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