Top 7 Benefits of MREs That All Preppers Should Know

Print 🖨

This is a guest post written by: I’m Andrew Craig– I’m just your average prepper, a nurse, and the guy behind Easy MRE. For several years, I’ve been working towards self-sufficiency to help myself and loved ones become more prepared for these uncertain times. I started Easy MRE to share my interest in prepping, survival food, and meals ready to eat (MRE).

When you start prepping, it doesn’t take long to discover Meals Ready to Eat also known as the “MRE” for short. While the MRE was a survival food that was originally designed to exclusively feed the military, the MRE has become quite prominent amongst civilians and in the world of preppers.

I started prepping about 10 years ago and it didn’t take me long to recognize how valuable MREs can be in survival situations. When disaster strikes, similarly to soldiers in battle, preppers benefit from a reliable source of nutrition during times of crisis and emergencies.

As a prepper, there are many benefits of investing in MREs:

MREs are a comprehensive meal designed for emergency situations
MREs provide well rounded nutrition to preppers
MREs don’t require cooking to be edible
MREs have a long shelf life under the right conditions
MREs come in a variety of flavors to minimize boredom
MREs are a valuable convenience during crisis
MREs are lightweight and portable (perfect for bugging out)

When I first started prepping, I was fairly disorganized and didn’t have much of a vision of what self sufficiency looked like. Time progressed and after a few years of building up my stockpile of survival gear and shelf stable foods, I began to delve into the world of MREs. This article explores their benefits to preppers.

MREs are a comprehensive meal designed for emergency situations

Unlike several freeze dried meals on the market, MREs are a fully comprehensive, multi-course meal designed to provide complete nutrition.

As you begin researching MREs, you’re going to discover multiple varieties to choose from. Even though there are a varieties of flavors; generally, you’ll find that most of them contain:

Main Entree (i.e chicken or lentil stew)
Sides (i.e crackers and nut & fruit mix)
Spread (i.e. cheese or jam)
Beverage (i.e fruit juice and coffee)
Dessert (i.e. cookies)
Candy (i.e M&Ms or Chocolates)
Accessory Packet (i.e. napkin, seasoning, spoon)
Flameless Ration Heater

Picture of my MRE Star: Lentil Stew with Potatoes and Ham

I should note that MREs don’t always come with the Flameless Ration Heater (FRH). For instance, the Sopakco MRE manufacturer makes cases of 12 with and without.

The FRH is one of my favorite aspects of the MRE. The heater is a small, light green pouch and all you do is add the main entree and some water. There is a chemical reaction that occurs and heats the entree to well over 100 degrees in as little as 10 minutes.

When you start shopping for MREs, don’t forget to double check your MRE comes with the FRH (unless of course you don’t want it). The MREs are about one dollar less per meal without the FRH. Though, I don’t see why someone would want to eat a cold MRE unless out of pure necessity (all prepackaged items come cooked).

MREs provide well rounded nutrition to preppers

When you sit down and have a candid conversation with a prepper, it doesn’t take long for the discussion to head towards why they prep. For me, it’s slightly a relief to “let it out” and discuss my concerns; but perhaps more importantly, I’m trying to help wake people up to reality. I care for the wellbeing of my friends and family. Kind of like when Morpheus gives Neo the red pill…

Some are worried about a complete economical collapse of the US dollar or a grid down event from a cyberwarfare driven EMP. No matter the SHTF situation, most preppers will invariably be more active. You could be filling your emergency water containers from the homemade water collection system or perhaps finding yourself bugging out to a safe location due to a looming civil unrest.

As you’re more active in times of crisis, you’ll need good quality nutrition to sustain yourself for the long haul. As you’re looking for reliable survival food, realize the MRE has been in constant development and improvement for decades.

According to the Defense Logistics Agency:

“The Meal, Ready-To-Eat, is designed to sustain an individual engaged in heavy activity such as military training or during actual military operations when normal food service facilities are not available. The contents of one meal bag provides an average of 1250 kilocalories (13 % protein, 36 % fat, and 51 % carbohydrates).”
Source

As you can see, the MRE is well designed to provide you with the adequate nutrition your body needs during an SHTF situation or time of crisis.

MREs don’t require cooking to be edible

Let’s think about a possible disruptive or SHTF event–An EMP for instance.

Here’s the situation:

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) from a solar flare or terrorist attack has caused a major grid down event. Initially, there would generally be confusion, some fear, and slight anxiety but it wouldn’t take long to develop into mass fear, widespread panic, and civil unrest.

Being a cautious prepper, you opt to bug into your apartment for safety. You soon realize your fridge, chest freezer, and electric stove are all no longer functional. They’re burned out from the EMP. What most people don’t realize is how at risk the US is to an EMP. But, don’t take this “crazy” prepper’s word for it. Here’s what the smart people say.

According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission:

“The nation’s power grid is vulnerable to the effects of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). EMP events occur with little or no warning and can have catastrophic effects, including causing outages to major portions of the U.S. power grid possibly lasting for months or longer”
Source

You’re now bugged in and you have to find a way to cook a meal. You’re not a grill master like Hank Hill so you never got into propane and propane accessories.

Being a savvy prepper, you previously took the “Beginner’s Guide to Preparedness” in the Rogue Preparedness Academy and you’ve developed a heightened sense of situational awareness.

As a result, you don’t want to become a target. You decide cooking a meal outside isn’t safe because you can tell your neighbors aren’t preppers (you hear a lot of hysteric arguments through the wall).

You opt to stay in doors and break into your stash of MREs. You don’t need a grill, portable camping stove, or a homemade fire to eat an MRE. Due to the ingenuity of the flameless ration heater, you’re eating a hot meal in only 10-15 minutes. You can do so hunkered down in your home without the prying eyes of your dangerously hungry neighbors.

Picture of my flameless ration heater doing work.

MREs have a long shelf life under the right conditions

As you begin prepping, you quickly find articles about long term food storage, shelf stable foods, or canning. This makes sense given preppers are proactively looking to protect themselves in the future. We do the work now to benefit later.

There’s also utility when investing in a stockpile of survival foods. Think of your stockpile as a food insurance policy where if something bad happened to the supply chain, you have your food stores in place. It’s a little surreal but there’s even talk of food supply issues in the near future due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

You’ll find that many preppers will encourage people to invest in bulk dry goods, pastas, and canned goods. Similarly to those types of foods, MREs also have a very long shelf life under the right conditions.

According to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA):

“The Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) are designed to have a 3 year shelf life at 80 degrees Fahrenheit; but, the shelf life can be extended through the use of cold storage. However, there are many anecdotal reviews online that report MREs lasting well over a decade.”
Source

If you’re like me, you probably thought, “Wait? Only 3 years?” Heck! Dry goods that are properly stored in mylar bags can last for decades. While 3 years is the “official response” from manufacturers, under the right conditions, MREs can last for several years past that 3 year marker.

Some manufacturers recommend 5 years! While I don’t recommend this, you’ll find many, many reports online of people eating MREs that are well over a decade old. Sometimes longer.

Image Source: MreInfo

I don’t recommend eating MREs decades old for obvious reasons. Though, there are plenty of people that have done it and lived to tell the tail. Use good judgement and focus on making healthy choices as often as possible. We know that’s not always feasible, as a prepper, during a SHTF or emergency situation.

Sometimes you have to do what you have to do to survive.

MREs come in a variety of flavors to minimize boredom

One aspect that I really appreciate about MREs is the amount of variety. Truthfully, you’re not going to find an infinite number of options compared to that of standard food. I’m the type of guy that can be content eating many of the same things over and over. For the prepper that needs variety; however, you’ll find you have many MRE flavors and menu options to choose from.

The US military even developed a shelf stable pizza based upon the feedback of soldiers!

I think preppers interested in learning about MREs will be pleasantly surprised to see the options available. I haven’t purchased from all manufacturers yet but one I’ve enjoyed so far has been from MRE Star. They have variety at an extremely reasonable price.

Here’s an example of the items currently on their menu:

Main Entrees:

Beef Stew
Chicken in BBQ Sauce
Chicken Noodle Stew w/ Vegetables
White Chicken and Rice w/ Vegetables
Cheese Tortellini in Marinara Sauce
Vegetarian Chili
Pasta in Marinara Sauce
Pinto Stew with Ham
Lentil Stew with Potatoes and Ham
Tuscan Beef
White Rice with Vegetables

Sides

Rice
High Energy Bar
Dry Fruit Mix
Nut and Raisin Mix
Toasted Corn Nuts
Crackers
Flour Tortillas
Fruit Jelly
Chocolate Peanut Butter Spread
Apple & Cinnamon Oatmeal Mix
Chocolate Oatmeal Mix

Beverage

Orange Beverage Mix

Dessert

Sugar Cookies
Oatmeal Cookies

While that doesn’t seem like a lot to the average person, preppers aren’t necessarily average people. We are more resilient and are hardwired to work through situations when it gets tough. We don’t need every item in the grocery store to survive. The menu above has a fair amount of variety and it’s only from one MRE manufacturer. There are several to choose from of course.

MREs are a valuable convenience during crisis

As you delve further into the prepper lifestyle, there are many pieces of survival wisdom you’ll encounter. You’ll often hear about the value of stocking up on bulk dry and canned goods. “They last for years and you can’t stockpile enough,” they’ll say.

When the covid pandemic hit, I noticed almost immediately how the shelf stable foods rapidly disappeared. People were literally fighting over toilet paper but little was said about the stuff that actually mattered. One guess. Their food supply…

Atleast, not until several weeks later when the masses started to really wake up. By that time the shelves were picked through and cleaned out. Here’s a picture I took in late February of shelves cleaned out in Walmart. Only a few weeks into the pandemic.

Picture of local Walmart with cleaned out shelves from panic buying.

The thing is I don’t disagree with stocking up on those foods. We have a nice supply in our home that could last for several months. What you may not have considered is the value of food convenience during emergencies. That’s where an MRE can make a significant difference.

Yes, you can soak and boil beans, make hardtack, or bake bread. You could even eat cold canned goods right out of the can. It’s not a matter of if you can but rather, would you want to?

You wouldn’t want to resort to made-from-scratch meals at the very beginning of a SHTF situation. You’ll have bigger fish to fry! No pun intended.

You’ll be stressed, likely anxious, and focusing on your safety and security of yourself and your loved ones. You don’t want to be worried about the rise of your activated yeast in your homemade dough or the soak of those dried beans you scrounged up. During an emergency, you want a tasty, convenient, and nutritional meal to keep your hunger at bay and your energy tank full. All you need is a little water and you’ve got a hot, fully cooked meal in about 10 minutes.

MREs are lightweight and portable (Great for bugging out)

If you had to guess, how much would you say the standard MRE weighs? I completed a review on a Lentil Stew MRE recently and I found the entire package weighs 1 lb 2 oz (507 grams).

So the question is, “Why does the weight of an MRE really matter Andrew?”

I can think of one very important reason–bugging out.

When you start prepping, a term you’re going to hear a lot about is bugging out. There is an ever growing mountain of opinions regarding the logistics of bugging out and how to stock your beloved bug out bag. It’s like a prepper right of passage.

Morgan summed up bugging out nicely:

“When you have decided to bug out, that means that things have gotten so bad near your home that you cannot stay because otherwise you and your family will be in grave danger.”

When you make the decision to bug out, it’s always a hard but necessary choice. There are many aspects of bugging out you’ll need to research that are beyond the scope of this article.

However, one facet that is relevant is the weight of MREs. Your bug out bag consists of basic survival gear, navigation equipment, defense gear, fire starters, water filters, and you guessed it, a small stash of survival food. I’ve read articles that talk about what food to put in your bug out bag. You’ll need to find what works best for your situation but I’m telling you an MRE is an excellent option. For all the reasons previously mentioned.

They are light-weight, full of nutrition, pre-packaged, pre-cooked, full of variety, and oh yes–even designed to survive a parachute drop. Did I mention durability? Seems like packing a few of those in your bug out bag would be worth the space.

Last Word

As you can tell, I’m obviously very PRO-MRE. There are many benefits of investing in MREs and that’s why I’ve built up my stash over the years.

I think my favorite aspect of MREs is the variety of items in one meal and how they can be heated in only a few minutes. This is the type of food a prepper needs during survival situations. When the grid goes down, you don’t want to have to worry about measuring flour or soaking dried beans. You certainly don’t want to eat cold canned goods. You’ll be too busy monitoring your surroundings or maintaining situational awareness.

You need quick, convenient, and tasty. An MRE can provide all that.

It would be very remiss of me if I didn’t mention some of the MRE drawbacks. Especially during times of crisis, the MREs can be very expensive. I’ve seen price gouging online even if it’s frowned upon or in some cases illegal. They can be higher in sodium so if you have lower leg edema issues or blood pressure problems, you’ll need to be mindful of your intake.

And, another drawback is the aftertaste can sometimes be unpleasant from the preservatives. That’s probably my biggest hesitation with them especially since my wife is an extremely picky eater.

Despite all the drawbacks, I still invest in MREs. I also invest in building a stockpile of dry goods, canned foods, and shelf stable items. I’ve added MREs to my stash of survival food for the same reason your financial advisor recommends buying multiple stocks and multiple funds–diversify, diversify, diversify. If there’s one thing we can learn from the stock market, as it pertains to prepping, is you don’t want to have all your eggs in one basket.

Print 🖨