I just got some Mainstay rations for evaluation.
They are dated 3/05 lot no.60 exp date 3/10.
From what I read they should be vacume packed.
The package I got is compleatly loose inside.
I was intending to eat this package to test it for tast, so the long term problems with this do not matter for THIS batch.
Is this still safe to eat?
This makes me worried about their quality controll, expecially considering that when DR reviewed some, that he got some that seemed to have the vacuume broken too.
Anyone else have any experance with this product?

I ordered 50 of the 3-day 3600 cal mainstays a long time ago. Out of that case, about 5 of them were packed as you describe but I could tell no difference in taste, texture, etc between those and the ones that appeared to be properly packaged. Furthermore (and perhaps most importantly) none of them made me sick <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />.

Just tried it.
I was at work and did not have breakfast...
I actually like it very much!
They were right about it not promoting thirst....My mouth was watering for about 10 min. after I ate it...Strange...How do they do that, with something that dry...Hmmm.

I wander how this stuff would work as diet food???
I need to lose some(ok a LOT) of weight, and this stuff is WAY cheaper than the diet food(which is mostly useless anyway), as well as tasting better!
At $8.00 for three days it is cheaper than ANY food I eat!

Make sure you get some protein also. Survival food is deliberately low in protein, because it takes a lot of water to digest/metabolize. That's what you want in a survival situation, but not losing weight.

Agreed. Adding a low fat, low cal source of protein would be a good idea. I have eaten nothing but mainstays for several days at a time and lived to tell about it but I'm not sure how long term consumption would go. I didn't do it with the intention of losing weight (though it did have that effect). I did it mostly just to see if I could and would still feel well and have energy (and I did) so that I would know in advance of a real survival situation if they would really work for me.

They do taste surprisingly good also. I often take them on overnight or weekend camping trips as my only food.

Snails are just that, proteins....
Now, if you prepare them "à la Bourguignonne", with garlic and butter, then you also have plenty of fat....

Frenchy:

How do you prepare the snails to get rid of the slime they glide on?

Bountyhunter

Hey ! Don't ... that's the best part !!!!

Na... just kidding !! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

When I was much (much...) younger, "hunting" snails was a favorite in the familly. And it was my mom's job to prepare them.
H?las, I don't remember the exact procedure.
IIRC, you first have to let them fast a week (at least..) so their stomacs are empty (could be OK if you are stranded for a looong time <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> ).
Then you have to "clean" them before cooking...
Don't worry... the slime will be washed out in the process...

And I was not kidding when I said it's a great protein source...
No fat ... except if you add garlic flavored butter.... which is the most common way to eat those little beasts. But there are other receipes, without butter.

if you are really interested, I could look for the exact preparation procedure ... and find some receipes.

The proper procedure is to let the snails purge themselves on a cornmeal diet for a week. Background music of Saint-Saens and Debussey helps to calm them down. Ravel stirs the emotions and makes the meat gamey. Likewise art posters of Monet's garden are prefered over Van Go's Cornfield with the snail eating crows. Please use freshly crushed garlic and not the horrid salt <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

BLEEECCCH!!!!

Sue

Chris:

As with the dating scene: LIQUOR'S QUICKER!, and it should remove some of the slime snails produce to glide on.

Bountyhunter

And NEVER use a garlic press.

Susan
You are in the Nortwest so you should know better. SALT!

Chris :

easy on Ravel !
I know a farmer, who get into snails breeding some 15 years ago. He told me that he tried the Ravel thing once ... the snails went into such a frenzy, he had to use his sheperd dogs to gather the herd and get it back into the enclosure... took all night ......
<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

yes.... after a week's fasting, you put the snails onto coarse salt, in order to purge them...

there are different ways to prepare snails..
If you want to know more about it :: see this web site

Frenchy:

You must have some of that German wine with too much glycol in it.

You've got to send it back, or quit drinking it! <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Sorry, but I don't eat them with salt, either!

Sue

O.K. Frenchy, now I understand. In order to eat snails you fast for a week, then purge.

Ask a Coast Guard recovery diver about crabs and lobsters sometime. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

yep..... you got it right !!! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

na... just kidding .... AAMOF snails taste fine with garlic (not too much garlic)....


OTOH I never tasted snake and roasted hedgehog is supposed to be good ...

I don't drink such wine.....
OTOH I recently get a verrrrrrry good bargain on some verrrrrry cheap russian vodka..... unlabeled.....
Maybe I better keep it to use as a firestarter ....

Another thing to consider which I just noticed while reading over the label info. These things a loaded with saturated fat. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Saturated fat is only a problem for very long term survival. For short-term survival, fat contains a lot of calories compactly. And calories are the only thing you are concerned with in a short-term survival situation.

So maybe we should stop making them your sole source of nourishment on our practice survival sessions, and bring something more healthy instead. Because if we do a lot of practice sessions, we now need to worry about long term survival. I've been eating power bars. Not as good for a real survival situation, because they have protein, and that takes more water to digest and metabolize. But much more healthy long-term.

The make a special version of Mainstay with protein, but you have to have water with it...They sell it for relief operations in which children may have to live off of the stuff for a while, but not for survival or the first week or so of a disaster.

If it had vitamins, minerals, and fiber, then you wouldn't need food!

Very cool. I wasn't aware of that. I will have to check these out. Might be better for me as camp food when doing my ultra light weight minimal gear stuff.

snake tastes like chicken...(why does everything strange taste like chicken? escargots don't taste like chicken though....they taste well, like garlic butter....and chewy too...)

I have never had the good fortune to taste hedgehog....or fruit bats...or monitor lizards for that matter......