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MRE
Sept 2, 2016 12:17:39 GMT -8
Post by stealthytomato on Sept 2, 2016 12:17:39 GMT -8
I have been dying for a reason to get a home freeze dryer. They are still in the $4000 range and have a pretty small holding capacity. But to make your own home-cooked meals and freeze dry them is so appealing!
Not to mention all the fruit and veg you could dry. Even eggs, ice cream (!) and other interesting treats.
Anyone have or know anyone who has one?
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MRE
Sept 2, 2016 16:09:03 GMT -8
Post by johntpenca on Sept 2, 2016 16:09:03 GMT -8
I have been dying for a reason to get a home freeze dryer. They are still in the $4000 range and have a pretty small holding capacity. But to make your own home-cooked meals and freeze dry them is so appealing! No clue. Seems like a lot of $$ when a dehydrator will do most of what you appear to want.
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MRE
Sept 7, 2016 6:43:22 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 6:43:22 GMT -8
MRE's are gross. I hated them in the Corps and I'll avoid them as much as possible.
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MRE
Sept 9, 2016 6:15:08 GMT -8
Post by Lamebeaver on Sept 9, 2016 6:15:08 GMT -8
I've eaten MREs, some are better than others. MOST have a fair amount of preservatives and trans-fat to extent the shelf life (to several years).
There are certainly lighter, healthier and better tasting alternatives. While a freeze dryer would be very cool, I find a good dehydrator (L'EQUIP) gives me lots of flexibility in creating meals.
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rebeccad
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MRE
Sept 9, 2016 7:24:15 GMT -8
Post by rebeccad on Sept 9, 2016 7:24:15 GMT -8
There are certainly lighter, healthier and better tasting alternatives. While a freeze dryer would be very cool, I find a good dehydrator (L'EQUIP) gives me lots of flexibility in creating meals. And there's the bottom line, at least for those of us who have some knowledge of how to get around a kitchen, and time to apply to the job.
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MRE
Sept 19, 2016 15:23:30 GMT -8
Post by swimswithtrout on Sept 19, 2016 15:23:30 GMT -8
I could see how only the meal packs would be so much simpler. There is 1.25 lbs of food and packaging in there! But I find I prefer freeze dried to MRE meals..........I have been dying for a reason to get a home freeze dryer. They are still in the $4000 range and have a pretty small holding capacity. But to make your own home-cooked meals and freeze dry them is so appealing! 1.25 lbs for one meal ? Lots of people can get by on 1.25 lbs of "dried" food for an entire day (though I find I need closer to 1.5 to 2.0 lbs/day). Instead of a freeze drier, get a dehydrator instead, ~ $50.00 for a modest basic setup. If all you've ever tasted in the freeze dried realm is the ubiquitous Mountain House meals (not much better than eating cardboard IMO), you're in for quite a treat when you find out how much better you're own home dried meals will taste ! And if cost is a prohibitive factor, you can just use your own kitchen oven, like I did for 2 years. The only additional cost above your ingredients, will be the cost of your electricity/ gas for your oven set as low as will operate, with the door propped a-jar, for 6-8 hrs..
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whistlepunk
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MRE
Sept 20, 2016 8:06:59 GMT -8
Post by whistlepunk on Sept 20, 2016 8:06:59 GMT -8
I never particularly cared for them. Nutritionally, they are a mixed bag.
The military considers three per day to be sufficient. Each is about 1200-1300 calories, so two per day is a bit light in calories if you are carrying or pack or doing anything strenuous (using 3000 cal per day for backpacking). They are heavy to carbs, light on protein, but that is normally not a problem for short trips. High in sodium, low in fiber. Some people complain they cause constipation. One story is they are intentionally designed to plug you up, less human waste to tip off an enemy as to location and numbers. Military protocol holds a unit should not be expected to eat MREs exclusively more than three weeks. After that regular food (field kitchen) should be used.
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whistlepunk
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MRE
Sept 20, 2016 8:13:48 GMT -8
Post by whistlepunk on Sept 20, 2016 8:13:48 GMT -8
I have been dying for a reason to get a home freeze dryer. They are still in the $4000 range and have a pretty small holding capacity. But to make your own home-cooked meals and freeze dry them is so appealing! I looked into them too. Rather impractical for home use. They are large, not a kitchen countertop appliance. Most require 220V. I saw one that that used 110V but had really small capacity and looked flimsy and cheaply made.
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MRE
Oct 27, 2016 18:36:55 GMT -8
Post by Christian on Oct 27, 2016 18:36:55 GMT -8
This was actually my plan for an upcoming two day, slow paced trip. I haven't done any multi-day backpacking trips yet and am not experienced at all what so ever in freeze dried meals or seemingly any other typical meal system that seems to be popular. I hadn't even considered only using the entrees in the MREs.
I went through basic just about 10 months ago. The worst one I got was a beef paddy.. In the dark, while starving, that thing is amazing. Take a look at in daylight though, and take the time to get a good whiff of what you're about to eat, and you may just rather starve hahah. Either way, I figured waste and trash would be the biggest problem with them. For an inexperienced bper who knows nothing about lightweight foods, would an MRE be an alright starting point, or would anyone suggest an alternative method?
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Oct 27, 2016 20:59:18 GMT -8
For an inexperienced bper who knows nothing about lightweight foods, would an MRE be an alright starting point, or would anyone suggest an alternative method? Frankly, I'd recommend starting where I did: with things like Lipton noodle dinners. Add a can/pouch of chicken or tuna, and it's a fairly filling dinner, easy to cook and not too messy. That sort of thing--just regular grocery store items and a little imagination. Much cheaper than MREs or freezedried, and while the sodium is over the top, it's no worse than those others (and when hiking, sodium isn't a problem for most of us, since we're sweating so much). At breakfast, instant oatmeal is fine if you can stomach it; I prefer to put slow-cooking oats in a freezer-bag along with nuts, raisins, cinnamon, a pinch of salt, & powdered milk. Add boiling water at breakfast time, give it three or four minutes to cook a bit, and dig in. It doesn't have quite the same texture as if you'd boiled it in a pot, but there's no clean-up, and it's way better than the instant glue. This thread may already reference great resources like Sarbar's Freezer Bag Cooking website and Dicentra's One Pot Wonders.
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MRE
Oct 27, 2016 22:53:20 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by High Sierra Fan on Oct 27, 2016 22:53:20 GMT -8
Inexperienced hikers aren't immune to all the excessive water weight MREs contain So for any hiking where you're NOT packing in all your water the MRE foods are just too burdensome for anything more than a weekend perhaps.
Instant mashed potatoes. Instant rice. +Canned or pouch chicken, Kraft Mac and Cheese, Quaker Instant oatmeal (which I even use st home, with honey and maple syrup, sometimes black pepper). Lots of add water choices on the shelves of every grocery store around: look down the aisle label "boxed dinners".
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MRE
Oct 28, 2016 3:30:27 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2016 3:30:27 GMT -8
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rebeccad
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MRE
Oct 28, 2016 10:42:37 GMT -8
Post by rebeccad on Oct 28, 2016 10:42:37 GMT -8
Read the comments on this one! Some of them are great.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2016 10:57:11 GMT -8
Read the comments on this one! Some of them are great. And the product description is also a good read:
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