(Image removed from quote.)GSMRE challenge concept:The legendary…sometimes loathed…military MRE. Call it a ‘meal ready to eat’, ‘mostly repugnant edibles’, ‘meal refuses to exit’, ‘meal rejected by enemy’, or a ‘meal rarely enjoyed.’ No matter the name, the MRE has a durable place in legend and lore. The only thing more durable than the MRE’s notoriety may be the MRE’s themselves. The shelf life was designed to be 5 years, but many are eaten decades later. Who knows how long these things really last......?Recent versions of the MRE often looks like they were compiled from snacks picked up at the local gas station…and that’s where the idea for this challenge was born. In this challenge, participants….let’s call them ‘diners’…are going to take the idea of the MRE—an assortment of shelf-stable foods crammed into a small, man-portable, package—and develop their own ‘Gas Station MRE’ from items readily found shops, stores, or online. A ‘GSMRE’.Each diner will create a 24-hour ration according to his or her dietary preferences. We’ll post snapshots of the completed GSMRE, leave it on the shelf for a week or so, then all consume our ‘rats’ on the same day.Hopefully this challenge will spark some ideas for food and fuel to take on hikes, camping trips, or that escape to the hills when the zombie apocalypse arrives. If nothing else, it should be fun…and filling. By comparing notes and sharing dinning experiences we may all learn a little…and maybe even develop some respect for that thing known as the “MRE”.Unfamiliar with MRE’s? Don’t worry, there are many resources out there. Complete menu lists are available on-line and videos abound on the Youtube. (Steve1989MREInfo is one of the best.)Here’s a link to a review by Steve of a New Zealand 24-hour ration, a good place to start thinking about what you might want in your GSMRE:To keep the challenge somewhat uniform (no pun intended), there are some DO’s and DON’T’s to be observed:• DO use common sense and safe food handling practices while participating in this challenge. Food borne illness can cause serious illness and even death. If something doesn’t seem safe, DON’T eat it….don’t even touch it! Rule of thumb: if you can’t peel it, cook it. • This is a 24 hour ‘mission’, so please DO assemble a 24-hour ration in the style of a military ration or MRE. Please DO post the contents and menu design for your ration.• DO be sure the food in your GSMRE contains a minimum caloric value of 2400 Kcal (There is solid military reasoning behind this number). 3000 - 3700 Kcal is closer to the US military standard for calories in temperate climates. • While 2400 Kcal is our minimum, DO add extra calories if you like—if you will be working or camping outside in a cold weather environment, you may wish to assemble a ration of 4000-5000 Kcal. Anartic trekkers aim for 7000 Kcal per day. • Diners DON’T have to eat the entire ration as assembled. Military personnel typically eat only 75-80% of their rations. This can be a problem for sustained operations! • DO make your ration tasty and appealing. One of the challenges of military ration designers is get troops to eat all their food. • DO create a breakfast menu, midday meal/snack menu, and supper menu from what ever items you like. Additional snacks are permitted…even encouraged. You can use 2400 Kcal of snickers bars if you really want, but, remember this is the only food you’ll be eating for 24-hours.• DO include beverages! Each menu should contain food and drink items. No MRE is complete without having some “Coffee, instant, type II” or a delicious “Beverage base powder, lemon” component. Participants will choose their own appealing beverage mixes to include in the GSMRE according to their personal preferences. Hint: Gatorade fruit punch really hits the spot on a hot day. • DON’T include items that have a long cook or prep time. Military field rations are designed to be eaten quickly. If it can’t be prepared and eaten within 30 minutes, DON’T include it.• DO ensure that each food item is shelf stable, safe for consumption after being left at room temperature for days, weeks, and months, and capable of being transported by backpack, school bag, or haversack. • DO include food that can be heated up before serving. Warm rations are typically more palatable. Who doesn’t like a hot meal? Military rations around the world use different methods of reheating and some require hot water. For this challenge, all reheating methods are permitted and encouraged. However, any component that requires reheating or cooking, e.g. freeze-dried food, must be capable of being prepared using a camping stove or open fire. • DO pack up all your items into a waterproof bag or sack capable of fitting into a backpack. Aim for a 2-gallon or 4L size maximum. • DO include a separate bottle of hot sauce. You’ll be happy about that later. Just keepin’ it real….How the GSMRE challenge will be run:Today…until storage day: diners will sign up and begin assembling their “Gas Station MRE’s”. “Storage Day”: Each participant will post a photo of their packed up GSMRE and store it in the proverbial “cool, dry spot”. “Chow day”: Beginning at 0001 Local time…or whenever the alarm bell rings… each diner will consume the items in their MRE for the next 24 hours. No other food will be eaten during “Chow day”, just the stuff in your GSMRE. This includes beverages! Your carefully crafted menu plans may be disregarded…’cuz that’s what happens…but you are entirely reliant on your GSMRE (and extra water). Please post photos of meals eaten or action shots of that grape jelly on your face. Photos can be posted later if you don’t have internet access during Chow Day, but we want to see what you ate and how you ate it. As Steve would say, “let’s get that out on a tray!” (Image removed from quote.) GSMRE diners will be asked to provide some feedback on their rations and experiences. Did you have too much food? Too little? Was it too salty? Too sweet? Would more beverages have been nice? Did your ration survive the 7-day storage period? Let the other GSMRE sufferers diners know what worked...and what didn't! If you are ready to grab a spork or ration spoon and jump in...and you should be...let's get started!(Image removed from quote.)
This is a seven day challenge. Pack up your home-made MRE entry and post a photo with description of the comments. Previous challenge hosts have suggested a caloric value be reached for your entries. Me, I don't care. If you can live off it for a day, so be it. Keep a count on calories if that makes you happy. Leave your MRE at room temperature packed up for seven days. On March 9, 2025 everyone opens their packs and use the contents for that day's food supply. It goes without saying, that any and all foodstuff should be safe and edible after the seven day waiting period. Shouldn't be a problem. That party sized bag of Doritos probably was on the shelf at your local convenience store for months before you bought it, right? The March 9 finish date requires a photo of crumpled packages and empty cans along with a comment on what you ate and didn't. Naturally you aren't required to eat everything you packed. Go gourmet, gourmand, or junk food junkie. According to the previous versions of the challenge, the standard packaging container will be one or two zip-lock plastic bags. If you have a bag of pretzels, sack of Oreos, and a jar of pickled smoked sausages, you really don't need to pack them in zips. Be sure to pack something to drink. Water isn't strictly counted as part of the challenge, but instant drink mix of some sort is good. If you want to pack a little camp cooker or twig stove to make coffee or heat up something, more power to you. Napkins, spoons or forks, and gum with a toothbrush would be nice. All welcome. Best wishes. Gary (IMR) This is the new thread I spoke of in the above note. There is a badge available. It is listed in the challenge section of the awards. These are the official requirements. If you need suggestions for your MRE or want to see how it works, look up the previous versions of this event. Sign on here. G [ Quoting of attachment images from other messages is not allowed ]
I'm in...and I may bring more participants this time around!1. WECSOG2. Farmer X3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.
I was in on round 2, and I'll hop in again. Gotta mix up the 90 Pioneer pictures somehow.1. WECSOG2. Farmer X3. IMR41984. AzteCypher5. BPRoberts6.7.8.9.10.
I like your enthusiasm for this challenge. Best wishes. Gary
The GSMRE challenge has always been fun. I'm in.1. WECSOG2. Farmer X3. IMR41984. AzteCypher5. BPRoberts6. Alan K.7.8.9.10.
I picked up a case of civilian type MREs. Not at a gas station. This was a different type from what I have been used to. Formerly I have had Low Sodium civilian MREs that look like military and have the self heaters inside. I went through maybe four cases of these things from two different manufacturers. These new ones are from a third supplier. So far, I have heated up one of the main dish packs. They are all vegetarian. The one I tried was beans in tomato sauce with rice. Sounds okay, right? You could easily duplicate the taste by mixing a can of pork and beans with a couple of heaping tablespoons of cooked rice. The beans were a little hard (don't like hard beans), but it was nutritious and filling. Something like this would be eaten without question if you were tired and hungry from a day hiking or something in the woods. On the other hand, if you had it for a side dish in a restaurant, you probably wouldn't eat it. There is a second meal in the same pack. Lentil stew. Again vegetarian. I like lentils. I have them boiled like beans now and then. Also I have had lentil soup. I don't know what is in lentil stew. I guess I will find out. Best wishes. G
[ Quoting of attachment images from other messages is not allowed ] Yet another meal from the latest MRE case that I opened. Pasta with tomato sauce. It does have some macaroni and a little tomato sauce, but it is mostly lentils. I'm sure many cooks could take macaroni, tomato sauce, lentils and come up with something good. This isn't it. The lentils are hard (undercooked) and the whole thing is quite bland. Needs something like some tomatoes and maybe some peppers. The lentils needed another 30 minutes of simmering before being combined with the other ingredients. Again it was edible. Also not something you would finish if you got it as a side dish at a restaurant. Survival rations, I get it. Fills the belly. This company's foods are a disappointment compared to the other two main suppliers of MREs. Both of the others meals are really pretty good. If you could put a little salt, pepper, and a flavor packet in the other two companies meals they would compare rather favorably with commercial canned food. Chili, or canned pasta. That sort of thing. The packs that I have now don't come with the heating pouches. Got to heat them yourself, or eat 'em cold. Someone who hasn't had food in a couple of days would just wuff 'em down cold. Also they come with two crushed pop tarts. They are borderline inedible. Mashed to a pulp. Hard things in the filling. Just miserable. There is a big shortbread cookie, which is okay. Also, each pack has something like a really long fig bar. That is okay. Crackers (no salt) and peanut butter are okay. I haven't tried the jelly yet. Best wishes. Gary
It is the No.09 DIY. Comes in gray or yellow. As of yestiddy Opinel USA was out of gray and had 6 yellows. There is a magnet in the butt to hold the bits. Any quarter inch bit will work. I like mine a lot. There have been a lot of different takes on the Gas Station MRE challenge. One member last time packed enough stuff for a family of four. He had some really good food too. Another packed some kind of Chef Boy-Ar-Dee pasta that I have never been able to find on the shelves up here. I did look because I wanted to try it. I oriented it more toward something I might take along fishing. Not things to cook. On a previous challenge, everyone had to count calories. Lots of room to do different things. Best wishes,Gary
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