There’s nothing worse than to be stuck in the wilderness with no access to food. Maybe your traps haven’t been yielding any results, or maybe no fish are biting. Maybe you’ve started fantasizing about the pack of chocolate donuts you left back in the car. Whatever the case, all trips go better with some backup food sources for when things go south. Not only while camping or out in the wilderness, but also at home in SHTF scenarios. Have the stores closed? Are they open but the shelves are bare? We know what it’s like when everyone’s bought up all the toilet paper, what happens when that scarcity includes the bread and lunchmeat as well?

Enter the MRE. The U.S. Military has meal planning down to a science. Surplus MRE cases come packed with 12 meals of various types, depending on whether the case is Menu A, or Menu B. The majority of MRE’s available for purchase by civilians are made by the same manufactures of military MRE’s but are made to be sold on the civilian market. Your typical MRE will come with a main meal, some type of drink, and some type of dessert. There will also be a heating packet, utensils, salt & pepper, and some chewing gum.

The heating packet contains a heating element that activates when exposed to water. You simply open the package, add a small amount of water up to the fill line, fold over, and place the main meal in a cardboard sleeve along with the heating package. Stand it up at an angle so the water doesn’t come out of the heating pack, and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn yourself, the heating element heats up quickly once exposed to water.

MRE’s will typically last up to five years depending how they’ve been stored. Hot conditions can greatly reduce their edible life. When purchasing MRE’s, look for the date the lot was created, not just the inspection date. Keep in mind you’ll have about 5 years of storage life from the date they were made, not the date they were inspected. “Inspected” means they opened the big box and checked the individual packages for signed of bug or animal infiltration, and general condition.

Lastly, as it goes with most storable foods, MREs are loaded with sodium. If you decide that an MRE has become more convenient than fixing a decent meal (I’ve been there), just keep in mind that you’ll be retaining sodium and raising your blood pressure over time. I’m not a doctor, but “all things in moderation” is a good approach to life as well as MRE consumption.