MRE's for $120 a case??????? Screw That!!
It really go me thinking , MRE's are created with High Calorie for an active Warrior , not exactly what may be needed by everyone. While I personally enjoy MRE's I am not so sure that MY children would eat them , and as a prepared mom it is my responsibility to know I have stocked something my children would eat with no problem.
D_Loki was kind enough to lend me his spreadsheet , so I went in and fiddled around with some other ingredients in an attempt to create MRE Replacement that would work for MY family.
You can see a copy of D_Loki's Spreadsheet with My modifications in a shaded green @ Google Docs Here : MRE Alternative @ D_Loki (Open in a New Tab to stay on this page)
I shaded my changed in green , and I also added a column for price as well.
I know that the items I purchased for these are not the most price effective ,but they are shelf stable.
Those with more proficient skills may be able to make their own mini packed items , but I made this so simple even my unskilled father & his wife could make their own.
I spent about 20 $ in total , I sought out high calorie , eat to eat , easy to open , shelf stable goods.
Instead of going with a high energy caloric needs I calculate the caloric needs of my family. Average activity for adults , adjusted calorics for toddlers.
Family Calorics :
Adult Active Male - 3000 (A day)
Adult Female - 2000 (A day)
Toddlers - 1300 (A day)
Tween - 2,200(A day)
Go Check out My Version of the Spreadsheet to See what I came up with.
No matter how I tried I could not easily find shelf stable HIGH caloric foods.
Each Kit I came out with was around 1200 Calories , My husband need close to 3 a day to work , and I 2 a day , my children would be fine with 1 each day , but my sister would probaly have to go for 2 a day as well.
Simple enough. I would love to see what others can come up with to use the Linky below
Where it Says Tittle add your username the @ Symbol and Your Blog Title
PrepperMom@ Prepared Mom
My Username @My Blog Name
For the URL You will want to Enter URL of your Blog Page or The URL to YOUR worksheet.
This makes it easier to find in the future. This Linky Will Quit Collecting in 7 Days , if you desire to continue do not hesitate to comment and let me know and I will restart another.
2 comments:
PM,
Nice work. I'm glad the spreadsheet was of use. One comment I had was that the intention is to build 'MREs' with about 1/3 to 1/2 of the RDA. You will most likely eat at least twice a day if you are working hard. I found that when I was setting up my bags, that in order to get to the RDA in one bag, there would be way too much food in a single bag/single meal. 1200 a day is only 600 calories shy of the military MREs and those are specially formulated for max calorie input. Other considerations; look at the comparison to RDA for each part (fat, sodium, protein). Those numbers show how much of each category is in a particular pack, and subtracts the needs per day giving you a menu plan to make sure ya'll stay on a balanced diet. If you run too high in certain areas you can end up doing yourself and family a disservice for their nutritional needs. Get back to me if you have any questions.
Thanks for visiting. I am still working through the numbers. For our family the MRE's are a fall back travel style ration , because we have such a large stockpile of home dehydrateayles. I found it really hard to cal them out , and I had a horrible time finding stuff that was cost effective in the long run as well.
Post a Comment