Please school me on MREs (or equivalent)

I am looking to replace my emergency food supplies.
I have been storing canned items, but I have seen the cans bloat after a while and I understand it is not a good sign...

MREs sound like a good option, easier to store, longer shelf life etc...
Problem is, having not served, I have no direct knowledge and I would like to hear your opinions (pros, cons etc.).
They seem to be quite expensive:
https://shop.opticsplanet.com/milita...iABEgLw0fD_BwE
$75 for 12 servings sounds like a lot, but then again, I wouldn't know...
Anybody has a better source?

Also, this keeps popping out:
https://mypatriotsupply.com/pages/1-...O1DF7CAKwT6V4U
Sounds almost to good to be true, $147 for 252 servings, with up to 25 years shelf life!
Anybody has any experience with them?

Thank you for your help!

What is your intended purpose of the food stores? to bug out or bug in? What scenarios are you looking at? How much work are you willing to put in yourself? Do you have a finite amount of space to dedicate to this? Do you need it to be portable? Etc

Our can food last several years past the expiration date.
Wondering why your stuff is going bad. I rarely see a bad can unless it’s has a hole.
Our panty isn’t very hot in the summer and above freezing in winter.
Old C rations were canned with little problems except weight.

Realistically, we are not bugging out anywhere.
Hoping to make it through a short/medium event, one or two months tops.
Home is small and space is tight.
No need to make it portable, but it would be a plus.
We have been getting our cans at grocery stores, probably not that fresh to begin with and who knows how they have been stored.
Current stash is fine for now, but I'd like to rotate i
They all say best before **** 2017 but no bloating

Mre's have pros and cons. Based on the info I have for your situation I'd say get a few. The biggest advantage to them is that they require no water to cook. You can eat them without activating the heater. They have bulky packaging and honestly aren't very tasty, some are far worse than others. I'd suggest just buying some components if you want to try them out. Some are instant heartburn for me.

https://theepicenter.com/mre-meals-ready-to-eat.html

The drink powders and desserts are better off being replaced by stuff you can get locally.

the patriot supply tub o food is mostly just pancake mixes and soup mixes, instant potatos, and instant rice. Which you could get cheaper at your local store.

If you were to write a check for a survival stash of food mountain house is superior tasting.

If space is limited and you just want calories to stash without worrying about cooking lifeboat rations would be the way to go. They taste like a very bland sugar cookie or a slightly sweet biscuit.
https://theepicenter.com/mainstay-24...-bar-case.html

Otherwise the go to is simply taking the meals you normally make and stacking them deep, allowing you to rotate thru the stash far before they expire with a 60-90 day supply you should be able to rotate that in a year.

You really have to boil down the cost/calorie to determine the best bang for your buck.

In addition to other stores, I keep 6-8 cases of real MRE around, they have very high caloric value and are a must have if you can get a good deal on some. It's been a few years (I do need to rotate some cases) but I never paid more than 35-45 per case with the right connections. Kept in a cool dry dark basement, the shelf life on them is much longer than their inspection date.

I have a mix of MRE, Mountain House, and Augason Farms rations in addition to (store bought) canned goods. Conservatively though, I'm a rookie and only have about 30 days food for the 3.5 of us. Without a resupply, we'll run out of water before food.

I keep three 20lb bags of rice on hand. It will stretch your MRE's a long way. Stores fairly easy too. Goes good with small game too. Good to thicken up soups, stews etc.

If you have no intention of going anywhere and have room. The nice part is everything is canned and or in sealed bags, ready to go. the IMO bad thing, is you're no longer able to can your own dry goods. Still worth the drive. Exit south on chambers off 70, to 35th, right then left on fraser.

https://www.lds.org/?lang=eng

LDS Bishops Storehouse
3233 Fraser St, Aurora, CO 80011
(303) 371-7650

The only good MREs are the .gov property ones. I’ve tried a few of the commercial ones that are passed off as the real deal at surplus stores and the heaters never work in them and the food quality isnt as good either.

When private industry can't make food as well as government, you really have to wonder about the quality. Haha

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Originally Posted by Great-Kazoo

If you have no intention of going anywhere and have room. The nice part is everything is canned and or in sealed bags, ready to go. the IMO bad thing, is you're no longer able to can your own dry goods. Still worth the drive. Exit south on chambers off 70, to 35th, right then left on fraser.

https://www.lds.org/?lang=eng

LDS Bishops Storehouse
3233 Fraser St, Aurora, CO 80011
(303) 371-7650

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Thanks but I think I would choke or break up in hyves...[Muaha]

Around here in The Springs guys are selling cases for as low as $40 on Craigslist.
Check there to save some money.
Found this:
http://www.armslist.com/posts/952186...l-ready-to-eat

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Originally Posted by bellavite1

Thanks but I think I would choke or break up in hyves...[Muaha]

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You misspelled "burst into flames."

LOL

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Originally Posted by Irving

When private industry can't make food as well as government, you really have to wonder about the quality. Haha

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Well, there is the cheese.

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Originally Posted by TEAMRICO

Around here in The Springs guys are selling cases for as low as $40 on Craigslist.
Check there to save some money.
Found this:
http://www.armslist.com/posts/952186...l-ready-to-eat

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That same guy has them listed at $60 on craigslist.

For a survival food I would keep a few around for that situation where you aren’t able to cook something. I used to get MREs from a friend that could buy them on base. I like them for quick camping trips, they are heavy and bulky as a camping item but you get a trade off as you don’t need to pack a stove or any cookware amd honestly the ones I’ve had were better than any mountain house stuff I’ve had. They dont keep as long as you might think so you need to use them up and rotate them. I wouldnt buy any that have a package date older than 2 years.

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Originally Posted by Great-Kazoo

If you have no intention of going anywhere and have room. The nice part is everything is canned and or in sealed bags, ready to go. the IMO bad thing, is you're no longer able to can your own dry goods. Still worth the drive. Exit south on chambers off 70, to 35th, right then left on fraser.

https://www.lds.org/?lang=eng

LDS Bishops Storehouse
3233 Fraser St, Aurora, CO 80011
(303) 371-7650

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I was just coming to post them, though looks like link changed. After some navigating this should go to the store page w/ the food prep stuff.

https://store.lds.org/CategoryDispla...57345616676768

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Originally Posted by def90

The only good MREs are the .gov property ones. I?ve tried a few of the commercial ones that are passed off as the real deal at surplus stores and the heaters never work in them and the food quality isnt as good either.

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Are you sure they weren't just old? The MRE heaters lose potency over time. Evidently you can mitigate this somewhat by pouring the salt packet that comes with the MRE into the ration heater.

I’d say the bad about dehydrated is it consumes your water source.

My point exactly...
Cans do not sound that bad after all...
Can canned food be bad even though there is no swelling in the can itself?

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Originally Posted by bellavite1

My point exactly...
Cans do not sound that bad after all...
Can canned food be bad even though there is no swelling in the can itself?

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You are generally looking at degradation of taste, texture and nutrition with extremely out of date canned goods showing zero signs of compromise.

Sure, it could be a ticking time bomb, but if it stays sealed and has been stored in a proper, stable environment, chances are it's safe.

At the very least, with no swelling, odor or taste issues, you get minimized nutrition, but its not costing you water resources, as mentioned above.

Always practice due diligence with canned goods though.

Sent from somewhere...

I would say stock up on the Augason farms stuffs Walmart has it in stock at alot of their stores. If they dont have what your looking for go to Walmart.com and order most orders of $50 or more ship for free. Also you can buy bulk bags of rice, beans, etc at Sam's, Costco, and Shamrock foods pick up some 5 gallon buckets and mylar bag and seal yourself with a cheap hair straightener that can be picked up at most Goodwills for a couple bucks

I keep MREs in the vehicles for emergencies but would never use them as my primary SHTF food planning. There are many more space-efficient, tastier options when you can plan on storage and bulk. Some of them have been mentioned above. One of the good things about millenials getting interested in camping is that the selections for camping food is now quite varied so you can choose from more than Dinty Moore or Hormel Beef Stew for your long term emergency food storage.

REI has a great selection of gourmet backpacking food.

I like this stuff when hunting.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...16a37c73e1.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The thing about prepping foods for bugging in is that you should keep it as consistent as possible with what you already consume.

I can our own food, and rotate through our stock fairly regularly- there's no question of is something is bad or old, because I have the date on it and know what the signs of possible botulism are.

Are these foods you are already used to eating? What is the duration of time you're looking to bridge with your stores? How much water do you have set by? Do you have spices as well?

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Originally Posted by TheGrey

The thing about prepping foods for bugging in is that you should keep it as consistent as possible with what you already consume.

I can our own food, and rotate through our stock fairly regularly- there's no question of is something is bad or old, because I have the date on it and know what the signs of possible botulism are.

Are these foods you are already used to eating? What is the duration of time you're looking to bridge with your stores? How much water do you have set by? Do you have spices as well?

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Too hard to dry age a whole side of beef in the basement.

Ugg, people on an AR website shopping at REI which is an openly anti gun company.

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Originally Posted by brutal

Too hard to dry age a whole side of beef in the basement.

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I meant that the OP should not make the mistake that many starting preppers do, of selecting foods they don't normally eat for their SHTF storage. :)

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Originally Posted by brutal

Too hard to dry age a whole side of beef in the basement.

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Isn't that what basements are for?

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Originally Posted by brutal

Too hard to dry age a whole side of beef in the basement.

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Originally Posted by Irving

Isn't that what basements are for?

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used SxS frige off CL and some of these will do the job

https://umaidry.com/

Sierra Trading has a bunch of camping style gear and foods now for great pricing. https://www.sierra.com/camp-food~d~10100/

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Originally Posted by ChadAmberg

Sierra Trading has a bunch of camping style gear and foods now for great pricing. https://www.sierra.com/camp-food~d~10100/

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Mountain house are pretty good tasting and pack well. Only downside is that you need more water.

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Originally Posted by whitewalrus

Mountain house are pretty good tasting and pack well. Only downside is that you need more water.

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That's always the debate: Do you carry the water separate (freeze dried) or as part of the meal (MRE type)? Overall you'll be dealing with the same weight, it's just transport logistics I think.

Going to hike/camp where's there are streams with water you can filter? Go freeze dried for weight reduction works...

I always carry an ample supply of freeze dried water. [emoji6]

Sent from somewhere...

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Originally Posted by crays

I always carry an ample supply of freeze dried water. [emoji6]

Sent from somewhere...

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Just add air-- imported from Druidia of course...[ROFL1]

My take on MREs: they are good enough and packable but like most have said, it’s better to strip the cardboard and extra plastic wrapping from inside the package before carrying.
If you have to buy any, my first choice would be cold weather MREs; they will cost more but the main meal and side are mountain house branded meals. Downside is they are freezes dried and require water.
Next, I would buy totems or training MREs; it’s basically a MRE with out all the extra packaging and a no sides. Most have a main meal, apple sauce and m&ms
Last, I would look for regular MREs; you know the deal about these so I won’t beat a dead horse.