DIY MREs.....a tutorial...

I'm gonna be showing you a way to store meals at a fraction of the cost of commercial or even surplus MRE cost....

Your average MRE will run you between 5 and 8 bucks....My MREs cost under 3 dollars each, and are customized to my taste....

Step 1 Shopping List...

***Step 1...gather your fixins....anything that can be eaten either raw or cooked, using ONLY water...nothing requiring refrigeration or milk, butter, etc...

*packaged snack crackers....PB on wheat, cheezy, etc., etc...
*bagged/canned tuna, chicken, spam, sardines....whatever meat you prefer....
*packaged instant rice and potatoes...
*instant drink mixes...coffee, crystal light, whatever.....
*tea bags....
*bullion cubes.....
*ramen noodles...
*single servings of salt, pepper, sweetener, or whatever your taste....
*granola/cereal bars...
*candy bars...
*instant oatmeal packets....
*dried fruit...
yadah, yaddah, yaddah....

Comments

[kaylaangelkisses]

um...you know a viola is a string instrument, near the violin

[The survival dude]

Mix 2 pouches of tuna to one of the chicken top ramen's and you've got chicken&tuna cassaroll :)

[svecer]

Have you considered protein powder, considering a scoop provides half of your daily protein???

[HTWTUSA]

An interesting thought, but I'm not sure about the long-term stability of protein mixes...will they keep for up to 36 months in room temperature vacuum?

[svecer]

That's what i have been trying to find out. There is no expiration date on the can of protein powder I have. Also, I have tried searching for expiration info on the powder to no avail.

[foughtyp]

Great Instructible! I did find that the Idahoan brand of instant potatoes ranked highest for taste and texture, they usually sell at Wally World for $1. Also Folgers makes a single coffee bag similar to a tea bag for those who don't like 'instant'. I have found lots of food products at the dollar store for these as well.

Sorry to disappoint but I would consider myself a progressive person and I grow lots of my own foods, so I will still be around at TEOTWAWKI.

[HTWTUSA]

Dissapoint? On the contrary, thank you for being distinguished from most of your ignorant peers! Most 'progressives' I know are fully dependent upon the system for their personal security....

Now go forth, subdue the masses of sheeple! Be fruitful and multiply!

[sclonley]

not to be mean but spam is grrrrrrrsssssssssoooooosssssssssss

[Mr.1911]

This is a very good instructable. MREs are not cheap in the least. Five stars. Will be checking out the site.

[sdharlow]

Awesome! Will be giving this a try myself. Thanks for the great tips!

[chris73044]

Great Instructable!!! I will be doing this over the next 2 months since our tornado season will be starting up. I would only add 2 other things a packing list and date....does spam expire? LOL I would also add either gum in every pack or a plastic toothpic that is toothbrushesque.

[jtmax24]

uh uh uh... I can't believe it, I was going to do this. Oh well, yours is better. Great job. Keep up the great work.

[HTWTUSA]

LOL...great ideas can always be improved upon...without input, we'd all stagnate...thanks!

[1_BIG_BUNKER]

Great DIY MRE.

If I can add one thing here, I ALWAYS make mine with a couple paper towels in them. I use the towels to wrap items like Ramen or small cans in the towel to kinda buffer the hard sharp edges of those items from the vacuum sealed package.

I have found that carrying these over time, with the hard edges, will cause you to lose your vacuum seal.

Plus it makes great TP and you will need it.

When I add crackers, I try to get the MRE crackers, because they will last forever and hold their shape. I do not use crackers that have anything on them like peanut butter or cheese. That will go bad on you. Just pack plain crackers, and when you take these, grab the jar of peanut butter from your cabinet.


Also, Mrs. Bear is right, animals WILL smell right through this plastic with NO problem at all. Drug dogs can small drugs right through mylar bags that have been power washed several times to make sure the outside is clean. You will NOT fool an animals nose. A mylar bag will leak about half a cubic inch every year right through the aluminum bag. That may not sound like much, but to an animal who was created to smell food miles away, that's like ringing the dinner bell to them.

[JoshuaTerrell]

I like the concept. Good 'ible.

[steveo625c6]

Any way you found best to arrange the product? Sure vacuum sealing makes for a fairly ridged body but having crackers sticking out the side I would assume just being put under vacuum would crack the crackers. Plus being tossed around some of the more delicate items might be damaged, any input on packing arrangements inside the bags?

[SteveAlaska]

Just joined up to this site. I love the creativity and vast knowledge all over the place. I wanted to write my comment to you and say this is fantastic. Great job. Im taking notes. Your instructable is among my favorites already. Thanks for sharing your great ideas.

[middlenamefrank]

One more thought about the advantages of vacuum sealing: There shouldn't be any odor whatsoever, since the packages are hermetically sealed. If air can't get in, smelly molecules can't get out.

Why is this important, you may ask? Simple....bears aren't going to be attracted to them. I'd still suggesting bear bagging for overnight, but they're not going to smell anything on the trail either, nor be attracted into your camp.

[Mrs Bear]

Good in theory, but it's been found that bears can smell through cans.Your best bet is a bear cannister or food vault, stored away from your tent. (In my neighborhood, the bears are wise to hanging, too.) I've buried mine, under the firepit, with pretty good results, but no guarantees.

[arienh4]

It's impossible to smell something that's vacuum-sealed, because nothing can go in or out. If they can be smelled, the odour is on the outside of the bag, not the inside.

[Mrs Bear]

The forest service study determined that black bears can smell through tin, steel and alluminum cans. They can also smell food inside an air-tight container, inside a car. While it's impossible for US to smell through vacuum sealed bags, their sense of smell is several hundred times more acute that ours. Having lived and camped for many years in bear country, I'll still put my money on a bear-vault.

[arienh4]

And I'm telling you, if it is truly air-tight, there are no molecules whatsoever coming out. You still need aromatic molecules to come out for anything to smell anything. So those are either on the outside of the bag or the bag is itself porous.

[middlenamefrank]

Not to try and get argumentative, and not to suggest that the research is wrong, but I would make a couple of points. First, arienh4 has a good point, it would be extremely hard to completely eliminate the odor of food from the outside of a can, after it had been processed in the factory. Perhaps there is some residual odor left on the outside even after years of storage.

Second, bears are also extremely smart animals. I would be surprised if they DIDN'T recognize what cans are used for, even if they only see them inside a locked car. Other containers, well, they might require investigation even if there really isn't any recognizable smell.

Again, I'm not trying to deny the findings of the forest service. And if the odor does adhere to the outside of a can, it will certainly adhere to the outside of a vacuum bag too. But I'll bet it's much reduced from other means of storage, and less likely to draw bears in from a distance.

[Wazzupdoc]

OMG your shopping list looks like my pantry. I also stock some Chicken Vienna Wieners, because I like them and they are cheap. I have a 16Oz widemouth insulated food jar that I pack the dry/moist ingredients in after breakfast, add boiling water, close it up and at lunchtime a nice hot meal.
Good to pack in a few condiments like ketchup, relish, hot sauce etc. which are free at most fast-food joints.
Great Ibble. Seems like survival kit construction could be an Olympic sport! Nice job.

[blindsey2]

Don't put bagels in there. Made some ready made packages for me and my son for a 3 day canoe trip on the allagash river in Maine. Seperated the packs as breakfast, lunch and dinner in two serving quantities. Made my breakfast packages with instant oatmeal, carnation breakfast essentials, peanutbutter packets and lenders bagels. Vacume sealed everything up and away we went. First morning after opening up the breakfast pack realized the sucking the air out of the packs also sucked the air out of the bagels and they were damn near flat as pancakes and didn't want to raise back up. Hard to slice them in half also. They were still fresh just a little tougher to spread the peanutbutter and eat. But at least they didn't get wet when we capsized.

[thekindred]

These are in now way an MRE substitute. Most everything this individual has placed in this are not nutritional nor balanced. Not only that, but that also appear to require copious amounts of water to actually use and consume. With actual MREs everything is ready right out of the bag with out the need for anything else and they are balanced meals. With water being a major concern in almost every situation in which MREs are used and water generally being a precious commodity in these situations, I highly recommend you append your tutorial to actually include things that would be useful and beneficial in a survival situation. Trying to create an "MRE" cheaply forces extreme sacrifices in the actual survival of the person consuming the contents.

For example not only do these seem to require a lot of water to prepare...they also include copious amounts of sodium in every meal, which means excessive thirst, reduced calcium absorption, and can cause increased blood pressure. All of which are extremely non-conducive to any situation or activity where and "MRE" would be appropriate.

[HTWTUSA]

I just think it's awesome that most, if not all of the hardcore detractors (like yourself) get so hung up on the fine details that they completely forget that this is MY choice for survival preparation, and my SUGGESTION for the "everyman's" solution.

Tell ya what: If my menu offends, or you have a problem actually eating a warm, cooked meal when the SHTF and your high-dollar mil-spec foodstuffs run out...you can eat some humble pie, since my method allowed my budget to afford nearly 5 times the storage....

Cheers!

[dkop1]

Wouldn't quite call them MRE's, but I suppose they could be eaten without rehydration if needed. I'd call them something like "Emergency food packs" or "BAckup Rations" or something of the like. Good instructable however. As a backpacker, I pretty much live off of stuff like this on the trail.

[desel3]

I couldn't help but notice you have a United Cutlery Pathfinder. I absolutely love that knife. I sleep with it under my pillow. haha

[HTWTUSA]

Yeah, they're pretty good 'beaters'...at least they were until they started using cheap Chinese bulk steel for their platforms...still, a pretty good, full-tang knife.

I'll take my Kabars along for sure, and keep the Uniteds on the sidef ro beating on...xD

[vrbnstl]

Great idea! Always be prepared, right?

[kplaisance]

Thanks for sharing! This is a fantastic idea for emergency preparedness. I've been looking for ideas on storing such things in my cellar, you know, for just in case. I'm thinking you could take these, once sealed, then seal them all into a large mylar bag, then into a 5 gallon bucket with lid. Badda bing; you're ready to get by on your own for a pretty good while! (of course, water is already stored in cellar, lots of it) Thanks again, some great ideas here on what to put in them. =)

[HTWTUSA]

I just have to thank all you folks for viewing and rating this 'ible...apparently it earned a "featured" spot, which in turn allowed me to experience a congratulatory 'pro' membership for a time...

I look forward to publishing future articles, as the inspiration comes, and am always a fan of arguably the most thought-provoking and influential forum on the net.

Thanks again...now...

...GO DO SOMETHING!

[ilpug]

pretty cool, although i personally find MRE's tasty

[justin.jackson]

i said the same thing, until that was all i had to eat for weeks on end.......

[abadfart]

they are mighty tasty after a death march threw the grand canyon

[Musicman41]

I did the same thing for a weeklong canoe trip. I did, however, used canned milk to make my pasta more creamy, but I forgot my knife with the can opener. Luckily, one of my mates had one.

[tdawber-mandeno]

keep it in a black bin as well to keep any "light senitve food's" from perishing

[Servelan]

If you use canned goods, make sure they have pull tops so you don't have to pack an extra can opener.

Cheap plastic utensils should be in each pack. Ditto for an individually packaged wet wipe.

If you pack carefully, you could also get a paper bowl in there to eat out of/mix up stuff in.

[Tezcumpapa]

We make something similar to this, although we only store them for one year at a time. I have three kids and each one has a backpack with water, FA kit, food, TP, whistle, bleach or backpacking water filter and a laminated card with handy contacts. That way, if we are separated (we live in Florida) we have a way to get back together. Please keep track of the calories...as teens, they need a lot. And while they have matches, the flashlight presents no dangers during a hurricane - or blown out by the wind. There's lots more, but you get the idea. As for zombies, I suggest finding Mila Jojovich.
I have observed in Hurricane shelters, that those who brought food, ate. Those who did not, went hungry for several hours. Peace friends