3.25 lbs today....



that's 52.5 lbs so far.....At 3 dollars/lb that would be 156 dollars.

Tomato powder in a pint jar

The best feature of MREs is the absolute ease and simplicity of preparation, plus the over packaging makes every meal like Christmas, as you unwrap your "presents." Most of those I have eaten have been in the guise of "fire rations," which are the same items rebranded and packed in boxes with different labels.

I think the story about constipation is a military urban legend (MUL), although it may be true. Back in the old brown boot army, we used to say the same thing about C rations. Either MREs or C rats taste great when you out in the field/fire line and the elegant restaurant with the wine list and tablecloths is unavailable....

With just a little foresight and planning, you can prepare meals that are lighter, more tasty and nutritious, and cheaper, right out of your local supermarket. But you will have to actually cook.

" He is down on MRE's because he says they constipate "
My own experience from about 1980. I was at 29 Palms, Ca. as a support corpsman with a Marine tank company (reserves). My first time in the field. About the 3rd day, I mentioned to an experienced gunnery sargeant that I feared I was growing constipated; hadn't been to the "toilet" since our arrival. he asked me if I was eating the "candy" disks which came with our rations. (Can't remember now if they were C-rations or MRE's. Reservists took what we were handed and said thanks.) I ate a "candy" disk that evening and, the next day, lost probably 10 pounds of "used" rations. The gunnery sargeant explained the "candy" disks were a laxative to counter the lack of fiber in the rations.

I did reservist corpsman at Pendleton.I remarked wish I had a gun. Couple Gyrenes said dont worry Doc,we will take VERY GOOD CARE of you!

And they did,starting with the food,forget what they were but when the boxes came these guys dug thru and tossed me some,gave me the skinny on what was good or not,nice guys,lotsa respect for Marines from me,fine young men!

Sooo....Im Navy while closet hippy Elmo Zumwalt was in charge,boy did he give the old line Brass fits! He had this idea,what do we eat off base? One thing was Arbys roast beef,so he had the Navy copy it and We got to eat that on base in the cafeteria.Boy Arby's had a cow,Elmo just blew em off (Thats 1-800-SoSueMe,1-800-SoSueMe...LOL!).

Copied some other fast food stuff too. And Midrats,fresh cooked food to order at midnight for night shift,boy that rocked!

Good guy ole Elmo,the Navy couldnt get rid of him fast enough,but us young guys thought he was the best (YMMV),LOL!

re: Admiral Zumwalt's Navy...I had a couple of Navy CTs (Thai linguists) that kinda worked for me in 72.. they had moustaches that would have made Emiliano Zapata proud....

Beards,bell-bottoms and Dixie Cups.

Plus we had Beer vending machines. Crazy Hippy that Elmo!

You can bet Elmo wouldnt have been 'shocked and embarrassed' when Cher did the turn back time video. He would have put her on tour!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEszTzdUMcY

Im dehydrating frozen Blackberries on parchment paper so they wont stick.

Why do this?

Since they store poorly and take up a lot of freezer space.So blackberry powder here I come.

What are they for?

Thats the good part.If you take a coffee cup,fill half with berries and fill with water,microwave to boil,then mash em up.Drink it and berries completely. Tastes pretty darn good too.

This will stop diarrhea in its tracks.Stomach cramps,gone! Now sometimes it takes 2 doses,but it REALLY DOES WORK,everyone Ive given it to,or advised,has gotten relief. It works BETTER than Imodium,and it doesnt leave you bound up afterwards like the anti diarrheal drugs can do.

I'll update as I finish up,havent dehydrated these before but should work.



Well.....parchment paper a BAD idea,the juice oozed onto it,scraped em off and straight to a tray now....





OK,direct to tray is working,almost dry.....

Pretty cool,homemade (BLT....BST ACTUALLY,LOL) bacon,homegrown tomatoes,alfalfa sprouts for lettuce(in sprout jar in refer,been 2 weeks and still fresh and alive)

Store sourdough bread and mayo,both we could have made from scratch with whats on hand.

Very good from stuff we did at home,love it!

Blackberries done.Frozen berries straight to tray worked fine.Approved and inspected by dog.

15 berries to cup of boiling water,mash and drink for the stomach upset is what we have been doing

Another batch of maters,very tangy,huge flavor,these dried to crispy.Notice we always have a ferocious Alsatian guarding the trays....