An Alternative to Mainstay type ration.

I came across this in my local Lidl discount supermarket whilst buying some Wychwood Hobgoblin Beer.



Eridanous Original Greek Speciality Halva.

0.4 kg compact block of high energy food @ 539 kcal/100 grams

Best before date 09/12/2011 so a shelf life of more than 2 years.

400 grams = 2156 Kcal i.e. enough for 24hrs food energy supply.

Cost was £1.99 or around $3.00

Should go nicely with a nice cup of hot tea of coffee whilst out in the hills.

Ummm, Halva. My mouth is watering. Good stuff, I have been eating Halva since I was a little kid. If you have the chance try Persian Halva, very different from the Turkish or Greek versions. My favorite commercial brand is Joyva Halva Superstore

There are many recepies Wise Greek and have even tried to make it at home once or twice, but never got it quite right.

Pete

Looks delicious. Is it primarily ground sesame seeds mixed with honey and oil?

The ingredients on the packages are as follows;

Ingredients: Tahini (ground sesame seeds), glucose fructose syrup, almonds (7%), vegetable oil, flavouring.

Other versions of Halva were also available in my local discount supermarket such as a marbled version with Cocoa.

I dare not open it for now as there are just to many coffee/hobgoblin dark ale accompaniment delicious calories in such a small lightweight package.



Wow, two times 12lb buckets for $120, thats almost 60,000 Kcal or enough for someone to survive almost 40 days at 1500 kcal per day.

Ed Wardle should have just forgot that Dutch Oven and took along a couple of 12lb buckets of Halva.

You can't just eat dessert though!
Sheesh, didn't your mother teach you anything?

There is one problem with halvah as an emergency ration- you end up rotating out stock too often. Halvah... *drools*

Twice the calories of the one true hill food!


Disadvantage is that Halva is edible, where as Kendle's can only really be used as bait for catching DoE students.

"You can't just eat dessert though!
Sheesh, didn't your mother teach you anything?"

I will quote a very famous bumper sticker:

Life is Uncertain -- Eat Dessert First!"

Sue

That stuff is like 1/2 oil. I would probably not be able to eat more then a slice without dying of heartburn.

I think Mainstay/Datrex type rations are better, since they are made with wheat and are not nearly as fatty.

The nutritional information on the pack gave the following;

Per 100 grams

Energy 2247 kJ / 539 kcal
Protein - 14g
Carbohydrate - 42g
Fat - 35g

The Mainstay ration nutritional information is slightly more difficult to read but for the following 216 (250 gram ??) / 1200 kcal pack



Protein - 4g
Carbohydrate - 57g
Fat - 29g

These figures are for per 100 grams


So the fat content of the Halva is only slightly more than the Mainstay ration. The Mainstay ration of course has a much longer shelf life and is said to be non-Thirst Provoking.

Perhaps the Mainstay ration would be be suited to hotter environments where water may be at a premium and the Halva suited for colder wetter environments where a slightly higher fat and protein content is acceptable.

Then of course there is the famous Kendal Mint Cake.

Don't try the chocolate version its total dog toffee. Far too sweet and sickly by a long chalk.

But didn't halva originate from the mid-east/mediterranean? Maybe making sesame/honey bars with no added oil would be a good compromise. I wonder, does honey act as a kind of preservative due to the fact that it never spoils?

I once spent a winter Christmas/New year holiday out in Cyprus. Whilst I was wearing tee shirts and shorts, the locals were all wearing down puffer jackets, winter leather coats, thermal clothing and were all complaining about the daytime 20C cold and how they would huddle around their log fires during the cooler 14-16C night time temperatures.

Am_Fear_Liath_Mor wrote:
>I dare not open it for now as there are just to many >coffee/hobgoblin dark ale accompaniment delicious calories in such >a small lightweight package.

You should try it. An emergency situation is no time to find your survival food makes you puke.
Lidl stuff is surprisingly good quality and like the joke goes; the dearest thing is the pound you put in the trolley and you get that back!
Just buy some more...
The Sock

I've already tried Halva a few years ago whilst I was out in Cyprus so it won't be a surprise. I'll wait until the Walker's Shortbread has been depleted before opening the Halva. Lidl keep packets of the highly dangerous Walkers Chocolate Chip Shortbread (even more dangerous than Pringles) near the checkout at my local Lidl but I was able to get through the checkout without grabbing a packet this time.

Some other quality bargains to keep an eye for in Lidl are;

Milbona 400 gram Tin of Instant Skimmed Milk Powder, which is actually the only reasonably acceptable fresh milk substitute for black Tea I have come across.

Bellarom Vacuum Packed 500 gram Coffee Gold (100% Aribica).

Arriba Superier 81% Cocoa Dark Chocolate.

Cimarosa Paarl Pinotage 2008 (South Africa). (got a half case for just £18 just recently )

Tawny Port Armilar 750ml. (still good value after the recent price rise, but still less than £6 a bottle)

Wychwood Hobgobblin 500 ml beer only £1.09 ($1.75) at the moment.

Ben Bracken 12 Year Old Malt Whisky (Which is actually rebranded Speyside Tamnavulin 12 year old)

Perhaps I should make a request to Lidl's to see if they could start stocking Red Feather Canned Butter or a similar product as I cannot find it anywhere in the any of my local supermarkets.

Never looked at Halva before, thank you for turning me on to it.

I have tried the Mainstay type ration and consider it good; however, these are similar and give you variety: http://www.eps-direct.com/sos_energy_rations.html


... now hafta find Havla...

If your local grocery has a middle easter or kosher section, try there.

Are you guys getting lost on purpose, just for the excuse to dive into your stash?

It's important to be prepared, you wouldn't want to be lost on a mountain and have never practiced opening the chocolate bar would you ?

You rotate your stock, so you always have fresh supplies that are perishable, like water, batteries, food, some medical items. At the same time, inspect everything else.

Otherwise, you'll get a big bag of "oh my gods, what is that?" when you really need it.

Some stock you really want to inspect monthly, if not weekly.

While we are on Lidl worship (they don't call me 'lidl nicky' for nothing; you are what you eat)
They sell tubes of condensed milk like UK army rations used to have. Nothing like a taste or smell to bring you back; one drop and you'll be waiting for the sergeants shouting.
Their tortillas are the only good non famous brands (even marks and sparks and sainsburys are disgusting).
Their 17p a packet instant noodles are better than the 50p a time ones elsewhere.
Their w5 cleaning range are 'Which?' magazine award winners.
Plus there's all the great german beers and sausages. You want long life fatty food; their mini sausages don't need refrigerating and can be cooked without ever touching them. A point I like in pack food; you can't always wash your hands.
I could go on.... (sadly I usually do) Everything is good value and when stuff is on offer you seriously wonder why they bother charging!
The lidl Sock

I've never even heard of half the things you guys are talking about. I suspect that grocery stores in Oklahoma aren't the best places to shop for them.

Don't forget the bourbon. You've got to keep turning that stuff over or it will go bad in no time flat!

It's slow & not cheap but take the recipe that was closest & start varying it a little (a smidgen +/- of one ingredient) to walk it in. I was working about 300 miles from home for about six months & got to where I could make the fried rice & beef dish from the local Japanese restaurant.

Nuts and seeds may cause you allergies that are
very unexpected.

I suspect lots of people are mildly allergic to nuts and seeds.
I have this kind of allergy to some plants, nuts, seeds, so
large amounts are a problem, small amounts are OK.

For me, cooking changes almost all of the allergy-foods,
so that I can eat larger amounts with little or no reaction.

Allergies are no joke. They can kill people under mild
conditions or degrade your performance (breathing) in a
survival situation.

FYI, my telltale symptoms are first itchy eyes, later runny
nose and sneezing, Asthma (congested breathing), later
indigestion that can last for hours.

I recommend a variety of snacks. Concentrate on fat and
sugar, not on protein, nuts, seeds, legumes. If you want
protien, take cheese, sardines, or similar snacks.

Being in a survival situation is not a good time to find out
that you are allergic to half a pound of raw sesame seeds
or almonds.

"Being in a survival situation is not a good time to find out
that you are allergic to half a pound of raw sesame seeds
or almonds."

Big Grey Man, you'd best eat that one in the name of allergy testing. Research, you know. With tea, of course.

Sue