M.R.E.'s

[DocMobius]

How about mre's?
Has anyone had experience with them on the river,camping? When I Was in the Army they were sometimes better than the chow hall food. Just thinking of how easy they are to carry and cook without having to keep iced down.
I bought a case from a friend for emergency, and thought they would be good for camping. :roll: DocMobius

 

[Kayak Jack]

How about mre's? (SNIP) Just thinking of how easy they are to carry and cook without having to keep iced down. (SNIP) DocMobius

DocM,

A good paddling buddy of mine carries them all the time out camping. My ob servations vollow:

1. A little pricey, but very convenient.
2. LOTS of calories. I'd do two a day with fresh fruit/ veggies for lunch. I carry a couple of heads of small cabbage, carrots, onions. Makes a geat fresh cabbage salad with some olive oil & Realemon juice on. Also carry fresh oranges; take more rough treatment than apples. Dried apricots & figs good too.
3. Inspect food bags to be certain no leaks. Wash in warm soapy water to remove any trace of food odor & no need to hang in trees.
4. Get the food warmers to go with them. Much better hot than cold. But, I'll bet you know that already.
5. I'd plan on eating real food about every third day. Not a lot of variety in MRE's.

Adventurefoods.com (Jean Spangenberg) has some VERY good foods as another similar route.

 

[Swampy]

Doc, all that I have heard about the MREs is bad... nothing like the "C-Rats" we had back in the 60s. Now there were some good eating, ( yea better than the chow hall). Loved the biskets... most guys didn't know how to bake em jest right... nice and hot and soft... bake them in their own can over a small can of dirt with av gas as fuel... yum-yum.
My daughters father in law retired ltCol told me they wasn't anything like what we had in the cans.
When I do go out for an extended camp, I'll use dried foods and some of those dinners Jean has for sale. Lots of info about foods for the trail... many here too. I have been wanting to make those potatoe pancakes that Jack mentioned... but can't keep a cup of beer around here till morning to make them! :cry:
Most of the time when on the trail I'll eat less than at home... but the wife wants to carry 100 pounds in candy and snacks... sigh...
swampy

 

[Jean]

MRE's

I carry a few MRE's on my site, and I have eaten quite a few myself in the past. I am not as familiar with some of the newer ones as I am the older ones. In the past, the ones that I have really enjoyed were the
1. BBQ pork and rice, which was mostly pork and with the addition of a good BBQ sauce like the newer Tabasco Chipolte sauce, it would be a dandy BBQ sandwich!
2. Chicken a la king- not so tasty by itself, but with the addition of a can of evaporated milk and some rice, a fantastic cream of chicken and rice stew.(they may not make this one anymore.)
3. The Ham slice, wased off because it is extremely salty, and cooked with a can of green beans, makes a good dinner.

Anyway, I guess I mostly have mixed the MRE with fresher items for a better flavor. I don't really eat them just the way they are. They are usually just too salty for my taste by themselves.

I would suggest that if you think you want to try some, only get one of a couple of different ones to see which one if any you might really like before buying any more. Try them at home first. I can think of nothing worse food wise, than getting on the trail or in camp with only one thing to eat and hating it. Besides, if I won't eat it at home, I woudn't eat it on an outdoor trip either.

Jean