ReadyWise Emergency Food

[ma96782]

Cooking rice over a fire isn't too hard (if you've done it before).

But, it's really NOT as simple as boiling some water and putting some rice in the pot. Well, unless you like rice soup. Or, perhaps like it burnt.

Anyway....FYI.

Please visit wikiHow directly

Aloha, Mark

 

[41mag]

I once sent for the "Wise Sample Packets".
"Nothing is better" has more than one meaning...of course,
if you get to the point where 'too much nothing' you might
actually try to Wise Up. I had to tell them in ungentle terms to take me off their mailing list.

 

[wjv]

Wise also marks the buckets with Number of Servings = Some large number.
Then you look at the serving sizes and the calories provided and realize that only a 10lb Yorkie could survive on their serving sizes.

Wise is also higher in sodium than many other brands.

I have
111 Augusta Farms #10 cans,
126 Mountain House 2 serving pouches.
28 Alpine Aire Vegetarian - 2 servings pouches
19 Wise fruit pouches

Plus some buckets of rice, beans, flour, sugar
And lots of canned and frozen goods.

 

[wjv]

You cook it the old fashioned way. In a pot over fire.

Or learn how to cook meals in a double wall, wide mouth thermos.

Thermos Cooking Recipes, Tips & Reviews

If you want to learn how to cook healthy food while saving yourself time and energy, you've come to the right place. It's Efficient - A thermos is the most fuel efficient way to cook. Period. It's Easy - You don't have to stand over the stove stirring food all day. It's Healthy - Cook

thermoscooking.com

 

[Tony617]

Wise also marks the buckets with Number of Servings = Some large number.
Then you look at the serving sizes and the calories provided and realize that only a 10lb Yorkie could survive on their serving sizes.

Wise is also higher in sodium than many other brands.

I have
111 Augusta Farms #10 cans,
126 Mountain House 2 serving pouches.
28 Alpine Aire Vegetarian - 2 servings pouches
19 Wise fruit pouches

Plus some buckets of rice, beans, flour, sugar
And lots of canned and frozen goods.

View attachment 1106046

Have they started making Augason Farm rations available now? They halted production for a while.

 

[titsonritz]

Got rice?
How about a cooker?
View attachment 1089973

BUT, But, but....what happens when the electricity is OUT?

Aloha, Mark

 

[Tony617]

View attachment 1106090

That is actually a washing machine I believe.

I suggest you print out while the internet is up how to cook rice on a camp fire.

 

[Alexx1401]

I once sent for the "Wise Sample Packets".
"Nothing is better" has more than one meaning...of course,
if you get to the point where 'too much nothing' you might
actually try to Wise Up. I had to tell them in ungentle terms to take me off their mailing list.

LOL, when Y2K was approaching we had a bunch of Military staying where I was working. One of them when leaving gave me a bunch of the MRE's they used. I thought they would be great for this "emergency food" thing. Well opened one to try, Salisbury Steak. I took one bite and no way in hell. Offered to the dogs and they looked at me with a WTF? and walked away. Told Wife who said I was too picky. So she gets another meal out and heats it. Takes one bite spits it out and says how can they expect those boys to eat this crap. If I wanted to get back to the weight I was decades back eating those things would do it. Sure as hell would not over eat

 

[Retired Guy]

Sounds like you tried one of the earlier MREs. They have gotten better. Each year there are 24 different meals. Some are really good; some are really bad. The basic ones like Spaghetti, Beef Stew, and Chicken w/Noodle are pretty good. My favorite is the Beef Brisket. It usually came with a Blueberry Cobbler side. It was discontinued in 2019 so I bought a half dozen just for future hunting trips. Having said that, I stock more freeze dried food versus MREs.

If you go freeze dried, I recommend Mountain House. Some are really tasty and after a while you get your favorites. In my case, Beef Stroganoff, Biscuits and Gravy, Lasagna, and Beef Stew. Just be aware they are pretty high in sodium. Also be aware that the Pro-Pak meals have more protein (meat). If you're really working hard, the extra protein helps alot.

I dislike the ReadyWise meals. I thought they were very salty and otherwise flavorless. I was looking at one of their 7-Day Meal tubs. It listed a single packet of noodle soup for lunch and a pack of Mac Cheese for dinner. I know I would still be very hungry at the end of the day with that.

If you're thinking about getting some good bulk freeze dried food, take a look at: MREdepot.com Yeah, they sell MREs but they also sell Government Overrun freeze dried food in large cans. They have freeze dried chicken tenders (uncooked), hamburgers, roast beef, and even Hawaiian sweet rolls. 30 year shelf life. If you're wondering how good they are, I have seen the white cans being delivered and served at the US Embassy in Baghdad. I've also had the freeze dried pork chops and thought they were great. Just have to make sure they're hydrated long enough. Not cheap! But when you factor in the 30 year shelf life, it sure beats tossing out old food.

Another higher quality freeze dried food source is: freezedrywholesalers.com

Just be sure to read the instructions and give it the full rehydration time and plan on letting it go even longer for best results.

Army food story. At breakfast one morning, some were complaining about freeze dried scrambled eggs. Then someone spit out some egg shells. Everyone's attitude changed because we were having real eggs! Then everyone was complaining about the cooks being careless to let egg shells get into the food. Afterwards, one of the cooks told me that it was freeze dried eggs but they tossed in some egg shells while mixing it.

On road trips, I'll often pack Mountain House meals. I'll also pack some salad mix and dressing in a cooler. I've stopped in small towns for the night that did not have any decent restaurants (Ontario, OR). I just pulled out a Mountain House meal. While it's rehydrating, I'll make a salad. Not bad at all!

 

[Diamondback]

Army food story. At breakfast one morning, some were complaining about freeze dried scrambled eggs. Then someone spit out some egg shells. Everyone's attitude changed because we were having real eggs! Then everyone was complaining about the cooks being careless to let egg shells get into the food. Afterwards, one of the cooks told me that it was freeze dried eggs but they tossed in some egg shells while mixing it.

You should enjoy this blast-from-the-past...

Dining Chez Ranger

This is nothing short of genius, both in concept and humor. The fact that the gal involved in this escapade is still friends with the Chef speaks well for her, too. Chez Ranger by Frank Rodgers I had a date the other night at my place. On the phone the day before, the girl asked me to "Cook her...

rivrdog.typepad.com

 

[Certaindeaf]

Sounds too much like pennywise so that's pennysad.

 

[Alexx1401]

Sounds like you tried one of the earlier MREs. They have gotten better. Each year there are 24 different meals. Some are really good; some are really bad. The basic ones like Spaghetti, Beef Stew, and Chicken w/Noodle are pretty good. My favorite is the Beef Brisket. It usually came with a Blueberry Cobbler side. It was discontinued in 2019 so I bought a half dozen just for future hunting trips. Having said that, I stock more freeze dried food versus MREs.

Would have been around 2008 or so. Have to hope they have done something, I felt bad for those kids who had to live off those damn things. They were training and would head off to the woods for days with them. Gal who worked in the front said they would fill their pockets with food from the breakfast before they left. Which was why when they were done there was cases of the MRE's left over none wanted. I guess if you were given a choice between that and starving it would be eaten but I sure as hell would no longer be over eating
I keep the Mountain House here for emergency food now. Long ago another member here mentioned them and a few stores here sell it. Tried a few and the damn stuff was not quite like home cooking but was plenty good to enjoy a meal. So at least if we ever have to use them the meals will be enjoyable. Pretty impressive for something that can sit in storage longer than I will be around to use it.

 

[Librarian]

Wise also marks the buckets with Number of Servings = Some large number.
Then you look at the serving sizes and the calories provided and realize that only a 10lb Yorkie could survive on their serving sizes.

This.

The concept here is 'how many calories do I need to stay alive' and from that how long can I live and function on whatever emergency food I might have.

So, first, there is Basal Metabolic Rate

Basal Metabolic Rate is the number of calories required to keep your body functioning at rest.

- see https://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bmr to calculate yours. (M/F, height, weight, age all matter and are included)

Then, there is your expected level of activity - see this discussion, https://fitfolk.com/activity-level/ Typically, the BMR is multiplied by a factor to estimate calorie need above BMR.

The activity multipliers you typically see used are as follows:

Sedentary = 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week)
Moderately active = 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 6-7 days)
Very active = 1.725 (hard exercise every day, or 2 x/day)
Extra active = 1.9 (hard exercise 2 or more times per day)

Although I realize you need to make an estimate to put a calculator together possible, but getting these multipliers right is very hard. Pretending they are largely determined by how much you exercise is plain false.

Here's another discussion - https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/estimated-calorie-requirement

And another - https://www.livestrong.com/article/401892-what-are-sedentary-moderate-high-activity-exercise-levels/

So, let's do an example -

X is a male, 5' 10", 180lb, 40 years old. From the first link, the BMR is 1,805 calories per day.

Pick 'Moderately Active' from WebMD -

Moderately active means a lifestyle that includes physical activity equivalent to walking about 1.5 to 3 miles per day at 3 to 4 miles per hour, in addition to the light physical activity associated with typical day-to-day life

If one uses the multiplier quoted, 1.55 x 1,805, one gets about 2,800 calories per day. If you pick the table from WebMD, it's 2,400-2,600 calories per day.

These are estimates in the general case; pick whichever seems good to you; for this example, moderately active X needs 2,600 calories per day.

NOW, determine how many calories are in some thing you care to buy for your emergency food.

Let's use this ReadyWise food bucket.

Ready Wise says there are 13,400 calories in that bucket.

13,400 calories / X's 2,600 calories/day = 5.15 days for a man like X.

It's an estimate. YMMV. But it seems likely that the thought process and estimates will bring you closer to reality than what 'emergency food' packages will tell you.

And, 'calories' are not the only thing to consider, but are a minimum consideration. That is, a given emergency meal serving may be perfect nutrition for you and your circumstances, and be among your top ten favorite meals, and yet be only 400 calories - not enough to live on.