Preparations for Power Outage - Military MRE's

wilson10102018

The trouble with stockpiling food for a power outage is that you eventually have to eat the stuff or toss it.

I live at what is probably the very tail end of an urban power grid. The first tree that falls in a storm usually knocks out our power. So, we have a scheme for maintaining the heat, a small generator for re-charging and temporary activities, etc. Longest was about 5 days a few years ago.

So, I usually have a couple dozen military MRE's on hand.

This week I am recycling them by eating the oldest and ordering some new ones that will lest well into the 2020's. Probably 2025 at least.

I wanted to say how good these are and how much fun it is to sample a few of the more calorie dense side dishes. The entrees are mostly 280 calories but there might be a piece of pound cake at 250 cal and 200 cal or peanut butter. I just toss those.

All I can say is that they fit into a calorie counting plan a hell of a lot better than trying to juggle recipes with no power and very little light. They come with sodium heaters (add water and wait 15 minutes) and you toss the whole thing. No clean up.

If anyone likes these, post your favorite menu items. I like the vegetarian items best but eat all of them.

SarahAnne3958

We have a long term pantry and it has things like jars of pb, pancake mixes, lots of canned goods, rice and oats etc. We also have several cooking options that don't rely on electricity and if we lose power for a while we'd just start dipping into the deep freezer and do a lot of grilling Ideally we'd lose power in the winter and then we could just put food in the snow. We get pretty intense blizzards once in a while so I've run through the scenarios, lol.

We were out for 4 days a few years ago and it wasn't a big deal at all. We have a generator with spare gas always on hand, and also live close to family who also has generators, deep storage/freezers etc. We've figured that we can go comfortably for about a month before things started getting dicey.

The biggest concern is water. We have a well and without electricity our pump doesn't work. Thankfully we live on a river and I know how to make the water safe for drinking, in a 'worst case scenario'. But, for those living on city water they should make water a top priority. My husband's done work at water treatment facilities and it's scary how short of a time they can operate without electricity.

MikePTY

I tend to keep some stuff on hand as preparation for a power outage, but it's usually things that rotate regularly in my diet, like peanut butter and protein bars. So it always gets eaten and replaced.

I live in a country that is not in the line of fire of major weather, but does suffer from frequent water outages and less frequent but still occurring power outages. Luckily my building has a full reserve water tank for a fairly small apartment building (28 units, not all full), so it can last several days of full usage before running out. I also am a 3 minute walk from a supermarket that has full back up generators so they always have power even during outages, so I can always head there quick if needed for provisions in the event of an outage (although I have to walk up and down 4 flights of stairs, as my building doesn't have any back up power).

But if it was ever full emergency with no power or no way to get somewhere for several days, I have enough to make due. In an emergency, diet and calorie goals would go out the window first.

kenyonhaff

wilson10102018 wrote: »

The trouble with stockpiling food for a power outage is that you eventually have to eat the stuff or toss it.

I live at what is probably the very tail end of an urban power grid. The first tree that falls in a storm usually knocks out our power. So, we have a scheme for maintaining the heat, a small generator for re-charging and temporary activities, etc. Longest was about 5 days a few years ago.

So, I usually have a couple dozen military MRE's on hand.

This week I am recycling them by eating the oldest and ordering some new ones that will lest well into the 2020's. Probably 2025 at least.

I wanted to say how good these are and how much fun it is to sample a few of the more calorie dense side dishes. The entrees are mostly 280 calories but there might be a piece of pound cake at 250 cal and 200 cal or peanut butter. I just toss those.

All I can say is that they fit into a calorie counting plan a hell of a lot better than trying to juggle recipes with no power and very little light. They come with sodium heaters (add water and wait 15 minutes) and you toss the whole thing. No clean up.

If anyone likes these, post your favorite menu items. I like the vegetarian items best but eat all of them.

They're great for camping of course.

wilson10102018

I like the convenience of no dishes, pans, etc.Everything can be eaten with the MRE Spoon or fingers.

Interestingly, they are tastier than Lean Cuisine and less calories (for the entrees at least).

I am buying them on Ebay for $72 per case, shipping included. That is $6 each. Which when you count all the items (peanut butter, cheese spread, cocoa mix, instant coffee, gum, desert, heater, condiments, etc., Plus a nice entree and a starch side dish like mashed potatoes, brown rice, chinese noodles, potato sticks, chips, or whatnot) is pretty affordable.