Tag Archives: food storage

A Smaller, Lighter MRE ?

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14-10 MRE 2 courseA couple years ago, I reviewed Meal Kit Supply’s MREs. Meal Kit Supply offers quality, U.S. made MREs that contain 100% military MRE components. Our family stocks them for emergencies, and I recommend them to friends.

So when Meal Kit Supply came out with a new product, a 2-course meal (as opposed to their traditional 3-course meal), I was interested in seeing it.

(new) 2-Course Meal(traditional) 3-Course Meal
containsentrée, dessertentrée, cracker/bread w spread, dessert
weightapprox 11 oz (310 g)approx 20 oz (560 g)
caloriesapprox 600approx 1200
per case612
cost$44.95 (free shipping)$129.95 (free shipping)

Both also contain: electrolyte drink mix, spoon, napkin, and flameless heater. The 3-Course Meal also includes instant coffee and condiments.

I’ve been asked: Why not just take a standard MRE and break it down, throwing away all the excess packing (weight and size), and then taping it up — like we did when we were in the military? My answer: That was fine if you knew you were going to eat the meal in the next day or two. But these meals are factory packaged: water proof, hermetically sealed (to keep out pests), with a five year shelf life! 

13-8 MRE shirtI like them. They’re a smaller, lighter meal with all the quality you’ve come to expect from Meal Kit Supply, and military grade MREs in general. Adding one (or two) to your every day carry kit adds very little weight or bulk, but a lot of piece of mind.

 

Post Script (10/7/14):

People have asked about how they tasted. They have the same good flavor/texture/taste as the other Meal Kit Supply MREs we reviewed before. But our family (five of us, Ryan was living in Moab at the time) did eat, evaluate, recorded comments, and rated them on a scale of 1 to 5 (1=terrible, 3=not bad at all, 5=pretty darn good). So of the random three we ate, here’s our menus, comments and average scores:

  • Beef Ravioli in Meat Sauce, Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookie, Grape Electrolyte Beverage Powder (EBP): “really good” / “tastes like real ravioli” / “a little dry/chalky” — SCORE: entrée 4.0  / cookie 4.0
  • Vegetarian Ratatouille, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Lemon Lime EBP: “good texture” / “plenty of flavor” / “a little metallic taste” / “tastes like meat” / “mushy vegetables” — SCORE: entrée 3.8 / cookie 3.5
  • Spaghetti w Meat Sauce, Oatmeal Cookie, Orange EBP: “texture was like real spaghetti” / “noodles were soft” / “tastes like elementary school spaghetti” — SCORE: entrée 3.4 / cookie 4.0

On a side note, the kids are getting much more proficient using the heaters now that they’ve had some practice.

Hunger is a Powerful Motivator

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I haven’t eaten for the past 60 hours, and I don’t plan on eating for 36 more.

No we didn’t have a disaster or anything. I’m doing a prolonged fast as a personal health experiment (see Post Script below).

fastingDuring this time I can’t help reflecting on the discomfort, distraction, and concerns about going hungry. I’ve never gone this long without food, the longest I had before was less than 24 hours. It’s interesting to see the effects it has on my body, mind, and emotion.

Before I go on, let me define my fast: I’m only drinking water, water with 1/2 lemon in it (once a day), coffee, and I suck on sunflower seeds (but then spit the seed out with the shell). I’m not eating at all, essentially no caloric intake.

The first 24 hours were the hardest. When it was time to eat, I didn’t eat and my body didn’t like that or understand why. That evening I felt like crap and had a bad (hangover-type) headache. I was easily distracted and it was harder to concentrate.

hungryThe next morning I felt better, more normal – but I craved food. I literally salivated at the sight of it (and of course that was the day several friends at work brought me in treats). Fried food looked soooo good… By that evening the headache had returned, but not as bad, and I felt weak and achy. And all kinds of odd sounds were coming from my belly.

This morning there’s been a dull ache in my stomach, I continue to feel achy all over, and I feel like I have little motivation to want to move around very much.

And there’s still 36 hours to go.

Food is one of our top basic needs (along with water, shelter, security, energy, hygiene, and medical). Sure the human body can go several weeks without food, but…

If you haven’t eaten for a while, you can’t think of much else. I know when I’ll eat again, but what if I didn’t? I really struggle with imagining not knowing how or when I’d have my next meal.

When your body is starving you constantly yearn for food, think about how good something would taste, and you wonder when you’ll eat again. But you’d have to conserve your strength because you only have finite physical (and mental and emotional) resources to draw from. Eventually, I believe, you’d do just about anything to get food.

Fortunately food is something that we can now easily acquire and store away. The abundance of well packaged, long shelf-life food products is amazing. Sure we can argue they may not be the best things for you to eat, but they are something to eat if nothing else is available.

Take the time to review you food storage. You can review my previous posts: Store What you Eat (Food Part 1), Long Term Storage (Food Part 2), ‘Course It’ll Always Be There, How Much Do You Need = Math, Momma Bear: Figuring Out How To Make Food Storage Work, and Product Review: Meal Kit Supply MREs.

Make a plan to be able to feed you and your family, before they get into a situation where you’d have to go hungry; because it sucks. Oh and did I mention constipation? Nothing in equals nothing out — another unpleasant effect of going hungry.

Post Script: Fasting For Health

I’m very new to the fasting for health bandwagon, and my personal jury is still out — this is my first time. I read an article the other day: Fasting is beneficial to the immune system: Study shows it triggers stem cell regeneration. I then went to the source study: Prolonged Fasting Reduces IGF-1/PKA to Promote Hematopoietic-Stem-Cell-Based Regeneration and Reverse Immunosuppression.

I figured I’d try it. It didn’t cost me anything, and I thought it’d be an interesting first hand experiment. The article suggested 48 to 96 hours, I decided if I was going to do it I’d go big and do 96. I’m hoping it’ll help with my seasonal allergies, strengthen my immune system (though it’s already good), and slowing “the damaging effects of aging” doesn’t sound too bad either.

If it “works” my plan is to fast for 48 – 96 hours every six months.

Nuts & Bolts by Nick: I’m Eating My Preps!

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by Nick Romaniello

I’m sure there are plenty of preppers out there that wouldn’t break into their mylar pouches full of grain for anything short of total Armageddon, but the truth is that emergencies can be varied and subjective. The world of a self-employed home improvement contractor is sometimes one of feast or empty-pocketsfamine especially during the initial years of building a business. The last few months have been financially tricky for me and Mighty Oak Homecraft. Large jobs have run long, delaying the income from final payments. Taxes were due, materials need purchased, yearly renewals of licenses and websites have all converged into a financial super-storm; the result is a cartoon-like escape of moths and dust when I open my wallet.

There is relief on the horizon as more jobs fill the schedule, but when the bank account hovers near the red it‘s nice to have a backup plan so that “feast or famine“ remains only a metaphor. Luckily there isn’t any panic about the financial burden of buying groceries. While I am not yet set up to last for months without resupply, having a reasonable store of food on hand to help stretch out limited resources is a big help. A lean month or two may not be the dramatic type of disaster scenario that many preppers are fortifying themselves against, but in reality (especially in my business) it’s a fairly likely scenario. Even for those with more predictable paychecks, financial emergencies can strike without warning. Unexpected car problems, a layoff, or an injury can put a serious dent in your cash flow. Emergency funds and savings accounts can be an ideal stopgap, but it can be difficult to squirrel away cash if you are living paycheck to paycheck. Being prepared should not be an exclusive hobby for those who can afford to stack gold bars up in their bunker. Even us penny pinchers can pick up a few extra cans each time we shop and before you know it, you have a food cache. Same goes for every gallon of gas you put away. An extra tank full when the chips are down could keep you operational when you might otherwise be thumbing rides.

foodshelfFull scale financial collapse will always be a hot topic in prepping circles and forums, but the commonality of family level tough periods exemplifies the purpose of prepping. It’s not always about the big things that might happen, but more about the small things that probably will happen. Don’t allow yourself to develop a mindset that your preps are only for “the big one”. They are your way of providing help to yourself in the future. Just like any other type of insurance policy, you aren’t required to wait for total loss to make a claim. There are preps that we acquire with the hope and intent that we never need to use them such as a fire ladder, gun, or suture kit. However, some items that we store such as food, gas, or toiletries don’t need to be viewed as such a last resort — plus they need to be rotated anyway! If you are hungry, eat. There is no shame in using your preps for small, short-lived emergencies. Things will get better and you can stock up again. That’s what it’s there for.

 

Momma Bear: Sequestration, Military Life & Our Growing Family

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The military received a 1% pay raise this year.  But with a 2% tax increase, that is the same as a 1% pay cut. I am thankful to report that while this did infuriate me, we were able to absorb the loss with minimal discomfort.  Sequestration hit right about the time that we were re-arranging our house to accommodate the two kids we are planning to adopt. While I had been busy spending to get ready for a larger family (beds, linens, 2nd fridge, etc.), some of our friends who are federally employed were getting furlough notices. Our one friend is being furloughed to the tune of a 12% pay cut.  With a new mortgage and small children at home, I hope that they can weather the storm. Other friends are being forced to retire early from the military because they are not at the top of their fields and the military needs a drastic reduction in forces. We are lucky in that my husband has a secure job, with a promotion on the horizon, and he is not at risk of a forced retirement. But it is a stark reminder that you can never be financially prepared ENOUGH to survive what life might throw at you.

another military moveIn addition to all of the sequestration drama, I was reminded recently that we will be facing our next set of military orders to move, sometime in the next year, probably moving in about 16 months . We usually know about 4-6 months prior to our moves (sometimes we know as early as a year in advance), which will allow us time to get our lives ready for the next big adventure. Those months leading up to finding out our next duty station is always filled with speculation about where we will go, how we will get there, etc., and a few times we have been utterly surprised by where the Marine Corps has chosen to send us.  For us, this will be the first time that we have moved since beginning a long term food storage program. While the movers will pack food in containers for moves within the U.S., it counts against our overall weight allowance. Foods are typically discouraged on international moves. This will be complicated for us because we will be moving a much larger household than ever before, and there is always the possibility of another international move. After rearranging our storage areas to accommodate the 2nd fridge last weekend, my husband raised the white flag and told me I needed to lay off the food storage (I believe the word “hoarder” may have been mumbled). He said I needed to develop a plan to deal with all this food for our next move. I think in his mind he was envisioning us having to throw out hundreds of pounds of food. Of course in my mind, I am more concerned with our increasing family size and feel the need to store more, but I can see his point.

moving-truckWe have both compromised and developed a plan. All future food storage purchases (in our current location) will need to be for our regular food storage pantry that we routinely eat from. No more long term storage food purchases until we reach our next duty station. The mylar and bucket food storage will be moved with our household goods (unless we are headed overseas and are limited on weight). Once we know where/when we are moving we will begin eating from our easy access long term food storage that I have in 2-liter bottles (see previous article on storage containers).  These are containers and food items that are easy to replace once we are relocated. When they come to move us, any surplus pantry items in original containers may then be donated to the local food pantry. I consider this a workable solution that we can both live with, and he promised not to use the word hoarder again.

Has anyone else ever had to deal with moving a great distance with their long term food storage?  Any tips or suggestions?

 

Momma Bear: Long Term Food Storage Specifics

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For our family, as I discussed in last month’s post, there are a number of obstacles to long term food storage. It is not only about packaged vs. fresh foods, but some of the traditional prepper foods and storage methods are EXPENSIVE! Food that comes in #10 cans can be very pricey, and putting away my own foods in mylar and buckets was just not working for me (though I did it heavily in those first few months). Last is a common prepper notion that anyone will eat anything if they are hungry enough (and by this people usually mean beans and rice). That is just not a realistic approach with kids, especially if you are trying to get them to support your prepper habits. At our house we have embarked on ways to incorporate long term food storage into everyday life so that if the SHTF, the food will not be foreign and mysterious (aka “ICKY”).

The ideal of prepper packaging for the apocalypse seems to be centered around big mylar bags and 5-gallon buckets. I personally hate both of these things. I hate the big bag because it costs money, it makes it almost impossible to check on your food or to use it in any sort of rotation. And I really hate the buckets because they are round which wastes space on shelves. They also weigh a ton and make it impossible for me to move without assistance, which I may not have in an emergency. I do occasionally use the thick gallon sized mylar bags for food storage, but more frequently I recycle other containers. Currently I am storing beans, rice, flour, oatmeal and macaroni noodles in 2-liter soda bottles with two 100cc oxygen absorbers. On the internet you will see some debate as to the long term viability of these bottles, but I think as long as you are using the thicker PET bottles, there is no reason not to use them. Please note that water bottles are much thinner than soda bottles and I only use those for water. I feel the pros outweigh any cons. So far they have a beautiful air tight seal (as evidenced by their deflation caused by the 02 absorbers), I have the ability to visually check my product, they are much easier to move around by myself, and I can use my long term food storage as needed in smaller quantities without opening an entire 5-gallon bucket of something. The other container that I have taken to re-using is small mylar bags from some of our regular food items. For instance a bunch of candies and even prunes come in small mylar bags with ziplock seals on the top (at our house it’s Raisinettes). I clean these bags out and use them for storing popcorn (my husband’s favorite treat) and bean sprout seeds. These smaller bags are the perfect size for both. I treat them just like any purchased mylar bag: insert my food, drop in a 100cc O2 absorber and heat seal it as usual (but just below the ziplock seal area).

I find those #10 cans to be a bit of a mystery. Typically, the types of foods that I buy in #10 cans or in buckets are things that I cannot store myself, primarily protein items and vegetables that are tough to store/delicate to handle, or luxury items like butter and sour cream which would dress up storage foods for recipes. TVP, powdered eggs & cheeses, spinach and broccoli are items that we have recently been purchasing in cans. We had absolutely no experience with them and were not sure if we even wanted to buy them in cans or buckets without trying them first (Costco and Sams sells in bucket sizes). Fortunately, on their websites Auguson Farms and Shelf Reliance sell most of their products in small soup sized cans/mylar containers that are perfect for sampling. We ordered an assortment and are working our way through them to see which we want to buy in bulk. I will mention that on the Costco website, one of the food manufacturers (Thrive) sells their items sealed in a mylar pouch, in a bucket with a gamma seal (reusable lid), while many other companies only put the item directly into a traditional bucket with a one time use lid. In any event, like everything else, these dehydrated foods take practice to be able to use them effectively. And by trying the sample sizes, we feel we are making more specific choices about which ones we would truly use in an emergency.

So what do I store that makes all this food storage work for our family? How do I tie it all together to get the kids to eat it and still make it nutritional? For us it is all about the components. As long as the food contains a main item that my kids recognize, they can usually be coaxed into eating it. For us that is usually vegetables. My kids will never willingly drink powdered milk, so I make sure I have a bunch of their favorite cereals stored in mylar for long term (stashed away where they don’t see it in the pantry). Ramen anyone? It’s filled with empty pasta calories and high sodium, right? But after living in Japan, ramen is a staple in our household, much like rice, pasta and potatoes. I buy the low sodium ramen and then I start adding the nutrition in, normally fresh stuff. But with a little retraining, we are using chicken TVP, dried mushrooms, green onions and spinach (all that I dehydrated myself and vacuum sealed in mason jars), and fresh bean sprouts (that we grew ourselves in only a few days inside the house). Dried spinach seems to have a much stronger flavor than fresh (so don’t use as much). Another item that I store is curry powder, which can be added to any bean or rice dish for flavor (for us this is a familiar flavor after living overseas for so long). I have also started routinely using dehydrated vegetables in our regular recipes and have discovered that the kids often don’t recognize the difference. We also have a favorite “no-bake” cookie recipe which uses oatmeal, chocolate, sugar, and peanut butter and is made on the stove top (perfect without electricity!). It has been hard, but I am really trying to find ways to store foods that are familiar. Also, your food preps aren’t any good if you don’t have a list of recipes to go with it. As for my husband the bean hater…he will willingly eat almost anything if I can promise him that bowl of popcorn at the end of the day!

So what secret food storage tips do you use?  Any special ingredients in your closet that we might like to hear about?

Product Review: Meal Kit Supply MREs

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After Momma Bear’s post on MREs (meals ready to eat) we decided we wanted to add more MREs to our preps. We have a couple of cases but, with a family of six, those would go quickly. We decided that we should have one case for each person — eating two MREs a day, this would last six days.

The ones we currently have I bought from a military surplus store. They were already a couple of years old, I have no idea what conditions (temperatures) they had been stored at, and they cost $70 a case. So I was looking for another source when, coincidentally, I was contacted by Meal Kit Supply (after they saw Momma Bear’s post), and asked if I would consider reviewing their product. I said that I would, and a few days later a case of MREs arrived in the mail.

Like Momma Bear said, MREs have improved substantially over the years. My first MRE was in USMC boot camp in February 1986, and if you were starving (and we were) they were…okay. When I went back into the National Guard in 1996, it was obvious they’d done some work to improve them — and they were better. (The last MRE I ate was in 1999.)

When we opened the case from Meal Kit Supply the first thing I noticed is that they were packaged in clear, heavy-duty, plastic bags (instead of the tan military ones). That was kind of cool.

I wanted to get the whole family in on the sampling/reviewing. I wanted them to be familiar with the meals, including how to use the Flameless Ration Heater. So we randomly grabbed six out of the case (case of 12). Instead of trying to explain to them how to use the Heaters I chose to let them watch the video on the Meal Kit Supply website and then see how easy it was to follow the instructions.

Then, in the kitchen, we each opened an MRE. I explained that each had an entrée, side dish, dessert, bread/cracker, spread, beverage, spoon, and condiment packet, and I had everyone identify what they got in their meals. We then, without any issues, activated our Flameless Ration Heater to heat our entrée and then set it aside (it takes about 10 minutes to warm up). We sampled, and then let everyone else try, our bread or crackers with the included peanut butter, jelly, or cheese spread. Once the meals were warm we each went around and allowed everyone else to sample our entrée and side dishes so we each tried everything.

Now I need to mention that my kids (ages 18, 15, 13, 11) aren’t that picky when it comes to eating; they know if it’s put in front of them that’s what’s for dinner and there’s no “I’m not eating this” nonsense. But, overall, Sarah and the kids liked them, and were pleased with the diversity and flavors. Personally I was very impressed with the freshness and overall quality of the food and flavors. Maybe it was the years since I’d last had one, but I remembered them being much less flavorful and more stale tasting.

Once we were done eating we discussed each of them, recorded comments, and rated them on a scale of 1 to 5 (1=terrible, 3=not bad at all, 5=pretty darn good). So of the random six we had eaten, here’s our menus (menus may vary), comments and average scores:

  • Spaghetti, Potatoes Au Gratin, Carrot Pound Cake, Cracker, Cheese Spread, Grape Electrolyte Drink Powder (EDP), Cocoa Beverage Powder (CBP): “Spaghetti wasn’t bad, but noodles were kind of mushy” / “Cheesy potatoes were pretty dang good” — SCORE: 3.58
  • Chicken with Noodles, Fried Rice, Vanilla Pudding, Cracker, Peanut Butter, Grape (EDP), CBP: “Not bad” / “Chicken tastes normal” / “Chicken was really good” / “Rice was flavorless and mushy” / “Vanilla pudding was pretty darn good” / “Grape beverage was very good” — SCORE: 3.67
  • Vegetable Lasagna, Applesauce, Fudge Brownie, Wheat Snack Bread, Cheese Spread, Orange (EDP), CBP: “Slightly disappointed with the lasagna” / “Lasagna didn’t quite taste right” / “Need to add flavor to lasagna” / “Brownie wasn’t bad” / “Brownie was pretty tasty” — SCORE:  3.25
  • Chicken with Feta, Potato Cheddar Soup, Chocolate Pudding, Cracker, Peanut Butter, Orange (EDP), CBP: “Chicken with feta was really good” / “Chicken entree was very good” / “Soup was very good, yea very good” / “Pudding was yuck” / “Pudding wasn’t great, but would be better warmed up” / “I like the juice” — SCORE: 4.08
  • Pork Sausage Patty, Hash Browns with Bacon, Strawberry Toaster Pastry, Wheat Snack Bread, Peanut Butter, Orange (EDP), CBP: “Pork was too sweet” / “Pork tasted like real sausage” / “Bacon was nice in the hash browns” / “It’d be a nice breakfast.” — SCORE: 3.58
  • Apple Maple Rolled Oats, Hash Browns with Bacon, Nut Raisin Mix with Chocolate Chips, Wheat Bread Snack, Blackberry Jam, Fruit Punch (EDP), CBP: “Oatmeal had good flavor” / “Mixing in the nuts and stuff in the oatmeal was a good idea” / “Oatmeal was mushy” / “It’d be an odd dinner” / “Blackberry jam was good” — SCORE: 3.33

So Chicken with Feta was the top score and the Vegetable Lasagna was the bottom. But nothing was below 3.25 which is in the “not bad at all” range. Everyone commented that there was nothing they wouldn’t eat, and with some time and creativity they’d be even better.

Pet Approved!

There are many sources for MREs. My only hesitation about Meal Kit Supply’s is that they are a little bit more expensive than some others, at $124.95 for a case of 12 (though that price does include shipping the 22 pound case). But their MREs are guaranteed to be fresh, they are built to military standards but use premium components. And they actually make them themselves overseeing each step of the process, they’re not just the distributors.

MREs are the perfect ‘Week 1 Food’ in a disaster: they’re pre-cooked, mobile, and ready to eat. Meal Kit Supply MREs are 100% U.S. Military food components — the same as the military uses. Now I suppose you could say that’s good or bad, but at least there is a consistent base to compare them to. I was happy with Meal Kit Supply’s service, their MRE’s taste, and was very pleased with the freshness.

 

 

Momma Bear: Figuring Out How To Make Food Storage Work

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At our house food storage is a complicated issue. We all face obstacles to our prepping, whether it is financial, lack of family support, or just being unknowledgeable. I grew up poor, so you might say I have “food issues.” And when I say poor, I mean that I really only finished my senior year of high school because they provided low-income families two free meals a day; for me the school part was just the filler between my meals.  But what I did not realize until recently, thanks to the article: The 5 Stupidest Habits You Develop Growing Up Poor, is that growing up that way affects how I shop for food even today. After 20 years of marriage, with a much more substantial income, I was still shopping paycheck to paycheck. I had the mentality of only buying exactly what we immediately needed.  But once I became a prepper, I had to retrain myself to “buy extra.”

One obstacle of the ‘poverty cycle’ I was able to break, was my love of packaged foods. Packaged foods are cheap, have a long-shelf life, and feed more people than fresh foods do. Poor people eat lots of these, essentially training their bodies to expect high fat, high carb, and high sugar as the core of their diet. This causes their bodies crave these foods and, as a result, they tend to be frequently overweight, even obese. I was able to overcome this and have raised my children on fresh, home-made meals with plenty of vegetables. Though the flip-side of this is that it’s really hard to reconcile my love of fresh foods and wanting to stock my long-term food storage. To combat this personal conflict, we have been gardening and canning foods at home. I feel that at least then I can control exactly what ingredients are in my “canned” foods. (It has also been a great teaching tool for my children.)

I do not believe that there is only one way to have/create/do food storage. I believe that how we choose to store food needs to be a reflection of our families and who we are as preppers. Here is my take on different types of food storage:

Food Storage Theory 1: Most preppers live by the simple motto “store what you eat, eat what you store.” This is the simplest way to store food, one giant pantry that is in a constant rotation as part of your daily household diet. Most commonly you will see shelves filled with canned and packaged foods, and buckets of rice and beans. It makes prepping very easy because your goal is to store the same things in increasingly larger quantity, and you never run the risk of waste because you know you will use it. I applaud people who do this because they are able to use everything without risk of waste.  Although I have increased the amount of beans and other previously unknown foods my family eats, they will never be lovers of beans or packaged foods. This storage method simply doesn’t work for our family.

Food Storage Theory 2: This is the idea of having two separate food “pantries”, one that is for your regular rotational use and one that is exclusively long-term food storage (that you won’t eat unless the SHTF). The rotating pantry contains basic items that wouldn’t be the core of any diet, but that you do regularly eat, and could enhance the longer term food storage. At our house this is condiments, oils, canned vegetables, powdered broths, etc. The long-term food storage then consists of large quantities of beans, pasta, rice, TVP, and an assortment of canned and packaged foods that are NOT even part of our regular diet. This is a more expensive way to prep because you run the risk of possibly never using that long-term food storage and at some point you will have to decide what to do with it as it ages. This is how our family is storing food.

Food Storage Theory 3: This is a combination of the first two Theories, plus fresh foods from a garden and a renewable protein source raised at home (chickens, rabbits, goats, etc.). These are the people that are pushing for the greatest level of self-sufficiency should the SHTF. Many of us may never be able to attain this goal for a number of reasons. For instance, local ordinances restrict us from owning chickens, and although we are allowed to have rabbits, “processing” them at home is illegal. Even if we could, I’m not sure we would chose some of those options; I applaud those that can achieve this level of self-sufficiency.

My post next month will focus on specifics of food storage: container choices, canning and dehydrating, and purchasing bulk items from Costco or Sams Club. I would love to hear feedback from other preppers as to how they store food.

Momma Bear: MRE’s For Your Preps?

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‘Meals Refused by Everyone’ is a not-so-affectionate term for Meals Ready to Eat (MRE). MREs are the field rations that our military eats whenever they are out training or on military operations. Though some preppers have chosen to stock up on cases of MREs, there are many who have avoided MREs due to their mystery and the stereotype of bad military food. Having grown up with a step-dad who served in Vietnam (and into the 1980’s), I was pretty familiar with the old school military C-Rations, which came in cans and required the use of a small personal can opener. The only redeeming quality found in those early rations was the cardboard like caffeine-laden chocolate bar that I loved. But today’s MREs are not only much better tasting, but have a better variety of foods, and meet a rigorous nutritional standard.

An MRE is made up of roughly 1300 calories: 169 grams of carbs, 41 grams of protein, and 50 grams of fat. Yes, that is a LOT of carbs and fat!  But remember that this nutritional standard was designed for our military, classified as ultra-athletes, “exercising” in a combat environment. A typical MRE is made up of a: main course, side dish (fruit/vegetable usually), bread or snack item (pound cake, tortillas, crackers, candy, peanut butter, jelly, etc.), beverage of some sort (coffee, tea, kool-aid, an electrolyte-type drink, and/or hot cocoa), matches, gum, condiments, and a spoon.

They come in a sealed plastic package and weigh 1.5 pounds. They also contain a “flameless ration heater”,  a chemical pouch that heats up when activated with water, to heat your main course. The average service member only consumes about one or two of these a day, because they are just too dense to eat as three square meals. Also, most service members “field strip” their MREs down to the parts they know they are going to use to reduce their bulk.

There are 24 MRE menus. The meals come in two case lots: menus 1-12 and 13-24 (and include specific vegetarian and religious meals). MREs are considered to be shelf stable for six months at 100 degrees and three years at 80 degrees (see side bar chart). There are two ways that packaging dates are listed on MRE cases: 1) A standard pack date (as shown in the photo of a military issued case) and 2) A numeric date, listing the last digit of the year followed by the Julian date of packaging (so my husband’s same box is: 0200, meaning it was packed on the 200th day of 2010). Currently, the military uses three manufacturers for production of MREs: Wornick Company, SOPAKCO, and AmeriQual; I mention this because there are a lot of pseudo-MREs out there.

My husband unofficially rates MRE’s in three categories: good, okay and nasty. His “goods” include: chili with beans, beef ravioli, chicken with noodles, chili & macaroni, spicy penne pasta w vegetarian sausage. His “okays”: meatballs with marinara, cheese tortellini, beef patty, spaghetti with meat sauce. And his “nastys”: beef brisket and beef stew. These are his ratings, I’ll ask around in the next few months for some reviews by my husband’s troops. Personally, I find the spicy types of MREs to cause killer heartburn, and I wouldn’t want to be in the field without a good antacid! Though the meals claim to be balanced in the fiber department they need to be consumed with sufficient water, or they will literally leave you in a “bind”. But overall–as long as you are not eating more than two a day–they are a good, handy meal that certainly has a place in most preppers’ food storage and Bug-Out Bags.

Also of mention, the MRE heavy plastic pouch itself is extremely durable and can be used for holding/carrying water.  While the packaging is not currently being recycled or made from recycled materials, the package does certainly have multiple uses that are only limited by the imagination. While serving in Somalia, my husband reported that the local children would salvage the packages out of the trash to be used as shingles on their homes.

The Operational Rations of the Department of Defense provides a pdf file that gives the entire background on MREs, and includes the complete menus for 2011 and 2012.

 

September is National Prepardness Month

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In September the federal government gives preparedness enough of a nod that it gets it’s very own month; though you rarely hear them say much more than: “Get a kit. Make a plan. Be informed.” Of course if everyone did at least that we, as a national population, would be much more prepared to cope with future disasters.

The media has also been talking about preparation, this time in a non-mocking tone. As Hurricane Isaac approached, CNN.com published an article, Keep a hurricane preparation checklist. It begins:

In areas where hurricanes can strike, it’s a good idea to have a closet or an area set aside for storm preparedness storage. There, you can keep items you’ll need in case disaster strikes suddenly or you need to evacuate.

And while this is great advice, what about everywhere else? Aren’t all areas susceptible to having a “disaster strike suddenly”? I think it’s interesting how the media portrays prepping–just prior to an incoming disaster (i.e. hurricane, snow storm, forest fire)–as completely common sense. “Of course you’d want to be prepared, you’d be a fool not to”, they imply. They include a completely practical list of supplies and recommendations of what to do prior to the arrival of the storm.

But what about the disasters we don’t see coming? The ones that give us no notice? No one should need to tell us that every day we need: food, water, shelter, security, and energy. So why not have backup supplies for these daily basic needs, insurance if you will, just in case a disaster strikes without warning? We are all expected, and it’s considered normal, to have home insurance, car insurance, health insurance, and life insurance but we know those preparations are very rarely used (hopefully). So why, when you incorporate being prepared into your daily lifestyle, are you frequently labeled as being on the fringe or a bit of a kook?

So this month, consider using the government’s endorsement of preparedness as an opportunity to talk about prepping with skeptical friends (family). As winter approaches we all tend to think a little more about being prepared; everyone knows that winter storms can knock out power and/or leave us homebound for several days. “Did you know September is National Preparedness Month?” would be an easy way to broach the topic, and then follow-up with something like “If a [fill in the blank disaster] happened here, and you weren’t able to get to the store for several days, how would your family hold up?” Then listen. Commend them on the things they have done or are doing, even if it’s relatively minor. Don’t overwhelm them with everything they SHOULD be doing. Instead, give them one or two ideas for ‘next steps’. If you push too hard then they’ll just push back — and close down to the idea completely. Take this time to plant a seed in their mind. Then live your life as an example.

(Wednesday: A new monthly contributor will be introduced, Rural Relations with Josh,  will write about: Lessons Learned, An Introduction)

Momma Bear’s June Preps

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My June preps have kept me busy with my beginner’s garden. My family has been wonderful taking turns watering and weeding! My tomatoes got over their initial aphid romance — no more picking off bugs by hand; now I just go out to talk to them, tie them to the stakes as they continue to grow skyward, and sucker them off as they blossom. The first tomatoes (the two determinant plants) were almost ready to harvest when the squirrels started eating them. I am now covering them, and the blueberry bush, with ‘bird netting’ and hoping that will be sufficient to keep away the squirrels. We also had our first harvest of FIVE blueberries! We did not actually anticipate any fruit from the blueberry or blackberry bushes this first year, but they seem to be doing well since they are putting off a few handfuls of berries. Quite a pleasant surprise to be eating berries this year!

This month we have been doing some research and are thinking about buying a used boat. Although we live close to the interstate, and not too far from Washington D.C.–imagine the gridlock in an emergency–we are also only a walk from the Potomac River (and exactly 10 miles from our marina located on a secure military installation). We have been boating with various friends, learning, and considering the many different types of boats available. A boat would serve as both a recreational and bug out vehicle. There are many great deals out there on used boats due to the poor economy, but we are taking our time before we find just the right one. Has anyone else opted for a boat as a bug out vehicle/home?

Lastly this month, I have hit a turning point on the food storage program. While I have a big storage room in my basement, my food storage has reached a size that requires me to start reducing my other “stuff” to keep meeting my food storage goals. This is both a happy and sad occasion since it means I will be downsizing in some ways, while still building my food security. At the same time, I do not want to become a hoarder that can’t stop keeping/saving things (food included). The other difficulty with food storage, for us, is that we try to eat fresh rather than canned/packaged foods; so every item I store is not necessarily part of my household food rotation. How do YOU decide exactly what foods to store? Has anyone else had to make space compromises to continue storing food? At what point do we ever have enough food stored? When is one area of “prepping” ever complete or enough? I am sure these are all issues we share in common. I would love to hear some feedback about it.

What did you do?