building the kitchen -vs- forgo that and use MRE's???

[MOguy]

After reading to this and getting out a few times I am convinced the best ways to go are real food, a cooler and a way to prepare it or canned food and non perishable real food.

MRE, or other dehydrated foods, freeze dried or what ever are no better than can food but cost is much higher.

 

[Martinjmpr]

After reading to this and getting out a few times I am convinced the best ways to go are real food, a cooler and a way to prepare it or canned food and non perishable real food.

MRE, or other dehydrated foods, freeze dried or what ever are no better than can food but cost is much higher.

.
+1. I would actually go further: Not only are dehydrated foods no better than canned, in some respects they are worse. Many have very high sodium (salt) content (as an aid to preservation) and most require lots of water in order to digest. Speaking of digest, ask any GI who had to subsist off of MRE's for an extended time how much fun it was dealing with the inevitable constipation that comes along with such consumption!
.
In Korea a guy in my unit (no, it wasn't me! ) had to be evacuated to a hospital for a severely impacted colon after just 5 or 6 days in the field.

 

[Ovrlnd Rd]

.

In Korea a guy in my unit (no, it wasn't me! ) had to be evacuated to a hospital for a severely impacted colon after just 5 or 6 days in the field.

In trying to avoid that, we had a guy that had to be medevac'd in the middle of the night because his wife sent him some fried chicken in the mail and he ate it. I think they were from KY or WV and may have been cousins.

 

[762X39]

I just spit up my single malt laughing.... darn you

 

[another_mike]

After reading to this and getting out a few times I am convinced the best ways to go are real food, a cooler and a way to prepare it or canned food and non perishable real food.

MRE, or other store boughtdehydrated foods, freeze dried or what ever are no better than can food but cost is much higher.

fixed that for you. You cant compare something like a mountain house to something made at home and dehydrated. There is no comparison.

 

[FJOE]

Yes, LRPs were tasty. :drool:The big thing was you needed a lot of potable water where ever you were to dine. Cold water and LRPs did not mix well due to what seemed like higher fat content. the cold water also had a hard time rehydrating the rice.

But the Chili Mac was off the hook when it was warm

 

[Ovrlnd Rd]

But the Chili Mac was off the hook when it was warm

I thought the spaghetti was pretty good too.

 

[MOguy]

fixed that for you. You cant compare something like a mountain house to something made at home and dehydrated. There is no comparison.

Are we talking freeze dried or dehydrated foods? Costs will still be higher on freeze dried. As far as dehydrated food? I have done fruit and jerky but not tried anything else. I don't mind a some dehydrated food for a snack but what can you dehydrated to make a meal?

 

[MOguy]

MRE spaghetti was decent but there wasn't enough in an MRE to make a meal.

 

[WyoCherokee]

We prefer not to have to panic stop and frantically grab the toilet paper on the side of a 2 lane. We will make the time to stop and cook using real food. a good cooler and ice is all you need.

 

[another_mike]

Are we talking freeze dried or dehydrated foods? Costs will still be higher on freeze dried. As far as dehydrated food? I have done fruit and jerky but not tried anything else. I don't mind a some dehydrated food for a snack but what can you dehydrated to make a meal?

I dehydrate regular meals, preparing them so they are conducive to the method. I make a pasta (usually using angel hair since it small, makes rehydrating/dehydrating easier), the leanest ground beef, diced green pepper and onion, tomatoes, pinto beans slightly shopped, seasoning (salt, pepper, cayenne)... after rehydrating ill add a little extra virgin olive oil for healthy fat.



After a long hike, I dont want to sit down and prepare a fresh meal. I want calories in my system as soon as possible.

 

[Ovrlnd Rd]

MRE spaghetti was decent but there wasn't enough in an MRE to make a meal.

I was talking about the LRP spaghetti.

 

[MOguy]

I dehydrate regular meals, preparing them so they are conducive to the method. I make a pasta (usually using angel hair since it small, makes rehydrating/dehydrating easier), the leanest ground beef, diced green pepper and onion, tomatoes, pinto beans slightly shopped, seasoning (salt, pepper, cayenne)... after rehydrating ill add a little extra virgin olive oil for healthy fat.



After a long hike, I dont want to sit down and prepare a fresh meal. I want calories in my system as soon as possible.

What type of dehydrator do you have?

 

[another_mike]

an Excalibur 9 tray with the non stick liners. I rarely use more than 4 trays at a time, so I probably would have been better off with the 4 tray. Mine also came with a cook book that helps get you started.

 

[Happy Joe]

...found this thread late;
Been the whole circular route from extensive 5 course campfire cooking through first and second gen MRE's, early commercial and home dried "food" finally built a kitchen and used it (once) now I'm back to the tried and true Svea 123r stored/carried in a missile container with fry pan, grubbin' tools, a mug and coffee pot and food (in a large, critter resistant, ammo can) ... probably will stop carrying the campfire grill this year (must keep the extendable hotdog fork though)...
For me simple and more compact works better & easier... I need food; quick easy and hot; with minimal cleanup.

Enjoy!