One little word of caution, I had the tuna packets and one got a tiny puncture almost invisible to the eye and I got food poisoning in the middle of nowhere. Luckily had Immodium or that would have been one long walk home. I put them in some sort of harder plastic cover now where they can't get punctured or bent in half. If I'm putting in the miles protein powder mixed in the oats is a good option with a little milk powder. It's all dry so lighter to carry and a quick boost in the morning.
i have made "instant" oatmeal pouches using a ziplock bag, quick oats, powdered milk, raisins, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Heat water (not boiling) and pour into ziplock with the mix inside. Zip, knead, and let soak for a few minutes.
I was thinking much the same thing. Powdered eggs, milk, a LOT of that stuff can be bought in bulk, divvyed up in zip bags, and vacuum sealed the same way the quaker stuff can.
Just a suggestion but I would seal each meal individually that way when you open the MRE the other meals for the day are not floating around your bag and by doing this the other meal items stay waterproof
@FUCHS.IM.WALD72 You can always use those to carry out waste of all kinds. I don’t want empty food packages floating around in my bag, either - and I will practice leave no trace as much as possible. Or dirty underwear and socks. Smelly business.😂
It's only one day, sheesh. Don't forget to double up on your condom use for the road whore that the m&m are for. You don't want anything that Ajax won't take off
Now to add to my comment if this is going to be longer than just a few days I would really push in the direction of free dried meals you can get at most sports stores or eBay it and get MRE’s. Other option would be to dehydrate something like fruit and stuff or spend the money to buy a real food freeze dryer for home but they are not cheap. Everything longer that few days will start to go bad if this is for longer camping or SHTF do the freeze dry or MRE thing
While I've done this myself many times for short term hiking and storage, I would never keep these for any length of time in a vehicle. The heat of summer and freezing temps of winter would compromise most these foods, especially the tuna and Hormel meals, after only several weeks. The advantage of real MREs is, they are tested in extreme temps and have specific guidelines for storage at those temps. Even with real MREs, I'll only keep them in my vehicle for 1 year. That's 3 months of summer heat and 3 months of winter freezing temps. I'll always rotate and dispose of them yearly. Always keep food temp safety in mind when building these types of meal kits... otherwise...🤢🤮
@@DaveKing19836 Considering Starkist own website (FAQ section) lists their pouch products as a 3yr max shelf life (assuming pantry storage), also, their pouches have not been tested for repeated freeze/thaw, while MREs are listed as a 5yr shelf life with cool storage, I'd have to question "real". Then again, considering how our school lunches have degraded in the last 20yrs, I wouldn't be too surprised if military MREs have followed suit.
@@jtrourke667 Back in the day (my day) MREs had a 20 year shelf life in any storage environment. What changed over 40 years besides the quality of taste 🤷
@@jtrourke667When I was in the army ten years ago the tuna MRE was tortillas, the regular commercial pouch of Starkist tuna and a squeezer of mayonnaise. I think it was the only one with tortillas and they were infinitely better than the bread
Putting in 'nippers' of booze is a good idea... especially grain alcohol because of its many uses, but seal the nipper's entire cap seam with wax (dip the whole cap in hot wax). In non-emergency mode, I collect nipper's so I can always have at least one shot of just about anything on hand for entertaining. Over time, I have noticed that the alcohol with evaporate throught the cap seals - "the angels share" - and you will loose volume as well as contaminate the rest of your sealed MRE package. I gave up trying to find those fork/knife/spoon/napkin/salt/pepper packs at Sam's Club, they sell out after only minutes on the shelf. I make my own in vacuum storage bags... but I add in packets of: ketchup, mustard, mayo, sugar, stevia, creamer, instant coffee, tea, fruit drink mix, tiny bottle of Tobasco sauce, and a toothpick - as appropriate for the MRE menu.
All great items, I also use these items….in addition tea bags, flat flour tortillas, peanut butter packs, hard candies, canned kippers or sardines, pre cooked bacon….the flour tortillas are great with all,meals, also carry by knorr tomato chicken instant boullion…ty great video
I agree with everything you showed, from 24 hour ration-packs vs individual MREs, to vaccum sealing, to the airplane bottles for your morning and evening coffe ( they call it an "eye opener" for a reason, especially when it's cold ). I also suggest those "8" serving bags of Idahoan mashed taters and, I saw at Wally World, these 1-2 lb containers of peanutbutter shaped like those "inverted" tubes of toothpaste that sit on their wide lids. Something to consider. Knorr , Progresso, and Idahoan also make good pouches of things like broccoli and cheese, soups, stews, etc.,., Add a pouch of tuna fish and you got a meal. I also carry things like big bags of granola to round -out a meal and as snacks. Good video, man
If you have to heat water to’cook’ your food, then it doesn’t really meet the definition of mre, meals READY ago eat. I know that the military and commercial mre’s have chemical heating systems, but it is a ‘set it and forget it’ method. No stoves, no fuel, no fires. Some military surplus stores sell just these heaters. Secondly, this is just a suggestion that I practice. I usually use two packages of Ramen noodles per meal. However, due to the high sodium content and over powering taste, I only use one packet of flavoring. The second packet is kept for a hot broth or flavoring enhancer for wild edibles. The condiments are a great idea, but did you know, if you add heat to mayonnaise, it renders down to a flavorless oil that can be used for cooking? I would also suggest using dried herbs cubes such as garlic and cilantro as flavor food. Lastly, Knorr brand sides are usually a great source of simple foods. Cheap, filling and easy to make. You could use an extra water bottle as a container to pre hydrate while doing other activities, then eat hot or cold.
Very nice video. Some suggestions: take the time to add up the calories so you know if you're falling short or over eating on a day. If this is shtf having calorie info on the day is useful. Second would be to put the date of the shortest life item on the outside w sharpie. Most packaged food is good much longer, but in that mix you might have 2024 and 2028 and I'm not certain I'd eat a chomp stick 4years expired like I would the soup.
I would probably have packed that pot roast face down against the starkist pack to help prevent the possibility of puncturing the film. Other then that not bad. All items I use on day hikes already.
When I make those sorts of packs I always include a fork and a spoon, matches (small pack), a small ziploc style close bag (you can get them at craft stores, dollar store, etc) of salt/pepper/sugar etc, extra wet wipes, and a large freezer type Ziploc to seal everything in when you cut open the vac sealed bag. Also a good idea to mark the earliest expiry date of the contents on the vac seal bag to make rotation easy or to mark all the expiry dates on an index card that is readable without opening the vac seal.
Very good advice. Commercial expiration dates are a guideline for when the food is expected to remain palatable. Even when the food tastes bad, it sometimes is still safe and nutritious.
I would leave the sleeve on the Compleats to protect the film and keep it from getting punctured in your bag. You could always use it to set utinsels on while you are heating and add to the fire later. Looks like a good DIY MRE. 👍👍
JMO- if you are indeed "bugging " out or in a SHTF situation, you're not going to want to stop moving to the safe place you've chosen. No making fires for cooking or boiling or anything. You'll want known pure water carried on you, and food that can be eaten out of the package without stopping to cook or breaking stride. It won't be like a bushcrafty camping trip. It'll be really real survival
One of the best is the small foil packages of peanut butter, or buy the polytubes from Coghlan's and fill them with your own peanut butter from a jar. Then there's the numerous energy/protein bars and the gels in an envelope that the marathoners and iron man types eat on the move. You won't want to make a camp and all that. Get to your safe place/retreat/base ASAP safely and in one piece with no extra holes
a guy who takes the time to hit the return key after every five or six words should never be heard to render advice. Plus, my bugout hike is 20+ days. So how'm I supposed to do that without STOPPING? You're crayz-crayz.
Right on. A lot of these suggestions use too much water. Tinned food might be heavier but it (as you said) has more moisture and the shelf life is longer. And for others reading this, don't confuse shelf life with best buy date. They are very much different different. Also, in an MRE, heating should be optional, not a requirement.
Nice job. I made an MRE earlier this year and added all the calories up to ensure it was between 2000-2500 for a day, much more than I thought. Also the left over food bag can be used for carrying water or rehydrating a meal. A side note- make sure you have a fork or a spoon.
On an average workday in the peak heat in Alabama it can get to 150° in a car parked in the sun. I wonder about heat degradation of some of the items. Thanks for the video.
In heat..extremely poor. It speeds up the decomposition so a 2 yr shelf life becomes 1 week at best. If you wanna run a vehicle bugout use powder supplement in Mylar with 02 absorbers. Store them in a big canteen, this will negate heat or cold because of the void between the two metals inner and outer.
I like the concept. I would add some bouillon cubes small paper napkins gum lifesavers. The only downside to most of your selections is the incredibly high SODIUM processed dry foods have. Read the labels it will knock your socksoff. A 19 year old recruit no problem I am Man 70 on hypertension meds. I like the kits. Custom to your diet a good idea.
I like the Dak beef summer sausages, don't need fridge. Chipped beef and canned hams, ya get vessels with them. Pop tarts, Ritz n Club crackers and granola bars to name some. Tortillas can be packed also, not long. I get the little bottles of mixed spices. I like good old Tang also. Thing is think about digestion very important. Also cans of sterno. There are also cheese sticks that don't need a fridge. And the Hormel frozen meats are delicious.
I love the mini adult beverage in there! It would be amazing to relax at the end of the night with a campfire and add some of the adult beverage into a cup of Nestle's Abuelita Mexican Hot Chocolate!! I Now I'm even more excited for my next backpacking trip!!
Two ways to beat the heat are: 1--schedule a replacement for your emergency food supply kept in a car--once a month may be extreme for your situation. 2--take your food pack in a climate controlled environment when you are not using your car and have the food pack where you won't forget it when you drive. Putting the food kit in an insulated container slows down temperature changes and adds an extra barrier protecting your food. Or pick something that tolerates heat and cold. The graham cracker was a health food in the late 19th Century--or pilot bread (hard tack) can be stored. Hard tack will be the best cardboard you've eaten all day!
Especially if you want to conserve fuel/ water, you can immersion heat some of the pouches/ cans you might take, and use the water for something like instant mashed potatoes or a hot drink. Also if you have a lot of instant meal components that have some extra air in their packaging, just give them a small prick with a needle and cover it with a thin masking tape before vacuum sealing. That way they loose the extra air but you don´t have too much flavor cross contamination.
These are a great idea. They will work great in my go bag for EOC activation. I won’t go crazy, but at least five - seven days will easily fit in my go bag. Of course one will go in my EDC bag for the get home situation. Thank you, great video.
Another idea that takes up very little room. When I get down to the last of the toilet paper on a roll, the last 20%. I smush it, vacuum seal it individually and add them to my homemade MRE's. Gotta have tp my dude. Great video!
tp doesnt last forever. and likely in shtf you wont be manufacturing more. what is the general consensus moving forward after tp as not being clean can lead to health issues.
In the past, I have made up my own MREs just as you did here and they are cheaper and tastier. You have given me some updated ideas on food options. Thank you!
Use Ziploc freezer bags instead, vacuum sealing will cause the individual food packaging to fail and go bad sooner. You can remove all of the air without pulling a vacuum using the "Water Displacement Technique". Of course none of this can survive the heat and cold cycles of being stored in a vehicle even short term. For your vehicles use lifeboat survival rations. Cheers!
This video and the comments are all great suggestions. WONDERFUL to keep a kit or two in the car during the winter. For the winter, a person shivering can burn nearly 3,000 calories a day. I have a 12 volt coffee cup (bought them at DG, now on amazon) and a 12 volt lunch box, cooking or heating food on the road is very easy. For those on a tight budget, store brands of all these items work just as well as the name brand. Buying one or two items during a grocery trip will allow a person to stock up. REALLY pay attention to how much protein is in your pack (add it all up)- if you're protein deficient, you'll be hungrier. A can of soup/stew/chili is cheaper than the complete (but heavier and a little bulkier).
Little tip for you there. Challenge yourself to live off that menu for 24 hours with nothing else but the water you’ll carry and ration for a day and tell me that’s sufficient. There’s a reason the Army’s MREs are bulky, activity makes one extremely hungry! You have to feel satiated for food to be a morale booster, if it’s as little volume as possible to barely run the machine it’s a mental drag. Bulk your daily rations up to realistic levels, walk your entire bug out route and see how long your 3 day supply lasts you. I am suggesting this so you can learn now how to adjust your planning to accommodate reality if you ever need it.
There's a big difference. An Army MRE is made for a soldier. He's asked to carry a 50-90 Lbs pack, rifle, etc. Then asked to march for miles, engage the enemy, and so on. You need 3000-4000 calories to do that. They also make them to constipate you a bit. One joke is living off of MREs for a month you fart dust. If you're not doing much you can live off of far fewer calories. For me to lose weight I'm on 500 calories a day. If I bump it up to 1000 calories I'm gaining weight.
@@robertthomas5906 500 calories?…that’s shocking, you must be absolutely tiny. I’m 5ft 7 and 8 stone 11, I have to consume 1200 calories to maintain my weight, anything below that and my weight plummets. That doesn’t sound healthy.
I have often wondered why the Army has never developed a breakfast menu to provide a bit more variety. If anyone knows I’d like to know. I’m a bit older and we still had C rations. They had a couple of breakfast options, but I remember the ham and eggs best. Laugh if you will, but another item that would be nice to be included with the MRE meals is a bit of s*it paper. They had it with the C rats. Also the little packs of cigarettes. Try wrong with a partner going through nicotine withdrawal. For us non smokers they were great for trading. Not politically correct these days but your at war because the politics didn’t work.
Good vid I've been doing this type of food bags for some time. I even use them when I fly for just in case. Of course I don't leave them in a vehicle. I keep mine packed ready to be grabbed or in my day pack and rotated regularly.
2 considerations not covered here is food calorie count and energy calorie consumption, soldiers are constantly consuming 3 mres a day at about 2500-3000 calories during peak activity levels, you may or may not need that kind of calorie intake but almost more important look at your vitamin and mineral intake over a longer period if you are truly "bugging out" consider some multivitamins. Lacking these key nutrients will cause serious health problems. Second issue, only briefly touched on in the video, mres have a long shelf life, many of the items you add to a homemade food pack will not last nearly as long, so please remember to rotate out your food packs if you go this route. Don't get stuck with food going bad when you or your family needs it the most.
You can heat the compleats meal in the package in boiling water I’ve done it couple times just gotta flip it occasionally unless u have a big enough pot it can float around in
I always enjoy your videos. Lots of good info! If i might make a suggestion, turn your compleats over so the corners aren't straining the bag. I vacuum seal a lot of things and have noticed the bags don't stay sealed as long if there's a corner pressing on the bag.
They’re meals, but they’re not ready to eat. When comparing weight and cost vs. mre’s, you have to factor in the weight and cost of your cook system, fuel, and any added water. When you also factor in time and convenience, mre’s don’t look so bad.
Nice video. I'm an avid lightweight backpacker and use many of the same items for my trips. I don't bother vacuum sealing them, as no need for my purposes , but use quart size baggies. Tortillas are a favorite for making taco style meals. Ifbot allergic, peanut butter is a great option too, it's about the most calorie dense food item there is that provides carbs, protein and fats in an easy to carry package and has a decent shelf life.
I love the ideas... I would also like to add that one thing that draws people to the MRE is the ability to heat them without fire... I bought a case of 24 MRE heaters on Amazon for around $43... I noticed today that you can also purchase 12 of them for $15.49...These have came in handy for me if I am in a hurry or in a super wet environment. These are also light weight and take up little to no space.
Thank you for doing this. I never really thought about putting together my own trail meals. I just throw a bunch of "stuff" into my BOBs. This is my next project! However, they're not really "Meals Ready to Eat" in a strict sense, b/c you need to boil water to rehydrate stuff for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have a bunch of the MRE heaters, so I'm going to try to find components that I don't have to rehydrate. That might be hard for breakfast, unless I just want to eat cold breakfast bars. Maybe I'd make an exception to my "no boil" rule for breakfast! Anyway, enough rambling. Thank you.
Very informative video if I can make a suggestion. In the future would you please hold the package up closer to the camera. So someone can write down the brand of certain items. Different can be very small at times and hard to see. And or if you have the ability could you print out on the screen. The different websites that you may be suggesting. Thanks so much keep up the good work
Thats a great idea, I have a couple weeks of food in boxes for when I start a 2 month car camping/traveling trip and I never though to separate them by days. But thats a lot more convenient than digging through multiples of everything every day. I already have the food which is a lot what you have here, except those clif bars 🤮 lol
GREAT CONTENT! I'm in the process of doing Bug out Bags for me and my family so this is REALLY GREAT INFO! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING ON THIS SUBJECT!
Wow... Kopiko...? Is it true that you like it..? Indonesian people will love you. Because you buy products from Indonesia...👍 Hopefully you can have an adventure in Indonesia....
awesome video i never knew that i could make my own MRE with items found in my local store. you have inspired me to have a go at making my own MRE thank you so much for uploading this. keep it coming
Great video. Gave me some ideas to try. Do you try and hit the 2000 cal and 90 gram of protein mark (estimated adult over 40) or just what sounds good? Would be interesting to see how this would match up cost wise. And Spam comes in singles???? How have I not known this???? I love Spam!!!
I’ve had enough of MRE’s. Eat them when there is nothing else, but foil packed or canned or vacuum sealed or dried options are a terrific go-to. Be careful sealing those condiment packets.... they have air in them that will pop when it pulls the vacuum.
I have a Army bandoleer belt , stuffed with that kind of stuff , built it for a 3 day bag but if I ration my stuff a little , it’ll last a week, and I have a bigger gym bag with more of the same plus easy cook meals , enough for a month with a water source, those pack of chicken and tuna don’t give you much but will make a ramen soup fantastic
What you and most people don’t know about the MRE’s, is that they contain about 3500 calories per MRE. When I was a Ranger, we broke down our MRE’s to last us 3 days per MRE. What you and everyone should be concerned about here is, the amount of sodium and preservatives that are in the items that you are talking about in this video. People who are diabetic or have high blood pressure, should be avoiding these foods, because they contain high amounts of sodium and phosphates. It’s okay for once in a while, but not for everyday consumption. Shop around for healthier alternatives. Healthy conscious people should look at buying baby food. Those are healthier choices. I’ve made Ranger cookies and Ranger pudding from items in the MRE’s. I’d just use this video as a guide for choosing items to make your own MRE’s. Also, consider items for children too. Look at drink mixes, juice boxes, and drink mixes to replace electrolytes.
Good video. Make sure to "date" these. Use these up after a year, and make some more. The cliff bars, and meat sticks will taste rancid after a year or so. Also find yourself some silverware packs (fork, spoon, knife, salt, pepper, napkin) If you want your ramen to take up less space, crush the noodles..LOL Keep up the good work.
Thanks. I learned something from this video. Every day I try to learn something. I have been packing survival kits, food kits and other meals for sixty years plus. On active military service I've dined on the MCI and MRE--and both A-Rations and B-Rations in the field. The uninformed view military Meal, Ready to Eat as magical warrior monkey chow that will turn a chairborne commando into Rambo. Back in the 1930''s the C-Ration was individual and small unit feeding in the absence of a field kitchen. I got to try foreign military rations, too. Then there were survival rations and specialized rations. I researched American ration history focusing on the WW2 C-rations and the evolution to the MRE--but due to retirement in 2010 I'm not fully up-to-date on what the American field rations are like. Company field kitchens have vanished. Battalion field kitchens may have been replaced by attaching a field kitchen organic to expeditionary brigades. During the late 1930's the doughboy swapped two containers of hardtack, a "bacon" container, and a condiment can containing coffee, sugar, powdered milk, jellies and jams for six cans (think 16-ounce cans) that formed a daily ration of breakfast, dinner and supper (the US Army had a strong southern presence). One can contained the meat unit entree (called M-Unit) and one can held bread and other items (the B-Unit) and two cans formed a meal. Add to this an emergency D-ration, a four-ounce bar wrapped up to prevent spoilage and gas contamination, designed to be barely palatable, to be consumed only on orders from an officer when no other food was available. The D-Ration was deliberately unappealing so that the ever-hungry teenage soldiers wouldn't scarf down their emergency rations prematurely. Foreign army individual field rations were one box for 24 hours and may have been "five meals" depending on national customs. British rations included afternoon tea along with breakfast, lunch and dinner. I didn't see any D-Ration analog in your home-made MRE. Given this history, I asked "why do I have three meals?" Next I asked "do I really need to break out the tablecloths, candles, fine china and a snooty French waiter for every meal? Do I have three or four hours per meal?" Modern American combat rations include a 24-hour assault ration that can keep a soldier going without pausing for a meal break--just gobble it down while on the march or while standing watch. I would suggest that canned entrees still have a place because heating the can is easier than heating the shelf-stable microwave meal. My units did have electric generators because I specialized in electronics (avionics, electronic warfare, multichannel and satellite communications) and it was possible to haul a microwave or electric coffee pot to the field. Don't try heating MRE packages in a microwave or after boiling water with an MRE packet using that water for coffee. It won't end well. What degree of luxury do you demand? Full belly and a nap at lunch? Hunting camps may keep a camp kitchen in the camp and the hunters will strip down to the minimum for hunting--this means carrying ten rifle cartridges and limiting lunch to a sandwich, a coffee thermos, and an apple, or even just roughing it with a candy bar and a quart of water. Cooking will warn the game. Hikers can burn daylight by cooking up breakfast, lunch and dinner, then cleaning up and packing away their backpack kitchens--or they might cook one meal and "snack" two or three times with ready-to-eat cold food. Trail mix and granola bars were intended to be lighter than "real food" and healthier, too. I used to work as a security guard, sometimes at remote locations. Sometimes I only was at the worksite for a set period and would report in upon arrival and departure. Other posts required me to relieve someone and be relieved before I could go home. Weather and other factors might strand me at the worksite, or my relief might not show up, so in addition to packing a lunch I kept three days of food and water in my car. I didn't expect to be on duty for more than 16 hours, but more than once I wound up working in excess of 40 hours before someone was able to take over and was on remote sites that didn't have access to restaurants or food stores. i even shared my emergency food with others sometimes. I'd rotate my emergency food through my normal lunch routine for two reasons--emergency food has a short shelf life when carried in the hostile environment of a car trunk and I had to be accustomed to consuming my emergency supply. It is good that you demonstrated how to assemble a one-day food kit. Many people have their heart in the right place when they buy a couple of MRE's for an emergency food supply--they're far better prepared than someone who didn't bother. The surplus MREs may have expired--that's one reason the Department of Defense doesn't sell MREs retail, expiration dates and recall. Another very important factor is gaining experience preparing and eating meals. What good is a cookpot when the hiker doesn't know how to use a cook stove or build a fire? Most "outdoor" foods are pre-cooked and only require heating, or perhaps rehydration and heating. Metal cans aren't what weigh down a hiker--it's the water! Wet rations weigh about the same per serving whether packed in a metal can or packed in plastic baggies. A sixteen ounce can of beef stew is an equal in servings to two or Completas entrees. Bringing a cook pot negates ditching cans. I test out my outdoor meals at home where it's possible to replace something inedible with REAL food. Don't wait until stuck waiting for the snowplow to find out that the magical monkey chow has spoiled or was never edible to begin with. I observed soldiers (reservists and active duty) making themselves ill on their MRE because they were used to other foods. Some 'shelf-stable foods" such as chocolate will melt in high temperatures and liquids can freeze in low temperatures. Repeated heating and freezing will destroy MREs by causing the packages to leak, admit bacteria, and spoil. The commercial foods demonstrated are not as robustly packaged. Just like a first aid kit, an emergency food kit cannot simply be purchased and forgotten. Take a first aid course along with purchasing a first aid kit. When I attended a recent Stop the Bleed class, I took along my trauma kit and checked with the trainers to see if my kit was still relevant. I replace first aid kit contents on a schedule and use the "expired" components in training, updating my first aid kits periodically. I did have military and security guard first aid training--I was even a Red Cross-certified CPR and first aid instructor for an overseas security contract lasting five years, and as the logistician for that contract I would maintain or replace the company first aid kits as needed. The same applies to food and water. Someone who puts a few bottles of water in their car trunk for emergencies is ahead of the game compared to those that don't bother, but when was the last time the trunk was cleaned out and the emergency supplies checked? Is your spare tire rotted away or does it still hold air? Food is expensive and i grew up a poor boy. I used my emergency food supply in my normal diet so that I didn't have to throw away expensive packaged food after it had expired, so that the food was edible if I needed it for an emergency, so that I was used to eating the emergency food (one less thing contributing to having a bad day), and so that I was adept at preparing and consuming the food. Those are advantages to making a home-made MRE over purchasing "emergency rations''--especially when there's no reliable information on expiration date and storage conditions.
Since I'm from Wisconsin I would have to add cheese sticks to every meal. I am on a potato kick lately so maybe a pack of mashed potatoes for supper too. Yeah MRE'S are not cheap. For deer hunting I used to have beef jerky and trail mix but now that I'm diabetic I gotta come up with something different
Do you think adding spicy foods would be detrimental to water supply? I always feel like drinking a lot of water after eating something spicy, and feel like it might have a negative impact in a real bugout situation
I don't understand why people don't just dehydrate their own food and make their own MREs. Homemade chili, Spaghetti and lots of other things rehydrate well and taste just as good as when they were made.
@@jlp5510 They're not near as bad as freeze dryers and with the price of dehydrated meals or MREs it wouldn't take it long to pay for itself. I own 2 of them.
The term 'MRE' stands for Meals Ready to Eat. The foods in them, excepting the drink powders in my experience, are literally ready to eat - they are different than Just Add Water foods/meals. MRE foods can usually be eaten without being heated, although there are chemical heaters that are often included with them. Edited to add: lightweight retort packaging for, and processing of, ready to eat foods is usually expensive - if not totally out of reach - for most people, but buying them prepared is often much more feasible.
I think that's really distorting what an MRE is. This is just packing shit together. The problem with pack food, unless you have a freeze drier, is that the food is all shit. Processed carbs are not what you need for energy. Protein and fat. The body needing fat for energy and satiation being the issue. I'd rather cut weight elsewhere (or deal with the extra weight) and have sardines, more beef sticks, etc. Avoid quick burn/crashes like oats and shitty ramen.
Maybe vacuum seal each meal separately instead of all 3 so you don’t have to pack a vacuum sealer with you. I guess it depends on the type of food you pack as well.
In my limited experience, I have found that a cold meal when hungry is better than a hot meal when you're not hungry, is always better. A hot meal can be a GA, (a Give Away), the odor of a warm or hot meal can give away your position making you a target. I also noticed that you did not seem to have a listing of calories per meal. What was the Fat, Carbohydrate and Protein ratio per meal?
Very good info, I've eaten most of the items presented and the dinner meals I occasionally ate for lunch. Good variety. I can definitely see myself making several packs for each bag. Thank you 👍
You still heat up MREs just like you'd have to heat up the foods he presented. You can eat an MRE cold and you can eat pretty much everything in the 1st one cold also, the oatmeal being the only exception.
Normally drink my coffee black, but those 3 in 1 coffees (I get a variety of international brands off Amazon, similar to the second one you showed) are rather good. Sometimes I crave them. I do the same as you- add more coffee in to balance the extra sweetness. I like the extra calories/energy the 3 in 1 provides for a bug out bag. Thanks for vid! Like seeing the options used. Everyone can come up with their own meal kits to satisfy their individual nutritional needs and circumstances.
I'd suggest making it two tuna packets with two tortillas, and some Mayo and salsa packets. (Also you can get honey and butter packets at KFC.) Side note; Dollar tree has some one oz bottles of real maple syrup.
Tips. Make sure your calorie intake is more than a normal days intake. You will be burning alot of calories through activities you normally do not do. Hydration values should exceed normal daily use, you will urinate more and loose vitamins and minerals, so replenish them. Be careful of items that can create bacteria from decomposition like tuna and chicken or beef. If I take these items I place the factory package inside a mylar and seal it, it's covers any accidental exposure from tiny holes that may be in the factory seal, double sealed. Store in a dry, cool place. Extreme temps especially heat can start the bacteria process faster and lose its storage life. The best way to go with all of it would be to purchase mylar bags and seal your own items. With dried items always use oxygen absorbers.
I would buy the packets of peanut butter and crackers, I would vacuum seal bags of powder eggs, dehydrated potatoes, onions, and yes there is powder butter, and complete pancake mix individually vacuum sealed packets. Powder eggs, etc.
Looks like a pretty decent DIY. For a comparison - Last week, I bought a TOTM MRE - Burrito Bowl @ $4.43 at a Military Base. Contained Orange-Electrolyte Drink, Burrito Bowl (Rice, Beans, Chicken), 2 Flour Tortillas, 2 (4x4) Crackers, Peanut Butter, Instant Coffee, Coffee Mate Creamer, 2-lg sugar packets, salt, pepper, hand towelette, Paper Towel, and Heater (Hotter than H3LL...), and military grade plastic spoon. (Not for commercial resale, but you can get the MRE at a Military Base if you're military or have a buddy that is). The Larger MRE's were about $12.50 ish - contain more, however, the TOTM is great for a Lunch -- had over 900 calories if you consume the Orange drink. (PS - I dropped the drink - 23g added sugar - which put me at 3g added sugar which was good)
Don't forget salt, pepper, or any condiments you want. They give them away with to go food, or ask for them, or carry a container with all your spices in individual stays with the ends melted. Just saying.
21 F: I’ve got an arctic Dutch MRE pack coming for my bug out bag I’m only 5’1 so I don’t need much it can easily spread over 3 days. I’ve got some mre meals and snacks also coming so I can always swap out items I don’t like and can add. I’ve also got some to put in the car if that’s my transportation. I’ve also got sundries bags to get items I can trade, things like hot sauce, ketchup packets, salt, sugar, coffee and tea. I think metals are useless to trade but things like seasonings and food is going to be gold.
I lioe that idea of homemade MRE definitely a great idea . I thought about make me some i still am going to after watching your video. Thank for the great video
Have you considered the Military FSR or First Strike Rations that come loaded with food. Im sure you have heard of them but if you haven't go check them out. Thanks for these great ideas.
i know theres a trade off for shelf life, mobility and ease but there seems to be a lot of sodium in your mre. whats the daily sodium intake eating this. seems youd need a bit more water in your intake to flush you properly? thanks for your video :-)
Take a sharpie and write the exp date of the things in the pack on the outside so you don't have to guess.
Yes, do this with all of our supplies. It really helps with rotation.
This was my thought as well, but I was going through the comments first because I didn't want to say something that was already addressed 😊
To expand on that, I put an alert on my cellphone calendar to remind me a week ahead of time.
@@ktcollvery good idea
One little word of caution, I had the tuna packets and one got a tiny puncture almost invisible to the eye and I got food poisoning in the middle of nowhere. Luckily had Immodium or that would have been one long walk home. I put them in some sort of harder plastic cover now where they can't get punctured or bent in half. If I'm putting in the miles protein powder mixed in the oats is a good option with a little milk powder. It's all dry so lighter to carry and a quick boost in the morning.
i have made "instant" oatmeal pouches using a ziplock bag, quick oats, powdered milk, raisins, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Heat water (not boiling) and pour into ziplock with the mix inside. Zip, knead, and let soak for a few minutes.
I was thinking much the same thing. Powdered eggs, milk, a LOT of that stuff can be bought in bulk, divvyed up in zip bags, and vacuum sealed the same way the quaker stuff can.
I do the same and also do instant grits with powdered milk and sugar.
Just a suggestion but I would seal each meal individually that way when you open the MRE the other meals for the day are not floating around your bag and by doing this the other meal items stay waterproof
More plastic lol
@FUCHS.IM.WALD72 You can always use those to carry out waste of all kinds. I don’t want empty food packages floating around in my bag, either - and I will practice leave no trace as much as possible. Or dirty underwear and socks. Smelly business.😂
It's only one day, sheesh. Don't forget to double up on your condom use for the road whore that the m&m are for. You don't want anything that Ajax won't take off
Now to add to my comment if this is going to be longer than just a few days I would really push in the direction of free dried meals you can get at most sports stores or eBay it and get MRE’s. Other option would be to dehydrate something like fruit and stuff or spend the money to buy a real food freeze dryer for home but they are not cheap. Everything longer that few days will start to go bad if this is for longer camping or SHTF do the freeze dry or MRE thing
My rule is always bring more food than you think you will need.
While I've done this myself many times for short term hiking and storage, I would never keep these for any length of time in a vehicle. The heat of summer and freezing temps of winter would compromise most these foods, especially the tuna and Hormel meals, after only several weeks. The advantage of real MREs is, they are tested in extreme temps and have specific guidelines for storage at those temps. Even with real MREs, I'll only keep them in my vehicle for 1 year. That's 3 months of summer heat and 3 months of winter freezing temps. I'll always rotate and dispose of them yearly. Always keep food temp safety in mind when building these types of meal kits... otherwise...🤢🤮
There are literally starkist tuna packs in real military issue MREs
@@DaveKing19836 Considering Starkist own website (FAQ section) lists their pouch products as a 3yr max shelf life (assuming pantry storage), also, their pouches have not been tested for repeated freeze/thaw, while MREs are listed as a 5yr shelf life with cool storage, I'd have to question "real". Then again, considering how our school lunches have degraded in the last 20yrs, I wouldn't be too surprised if military MREs have followed suit.
Yes because the military ALWAYS keeps their stocks at moderate temperature.
(Sarcasm)
@@jtrourke667
Back in the day (my day) MREs had a 20 year shelf life in any storage environment.
What changed over 40 years besides the quality of taste 🤷
@@jtrourke667When I was in the army ten years ago the tuna MRE was tortillas, the regular commercial pouch of Starkist tuna and a squeezer of mayonnaise.
I think it was the only one with tortillas and they were infinitely better than the bread
Putting in 'nippers' of booze is a good idea... especially grain alcohol because of its many uses, but seal the nipper's entire cap seam with wax (dip the whole cap in hot wax). In non-emergency mode, I collect nipper's so I can always have at least one shot of just about anything on hand for entertaining. Over time, I have noticed that the alcohol with evaporate throught the cap seals - "the angels share" - and you will loose volume as well as contaminate the rest of your sealed MRE package.
I gave up trying to find those fork/knife/spoon/napkin/salt/pepper packs at Sam's Club, they sell out after only minutes on the shelf. I make my own in vacuum storage bags... but I add in packets of: ketchup, mustard, mayo, sugar, stevia, creamer, instant coffee, tea, fruit drink mix, tiny bottle of Tobasco sauce, and a toothpick - as appropriate for the MRE menu.
All great items, I also use these items….in addition tea bags, flat flour tortillas, peanut butter packs, hard candies, canned kippers or sardines, pre cooked bacon….the flour tortillas are great with all,meals, also carry by knorr tomato chicken instant boullion…ty great video
I agree with everything you showed, from 24 hour ration-packs vs individual MREs, to vaccum sealing, to the airplane bottles for your morning and evening coffe ( they call it an "eye opener" for a reason, especially when it's cold ). I also suggest those "8" serving bags of Idahoan mashed taters and, I saw at Wally World, these 1-2 lb containers of peanutbutter shaped like those "inverted" tubes of toothpaste that sit on their wide lids. Something to consider. Knorr , Progresso, and Idahoan also make good pouches of things like broccoli and cheese, soups, stews, etc.,., Add a pouch of tuna fish and you got a meal. I also carry things like big bags of granola to round -out a meal and as snacks. Good video, man
If you have to heat water to’cook’ your food, then it doesn’t really meet the definition of mre, meals READY ago eat. I know that the military and commercial mre’s have chemical heating systems, but it is a ‘set it and forget it’ method. No stoves, no fuel, no fires. Some military surplus stores sell just these heaters. Secondly, this is just a suggestion that I practice. I usually use two packages of Ramen noodles per meal. However, due to the high sodium content and over powering taste, I only use one packet of flavoring. The second packet is kept for a hot broth or flavoring enhancer for wild edibles. The condiments are a great idea, but did you know, if you add heat to mayonnaise, it renders down to a flavorless oil that can be used for cooking? I would also suggest using dried herbs cubes such as garlic and cilantro as flavor food. Lastly, Knorr brand sides are usually a great source of simple foods. Cheap, filling and easy to make. You could use an extra water bottle as a container to pre hydrate while doing other activities, then eat hot or cold.
Very nice video. Some suggestions: take the time to add up the calories so you know if you're falling short or over eating on a day. If this is shtf having calorie info on the day is useful. Second would be to put the date of the shortest life item on the outside w sharpie. Most packaged food is good much longer, but in that mix you might have 2024 and 2028 and I'm not certain I'd eat a chomp stick 4years expired like I would the soup.
I would probably have packed that pot roast face down against the starkist pack to help prevent the possibility of puncturing the film. Other then that not bad. All items I use on day hikes already.
When I make those sorts of packs I always include a fork and a spoon, matches (small pack), a small ziploc style close bag (you can get them at craft stores, dollar store, etc) of salt/pepper/sugar etc, extra wet wipes, and a large freezer type Ziploc to seal everything in when you cut open the vac sealed bag.
Also a good idea to mark the earliest expiry date of the contents on the vac seal bag to make rotation easy or to mark all the expiry dates on an index card that is readable without opening the vac seal.
Very good advice. Commercial expiration dates are a guideline for when the food is expected to remain palatable. Even when the food tastes bad, it sometimes is still safe and nutritious.
i've been looking for individual wet wipe packets but can't find boxes of individual wipes. any ideas as to where i can find them?
I would leave the sleeve on the Compleats to protect the film and keep it from getting punctured in your bag. You could always use it to set utinsels on while you are heating and add to the fire later. Looks like a good DIY MRE. 👍👍
JMO- if you are indeed "bugging " out or in a SHTF
situation, you're not going to
want to stop moving to the
safe place you've chosen.
No making fires for cooking
or boiling or anything. You'll
want known pure water carried
on you, and food that can be
eaten out of the package
without stopping to cook
or breaking stride.
It won't be like a bushcrafty
camping trip. It'll be really
real survival
Might be an interesting experiment to put together a homemade stealth MRE.
One of the best is the small
foil packages of peanut butter,
or buy the polytubes from Coghlan's
and fill them with your own peanut
butter from a jar.
Then there's the numerous
energy/protein bars and the
gels in an envelope that the
marathoners and iron man
types eat on the move.
You won't want to make a
camp and all that. Get to
your safe place/retreat/base
ASAP safely and in one piece
with no extra holes
a guy who takes the time to hit the return key after every five or six words should never be heard to render advice.
Plus, my bugout hike is 20+ days. So how'm I supposed to do that without STOPPING? You're crayz-crayz.
Don’t forget tinned food. It lasts long and also contains a lot of moisture. Dry foods require precious water to prepare.
Water more precious than calories.
Right on. A lot of these suggestions use too much water. Tinned food might be heavier but it (as you said) has more moisture and the shelf life is longer. And for others reading this, don't confuse shelf life with best buy date. They are very much different different. Also, in an MRE, heating should be optional, not a requirement.
Good job, I think I would toss in a few dental floss sticks also
Nice job. I made an MRE earlier this year and added all the calories up to ensure it was between 2000-2500 for a day, much more than I thought. Also the left over food bag can be used for carrying water or rehydrating a meal.
A side note- make sure you have a fork or a spoon.
On an average workday in the peak heat in Alabama it can get to 150° in a car parked in the sun. I wonder about heat degradation of some of the items.
Thanks for the video.
In heat..extremely poor. It speeds up the decomposition so a 2 yr shelf life becomes 1 week at best. If you wanna run a vehicle bugout use powder supplement in Mylar with 02 absorbers. Store them in a big canteen, this will negate heat or cold because of the void between the two metals inner and outer.
Great video! I would have to add Salt & Pepper to mine.
I like the concept. I would add some bouillon cubes small paper napkins gum lifesavers. The only downside to most of your selections is the incredibly high SODIUM processed dry foods have. Read the labels it will knock your socksoff. A 19 year old recruit no problem I am Man 70 on hypertension meds. I like the kits. Custom to your diet a good idea.
What type of bouillon cubes would you add? Bouillon cubes that I've seen has salt as the first ingredient.
@@erickb6443Hello, have searched in health food stores? They might have lower salt bouillon.
Good idea . Something i also thought of. Make your own mre because buying them is very expensive
I like the Dak beef summer sausages, don't need fridge. Chipped beef and canned hams, ya get vessels with them. Pop tarts, Ritz n Club crackers and granola bars to name some. Tortillas can be packed also, not long. I get the little bottles of mixed spices. I like good old Tang also. Thing is think about digestion very important. Also cans of sterno. There are also cheese sticks that don't need a fridge. And the Hormel frozen meats are delicious.
I love the mini adult beverage in there! It would be amazing to relax at the end of the night with a campfire and add some of the adult beverage into a cup of Nestle's Abuelita Mexican Hot Chocolate!! I
Now I'm even more excited for my next backpacking trip!!
I'd love to put together a DIY MRE pack that can be kept in a vehicle. But the extreme summer heat worries me.
Two ways to beat the heat are:
1--schedule a replacement for your emergency food supply kept in a car--once a month may be extreme for your situation.
2--take your food pack in a climate controlled environment when you are not using your car and have the food pack where you won't forget it when you drive.
Putting the food kit in an insulated container slows down temperature changes and adds an extra barrier protecting your food. Or pick something that tolerates heat and cold. The graham cracker was a health food in the late 19th Century--or pilot bread (hard tack) can be stored.
Hard tack will be the best cardboard you've eaten all day!
Especially if you want to conserve fuel/ water, you can immersion heat some of the pouches/ cans you might take, and use the water for something like instant mashed potatoes or a hot drink. Also if you have a lot of instant meal components that have some extra air in their packaging, just give them a small prick with a needle and cover it with a thin masking tape before vacuum sealing. That way they loose the extra air but you don´t have too much flavor cross contamination.
These are a great idea. They will work great in my go bag for EOC activation. I won’t go crazy, but at least five - seven days will easily fit in my go bag. Of course one will go in my EDC bag for the get home situation. Thank you, great video.
Another idea that takes up very little room. When I get down to the last of the toilet paper on a roll, the last 20%. I smush it, vacuum seal it individually and add them to my homemade MRE's. Gotta have tp my dude. Great video!
tp doesnt last forever. and likely in shtf you wont be manufacturing more.
what is the general consensus moving forward after tp as not being clean can lead to health issues.
In the past, I have made up my own MREs just as you did here and they are cheaper and tastier. You have given me some updated ideas on food options. Thank you!
Use Ziploc freezer bags instead, vacuum sealing will cause the individual food packaging to fail and go bad sooner. You can remove all of the air without pulling a vacuum using the "Water Displacement Technique". Of course none of this can survive the heat and cold cycles of being stored in a vehicle even short term. For your vehicles use lifeboat survival rations.
Cheers!
This video and the comments are all great suggestions. WONDERFUL to keep a kit or two in the car during the winter. For the winter, a person shivering can burn nearly 3,000 calories a day. I have a 12 volt coffee cup (bought them at DG, now on amazon) and a 12 volt lunch box, cooking or heating food on the road is very easy. For those on a tight budget, store brands of all these items work just as well as the name brand. Buying one or two items during a grocery trip will allow a person to stock up. REALLY pay attention to how much protein is in your pack (add it all up)- if you're protein deficient, you'll be hungrier. A can of soup/stew/chili is cheaper than the complete (but heavier and a little bulkier).
This is great for us truckers too!
Little tip for you there. Challenge yourself to live off that menu for 24 hours with nothing else but the water you’ll carry and ration for a day and tell me that’s sufficient. There’s a reason the Army’s MREs are bulky, activity makes one extremely hungry! You have to feel satiated for food to be a morale booster, if it’s as little volume as possible to barely run the machine it’s a mental drag. Bulk your daily rations up to realistic levels, walk your entire bug out route and see how long your 3 day supply lasts you. I am suggesting this so you can learn now how to adjust your planning to accommodate reality if you ever need it.
Testing and implementing before the shtf or use of such items is the rule. I agree with you.
thinking of making homemade mres, gonna have to try this
There's a big difference. An Army MRE is made for a soldier. He's asked to carry a 50-90 Lbs pack, rifle, etc. Then asked to march for miles, engage the enemy, and so on. You need 3000-4000 calories to do that. They also make them to constipate you a bit. One joke is living off of MREs for a month you fart dust.
If you're not doing much you can live off of far fewer calories. For me to lose weight I'm on 500 calories a day. If I bump it up to 1000 calories I'm gaining weight.
@@robertthomas5906 500 calories?…that’s shocking, you must be absolutely tiny. I’m 5ft 7 and 8 stone 11, I have to consume 1200 calories to maintain my weight, anything below that and my weight plummets. That doesn’t sound healthy.
I have often wondered why the Army has never developed a breakfast menu to provide a bit more variety. If anyone knows I’d like to know. I’m a bit older and we still had C rations. They had a couple of breakfast options, but I remember the ham and eggs best. Laugh if you will, but another item that would be nice to be included with the MRE meals is a bit of s*it paper. They had it with the C rats. Also the little packs of cigarettes. Try wrong with a partner going through nicotine withdrawal. For us non smokers they were great for trading. Not politically correct these days but your at war because the politics didn’t work.
Good vid I've been doing this type of food bags for some time. I even use them when I fly for just in case. Of course I don't leave them in a vehicle. I keep mine packed ready to be grabbed or in my day pack and rotated regularly.
2 considerations not covered here is food calorie count and energy calorie consumption, soldiers are constantly consuming 3 mres a day at about 2500-3000 calories during peak activity levels, you may or may not need that kind of calorie intake but almost more important look at your vitamin and mineral intake over a longer period if you are truly "bugging out" consider some multivitamins. Lacking these key nutrients will cause serious health problems.
Second issue, only briefly touched on in the video, mres have a long shelf life, many of the items you add to a homemade food pack will not last nearly as long, so please remember to rotate out your food packs if you go this route. Don't get stuck with food going bad when you or your family needs it the most.
I get those single serve peanut butter packets for mine as well! Great video
I use the single serve Jif cups and stir them into my oatmeal
You can heat the compleats meal in the package in boiling water I’ve done it couple times just gotta flip it occasionally unless u have a big enough pot it can float around in
Great info, I will definitely create my own MRE packages…. Thank you👍🏿
I always enjoy your videos. Lots of good info! If i might make a suggestion, turn your compleats over so the corners aren't straining the bag. I vacuum seal a lot of things and have noticed the bags don't stay sealed as long if there's a corner pressing on the bag.
Good idea! Thank you
They’re meals, but they’re not ready to eat. When comparing weight and cost vs. mre’s, you have to factor in the weight and cost of your cook system, fuel, and any added water. When you also factor in time and convenience, mre’s don’t look so bad.
Just came upon your youtube vids, didn't know. Been part of your FB for awhile now. Cudos
Nice video. I'm an avid lightweight backpacker and use many of the same items for my trips. I don't bother vacuum sealing them, as no need for my purposes , but use quart size baggies. Tortillas are a favorite for making taco style meals. Ifbot allergic, peanut butter is a great option too, it's about the most calorie dense food item there is that provides carbs, protein and fats in an easy to carry package and has a decent shelf life.
I love the ideas... I would also like to add that one thing that draws people to the MRE is the ability to heat them without fire... I bought a case of 24 MRE heaters on Amazon for around $43... I noticed today that you can also purchase 12 of them for $15.49...These have came in handy for me if I am in a hurry or in a super wet environment. These are also light weight and take up little to no space.
Great idea!
Don't forget Matches Or a lighter Toilet paper paper towels. Save your Wet naps for when you're done going to the bathroom.
Thank you for doing this. I never really thought about putting together my own trail meals. I just throw a bunch of "stuff" into my BOBs. This is my next project! However, they're not really "Meals Ready to Eat" in a strict sense, b/c you need to boil water to rehydrate stuff for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have a bunch of the MRE heaters, so I'm going to try to find components that I don't have to rehydrate. That might be hard for breakfast, unless I just want to eat cold breakfast bars. Maybe I'd make an exception to my "no boil" rule for breakfast! Anyway, enough rambling. Thank you.
Very informative video if I can make a suggestion. In the future would you please hold the package up closer to the camera. So someone can write down the brand of certain items. Different can be very small at times and hard to see. And or if you have the ability could you print out on the screen. The different websites that you may be suggesting. Thanks so much keep up the good work
My kids and I did some of these for our bug out bags
Thats a great idea, I have a couple weeks of food in boxes for when I start a 2 month car camping/traveling trip and I never though to separate them by days. But thats a lot more convenient than digging through multiples of everything every day. I already have the food which is a lot what you have here, except those clif bars 🤮 lol
GREAT CONTENT! I'm in the process of doing Bug out Bags for me and my family so this is REALLY GREAT INFO! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING ON THIS SUBJECT!
SPAM !!
Wow... Kopiko...? Is it true that you like it..? Indonesian people will love you. Because you buy products from Indonesia...👍 Hopefully you can have an adventure in Indonesia....
Beef, it's what's for apocalypse
I think a ziplock bag would be better so that it can be resealed as you travel.
awesome video i never knew that i could make my own MRE with items found in my local store. you have inspired me to have a go at making my own MRE thank you so much for uploading this. keep it coming
Great video. Gave me some ideas to try. Do you try and hit the 2000 cal and 90 gram of protein mark (estimated adult over 40) or just what sounds good? Would be interesting to see how this would match up cost wise. And Spam comes in singles???? How have I not known this???? I love Spam!!!
Thanks ..great ideas
I would have vacuum packed each meal separately. Then sealed the three meals in one Large bag.
Shelf life. To me it's worth it to spend a little more for things that will last longer. That way I don't have to constantly shuffle things.
I’ve had enough of MRE’s. Eat them when there is nothing else, but foil packed or canned or vacuum sealed or dried options are a terrific go-to. Be careful sealing those condiment packets.... they have air in them that will pop when it pulls the vacuum.
Great tip
I have a Army bandoleer belt , stuffed with that kind of stuff , built it for a 3 day bag but if I ration my stuff a little , it’ll last a week, and I have a bigger gym bag with more of the same plus easy cook meals , enough for a month with a water source, those pack of chicken and tuna don’t give you much but will make a ramen soup fantastic
How would these do inside your truck get home bag (in the hot weather)?
Not sure. Might not last as long. Would have to try that
Need to add travel pack tissues to wipe your butt later and book matches also plastic cutlery
I thought MRE stood for meal ready to eat, not ready to cook part of it? Maybe I thought wrong all this time.
A really great and informative video, thank ya. Looking forward to your next one.
Great knowlege ! and Happy Fathers Day to your family's dads too !
What you and most people don’t know about the MRE’s, is that they contain about 3500 calories per MRE. When I was a Ranger, we broke down our MRE’s to last us 3 days per MRE. What you and everyone should be concerned about here is, the amount of sodium and preservatives that are in the items that you are talking about in this video. People who are diabetic or have high blood pressure, should be avoiding these foods, because they contain high amounts of sodium and phosphates. It’s okay for once in a while, but not for everyday consumption. Shop around for healthier alternatives. Healthy conscious people should look at buying baby food. Those are healthier choices. I’ve made Ranger cookies and Ranger pudding from items in the MRE’s. I’d just use this video as a guide for choosing items to make your own MRE’s. Also, consider items for children too. Look at drink mixes, juice boxes, and drink mixes to replace electrolytes.
I used to buy the Hornet meal for my daughter when she was going camping with cadets.
Good video. Make sure to "date" these. Use these up after a year, and make some more. The cliff bars, and meat sticks will taste rancid after a year or so. Also find yourself some silverware packs (fork, spoon, knife, salt, pepper, napkin) If you want your ramen to take up less space, crush the noodles..LOL Keep up the good work.
Thanks. I learned something from this video. Every day I try to learn something. I have been packing survival kits, food kits and other meals for sixty years plus. On active military service I've dined on the MCI and MRE--and both A-Rations and B-Rations in the field.
The uninformed view military Meal, Ready to Eat as magical warrior monkey chow that will turn a chairborne commando into Rambo. Back in the 1930''s the C-Ration was individual and small unit feeding in the absence of a field kitchen. I got to try foreign military rations, too. Then there were survival rations and specialized rations. I researched American ration history focusing on the WW2 C-rations and the evolution to the MRE--but due to retirement in 2010 I'm not fully up-to-date on what the American field rations are like. Company field kitchens have vanished. Battalion field kitchens may have been replaced by attaching a field kitchen organic to expeditionary brigades. During the late 1930's the doughboy swapped two containers of hardtack, a "bacon" container, and a condiment can containing coffee, sugar, powdered milk, jellies and jams for six cans (think 16-ounce cans) that formed a daily ration of breakfast, dinner and supper (the US Army had a strong southern presence). One can contained the meat unit entree (called M-Unit) and one can held bread and other items (the B-Unit) and two cans formed a meal. Add to this an emergency D-ration, a four-ounce bar wrapped up to prevent spoilage and gas contamination, designed to be barely palatable, to be consumed only on orders from an officer when no other food was available. The D-Ration was deliberately unappealing so that the ever-hungry teenage soldiers wouldn't scarf down their emergency rations prematurely. Foreign army individual field rations were one box for 24 hours and may have been "five meals" depending on national customs. British rations included afternoon tea along with breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I didn't see any D-Ration analog in your home-made MRE.
Given this history, I asked "why do I have three meals?" Next I asked "do I really need to break out the tablecloths, candles, fine china and a snooty French waiter for every meal? Do I have three or four hours per meal?" Modern American combat rations include a 24-hour assault ration that can keep a soldier going without pausing for a meal break--just gobble it down while on the march or while standing watch.
I would suggest that canned entrees still have a place because heating the can is easier than heating the shelf-stable microwave meal. My units did have electric generators because I specialized in electronics (avionics, electronic warfare, multichannel and satellite communications) and it was possible to haul a microwave or electric coffee pot to the field. Don't try heating MRE packages in a microwave or after boiling water with an MRE packet using that water for coffee. It won't end well.
What degree of luxury do you demand? Full belly and a nap at lunch? Hunting camps may keep a camp kitchen in the camp and the hunters will strip down to the minimum for hunting--this means carrying ten rifle cartridges and limiting lunch to a sandwich, a coffee thermos, and an apple, or even just roughing it with a candy bar and a quart of water. Cooking will warn the game. Hikers can burn daylight by cooking up breakfast, lunch and dinner, then cleaning up and packing away their backpack kitchens--or they might cook one meal and "snack" two or three times with ready-to-eat cold food. Trail mix and granola bars were intended to be lighter than "real food" and healthier, too.
I used to work as a security guard, sometimes at remote locations. Sometimes I only was at the worksite for a set period and would report in upon arrival and departure. Other posts required me to relieve someone and be relieved before I could go home. Weather and other factors might strand me at the worksite, or my relief might not show up, so in addition to packing a lunch I kept three days of food and water in my car. I didn't expect to be on duty for more than 16 hours, but more than once I wound up working in excess of 40 hours before someone was able to take over and was on remote sites that didn't have access to restaurants or food stores. i even shared my emergency food with others sometimes. I'd rotate my emergency food through my normal lunch routine for two reasons--emergency food has a short shelf life when carried in the hostile environment of a car trunk and I had to be accustomed to consuming my emergency supply.
It is good that you demonstrated how to assemble a one-day food kit. Many people have their heart in the right place when they buy a couple of MRE's for an emergency food supply--they're far better prepared than someone who didn't bother. The surplus MREs may have expired--that's one reason the Department of Defense doesn't sell MREs retail, expiration dates and recall. Another very important factor is gaining experience preparing and eating meals. What good is a cookpot when the hiker doesn't know how to use a cook stove or build a fire? Most "outdoor" foods are pre-cooked and only require heating, or perhaps rehydration and heating. Metal cans aren't what weigh down a hiker--it's the water! Wet rations weigh about the same per serving whether packed in a metal can or packed in plastic baggies. A sixteen ounce can of beef stew is an equal in servings to two or Completas entrees. Bringing a cook pot negates ditching cans. I test out my outdoor meals at home where it's possible to replace something inedible with REAL food. Don't wait until stuck waiting for the snowplow to find out that the magical monkey chow has spoiled or was never edible to begin with. I observed soldiers (reservists and active duty) making themselves ill on their MRE because they were used to other foods. Some 'shelf-stable foods" such as chocolate will melt in high temperatures and liquids can freeze in low temperatures. Repeated heating and freezing will destroy MREs by causing the packages to leak, admit bacteria, and spoil. The commercial foods demonstrated are not as robustly packaged.
Just like a first aid kit, an emergency food kit cannot simply be purchased and forgotten. Take a first aid course along with purchasing a first aid kit. When I attended a recent Stop the Bleed class, I took along my trauma kit and checked with the trainers to see if my kit was still relevant. I replace first aid kit contents on a schedule and use the "expired" components in training, updating my first aid kits periodically. I did have military and security guard first aid training--I was even a Red Cross-certified CPR and first aid instructor for an overseas security contract lasting five years, and as the logistician for that contract I would maintain or replace the company first aid kits as needed. The same applies to food and water. Someone who puts a few bottles of water in their car trunk for emergencies is ahead of the game compared to those that don't bother, but when was the last time the trunk was cleaned out and the emergency supplies checked? Is your spare tire rotted away or does it still hold air?
Food is expensive and i grew up a poor boy. I used my emergency food supply in my normal diet so that I didn't have to throw away expensive packaged food after it had expired, so that the food was edible if I needed it for an emergency, so that I was used to eating the emergency food (one less thing contributing to having a bad day), and so that I was adept at preparing and consuming the food. Those are advantages to making a home-made MRE over purchasing "emergency rations''--especially when there's no reliable information on expiration date and storage conditions.
Great video thank you.
Nice kit. I could store it in my house. In Florida can't leave anything in the car.
If you had left the dinty wrapper on the bowl it could've help start a fire to heat the water
Since I'm from Wisconsin I would have to add cheese sticks to every meal. I am on a potato kick lately so maybe a pack of mashed potatoes for supper too. Yeah MRE'S are not cheap.
For deer hunting I used to have beef jerky and trail mix but now that I'm diabetic I gotta come up with something different
I keep them Hormel bowls in my food sack, they'll also heat up nicely in a pot of boiling water..
Someone asked that question on my Facebook group. I had not tried that method. I will be now. thanks
Do you think adding spicy foods would be detrimental to water supply? I always feel like drinking a lot of water after eating something spicy, and feel like it might have a negative impact in a real bugout situation
Everyone is different. I dont feel I need lots of water to wash down spicy food. So you have to build to your tastes.
I don't understand why people don't just dehydrate their own food and make their own MREs. Homemade chili, Spaghetti and lots of other things rehydrate well and taste just as good as when they were made.
Have you checked the price of dehydrators? Out of MY budget!
@@jlp5510 They're not near as bad as freeze dryers and with the price of dehydrated meals or MREs it wouldn't take it long to pay for itself. I own 2 of them.
The term 'MRE' stands for Meals Ready to Eat. The foods in them, excepting the drink powders in my experience, are literally ready to eat - they are different than Just Add Water foods/meals. MRE foods can usually be eaten without being heated, although there are chemical heaters that are often included with them. Edited to add: lightweight retort packaging for, and processing of, ready to eat foods is usually expensive - if not totally out of reach - for most people, but buying them prepared is often much more feasible.
problem with your homemade mre
1 . very high in sodium greater chance dehydration
2 . some stuff needs hot water
I think that's really distorting what an MRE is. This is just packing shit together. The problem with pack food, unless you have a freeze drier, is that the food is all shit. Processed carbs are not what you need for energy. Protein and fat. The body needing fat for energy and satiation being the issue. I'd rather cut weight elsewhere (or deal with the extra weight) and have sardines, more beef sticks, etc. Avoid quick burn/crashes like oats and shitty ramen.
It's a concept
It used to be that all Bumblebees tuna packets came with a folding spork in each package but the sporks are getting phased out.
Maybe vacuum seal each meal separately instead of all 3 so you don’t have to pack a vacuum sealer with you. I guess it depends on the type of food you pack as well.
In my limited experience, I have found that a cold meal when hungry is better than a hot meal when you're not hungry, is always better. A hot meal can be a GA, (a Give Away), the odor of a warm or hot meal can give away your position making you a target. I also noticed that you did not seem to have a listing of calories per meal. What was the Fat, Carbohydrate and Protein ratio per meal?
Very good info, I've eaten most of the items presented and the dinner meals I occasionally ate for lunch. Good variety. I can definitely see myself making several packs for each bag. Thank you 👍
Decent ideas there except for the "ready to eat" part. Most of these require prep, at least hot water
A lot of these home made "MRE" videos are guilty of this. So many meals, not ready to eat.
You still heat up MREs just like you'd have to heat up the foods he presented. You can eat an MRE cold and you can eat pretty much everything in the 1st one cold also, the oatmeal being the only exception.
Normally drink my coffee black, but those 3 in 1 coffees (I get a variety of international brands off Amazon, similar to the second one you showed) are rather good. Sometimes I crave them. I do the same as you- add more coffee in to balance the extra sweetness. I like the extra calories/energy the 3 in 1 provides for a bug out bag.
Thanks for vid! Like seeing the options used. Everyone can come up with their own meal kits to satisfy their individual nutritional needs and circumstances.
#1 best, most useful prepping video I've seen yet.
Powder milk, with water and make great pancakes, with powder eggs. But not processed foods for me.
Toss in a couple of sections of paper towel.
I like the dollar tree tuna kits..the chicken ones are good to.the hydrated banna, apple,and snack mix is also good..this is part of my 3 day run pak.
You forgot your spoon for the oatmeal.
Mres are heavy, expensive and the bag itself takes much space in the backpack
I'd suggest making it two tuna packets with two tortillas, and some Mayo and salsa packets. (Also you can get honey and butter packets at KFC.)
Side note; Dollar tree has some one oz bottles of real maple syrup.
Tips. Make sure your calorie intake is more than a normal days intake. You will be burning alot of calories through activities you normally do not do. Hydration values should exceed normal daily use, you will urinate more and loose vitamins and minerals, so replenish them. Be careful of items that can create bacteria from decomposition like tuna and chicken or beef. If I take these items I place the factory package inside a mylar and seal it, it's covers any accidental exposure from tiny holes that may be in the factory seal, double sealed. Store in a dry, cool place. Extreme temps especially heat can start the bacteria process faster and lose its storage life. The best way to go with all of it would be to purchase mylar bags and seal your own items. With dried items always use oxygen absorbers.
I would buy the packets of peanut butter and crackers, I would vacuum seal bags of powder eggs, dehydrated potatoes, onions, and yes there is powder butter, and complete pancake mix individually vacuum sealed packets. Powder eggs, etc.
Looks like a pretty decent DIY. For a comparison - Last week, I bought a TOTM MRE - Burrito Bowl @ $4.43 at a Military Base. Contained Orange-Electrolyte Drink, Burrito Bowl (Rice, Beans, Chicken), 2 Flour Tortillas, 2 (4x4) Crackers, Peanut Butter, Instant Coffee, Coffee Mate Creamer, 2-lg sugar packets, salt, pepper, hand towelette, Paper Towel, and Heater (Hotter than H3LL...), and military grade plastic spoon. (Not for commercial resale, but you can get the MRE at a Military Base if you're military or have a buddy that is). The Larger MRE's were about $12.50 ish - contain more, however, the TOTM is great for a Lunch -- had over 900 calories if you consume the Orange drink. (PS - I dropped the drink - 23g added sugar - which put me at 3g added sugar which was good)
Don't forget salt, pepper, or any condiments you want. They give them away with to go food, or ask for them, or carry a container with all your spices in individual stays with the ends melted. Just saying.
21 F: I’ve got an arctic Dutch MRE pack coming for my bug out bag I’m only 5’1 so I don’t need much it can easily spread over 3 days.
I’ve got some mre meals and snacks also coming so I can always swap out items I don’t like and can add.
I’ve also got some to put in the car if that’s my transportation.
I’ve also got sundries bags to get items I can trade, things like hot sauce, ketchup packets, salt, sugar, coffee and tea. I think metals are useless to trade but things like seasonings and food is going to be gold.
I lioe that idea of homemade MRE definitely a great idea . I thought about make me some i still am going to after watching your video. Thank for the great video
The nutrient survival packets are new please provide info on how long the last and taste tests would be great along with cost. Thanks.
Have you considered the Military FSR or First Strike Rations that come loaded with food. Im sure you have heard of them but if you haven't go check them out. Thanks for these great ideas.
i know theres a trade off for shelf life, mobility and ease but there seems to be a lot of sodium in your mre. whats the daily sodium intake eating this. seems youd need a bit more water in your intake to flush you properly? thanks for your video :-)