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277K views 407 replies 275 participants last post by  BDavies 
#1 · (Edited)
***Step 1...gather your fixins....anything that can be eaten either raw or cooked, using ONLY water...nothing requiring refrigeration or milk, butter, etc...

*packaged snack crackers....PB on wheat, cheezy, etc., etc...
*bagged/canned tuna, chicken, spam, sardines....whatever meat you prefer....
*packaged instant rice and potatoes...
*instant drink mixes...coffee, crystal light, whatever.....
*tea bags....
*bullion cubes.....
*ramen noodles...
*single servings of salt, pepper, sweetener, or whatever your taste....
*granola/cereal bars...
*candy bars...
*instant oatmeal packets....



***Step 2.....Dig through your stockpile and arrange the types of meals you want to package...remember to diversify if you don't want the same, boring meal every time you crack one open...







***Step 3...Break out the vacu-suck and shrink-wrap your goodies into nice li'l packs....rinse and repeat....*NOTE...don't forget to pierce your packs of rice, potatoes, noodles, and crackers w/a thumbtack or something, or they'll bloat under vacuum and cause your MREs to be bulky....piercing won't harm the contents, as you're delivering them to a vacuum state, and contamination is not a factor........



Choose your foods wisely and you should end up w/a 3-5 yr. shelf life, when properly stored. The line of DIY MREs above cost me about 2 hrs and $75 to make....compare that to a sh*tty tasting, $6 per commercial MRE with a comparable shelf-life, and you figure the savings....
 
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#83 ·
Depending on the types of food you pack, and the deals you come across, you can pack a "ration" for anywhere between $1 and $4 a piece....

I use a Rival seal-a-meal...pretty much any one of their product line has my "seal" of approval *pun*..... :p

I've recently replaced mine, 'cause my old one didn't have the accessory port (for vacc-ing containers, etc.)....my old one is about 9 years old, and I still use it in the shop for sealing ammo and other non-food stuff.....keeps my new one clean and fresh for food service.... :D
 
#87 ·
Well for heck of it I boiled some water at home and once it got to a rolling boil I gently opened the potatos for example and poured the hot water into that bag, kind of like how you would pour water into an MRE. And I rolled the top of the bag over to see if it would cook and it did. I as well have a cheap little individual mess kit that I got from academy that contains a small pot. My issue at the time was that we also cooked something else in that pot and did not have a way to clean it out properly to use again for water boiling. I think I need to figure out a better way of doing things I suppose.
 
#102 ·
Add some freezer bags to your meal kit or a Gramweenies kitchen kit shown in the video below.

A lightweight and cheap cooking method is a canteen cup or alpine cup with an ESBIT stove.
 
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#105 ·
Heres some pics of my homemade MREs (camping meals) The first pic is of dehydrated hamburger and maccaroni. The second pic shows the cheese powder used for the maccaroni and the hamburger (like hamburger helper) as well as some of my other foods like dehydrated corn and peas, garlic potatoes, grits, coffee and creamer, pretzels, and crackers.



 
#112 · (Edited)
wes1761 - the plastic on the standard rolls/bags is fairly tough stuff. And when vac'd & sealed its tough to puncture with anthing less than metal from what I've seen.

One other trick we've done with dry ingredients is printing a 3x5 index card or stiff paper and put it in the bag. In addition to listing the contents & expiration date(s) you can put any preparation directions/suggestions on the back of the card. No external labels to rub off or get wet and its easier to reuse the bag since it isn't already written on....
Besides, my handwriting sucks so I prefer to type :)

HTH
Chris in VA
 
#390 ·
One other trick we've done with dry ingredients is printing a 3x5 index card or stiff paper and put it in the bag. In addition to listing the contents & expiration date(s) you can put any preparation directions/suggestions on the back of the card. No external labels to rub off or get wet and its easier to reuse the bag since it isn't already written on....
Besides, my handwriting sucks so I prefer to type :)

HTH
Chris in VA
The index card can also be used for tender to start your camp fire
 
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