By Mark Kakkuri

Military personnel familiar with Meals Ready to Eat (MRE’s) have other affectionate names for them: Meals Ready to Exit, Meals Rejected by Enemy. Of course, MRE’s are not the most tasty or exciting meal to eat. But the point of an MRE is to provide a portable, high-calorie, filling meal requiring little prep — and something with a shelf-life measured in years. For obvious reasons, an MRE is a functional meal and, understandably, one making its way into hunters’ supplies and emergency provisions. Thankfully, advances in technology have brought advances in emergency food rations. Today’s emergency food choices are more varied, last for a long time, and, best of all, actually taste good.

The Mountain House Just In Case 4 Day Emergency Food Supply (retail $79.99) offers 28 total servings with about 1,650 calories per day. This kit includes 12 total pouches including Italian Style Pepper Steak with Rice & Tomatoes. All the food is freeze dried so all you have to do to prepare it is add hot water. Because I am committed to providing helpful reviews of products, and because I was needing an afternoon snack, I broke out a Lasagna with Meat Sauce packet, enough food for 2.5 people, and prepared it per the instructions. They’re easy, pretty much 1) open packet, 2) add boiling water, 3) let sit for four minutes, then 4) eat. As an emergency food process, it was pretty easy. As for the quality of food I was eating, it was very tasty. And it was filling. Note: As of this writing, there were no adverse results to report, my tummy remained a happy camper.

Other packets in the 4 Day box include Breakfast Skillet (hash browns and scrambled eggs with pork sausage, peppers, and onions); Granola with Milk & Blueberries (can be prepared hot or cold); Beef Stew (beef, potatoes, peas, carrots) and Noodles & Chicken (pasta, red peppers, real chicken). Do I have to wait for an emergency to eat these? For more info Ph: (800) 547-0244

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