Just remember, the foods you prepare need to taste good as well as being practical. Even if you still want to bring along that beef or chicken, packing an MRE ensures you will always have a bit of extra food.

Choose foods that are light weight. Heaver foods mean more bulk in your bag and the less you can carry. Again, freeze dried foods weigh little to nothing in your pack. You can also opt to include some dehydrated foods, too. While I might buy freeze dried foods, I would probably want to dehydrate my own. You can get a really nice kitchen model dehydrator, or you can go more primitive with an eco-friendly one that won’t run up your power bill – both of which would do the job. One may take a little longer, but it’s still going to get the job done.

Choose foods that are high in calories. You might have to ration your food, but you can’t necessarily ration your energy. High calorie foods keep your energy up. Each MRE should ideally have approximately 1,200 calories. Mix some nuts, granola and dried fruits to make a high calorie trail mix that’s also light-weight.

What are in typical military MREs:
•Homemade MREs (via Survival at Home)Entree – the main course, such as Spaghetti or Beef Stew
•Side dish – rice, corn, fruit, or mashed potatoes, etc.
•Cracker or Bread
•Spread – peanut butter, jelly, or cheese spread
•Dessert – cookies or pound cakes
•Candy – M&Ms, Skittles, or Tootsie Rolls
•Beverages – Gatorade-like drink mixes, cocoa, dairy shakes, coffee, tea
•Hot sauce or seasoning – in some MREs
•Flameless Ration Heater – to heat up the entree
•Accessories – spoon, matches, creamer, sugar, salt, chewing gum, toilet paper, etc.

Sample homemade MRE contents:
•BREAKFAST: 2 breakfast bars, dried fruit, instant coffee.
•LUNCH: Tuna, cheese crackers, dried fruit, 1 mini Hershey bar, fruit drink mix.
•SNACK: On grueling hikes, you have to keep your blood-sugar levels up, so these have 2 packages of peanut butter crackers and several packs of Peanut M&Ms to be eaten between meals.
•DINNER: Ramen Noodles, cheese crackers, mini Hershey bar. I also pack freeze dried vegetables and some beef jerkey to break up and add to the soup.

Substitutions could include:
•Entree – canned/bagged tuna, canned/bagged chicken, canned sardines, spam, or instant oatmeal
•Side dish – freeze dried/dehydrated veggies, packaged instant noodles/rice/potatoes
•Crackers/Spread – peanut butter or cheese crackers, graham crackers, individual packets of peanut butter, jelly
•Dessert – dried fruit or ‘100 calorie packs’ of cookies
•Candy – 2 Hershey’s Minis, small pack of M&Ms, a sucker, hard candy, gum
•Beverage – Gatorade mix, fruit drink mix, instant coffee (which I can assure you will be in my pack) or instant tea
•Seasonings – individual packets of ketchup, mustard, relish, salt, pepper, hot sauce, non-dairy creamer, sugar, jelly, bullion cubes

Again, consider carefully what you want to use as an MRE. Choose foods that have a long shelf life. Freeze dried foods are always a good idea.

There is a good selection of ways to package or store the MREs. You can use zip-lock or mylar bags. A vacuum sealer, if you want to invest in one, is a terrific idea. You can seal breakfast lunch and dinner for several days, keeping the air out, and preserving your food for much longer than normal.

For more ideas, hints and tricks go to Survival At Home. It’s an interesting topic and certainly something every survivalist will want to consider!