Best Tasting MREs or Dehydrated Meals?

Having had many relatives in the military and been through a bunch of hurricanes where we were given MRE's to eat for weeks at a time - i can tell you, these things are Garbage. They are loaded with salt and fat, taste terrible and have little real nutritional value. They are like the RDA, Recommended Daily Allowance for nutritional values - These values are the bare minimum needed to prevent scurvy and other symptoms of the body breaking down due to hunger - they are not meant to live on but only keep you alive for a short time.

Dehydrated meals are not much better and may be worse. Plus you have to either carry a LOT of water or have the ability to find fresh water where ever you go. Same with MRE's they are bulky and heavy.

I'd suggest staying away from both these meals. I'd carry dried meats fruits and veggies and drinking water only while you travel, and rely on the land around you to provide real everyday food. Get some good military survival manuals you can read on a small tablet PC or phone and a solar charger to charge the device. Learn what plants and animals are edible in your area that grow wild. There's TONS of food all around us, enough to never have to carry bulky foods if you just know what to look for.

Some of those MRE dinners look sooo tasty I suppose if you really wanted to torture yourself to feel like others it would be ok. I got one to taste it a couple of years ago, it was alright to eat once. I'd rather get cans of stew and some canned meats myself. Baroni's canned Raviolis are pretty good, made with real meat too. They can be ordered from www.baronis.com... Heck of a lot better than the most other brands.

If I have to go through hell, at least I want to eat food that tastes decent.

reply to post by JohnPhoenix


Just ordered some playing cards that have full color pics of edible and dangerous plants in the southeast US.
That deck is going in the BOB.

Also, I do have such manuals as PDF's on my smartphone, and in my BOB, I have a Radio/Light/Cell Charger to keep it powered. So I do have access to the info.

Thing is, I'm going to be focused on walking home....not spending hours foraging, so that's why I need to take food with me. My whole goal will be to get back to the ranch, assuming some SHTF event happens while I'm at work, nearly 50 miles away from the ranch. The only reason I'd even camp, is that assuming the power goes out, I won't be able to see where I'm going in the dark, so camping is the best option. Getting my butt home is the primary job my BOB is geared for.

reply to post by rickymouse

. I'd rather get cans of stew and some canned meats myself.

Yep, that's what I have in there now.

Just always looking to see where I can cut weight though.

reply to post by Gazrok


The MRE's are so expensive and they often have drier foods meaning you still need to drink more water. Carling liquids one way or another is necessary. If there are fresh streams and you have pills for the water, no problem.

Originally posted by JohnPhoenix
I'd suggest staying away from both these meals. I'd carry dried meats fruits and veggies and drinking water only while you travel, and rely on the land around you to provide real everyday food. Get some good military survival manuals you can read on a small tablet PC or phone and a solar charger to charge the device. Learn what plants and animals are edible in your area that grow wild. There's TONS of food all around us, enough to never have to carry bulky foods if you just know what to look for.

So how many consecutive days and miles have you spent traveling with dried meat and fruit and carrying water but never resupplying on water......oh.... and living off the land out of a book or computer?.
Just curious.

BTW,
I lived off of MRE's with almost no cooked food for several months in Iraq. That's not to mention about 12 years of eating them every time I went to the field. Seemed like my unit was always in the field.
They didn't kill me.
I went 500 miles on the AT and ate a hell of a lot of these freeze dried meals. They work just fine.
Water weighs about 8 pounds a gallon and a hiker with a pack will go through a lot of it.
You will need to resupply on water every day if you aren't carrying an extra 20 pounds of it all the time.

Cooking dehydrated meals and eating mre's will not require any more water consumption than dried meat and fruit.

As far as foraging goes, unless you have practiced that and become very proficient you will not be able to travel any faster or eat better. Unless of course you are foraging in a grocery store or a garden.
You are more likely to be shot foraging in or on someones land though. Especially if it is a situation that requires a bug out. People will be protecting what food they have and they will not take to foraging trespassers very well.

Any foraging I do will simply be if I happen upon something while traveling. And that is extremely possible, as soon as I get closer to home, I'm in more farm country, and though I won't be trespassing, food often grows around farms too. As the poster above mentioned, I know I'll be protecting my area, so I'm sure others will do likewise.

That's why I carry a Motorola radio, so that when I get closer, I can let my wife know not to shoot me! We have it worked out, so that if something happens, and she knows I'm likely hoofing it home, she knows to (starting day 2) turn on the radio at timed intervals to check and see if I'm within range. I don't want her, or one of the others getting trigger happy on ME!

I do have many water sources on the way (and purification means), so that shouldn't be too bad. I carry some water though, just in case the SHTF event contaminates it.

reply to post by Gazrok


@ times Gazrok, 1 considers what the value of say an vitamin and mineral source over actual food. Of course you want to eat the same but @ times when food may be scarce the vitamin mineral may keep the sustained, and is more compact, outta box...

NAMASTE*******

not the best tasting externally but internally physically ?

reply to post by Ophiuchus 13


I want actual food because I'll be walking for hours a day, for about 3 days. It isn't about sameness....it's about caloric intake and energy. That said, adding (3) multivitamins to my BOB wouldn't be a bad idea.

reply to post by Gazrok


I understand totally what you are saying 1 is just saying that the human body has abilities that the mind can force out if needed. And that over times the humanoid vessel/body from MASS SOS ELE type exposures was has been forced to evolve with what it had @ those moments of mass distress. And so hunger and evaluations accepted. But mind being forced to adjust to whatever is going on will push the body to its furthest measures. So in one period the spirit of man vessel body carrier may have been larger due to what ingested materials were present to the then. But during distress periods on the spirit containing body the body began to shrink due to less and less and less materials ingested. this is where 1 is reaching into the spirit of man seeing that yes may be even more then 3 hour walks following thread OP premise yes but when eating is secondary to you because others may have to WILL kicks in and you somehow manage to do it... So the vitamin mineral deposits source would be used more by those in front or leading doing more work naturally yet ingesting less due to allowing others to feed... Going into the depths if requested and so evolve am I concerned with eating or SURVIVING 1 knows strange.

For my backup food, as well as hiking foods I go with a few different foods:

Eating on the move:
Protein bars (I use Powerbar and cliff bars due to the choices they offer)

Taking a rest to eat:
Mountain House foods here (they have quite a few really tasty choices, and they are cooked up in their own bag)
You will have to sacrifice some water for this as they are freeze-dried, but having a water filter pump on hand while hiking is the norm for me. On the flip side of this the water does have to be brought to a boil before using, so even in a pinch you shouldn't have to worry about getting sick from the water usage on any "found" water supply you might use with these foods.

Setting up camp foods:
I use Wise Food here (sometimes with Survival Cave canned meats, sometimes without. I sometimes just go with the freeze dried meats Wise produces)

Wise foods are a lot like Mountain House in that they are freeze-dried foods, but they are not complete meals on their own. So having to mix a few bags to get a good meal isn't out of the norm here (a few can be eaten by themselves, but I always find them lacking as a stand alone meal). Usually who ever I'm hiking with will divide up the evening meal parts through out the group. (if I'm at house and using it as a backup food source, then it doesn't matter here)

Hope that helps. Military MRE's are ok, but for the weight I always go with freeze-dried. Given the amount of food I can carry plus the weight cost of a water filter and hobo-stove I feel it's a better use then the same amount of MRE's being used. If you're going on a point to point mission speed is your friend, and limiting how much weight you're carrying will a great start. This is where freeze-dried foods have their biggest advantage.

Originally posted by badgerprints

Originally posted by JohnPhoenix
I'd suggest staying away from both these meals. I'd carry dried meats fruits and veggies and drinking water only while you travel, and rely on the land around you to provide real everyday food. Get some good military survival manuals you can read on a small tablet PC or phone and a solar charger to charge the device. Learn what plants and animals are edible in your area that grow wild. There's TONS of food all around us, enough to never have to carry bulky foods if you just know what to look for.

So how many consecutive days and miles have you spent traveling with dried meat and fruit and carrying water but never resupplying on water......oh.... and living off the land out of a book or computer?.
Just curious.

BTW,
I lived off of MRE's with almost no cooked food for several months in Iraq. That's not to mention about 12 years of eating them every time I went to the field. Seemed like my unit was always in the field.
They didn't kill me.
I went 500 miles on the AT and ate a hell of a lot of these freeze dried meals. They work just fine.
Water weighs about 8 pounds a gallon and a hiker with a pack will go through a lot of it.
You will need to resupply on water every day if you aren't carrying an extra 20 pounds of it all the time.

Cooking dehydrated meals and eating mre's will not require any more water consumption than dried meat and fruit.

As far as foraging goes, unless you have practiced that and become very proficient you will not be able to travel any faster or eat better. Unless of course you are foraging in a grocery store or a garden.
You are more likely to be shot foraging in or on someones land though. Especially if it is a situation that requires a bug out. People will be protecting what food they have and they will not take to foraging trespassers very well.

edit on 19-7-2013 by badgerprints because: (no reason given)

I've done this about a week 5 to 7 days at a time camping. We go camping about twice a year and bring almost nothing with us. We look for fresh water sources to camp near. The thing is like the Op alluded to, you have to have a plan when you bug out - you have to know where you are going and whats between you and your destination and how you plan to best use your resources.

You were military trained to carry 70 lbs plus of stuff on your back for 20 miles hikes at a time - most people are not. For most people traveling like ( with lots of water and food - over 20 lbs for water alone) that would be overkill and tax their bodies more than help them. Of course i'm talking about being on foot in the woods not on the highway in a van. In my situation i would not be trying to return home from work but to stay in the woods either until things in the city die down or to get to another safer location depending on what type of SHTF situation your dealing with.

Of course the MRE's wont kill you but they are bad for you.. just look at the sodium and fat content. So for a family of 4 you need 80 pounds or 10 gallons of water per day. Your party consists of you, the wife and two children - they are not going to help carry that weight. This will be the greatest enemy for your moral and fatigue will set in. I just cant see recommending that for most people.

When I talk about foraging, I'm talking about eating things most people don't consider food so these things won't be missed by anyone. ( like pine nuts and different types of edible grasses etc) Of course if you go to Bobs Nursery and pick the apples your going to get in trouble. There is always fishing and hunting small game which when fresh will be much better for you nutrition wise than the "meat" from an MRE any day.

I say if you have the means to carry that amount of stuff go for it but if you can't learn to do it smarter, not harder.

reply to post by JohnPhoenix


I have no qualms about eating anything I need to survive, whether it's bugs, etc. You situation is just different than mine, yours is more about bugging out to the wilderness. Mine is about bugging home to a ranch, where I'll have family and friends, supplies, water, etc. So what we carry will differ greatly, I imagine. (You'll also need higher quality gear, as mine only has to last 3 days).... Your loved ones will be with you, whereas seeing mine will be my goal.

reply to post by Gazrok

Does anyone know of long term store-able foods with healthy/natural ingredients?

Originally posted by JohnPhoenix

I've done this about a week 5 to 7 days at a time camping.

This is good. I'm surprised that you do it with very little food. It is a good training exercise.

We look for fresh water sources to camp near.

So does everyone else who is in a refugee situation. Most will have to get water quick and move on. Camping there will not be an option. It's like the watering hole in an African wildlife documentary.
The predators wait at the watering hole for food to come to them.

You were military trained to carry 70 lbs plus of stuff on your back for 20 miles hikes at a time - most people are not.

I was in the infantry back when we walked everywhere getting ready to fight Russians and we walked EVERYWHERE. I was called back in for the first and second gulf wars. We didn't walk near as much but still a lot. I can tell you that the military was not the best training I got for long distance hiking. It was hiking the AT. I also can attest to the fact that if you are hiking to make distance out you will carry 20-35 pounds of gear and the rest is food and water. Most of the hikers on the AT were not military and did fine.

In my situation i would not be trying to return home from work but to stay in the woods either until things in the city die down or to get to another safer location depending on what type of SHTF situation your dealing with.

Staying in the woods is great if you have the woods to yourself. Most people would not unless they were ready to travel great distances to get away from other refugees.

Of course the MRE's wont kill you but they are bad for you.. just look at the sodium and fat content.

Sodium and fat are exactly what your body needs when you sweat from sunup to sundown hiking, fuel and electrolytes.

So for a family of 4 you need 80 pounds or 10 gallons of water per day. Your party consists of you, the wife and two children - they are not going to help carry that weight.

So you need water just like everybody else. No matter what food you bring.
By the way, if your wife and kids won't carry their share then there is a problem.
Even kids and pets can carry something.

When I talk about foraging, I'm talking about eating things most people don't consider food so these things won't be missed by anyone. ( like pine nuts and different types of edible grasses etc)

Yes. I understand that. and if you have the experience, have a healthy patch of woods and a water supply and can camp safely and don't actually need to expend a lot of calories then that can work.
But it won't work for someone like the OP who plans on walking 50 miles to get home.

The average American lives 16 miles from home and guess what? Most of them won't make it home on the first day. If there was an EMP or emergency that shut down the roads there would be no riding.

People would have to walk further than most of them ever had at any one time in their lives. None of them will be burning up the miles while foraging for nuts and grasses but a pre-packaged meal will do a lot of good towards getting someone home or to a safer place.

I say if you have the means to carry that amount of stuff go for it but if you can't learn to do it smarter, not harder.

Carrying what you need in an emergency situation is the smarter way to do it. Relying on food that may not be there is questionable.
As I pointed out in a previous post, all food has a purpose and a place.

Recommending that other people go into the woods with little food and a survival manual while ignoring the best resources available because of sodium and fat content seems to be more of an emotional mindset than logical thinking.

reply to post by Gazrok


When I was in the army back in the 80's I liked the beef stew and or the meet all Meels. Both tasted good hot or cold. But that was a long time ago. And BTW they where made by Cadillac products back then. ( a dog food company) FYI

Originally posted by murfdog
reply to post by Gazrok

 

When I was in the army back in the 80's I liked the beef stew and or the meet ball Meels. Both tasted good hot or cold. But that was a long time ago. And BTW they where made by Cadillac products back then. ( a dog food company) FYI

A subject during this thread re-foraging.
There are a lot of people with the mindset to not actually take steps to carry their own means of food and support. It reminds me of some people I met on the trail.

When I hiked the AT we mostly carried everything we needed including a tent. Packs were 35 to 55 pounds.
There is a breed of hiker called an ultralight hiker. their packs were 10-20

These people carry almost no gear in order to hike very quickly.

The problem is that they find themselves far from civilization with not enough food, not enough clothing and no shelter.
In inclement weather hikers in a shelter will always squeeze in one more but I've seen ultralighters demand that someone with a tent leave the shelter. I've also seen ultralighters begging food from other hikers because they underestimated what they needed or "couldn't find anything to eat." No kidding.
It had nothing to do with availability of food in the towns where hikers resupplied. It was because they simply didn't want to carry enough food.

I never had any sympathy for these people because they had it in their heads that they were somehow better/ smarter than the rest of the hikers because they had a lighter load and could make faster miles. They talked down to "heavy hikers" and laughed at them. Then they would turn around and demand food, water and even shelter from the same people that they laughed at for carrying a heavy load.

It was a real eye opener seeing how these people acted.
They wanted to walk a 2200 mile long trail but were too lazy to carry enough food and shelter.
That's as illogical a mindset as I've ever seen.

When it comes to survival, even for the fun of it, there is no easy path and no free ride.

These nuts were not the rule. Some of the ultralighters were smart, fast, and very self sufficient. But many who tried to do it cut the wrong corners and were a danger to themselves and sometimes to others.

The point being, just like ultralighters, foraging takes skill and preparation along with a realistic idea of what is needed to get by. Some are accomplished at it but that seems to be an aquired skill. Best to practice it before expecting to find out the hard way that you need better prep.

Aren't MREs the same thing as dehydrated meals? Years ago my friends dad who is a marine brought some MRE bags to school. You just add hot water and, presto a full meal on the go. I think I had lasagna or something and I remember it tasting REALLY good.