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Meal, Ready-to-Eat XXXI (2011) No. 15 - Southwestern Beef and Black Beans
PRODUCT HISTORY & PURPOSE OF MRE
As the title of the review indicates, MRE stands for Meal, Ready-to-Eat. The MRE combat ration was adopted by the US Department of Defense in 1975, though they would not be produced until 1981, when it replaced both the MCI (Meal, Combat, Individual rations) and the Special Forces developed LRP ration. Studies that began around the end of World War II and continued well into the 1970's indicated that catering to individual tastes and preferences would encourage service-members to actually consume the whole ration and its nutrition. Most importantly, the use of specialized forces in extreme environments and the necessity of carrying increasingly heavy field loads while on foot during extended missions required significantly lighter alternatives to standard canned wet rations.
For more information about MREs in general, check out the ZSDW article on them.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS & TESTING
Well, as indicated above, its an MRE, and though the external packaging was slightly different than that used by the United States' military forces (our package was clear), the contents were identical to those contained within MRE No. 15. The meal contained a box with the main entree, Southwestern Beef and Black Beans; the MRE heater; another box containing a sealed package of mixed fruit in light syrup; a sealed package of "Beverage Base Powder Orange" (aka Tang); three other foil packages containing peanut butter, "wheat snack bread", and an oatmeal cookie, all separately sealed; and lastly a utensil pouch containing a napkin, wet nap, spoon, coffee, creamer, sugar, salt and pepper.
The testing was performed on the floor of our living room, using nothing more than the MRE, a USGI canteen and canteen cup, and a pocket knife, which was used to open the main package in a pretty way. If one did not have a sharp tool available, a simple puncture using your teeth would be sufficient to open the container. Other than that, no tools were required to prepare or consume the meal as even the utensil is self-contained within the kit.
FINAL ANALYSIS & RATING
In my opinion, MRE meals are not ideal long-term sustainability food items - for their size, price, and calorie content, you can spend your money and space more efficiently. Canned food and a way to acquire or grow food for the long-term are better long term investments if you have the space to do so. However, MREs will bridge the gap between emergency and sustainability, in that if you were to throw a few into your car's trunk, it will get you by until you can make it back home.
This MRE meals is definitely lightweight and will provide you with the sustenance you need to satisfy your hunger and keep you going for the long haul. A soldier active in a conflict is expected to eat two or three of these to maintain appropriate calorie levels and to prevent rapid weight loss, as this leads to rapid loss of performance. Given that these meals are sold for $5-10 in most online vendors, they meals represent an excellent value to the zombie survivalist's bug-in or bug-out strategy -- when used appropriately. I think that a few MRE's thrown into the trunk of your family sedan might make a big difference in the event of an emergency, either on the side of the road, or if it has clawed its way from the grave.
As the title of the review indicates, MRE stands for Meal, Ready-to-Eat. The MRE combat ration was adopted by the US Department of Defense in 1975, though they would not be produced until 1981, when it replaced both the MCI (Meal, Combat, Individual rations) and the Special Forces developed LRP ration. Studies that began around the end of World War II and continued well into the 1970's indicated that catering to individual tastes and preferences would encourage service-members to actually consume the whole ration and its nutrition. Most importantly, the use of specialized forces in extreme environments and the necessity of carrying increasingly heavy field loads while on foot during extended missions required significantly lighter alternatives to standard canned wet rations. For more information about MREs in general, check out the ZSDW article on them.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS & TESTING
Well, as indicated above, its an MRE, and though the external packaging was slightly different than that used by the United States' military forces (our package was clear), the contents were identical to those contained within MRE No. 15. The meal contained a box with the main entree, Southwestern Beef and Black Beans; the MRE heater; another box containing a sealed package of mixed fruit in light syrup; a sealed package of "Beverage Base Powder Orange" (aka Tang); three other foil packages containing peanut butter, "wheat snack bread", and an oatmeal cookie, all separately sealed; and lastly a utensil pouch containing a napkin, wet nap, spoon, coffee, creamer, sugar, salt and pepper.
The testing was performed on the floor of our living room, using nothing more than the MRE, a USGI canteen and canteen cup, and a pocket knife, which was used to open the main package in a pretty way. If one did not have a sharp tool available, a simple puncture using your teeth would be sufficient to open the container. Other than that, no tools were required to prepare or consume the meal as even the utensil is self-contained within the kit.
All in all, the MRE was not too bad. The main entree was easily heated, though I will admit that I did not follow the directions exactly; apparently I added way too much water than was needed, but this did not negatively affect the heating process. The entree was packed with beef, but didn't go overkill on the black beans - presumably to prevent our nation's warfighters from getting a nasty case of bean-induced flatulence. It did need the salt and pepper packets added, but after seasoning was very tasty.The oatmeal cookie was more of a sugar cookie than a traditional oatmeal cookie, but was tasty nonetheless. The little trooper (pictured above) particularly enjoyed it! The bread and peanut butter were good too, and quite filling. In fact, everything contained in the meal was pretty darned good.
A neat addition to the MRE is the post card integrated into the packaging of the mixed fruit salad. This is a pretty neat addition to the meal, giving our nations' warfighters an opportunity to write home while they enjoy their meal. Maricely and I wrote a special message to a special group of undead... check out the pictures above to find out what we think!
A neat addition to the MRE is the post card integrated into the packaging of the mixed fruit salad. This is a pretty neat addition to the meal, giving our nations' warfighters an opportunity to write home while they enjoy their meal. Maricely and I wrote a special message to a special group of undead... check out the pictures above to find out what we think!
FINAL ANALYSIS & RATING
In my opinion, MRE meals are not ideal long-term sustainability food items - for their size, price, and calorie content, you can spend your money and space more efficiently. Canned food and a way to acquire or grow food for the long-term are better long term investments if you have the space to do so. However, MREs will bridge the gap between emergency and sustainability, in that if you were to throw a few into your car's trunk, it will get you by until you can make it back home.
This MRE meals is definitely lightweight and will provide you with the sustenance you need to satisfy your hunger and keep you going for the long haul. A soldier active in a conflict is expected to eat two or three of these to maintain appropriate calorie levels and to prevent rapid weight loss, as this leads to rapid loss of performance. Given that these meals are sold for $5-10 in most online vendors, they meals represent an excellent value to the zombie survivalist's bug-in or bug-out strategy -- when used appropriately. I think that a few MRE's thrown into the trunk of your family sedan might make a big difference in the event of an emergency, either on the side of the road, or if it has clawed its way from the grave.
LJ126 |
Latest page update: made by LJ126
, May 21 2012, 7:03 PM EDT
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| CriticalSurvival | MRE | 2 | Dec 17 2011, 4:56 AM EST by John_234 | ||
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Thread started: Dec 16 2011, 8:09 PM EST
Watch
After years in the military one of our staff will tell you that these have been lovingly named meals refusing to enter, or exit depending on how many you eat. Always remember that if you eat too many you will be unhappy when going to the bathroom...
Outstanding review thank you so much for taking the time to review our MRE. These are new civilian style MRE's not surplus. This is the reason for the different packaging, but all in all same stuff different covering. Thank you again Critical Survival |
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| JunkCollector | MRE review | 8 | Dec 16 2011, 7:36 AM EST by ironhand | ||
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