My daughter can't have gluten - for real, not one of these imagined "sensitivities" - it's not Celiac disease, so it won't kill her, but we really need to avoid gluten as much as possible.

So I was re-stocking our go bags (viz. my "Go Means Now") as I tend to do around when we change the clocks and read the ingredients lists carefully on our supplies for her. After going over things, I've decided that MRE's are over-priced, lower quality versions of grocery-store food I can buy locally.

Exactly. There is a convenience factor with MRE's, but that only goes so far. There are much better alternatives which put nutrition at a higher priority for less $$.

I have even considered some Fray Bentos products for the SHTF TEWOTWAWKI scenario.

A single 980 Kcal canned Fray Bentos Steak and Kidney Pudding can be had for about $2-3 (recently was able to get them for $1.50) at the local supermarket. Weight is around 500 grams so has a reasonable Kcal/gram rating i.e. 196 Kcal per 100 grams compared to an MRE at around 170 Kcal per 100 grams

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=254860600

Once you've eat all the pie or pudding you even have quite a nice metal steel cup and/or plate left over for open fire survival cooking rather than just a lot of plastic bag rubbish as per the MRE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ycZ9N3eeiZY

Strictly for SHTF conditions or to soak up excess alcohol where cooking coordination is at its minimum.

i take the meat MRE's on canoe trips,not the made up meals like beef stew.added to a rice side they make a fast,filling easy meal.
having said that remember that MRE's are just the new version of C-Rats,meals that could be stored,shipped and tossed out of trucks for mass feeding of a Army on the move.
there is also a phony glamor to military rations....

there is not much difference between MRE entrees and regular canned foods in the actual food. MREs are just packaged different to suit military needs and include some accessories.

regular canned foods are much cheaper and there is a great deal of variety not found in MREs.

there is phony glamour to a lot of things military. people seem to assume that the military uses something because it is really good. the truth is far more complex. while a lot of military equipment is good, it is almost never all that good. Military equipment is often designed by committees of officers that will never actually have to use it to stand up to the abuse inflicted on it by semi-trained teenagers while being built by the low bidder or by a favored political contributor.

MREs are not all that great. They started out bad bad bad. Hockey pucks (meat or pork, freezedried) and solid fruit - just add water and let sit for 2 days, and it would be crunchy still.

I make my own now. Just go to the local grocery, buy fruit in a cup, meat in a can/pouch, some crackers, peanut butter in a pouch, and maybe a ramen. Add salt and pepper packs, a handy wipe, some candy - ready to rock. You can splurge and add stuff to drink, as in coffee or cocoa.

There is not much weight savings going the MRE route. The freeze dried stuff sucked anyhow.

One evening last week, while looking for something for dinner, I opened a Canadian MRE. Supper Menu No. 3, Salmon Filet. It noted on the pack "08", I presume it was of 2008 vintage. I was very impressed, the salmon filet was very good, the bread portion was actually pretty fresh, no bad/stale taste, the curry rice was also pretty good. The lemon/lime dring was OK, nothing really great, but the pack also contained Nescafe cappuccino, this was really quite good. I'm told that it is a product not available in CA, too bad it would be a reasonably good addition to a bag. There was a comment card included where you could rate the contents, "good/fair/poor" and return to: D FOOD SVCS/PMO NATIONAL COMBAT RATIONS PROGRAM in Ottawa. In all a very pleasant dinner from a bag.

The main positive factor of MREs is their utter simplicity, and, to my taste, at least, they are reasonable tasty, especially for something that is mass produced and stored for a long time. They are definitely a step up from C-rats.

But if I am willing to put in just a bit of effort (like boiling water) I can produce meals that are cheaper, lighter, and quite tasty. There are lots of recipes out there.

Boiling water and cooking rice (long grain, Basmati, Jasmine, pudding, Arborio for Risotto etc), pasta, couscous (pasta), oatmeal and other grains such as bulgar wheat, Quinoa, Barley, dried split peas etc isn't difficult. There are some high quality canned meats, fish and prepared meals available at the local supermarket, some are even Gourmet quality will easily surpass any military food in terms of taste, quality, expense and lack of that chemical goodness found on the MREs list of ingredients. The additional weight of the odd can/tin is sometimes overestimated if it supplements a dried grain, potato or pasta.

You can even get canned 'Black Pudding';

http://www.grantsfoods.com/black-pudding-286g/

Having to force other family members, especially young children, to eat unrecognisable MRE servings could be a problem in a emergency situation.

If your in a bug out situation, raiding the freezer for some steaks, bacon etc and breaking a box of eggs into a Nalgene bottle isn't really going to take more than a couple of minutes anyway to add to what is already in the bug out bag!

AFLM... okay... I need an emotiocon every now and then... using the term "gourmet cooking" and references to kidney pie and black or blood pudding... .... I now know why my maternal Grandfather, who was born in Scotland, was so tough... ... I always cautioned my students to check the list of ingredients in something like potted meat when the ingredients are ground up so small...

i should note that i use MRE's on canoe trips because cans and bottles are not allowed.there was a great BBQ chicken in a foil pack at Target but i can't find those anymore.
i also found there freeze dry fruit in foil packs,i bought a bunch for next year just in case they stopped stocking that.
the whole camping food issue has made some huge changes,remember when chicken noodle soup was about all you could could come up with.we would take a loaf of bread and squeeze it flat to save some room in the pack,Spam and flatted bread was a big hit.

There are a lot of quasi-MRE type foods out there, too. Ortega makes something called tortilla stuffers that's rice with beans and/or chicken in them. There are probably 30 or so shelf stable entrees that I've seen in the grocery stores. Quality & taste varies from item to item but many of them are plenty good to eat while backpacking or in case of emergency. None require water and could be eaten right out of the pouch if necessary.

Black Pudding is quite a flexible ingredient to many 'Gourmet' dishes. It would be a useful ingredient to lots of wild game and sea food and some surprisingly good meals can be had especially if some wild edibles (or even other vegetables are in season in the farmers field) are also available. Even a simple camp fire baked potato drizzled with some Olive oil is very tasty.

Here are some 'Gourmet' (compared to MREs ) dishes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGD2xT2Enq0 (Pigeon or other wild game such as Squirrel, Pheasant, even Rabbit)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPXOfHg3YrI (if Scallops aren't available try Razor Clam or Crab Meat even Limpets)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_SNHeHn1W4 (if Haddock not available, try pan fried Cod, Mackerel, Ling etc)

Other items I would bring along would be dried Wild Mushrooms and even some stuffing such as Sage and Onion, Cranberry and Orange etc with other dried herbs and spices such as Garlic, Black Pepper, Tarragon, Coriander, Basil, even Curry flavored Stock Cubes etc These items are light weight but can make some plain inedible foods palatable. i.e. The Tabasco hot sauce to be found in the MRE.

Pan Fried Black pudding would be a nice side to even some simple Mountain House Eggs'n'Bacon.

Don't throw away any animal offal. The Liver and Kidneys etc are some of the most nutritious and tasty parts.

One of my favorite things to have on hand are some of the ready-to-eat Indian dishes, sold in a slim cardboard box that has a rugged pouch inside, and you can either boil it in the pouch or dump the pouch into a dish to microwave it, etc.

Ready-to-eat Indian foods

I haven't shopped online - I've bought them in specialty shops and - from time to time - found them in the Big Lots food aisles.

I've tried MTR, Tasty Bite and Kohinoor brands - I found them all to be quite good, and way tastier than your average choice for shelf-stable meals. I've had to work my way through the menu (still not done) but there are several that are quite tasty and would even be acceptable eaten cold out of the pouch. I haven't run across any with meat in them, but I think pairing beans with rice usually gets you a complete protein (does that include lentils or chickpeas?).

You should probably be able to find some among them that are gluten-free.

Some great ideas,thank you.

I see an MRE as a way to carry or store a completely self-contained hot meal, with no need for fire. For that I think it's useful. I have one case of twelve; I wouldn't suggest more than that for most people.

That's my plan as well. I keep 3 days' worth in the plastic tubs that comprise my bug out kits. I can load the kits in the car and have water, food, shelter and heat/light all together. For bug in situations (in my neck of the woods that usually means snow/ice storms) I keep a couple on hand just in case the pantry runs low of staples or to have a break from pasta and soup. I keep one in the cars just for that stuck in traffic forever occasion.

Advantages are no water or heat required (highly desirable, though) to prepare them. Wouldn't use them for extended camping or hiking trips.

There is also the small matter of cost!

Rice pudding - Mountain House Freeze Dried - £4.09 ($6.60)

Rice pudding - Tesco Vlaue Canned - £0.12 ($0.19)