What Exactly Is An MRE?

issueÂ 05

May 2018

NL4S Your Adventure Start Here

What Exactly Is An MRE? An MRE or "Meal, Ready to Eat" Â is a complete meal that is designed to withstand suboptimal conditions and exposure to various elements without breaking down. Inside of each MRE bag is a full entree along with many other food and drink items that you would find in a meal. Because they were originally designed as the primary food source for active members of the United States Armed Forces members, they are designed to withstand incredibly

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rough conditions. Below, we will be going over more information about MREs, what you might find in them, and what they are good for.

What's In an MRE?

When it comes to MREs, you will generally find a full entree which is the main course of the meal. Along with the entree, you will find side dishes meant to supplement the main entree along with spreads, candies, desserts, beverages, seasonings, and various accessories that you might need to use while eating such as sugar, salt, spoons, matches, and more. You will even find a flameless

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ration heater in the package which can help you heat the meal up without having to have any sort of extra equipment to do so successfully.

Each MRE is meant to provide a minimum of 1,200 calories consisting of everything for a complete meal including protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Each MRE package also contains around a third of the recommended daily allowance for all nutrients. Thus, to get a full allowance of these nutrients, you would consume three MRE packaged meals.

How Long Is An MRE Meant To Last? When it comes to the lasting power

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of an MRE packaged meal, it is generally meant to last for a few years. In fact, each MRE is designed to have a minimum shelf life of 3 years when stored even at extremely hot temperatures. Depending on the temperature it is stored in, you will find the meal is able to last either longer or shorter based on the temperature.

How Do You Prepare It?

As far as preparation is concerned, these meals were fully designed to be able to prepare them without any sort of cooking or heating mechanism. Therefore, you will be able to consume

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them without having a fire going or anything else that would heat it up. However, the meals do happen to taste better when heated up. Thus, you can use the included flameless heater which will help to heat the meal up, and another way to effectively do so is by starting a fire and boiling some water.

Overall, MREs were designed to withstand even the worst conditions. They were designed to provide adequate nutrition in a very small and easy to transport package which is excellent for the armed forces. Because MREs were designed

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to be eaten in even the worst conditions, it is something that can be used as a last resort for emergencies. The food is able to last so long in the package primarily because of the packaging that it is stored in. The packaging allows for the pouch to fully seal sterilized food for a long time without having to worry about spoiling.