Wise Company "Survival Food"?

[Alexx1401]

Just tried some of this, Wise for dinner and here's my take FWIW. Bought a sample pack from Amazon. Made the Lasagna. Makes about 6 cups. It was not as easy as the mountain house. I had to heat it up a few times as it "cooked". When done it was (to me) very bland. Not bad just bland. Added some powdered sour cream to see how it would taste if we had no power. That and some hot sauce with salt and pepper it perked up a lot. Still to me not as good as the MH, but still better than MRE's. I would not go hungry if it was all I had for a while.

 

[11Charlie]

My take is mtn house hands down. Unless you wanna go all up scale like @ikemay did. Not sure what to say I haven't been a chef for 40 years and my time is limited so the mtn house will have to work.

All I can say to anyone is buy what you can afford and what you have time for. Something is better than nothing if the SHTF!!

 

[Alexx1401]

My take is mtn house hands down. Unless you wanna go all up scale like @ikemay did. Not sure what to say I haven't been a chef for 40 years and my time is limited so the mtn house will have to work.

All I can say to anyone is buy what you can afford and what you have time for. Something is better than nothing if the SHTF!!

Oh yeah!! If there is no store to go to anything food will start to taste pretty damn good before very long at all. Even MRE's work if you get hungry enough. I have often joked that they would make a great diet. If all I allowed myself was MRE's I bet I could lose that weight the Doc is always after me about no problem.

 

[11Charlie]

If all I allowed myself was MRE's I bet I could lose that weight the Doc is always after me about no problem.

Hey that could be the next big diet fad! You could be rich!!

 

[AMProducts]

Oh yeah!! If there is no store to go to anything food will start to taste pretty damn good before very long at all. Even MRE's work if you get hungry enough. I have often joked that they would make a great diet. If all I allowed myself was MRE's I bet I could lose that weight the Doc is always after me about no problem.

Nah, the problem is, even though that's all you ate, you'd never crap. You'd just get bigger and bigger. Impacting and piling more and more MRE into your insides.

That's my happy thought for the day

 

[woody06]

Nah, the problem is, even though that's all you ate, you'd never crap. You'd just get bigger and bigger. Impacting and piling more and more MRE into your insides.

That's my happy thought for the day

Now that's a pleasant thought.

 

[Camelfilter]

I tried some made by Hoosier. It's expensive stuff. It was to sour cream what powdered milk is to milk. I found it since the Wife bought some from them that was powdered milk that was not skim. For cooking it was great. FAR better than the damn powdered milk that is non fat. The sour cream could be made to any consistency since you're just adding water. Taste by it's self was meh. Adding it to some freeze dried stuff like stew and lasagna it was not bad at all. Certainly not something I would choose over the stuff at the store. If for some reason there is no store to buy from though it will keep me eating fine. It's supposed to be good for a couple years or so in the pantry. I keep it in the fridge. If we don't use it for a couple years I will buy more and use up what we have in some cooking.

If anyone has a need/want for whole milk powder, give King Arthur Flour (Vermont co) brand whole milk powder a try. Stuff is really really good, but a bit on the spendy side (as are most powdered milks).

Far better than standard store bought powdered milk, which is skim/low fat. Takes a bit of trial and error to reconstitute for just drinking, adding to breakfasts etc. However pretty standard to add to baking recipes, breads in particular.

Don't know if Bobs Red Mill does a whole milk powder or not, but if they do, then that would be a go to, as he's local business.

 

[Defense Minister]

I will agree that Mt House Strogenoff is the best of their entree selection but it is real salty. Some of the other Mt. House entrees are fair.

I haven't tried the Wise foods but have stuck with Mountain House because I used it backpacking and really like it; the one problem is the high sodium content. Augason Farms recently had a 3-day, 50% off the entire site sale with free shipping, so I bought a 40lb bucket of their freeze-dried lentils for $33. Lentils are super nutritious, so if SHTF my plan is to make a large batch of lentils every few days and mix them with the MH to cut the sodium content and add nutritional value and bulk. It will also help stretch the expensive MH and make it go much further.

Another great option is the Chef's Banquet ARK 390 bucket from Costco. When it goes on sale for $99, which happens often, calorie per dollar it's probably the best deal on the internet. Keep in mind that it is meatless and most of the calories come from carbs.

 

[Motomom34]

. Lentils are super nutritious, so if SHTF my plan is to make a large batch of lentils every few days and mix them with the MH to cut the sodium content and add nutritional value and bulk.

Super idea, mixing the lentils in with the MH. Awesome idea of adding lentils as a filler in meals. Most people think of rice but lentils have such a better taste.

 

[Tony617]

Super idea, mixing the lentils in with the MH. Awesome idea of adding lentils as a filler in meals. Most people think of rice but lentils have such a better taste.

Are lentils pron to go bad? I know brown rice goes bad but I able buy white rice that can last for many years without going bad. I bought several 5 gallon buckets prepackaged from Costco several years ago. They last 20-25 years unopened.

 

[Motomom34]

Are lentils pron to go bad? I know brown rice goes bad but I able buy white rice that can last for many years without going bad. I bought several 5 gallon buckets prepackaged from Costco several years ago. They last 20-25 years unopened.

I have read that they can be kept indefinitely if stored properly. I think the difference is that brown rice has been processed (not in its harvested form) whereas lentils are dried. Lentils can also be sprouted so there are more options with lentils.

**OP apologies for being off topic.

 

[Boboclown]

Still to me not as good as the MH, but still better than MRE's

In terms of weight and space taken definitely. But I loved some of the MREs.

I tried Wise and Mountain House, sometimes I like Wise more. It just depends on what the meal is.

 

[cigars]

I was disappointed with Mtn House scrambled eggs. It was horrible and tasted like mild pancake syrup. They also attempted to add some sort of bacon to it for texture if anything but it was overwhelmed by the pancake syrup flavor. Do any of them make scrambled eggs that are just plain scrambled eggs?

 

[Boboclown]

I was disappointed with Mtn House scrambled eggs. It was horrible and tasted like mild pancake syrup. They also attempted to add some sort of bacon to it for texture if anything but it was overwhelmed by the pancake syrup flavor. Do any of them make scrambled eggs that are just plain scrambled eggs?

Those ain't eggs!

Honestly, eggs must be difficult to freeze dry or be used in MREs. They normally don't taste right, or even feel right.

 

[Alexx1401]

Those ain't eggs!

Honestly, eggs must be difficult to freeze dry or be used in MREs. They normally don't taste right, or even feel right.

That was always the biggest complaint from GI's, the eggs. The ones in the old C-Rat's and the ones in MRE's were always the one no one seemed happy about. I have had powdered eggs and while they were not "great", they were not that bad to me. Not sure what it is about the way they do it in the survival stuff that makes them so damn bad.

 

[Boboclown]

That was always the biggest complaint from GI's, the eggs. The ones in the old C-Rat's and the ones in MRE's were always the one no one seemed happy about. I have had powdered eggs and while they were not "great", they were not that bad to me. Not sure what it is about the way they do it in the survival stuff that makes them so damn bad.

Its the eggs way of tellin' ya to eat them like a regular person. Don't know the reason why, they just end up being bad.

 

[Camelfilter]

Auguson Farms (sold at Walmart stores) has whole eggs and I think scrambled eggs (without the extra breakfast scramble stuff in it). We bought a few cans, haven't tried them. Likely won't until we have a big camp trip planned. Or further on when we try out some baking experiments.*

Figured get them over the pre-mix "breakfast scramble" type ones, so that we could flavor & /or add in for consistency depending whatever else we wanted to throw in or have on hand at the time of need (taters', rice, spam, cheese, tomatoes, peppers etc etc).

*Also to use the "eggs" for baking, for when we want to try our hand at it by using only shelf stable/long storage ingredients.

 

[Pops1911]

I have come to appreciate Mountain House offerings. Not badly priced, reasonably tasty and easy to prepare. Would not want to subsist on them long term. Would have to supplement with wild foods of some kind. Depends on where I/we are living at the time.

 

[MKB1988]

My opinion of Mountain House is mixed. I like their granola, but their scrambled eggs are terrible. Too salty and despite following the directions they came out with way too much liquid. Beef stew was okay but make sure to stir it very thoroughly before letting it sit. Personally I prefer the do it yourself type preps as they are far cheaper and not very difficult. Lentils, rice, ramen, oatmeal, and homemade hard tack are all cheap low effort carbs that last a good bit of time. Dehydrated vegetables are cheap in the bulk foods section at my local Fred Meyer's. Just combine those with some spices for flavor and your good to go without paying $10 a meal. Just my $0.02.

 

[Boboclown]

Eggs are difficult for freeze dried food.

Eat em like a normal person ya weirdo!