Average Joe MREs

[ChickenMomma91]

Help me end a debate with DH. We've been needing to cycle out our homemade MREs but he wants to find a better alternative to Ramen noodles.
The basic list of stuff in the MREs:
Whole package of random ramens
Instant oatmeal pack
Small pack of dried veggie
Small pack of dried fruit
Vaccum sealed starkist tuna pack
A random assortment of drinks
And seasonings sealed in straws.

A single ramen noodle package has 380 calories total. My argument is calories are calories, it's something warm and filling and the dehydrated veggies should cover some nutrition. DH wants something that has more nutrition.

 

[Denim Deb]

Can you dehydrate your own veggies and use them along w/some quick cook noodles and seasoning? Doing this would cut down on the salt content and would probably be healthier.

 

[Mini Horses]

You don't mention health concerns, so I'd suggest you add vitamins and protein powders to the kit. Lipton used to make several flavors of dehydrated soups, a box had 8 pkgs, I think (cup o Soup). Would give some variety. All processed foods will have certain things we don't want. If ever there is a need to subsist on them, I believe we would be thankful for the stash, even with salt, sugar, chemical issues.

You know you can get powdered P-nut butter now. They replace the oils with sugars but...back to above. Powdered milk?

You could pack seeds in vacuum sealed pouches that could be sprouted at use..excellent nutrients in those if selected for same. Many are very tasty.

 

[Britesea]

Consider something like a lentil/quinoa mix. If you use the red lentils, they and the quinoa will only take about 30 minutes to cook. Or, in the interest of saving fuel you could precook them and then dehydrate it. Then it's just a matter of rehydrating with hot water for 10 minutes. With the protein in this mix, you could even lose the tuna pack (I'm not real keen on ocean fish these days unless I KNOW it was caught in the Atlantic).

 

[baymule]

I'd keep the ramen and if your DH wants more nourishment, then toss in packs of beans. Anasazi beans cook up quickly, a lot faster than pinto beans do. The ramen cooks quickly and in a SHTF scenario, quick cooking means you can eat a whole lot sooner.

 

[terri9630]

I'd keep the ramen. You don't have to use any/all of the seasoning packet that comes with it. You could make your own instead.

 

[ChickenMomma91]

I convinced him to keep the ramen until we 'find a better option'. Now to go buy new MRE fixins cause ours 'expired' and DH wont let me practice with the original ones till we make new ones

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Sounds just like a husband, lol! But, let us know what you end up doing - we'd love to hear!

 

[baymule]

What are you going to make your new MRE's from?

 

[ChickenMomma91]

Same as the original but im going to find some long shelf life vitamin packs to toss in there. I know they might be a bit much for my son but its better than malnourishment plus ya never know WHEN you'll need them and he may well be of an age where the adult vitamins will be the right amount