into MRE's had C rations and K rations in USAF, very good but very bulky and a lot of wasted weight and space in cans and packaging. Might be a function of age, but cream of wheat, instant rice, oat meal, corn meal, bisquick type flour, dried fruits and nuts, instant soups, etc have always dominated my bug out bags. With a few pounds repackaged to save space, zip lock bags, a rocket stove and using my hatchet to get wood and filters to get water, both very available here, I would get most of the calories I need and keep my stomach full. A few spoon fulls of corn meal or cream of wheat, will make a canteen cup full of food and with vitamins and a can of spam, etc, you feel quite well, peanut butter, nuts, chocolate bars will help out with calories. Often eat like that for a couple days when camping, hunting, or fishing , and have been happy with it and it is always rotated thru so none get thrown out or goes bad. Carry more fats in winter and more fruit in summer.
     
    Gator 45/70, oldawg, Tempstar and 2 others like this.
  6. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    1) not everyon has access to commisary
    2) survival is about being resourceful not just spending $$$

    @Out in the woods a suggestion, try contributing rather than critiquing ok?
     
    3M-TA3, Magdala_Buckley and oldawg like this.
  7. 3M-TA3

    3M-TA3 Cold Wet Monkey

    We have had a few threads on preparing MRE type kits from common items in the grocery store, so this video is a good reminder to look for candidates when shopping. One thing that sometimes gets missed are storage requirements. The tuna packet looks interesting, but how well would it store in a vehicle during summer months? Might be OK, might not.

    Most of us place emergency rations along with first aid kits and a few other things in our vehicles/BOBS/GHBS, etc.. and then forget about them until needed. At best they might get rotated out a couple times each year. One thing I think needs to be part of your emergency rations are the awesome toilet paper pills @Motomom34 told us about. Keep a few with each kit - one to wipe your hands and the other to, well, you know :) After all, what goes in must come out.

    During the rare occasions we get fast food I always take extra hot sauce, soy sauce, etc.. to put in makeshift rations. I even store bullion cubes with rice. I also think it's a good idea to add foods with a lot of fiber to a homemade MRE. Costco an outstanding organic fig newton type bar that come packaged two at a time. The package is also easy to tear open and doesn't make a crinkly sound. Eat a couple of these each meal and guaranteed your toilet paper pills will get used.

    That brings up another good point - quiet packaging is a huge bonus IMO. Most of the time it isn't an advantage, but the quieter and less visual the better. Also consider how strongly the food smells because that might give you away when you are trying to avoid notice. I do have to say, though, that one of my go to meats is dry salami which is not exactly smell free.. Virtually indestructible until you cut into it, and even then it's good for a few days without refrigeration. Even sliced in a package it doesn't need refrigeration until opened.

    In my alpine mountaineering days I brought salami, cheese, hard tack (I sure miss seasoned Ry-Krisp), canned tuna, ramen, and sweetened Jello. The Jello with hot water made a low fuss breakfast to get me started, then I worked on the Salami, cheese, and hard tack throughout the day. Dinner was chicken ramen with the contents of the tuna can mixed in. Really not too bad and didn't used a ton of fuel.
     
    Tempstar likes this.
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