Cookie says there is too much complaining on this thread! :)
Posted on 03/31/2007 8:03:55 AM PDT by Mr. Brightside
Meals Ready to Eat
By David Mac Dougall
Fox News
Sadr City, Baghdad — This was the final day of our Sadr City embed, and we realized we've become experts on military rations, or MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). They're full of calories and carbs, a Dr. Atkins nightmare. But they do the job, sustaining soldiers (and journalists!) in tough times. Inside, there are usually crackers and peanut butter or cheese spread; a main dish; a cookie or cake; and powdered drinks. After just a week, we have already decided which MREs are our favorites.
I like the pasta. Cameraman Michael Pohl likes the spare rib (which curiously contains no actual ribs — just a meat patty). Producer Nicola Sadler likes the beef enchiladas. We do a lot of swapping. I take Nicola's peanut butter; she prefers the cheese spread. Michael swaps chocolate mint cake for strawberry milkshake powder. It's really obvious which MREs the soldiers don't like; Cajun rice with beans, and jambalaya remain unopened.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Meals ready for Cavemen?
I once got a green pack of Lucky Strikes out of a box of '47 C-RATS. To me the only thing edible was the peaches, stew and crackers. Tobassco Sauce was a requirement for everything else.
Now barbecued water buffalo, what a cook could do with that was unbelievable. Or those red assed rock apes, they were good to. C-4 was great for fishing in the rivers.
Glad that those days are just memories now!
1st issued MRE's = carried a bottle of tabasco at all times.
2nd issued MRE's = a little bottle in every mre, great improvement.
Do they still put the little bottle in them?
I think I was the only person in our Battalion that actually liked Chicken a-la king , with tabasco of course.
I don't remember much after my mom bearing down on me with a wooden spanking spoon.
Dad and I were both in the doghouse for a while.
The process used by Mickey D to make the McRib was developed by the University of Nebraska College of Agriculture's Roger Mandigo, who is still there, around 1972, (back in the Dark Ages when I was an AFROTC cadet there) so it is likely available for other companies as well.
Your MRE also contains some tissue, maybe enough to wipe with (I've never been put in that situation, so I dunno), a small vial of Tobasco, a spoon, matches, salt, pepper, a moist towelette, and sometimes coffee, other times it's spiced apple tea.
What's the bottle for?
I guess those guys are busier than than my neice was in Tikrit. She gained 20 lbs on MREs.
That's true, the crackers weren't all too bad. Those weren't really beans, were they?
But those dehydrated strawberries still give me nightmares!
Same here I had the Meat patty surprise....the surprise was it looked like Gainsburger dog food. The oil it was encased in was the same weight as the 1030 i put in cars...
And the Sarge told me I was lucky i didnt get the lima beans and ham....
A little bottle of tabasco brand hot sauce , very much needed to eat the stuff.
Crumble them up, soak in boiling water, add chili powder for something I wouldn't call chili. However you could live on it, but it tasted like sh*t. (My one and only exposure to AF 'survival' rations, the type packaged into an ejection seat or parachute pack. You got enough for a couple of days. We had about 8 guys eating it, so it only lasted for a single meal. But it was only supposed to be enough to tide you over until until the choppers came or you could forage or kill something to eat.)
General MacArthur and company finally got some imported food to us, but it was cheese blocks and crackers. They tasted great! We took some along on a road trip north of Mt. Fuji and found some villagers who didn't know who we were or that the War was over. We gave them some cheese and crackers and they were amazed, having never seen or tasted either. They danced around laughing at us and our goodies. Ah, memories.
Here is an interesting compendium.
http://www.usariem.army.mil/nutri/milrat.htm
Instead of 1250 cal/MRE it suggests each MRE is 4044 cal/MRE IV.
I always thought the Cold Weather LRP was the high calorie meal, but am mistaken. It is shown at closer to 1553 cal/meal, but lighter weight.
See http://www.usariem.army.mil/nutri/appenda.htm
Cookie says there is too much complaining on this thread! :)
I get 'em at a nearby military surplus store by the case (about $65 for 12 - not bad for a day's eating). (Used to get 'em on-line, but ammoman.com stopped carrying them.) They're actually not bad; I eat 'em occasionally for fun & to rotate 'em. Comforting to have a couple handy at all times (car, travel, etc.) for quasi-emergencies. The trick is finding ones that look like post #18 - the real military ones marked "resale is unlawful" and have the heavy-duty brown spoon inside; there are lots of others masquerading as military MREs, and which may be fine, but "these aren't the MRE's you're looking for" (bad obtuse pun).
They taste fine in a pinch, boys love 'em, and it's just good to know you've got a day's meal in a long-term room-temp package.
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