I've eaten a lot of MREs in my day. No, I'm not military, I just like them. I'm also a member of the MREInfo forum. Lots of great info there.

Every year, the menus become more interesting and more diverse. There are 24 total menus per year. I've eaten MREs over 10 years old without any ill effects.

Anyway, you don't want to be continually eating MREs for a length of time. Offhand, I don't remember what that time period is. They are also designed for someone actually being active outdoors. 3 MREs = 1 day of food. I certainly could get by with 2 MREs with my outdoor activities.

The nice thing about them is that the food is already prepared. Just warm them if you'd like. BTW, you can buy the FRHs(Flameless Ration Heater) seperately from several web sites. A little water is needed to activate the heater plus whatever water you want to drink (make coffee / beverage with).

For a few days out and about in the woods, I like them. I also supplement with Mountain House and other other foods.

Another site I've found was freezerbagcooking.com They show how to make your own rehydrateable foods.

I've also eated military rations from other countries (French / British / Norwegian / Canadian)

You can certainly make your own version of MREs using commercial retort packages of tuna / chicken / spam / etc... Probably best to vacuum pack them together. Maybe add an O2 absorber to ensure longer shelf life. One of the guys on the MREInfo forum makes his own version of the FSR (First Strike Ration) using military components, but for a fraction of the cost.
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