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The Gas Station MRE challenge

Nix · 1119 · 54971

00 Offline Borg

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #270 on: May 11, 2021, 10:16:48 PM
OK....it's been 24 hours with the cheeses out on the table.

The house has fluctuated between 60º to 64ºF. Not terrible warm.


(Image removed from quote.)


Today's tasting was.....still nice!

Might be my imagination, but the texture seemed slightly drier. The flavor seemed a bit tangier today, and still fairly salty.  After eating a bit, I shared some with Adventure Boy. He declared it adventure-worthy.  :tu:

At this point, the cheese has successfully made it at 60ºF without refrigeration for 28 hours.

 :like: i don't know those orange ones but the red ones after 2 or 3 days go like Elevenblade said, wet and greasy but they still tasted fine, maybe if they are removed from the wax they will last longer, like dry out a bit  :dunno:
Poker Face Milk dud world champion 2021


us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #271 on: May 11, 2021, 10:35:22 PM
They also have MRE packages of trail mix.

For several years now, when I make trail mix I add M&M's to the fruits and nuts.  I'm not sure where I got the idea to do that, perhaps from one of those MRE packages of trail mix. Regardless, M&M's in trail mix is highly recommended.

.....although....you do have to hide it from Mrs Nix.   :rofl:


us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #272 on: May 11, 2021, 10:36:18 PM
:like: i don't know those orange ones but the red ones after 2 or 3 days go like Elevenblade said, wet and greasy but they still tasted fine, maybe if they are removed from the wax they will last longer, like dry out a bit  :dunno:


That sounds like a different experiment...... 


us Offline Sos24

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #273 on: May 11, 2021, 10:49:09 PM
For several years now, when I make trail mix I add M&M's to the fruits and nuts.  I'm not sure where I got the idea to do that, perhaps from one of those MRE packages of trail mix. Regardless, M&M's in trail mix is highly recommended.

.....although....you do have to hide it from Mrs Nix.   :rofl:
I love a little chocolate or carob in my trail mix.  Sixlets is my preferred, but hard to find so usually it is M&Ms.


us Offline Sos24

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #274 on: May 12, 2021, 12:12:09 AM
For me the toughest part of this challenge will be no ice cream. 


us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #275 on: May 12, 2021, 12:40:38 AM
Hmmmm.....I saw a freeze dried ice-cream sandwich at a local outdoors store.....





 :dunno:


us Offline Sos24

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #276 on: May 12, 2021, 01:11:00 AM
Hmmmm.....I saw a freeze dried ice-cream sandwich at a local outdoors store.....


(Image removed from quote.)


 :dunno:

I’ve tried it and it isn’t the same.  But then again it might be better than nothing  :dunno: The local REI does have two different brands in stock.  I could always do it as a taste test, for the sake of science.


us Offline ElevenBlade

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #277 on: May 12, 2021, 01:24:16 AM
I’ve tried it and it isn’t the same.  But then again it might be better than nothing  :dunno: The local REI does have two different brands in stock.  I could always do it as a taste test, for the sake of science.

For Science!   :cheers:


us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #278 on: May 12, 2021, 01:34:58 AM
 :D

« Last Edit: May 12, 2021, 01:45:01 AM by Nix »


au Offline ReamerPunch

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #279 on: May 12, 2021, 05:08:51 PM
Show content




I am looking to make some changes. I have already found new sardines and chicken cans, to cut down on unnecessary carbs. I would also like to eliminate one of the two mint chocolates. Though, they're chocolates, so they are definitely going down easy even when full.

Maybe eliminate the highest carb item, which currently is the 24g pack of cheese crisps. It adds a nice variety to the kit, and it's a tiny packet, but for 24g of it you get 2.9g of carbs. That's a little high. We'll see.
I am also not satisfied with my two cheese sticks. 1.3g of carbs for a tiny 20g cheese stick. Even my chocolates have fewer carbs per gram. So, my two cheese items are not that great. If I could find another cheese item that had more reasonable carbs, I could eliminate both of those and cut down on carbs even more.

My two pork krackle bags are high calories, extremely low carbs, so seemingly good, but they're huge. Especially two of them. The second was added to boost my calorie count, but I may remove it.

I have a tiny tub of butter in my breakfast module. Great macros, but a little out of place, since I have nothing to spread it on. Maybe if I could find a small pack of low carb crackers?

Also, I have three cans. Maybe I should have a can opener. That would round out my accessory pack nicely. A tiny P38 maybe, just in case one of my three pull tabs breaks off. I'll have a look in ebay.

Man, this MRE business is not easy! :ahhh
« Last Edit: May 12, 2021, 05:16:15 PM by ReamerPunch »


us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #280 on: May 12, 2021, 05:21:22 PM
Last time I took a tin of sardines on a hike, I taped a P38 to the lid. The tape kept the P38 in place and served as guard against the pull tab being snagged on something and opening at an unauthorized moment. Overkill to be sure.....but...better safe than sorry?

 :rofl:


us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #281 on: May 12, 2021, 05:25:49 PM


My two pork krackle bags are high calories, extremely low carbs, so seemingly good, but they're huge. Especially two of them. The second was added to boost my calorie count, but I may remove it.




 :iagree:  I don't think you'll find puffy bags of chips or pork rinds in military rats for two reasons. One, too much volume for the calories, and two, liable to being damaged with rough handling. For our purposes, they are completely legitimate, but I do have to ask, would you go backpacking with bags of pork rinds (krackle, as y'awl say) ?

( As an aside, I have a real weakness for spicy pork rinds or pork cracklins.  ;) )


au Offline ReamerPunch

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #282 on: May 12, 2021, 05:43:30 PM
Removing the pork krackles leaves me with a massive calorie deficit.  :-\
But I will have to make up for it, and with minimal carbs, because the two massive, puffy bags are not ideal.
So I am not sorry to see them go. :salute:

Man, I lost 560Kcal but only 1g of carbs with those two bags. But I saved 5.5g of carbs with  the new sardines and chicken cans. Not all is lost. Gonna have to find more shops. :ahhh
Another good reason to find cheese. It can make up for those calories, and will have minimal carbs.


au Offline ReamerPunch

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #283 on: May 12, 2021, 06:00:03 PM
Holy smurf! :ahhh
I found a nice shelf stable cheese block that allows me to eliminate the pork krackles and cheese sticks, with 2600Kcal and exactly 20g of carbs! :woohoo:


us Offline Sos24

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #284 on: May 12, 2021, 06:25:28 PM
Holy smurf! :ahhh
I found a nice shelf stable cheese block that allows me to eliminate the pork krackles and cheese sticks, with 2600Kcal and exactly 20g of carbs! :woohoo:
That is awesome.  I love cheese. 

The space savings of a few items is way I originally asked about repackaging, but repackaging pork rinds (krackles) in a pack would probably result in having powdered pork rinds and no krackle when you got around to eating them.  The powder would have the same calorie benefit, but I don’t think they would be as much fun to eat.  Although, I do wonder how the powder would taste :dunno: How about pork rind (krackles) encrusted sardines?


us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #285 on: May 12, 2021, 10:54:48 PM
That is awesome.  I love cheese. 

 :iagree:



us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #286 on: May 12, 2021, 11:16:11 PM
MENU 12: Veggie Burger in BBQ sauce (Part 1)

The weather today was exceptional and Mrs Nix was willing to let me skip (most of) my chores.  :ahhh

I grabbed an old MRE and headed for the hills........

After hiking for a few hours, I found a nice shady spot and set up camp. Setting up camp involved sitting down with a weary sigh and pulling out my 2007 MRE and water bottle.





Sorry for the messy red pen. I stored this MRE with a few others and wanted to remind myself that this MRE was no longer considered 'fresh'.   :rofl:

View from the lunch room:





In my past, whenever possible, I would choose vegetarian MRE's. In my expereince, the vegetarian MRE's were more flavorful and interesting than the non-veg options. I scored this one while still in the service and had been saving it for a rainy day. No rain, but the GSMRE challenge seemed like a good excuse to break it out and see what the contents were.

Date stamp:




This means the MRE was packaged up on day 150 of 2007.

Let get it open and see what we have......





Working clockwise from the "Hot Beverage Bag" on the left....

• Carbohydrate Electrolyte Beverage Powder, Orange
• Chocolate Banana Nut muffin top
• Vegetable Patty in Barbecue Sauce
• Wheat Snack Bread
• Wheat Snack Bread (second unit)
• Accessory packet
• Cranberries Osmotic
• Potato Sticks

Nice!  (No lack of carbs there......)

The accessory packet:

• Salt
• Tabasco
• Tissues
• Towelette
• Iced Tea Mix, Lemon flavored
• Matches
• Gum


What......? NOOOOO COFFEEEEEEEE!!! :ahhh  >:(

Well....it was a warm day....and I hadn't brought a stove....so who needs stupid coffee anyway?  (Well, me actually, but I'll make do.)

Here ends part 1. Part 2 served up in a jiffy......


us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #287 on: May 12, 2021, 11:36:06 PM
MENU 12: Veggie Burger in BBQ sauce (Part 2)


So...step one was to get my veggie burger heating up. I used the Flameless ration heater (FRH). I stuffed one of the Snack Bread Slices into the cardboard sleeve and then stuffed the FRH with entree into the cardboard sleeve as well. This way I'd have a hot bun as well as a hot burger.

If the FRH worked......

Which it did!   :ahhh





If you squint, you can see the water vapor coming out of the cardboard box.

It takes about 15 minutes to get the meal warm. In the meantime, I thought I'd check out some of the sides.





The potato stick (these used to be available in civilian markets) were surprisinly good. Salty and oily, the way a good cheap snack should be. I had feared the fat might have gone rancid, but these tasted perfect.

The cranberries look a bit aged. I think the sugars crystalize on the surface. ANd I'm willing to bet their nutritional value is not much more than 5% of what it used to be. However....they tasted great!

So far this MRE was turning out to be surprisingly good.

I slid my warm bread slice out onto my tray (inside out MRE bag). It smelled...like bread. It is denser than real bread, but it is not a bad substitute...especially for being 14 years old!

The bread got topped with a the veggie patty and some sauce:




Looked and smelled pretty good.....but how would it taste?





Needed the Tabasco!  The flavor was fine, but overly sweet. The patty itself had a vaguely beefy taste (but is just soy protein and egg whites and about 27 additives), but the BBQ sauce was a bit sweet. Tangy and tomatoey. Some hint of spices, too. Really not bad at all, but the old Tabasco made it awl taste pretty good. I ate the whole thing.

And washed it down with the Orange beverage.




Here's a close up of my veggie burger:





Not looking Five star, but it tasted good and filled me up.

And maybe that is a problem.....

I only ate 1/2 the potato sticks (only meant to sample them, but the saltiness hit the spot), 1/2 the cranberries (best thing in the ration, but sweeter than I wanted), one bread slice, and the veggie patty (leaving a good bit of sauce in the pouch). I didn't touch my tea, second bread slice, or muffin top.

From the military perspective, I really missed out on many of the 1200 Kcal they were trying to stuff into me. And since I didn't eat a bit of each item, that means that my micronutrient consumption might have been unbalanced.

So it goes......

Regardless, this was a surprisingly good MRE....especially considering its vintage!   :rofl:


us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #288 on: May 12, 2021, 11:43:59 PM
MENU 12: Veggie Burger in BBQ sauce (Home)

After I got home, I was feeling a bit hungry. I had saved the muffin top, bread slice, and tea mix, so I thought I'd give them a try.





The muffin top felt a little gritty, I think from crystalized sugar, and was instantly sweet. After the first hit of sweetness, I noticed a distinctive cocoa flavor that faded into a strange chemical type flavor. I didn't care for that chemical flavor....but it didn't stop me from eating bit more. Mrs Nix opined that if one were stuck in traffic, the muffin top might be very welcome to snack on. I think she meant that as a sort of compliment.

The iced tea mix was quite nice, slightly lemony, and refreshing after a long and sweaty hike.  :tu:

I should add that on the walk home, I chewed up the gum. Fairly soft, sweet, and a nice spearmint flavor that lasted at least 60 seconds before disappearing..... Uncle Sam like to include gum in his school lunches because it helps promote oral hygiene and there is some thought chewing gum helps relieve stress. Kept my mouth moist if nothing else.  :D


nz Offline Syncop8r

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #289 on: May 12, 2021, 11:50:15 PM
(Image removed from quote.)
I need this.

View from the lunch room:
(Image removed from quote.)

                                             :dd:

What a lovely spot. Is this walking distance from your house?


nz Offline Syncop8r

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #290 on: May 12, 2021, 11:52:08 PM
The legendary…sometimes loathed…military MRE. Call it a ‘meal ready to eat
But if you need to cook it first....  :think:


us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #291 on: May 12, 2021, 11:56:58 PM
What a lovely spot. Is this walking distance from your house?


Yes. About a two hour walk. Great walk and great day for a walk!  :tu:


us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #292 on: May 12, 2021, 11:59:59 PM
But if you need to cook it first....  :think:

The only thing in a US MRE that needs 'cooking' are the hot beverages. Everything else can be eaten cold, straight out of the packaging.

My brother was in the army. He didn't even bother 'cooking' his instant coffee: he'd just pour the powder into his mouth, often between lip and gum, and let the goodness soak right in.

( See...? It runs in the family.....  :rofl: )


us Offline Sos24

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #293 on: May 13, 2021, 12:33:09 AM
But if you need to cook it first....  :think:

It all depends on how hungry and tires you are, because cooking (heating) is just for taste.  If you really want to you could eat it straight from the container.  It is really similar to many canned foods.  If your hungry enough and need food bad enough, Chef Boyardee taste good straight from the can.  Then again many people think both Chef Boyardee and MREs taste unpalatable even when heated.  So how hungry are you.

This also goes into how some hikers cold soak (add water in morning and let soak throughout day) freeze-dried meals instead of heating.


us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #294 on: May 13, 2021, 12:39:14 AM
 :iagree:   As Ben Franklin said, "Hunger makes the best Pickle."


us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #295 on: May 13, 2021, 12:41:11 AM
Also.....there is a morale/comfort factor to being able to have a hot meal. A warm meal is usually appreciated.

During Desert Storm, troops wanted more meals that tasted good cold (well.....desert room temp). Several menu changes were made because of that experience.   :tu:


au Offline ReamerPunch

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #296 on: May 13, 2021, 01:04:02 AM
I got the cheese I wanted. And new protein bars. I returned a bunch I had (but had not added to my MRE) because they contained sugar alcohols that are not ideal for keto or even general health. :salute:

So now I will remove the pork krackles packets, the two cheese sticks, the three tiny protein bars, and the little chocolate from the MRE, and will add the block of cheddar and a Quest bar.



us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #297 on: May 13, 2021, 01:36:28 AM
Looking good, RP!   :like: 

The whole Keto gig isn't easy!


us Offline Nix

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #298 on: May 13, 2021, 01:40:29 AM
Speaking of cheese, our highly pseudo-scientific Baby Bell cheese testing continues along.....





No oil separation, no excessive greasiness. Smelled good.....





Still good.....not great...but it was never going to be great. Still salty, although after hiking and sweating today, the salt was tasty.

So, 48 hours without refrigeration...at 60-65ºF...and the cheese is still 'good'.   :tu:


au Offline ReamerPunch

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Re: The Gas Station MRE challenge
Reply #299 on: May 13, 2021, 01:42:35 AM
I'll set up everything and take new pictures and post my new and improved keto MRE.
And I'll try to find where my dry bags are.  :think: Should be fine, those pork krackle bags are gone, and now the MRE is half the size than before. :cheers:

I will not be adding the P38. I do not want to pay the insane prices they're asking on ebay for a P38 and P51. Neither do I want to get ten-packs of both. I would like to test them eventually for my can opener thread, but we'll see.

I thought about putting a Vic Cadet in the accessory pack, because now my cheddar block requires a cutting tool. But this will be eaten in June, so I will have the SuperTool 300, and I do not want to confuse anyone with my MRE Cadet, so I'll just leave the accessory pack as is.


 

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