It almost seems
trivial even silly to teach someone how to
eat. However, eating MREs have some
differences from regular eating. While
I ate MREs in the military I learned some
valuable tricks and lessons to eating MREs.
Ones that make it not only easier, more
enjoyable, but even taste better. I
will list them out from start to finish
below. When necessary, I will provide
pictures of the details presented. If
you have any further questions, please email
me at
info@getmres.com.
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Items You need
on-hand to easily eat an MRE |
- Bottled water.
- Outdoors knife, survival knife.
Sharp knife.
- Towel or napkins (not a
necessity)
- Tabasco sauce (optional)
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| 1. Opening An MRE
- Opening
an MRE is easy to understand, but sometimes
hard to accomplish. It clearly states
on the MRE that its "Peelable Seal", but
that's not always the case. I've had
problems pulling the MRE apart on many
occasions. Maybe my hands were tired
from camping activities or the seal was just
too hard (wimp!). The work around is
a outdoors knife. Scissors would work
just as well, but in normal circumstances,
out in the wilderness, camping, or hiking
you don't have a pair of scissors.
However, most of us carry a knife and if you
plan to have MREs, having a knife is an
absolute necessity. Slice the top of
the MRE till its almost completely cut-off.
Don't cut the top all the way off, it just
creates trash that can fall on the ground. |
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2.
Heating Your Entree - As I'm sure
most of you know, each MRE comes with a MRE
heater. Its a then green sealed bag
that contains a chemical packet that when
water is added it creates some serious heat.
So in case there was any worries, don't
worry NO COLD MEALS. There are
instructions on each heater, but the method
we use is very simple.
1. Rip open the top of the heater with
your hands or scissors. Its very easy
and there are pre-made points for easy
opening.
2. Take your MRE entree or side dish
and open the box its in and remove it.
3. Place the packet of food in the
heater by sliding it in. Sometimes it
can be tough to get it in, but force it in.
Don't rip the bag, but be forceful and get
it as close to the bottom as possible.
4. Now, add water to the DO NOT
OVERFILL line. If you overfill it,
water will boil out and over saturate the
chemical. The heater won't work
effectively.
5. Finally, lean it against something
sturdy, preferably a rock at a 45 to 60
degree incline. Make sure the chemical
packet is below your MRE. Some heaters
start very slowly, so be patient. In a
few minutes smoke will start billowing from
it like a chimney and your meal will heat
up.
6. Let it heat up the meal for 15-20
minutes. The hotter the meal is, the
better it tastes in the long run.
7. To remove your MRE from the heater,
there are marked rip grooves near the middle
of the heater bag. Rip the heater bag
in half and slowly slide the MRE out or pull
it out using a napkin or towel to protect
your hands from the heat. Be careful
of the hot water coming out. Its best
to just pull the MRE out with your hand, a
towel, or a tool. |
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| 3.
Eating Your Entree or Side Dish -
Here is a little trick we learned in the
military. I'm sure others have figured
it out, but its the best way to eat your
entree and side dish when a plate is not
available. For example, you are out
hiking and you stop to eat. After you
have heated your MRE, take the box your
entree came in and slowly rip or using a
knife cut off the top 2 inches of the box.
Note the side of the meal where there are
grooves to rip open the meal. With
your hands, push the food to the other side,
below the grooves. This will prevent
losing food when you open the MRE and a big
mess. The meals are hard to open. To
began with, when you open them juices from
the food make it a little slippery to get a
grip. Its useful to have a knife to
help you finish cutting open the top of the
meal. Now that your meal is open,
place it back in the box it came from and
with the cut you made on the box the meal
and the box should be roughly the same size
for easy clean eating. |
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| 4.
Seasoning Your Meal - This part
is completely optional, but at this
point is the time you add Tabasco sauce from
the MRE or some you brought from home.
Tabasco sauce will make the meal spicy, but
it is a key ingredient for a tasty meal.
Also add salt and mix it all together in the
MRE for a great meal. MREs also come
with red pepper and seasoning blends
(seasonal salt) that you can add in the same
way. |
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| 4.
Preparing Your Beverage - This is
easy. If you have 12oz bottles of
water, open the water and drink a bit of the
water to lower the level just a bit to
prevent overflow. Add all of the power
beverage to the bottle, close it, and shake
it. If you require, add sugar from the
condiment package. |
Show making a beverage |
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| 5.
Cleaning Up Your MRE Meal - MRE
unit is self-contained before and after
eating. Use the MRE plastic package to
hold all the trash it makes.
Everything you use that came from the MRE
and more should fit back in the out plastic
package. Stuff all your used garbage
in it, and throw it in the trash or put it
back in your backpack and continue hiking.
Just remember to place any dirty or wet
parts at the bottom of the package to
prevent messes. Use the towelette to
cleanup yourself and the package. |
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You have successfully
eaten your MRE! |
