Without food, no living organism would be able to survive especially when in a life-threatening situation. A full stomach signals the brain that it’s safe and having a healthy meal means you can give your all to survive. This is what MREs are all about as they are used by the military to provide their soldiers with a proper meal without spending a lot of time cooking it.
An MRE (meal, ready-to-eat) is a self-contained complete meal that has rugged packaging that helps the food inside stay protected from the elements and provides more than enough calories for the day. But an MRE can be used by civilians too especially if you’re someone that goes hunting for days and wants to get the best food possible with the least amount of effort.
Benefits of an MRE Meal
Convenience
Since these types of meals are ready to eat they don’t require much on your side in order to be cooked. Some MRE food packs don’t require any preparation but you can buy practical MREs online that require some minimal preparation like heating some water and pouring it into the packaging. These are typically a bit tastier.
Balance
An MRE meal is made to provide you with all the necessary nutrients which makes it a balanced meal. To be able to have this in a difficult situation is a big plus as it will help keep your mind sharp and your body on alert.
Shelf Life
The fact that MRE meals are well protected from outside factors says a lot about their shelf life. In fact, the shelf life of an MRE meal is quite long as there are packs that can last up to 5 years or even more. If you buy MREs online and forget about them they will come in handy in the near future.
Portability
You might think that a pack of food with all the nutrients you need might weigh you down but that’s just not the case with an MRE. These packs of food are quite compact and lightweight too which makes them ideal when you need to cover a lot of ground.
What to Look for in MREs
Date
The first thing to look for in an MRE pack is the date which isn’t stamped the way you expect it to be. It’s a 4-digit number that represents the year and the day of the year the pack was made. For example, a pack with a 7151 on it means that it was made on the 151st day of 2017 or 21 May 2017. The first digit signifies the most recent year that matches it and the last three digits refer to the day.
Contents
You should also check the contents of an MRE pack. Alongside carbs, fats and protein it should contain Iron, Calcium, vitamin C, vitamin A and Potassium. Keep in mind that a proper MRE meal should have 40 to 50 g of fats, 30 to 40 g of proteins, and 150 to 200 grams of carbohydrates.
Types
There are two types of MRE food packs, military-grade and civilian packs. A military-grade MRE is one that is used by the army, both in emergencies and on a daily basis. There are far more options than you get with a civilian MRE but the price of one is also a lot higher. Civilian MREs come with fewer calories and they are therefore also much lighter but they are not as balanced in nutrients. Civilian MREs are still easy to prepare and a lot better than bringing some dried ham or crackers.
How to Cook an MRE
- To cook an MRE meal you need to first find the entree pouch and cardboard sleeve. Then you need to place the meal pouch into the bag together with the heater. While holding the pack and the heater above the fill lines on the pouch, pour water into the bag until it goes up to the fill line.
- Once the top of the bag is filled with around 30 ml of water, place the heat pack and meal into the water and fold the top of the heat pack over. The MRE heat pack should go into the cardboard sleeve but under the meal since the heat rises.
- After that place the pack so that it sits upright. You can do so on a rock or your boot as it prevents it from leaking. Once 10 minutes have passed remove the meal from the pack and you’re ready to fill up your stomach.
FAQ
Can I Eat Them Every Day?
Although MRE food packs have all the nutrients you need, the way they are made available for you to consume isn’t the best. This is why you shouldn’t consume MRE meals every single day. You can do so only a couple of days in a row but you shouldn’t do more as they can cause constipation.
How Long Do They Last?
As mentioned above MREs usually last 5 or more years but if stored properly they can last more than 10 years.
Are There Side Effects?
Alongside being constipated MREs can make a change in your urine, energy and appetite which is pretty normal.
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