So I’ve been looking into making my own MREs. That’s ‘meals ready to eat,’ for those of you not versed in military lingo. The idea is to have a meal that you open and eat, no prep or cooking needed. Now, those things cost a pretty penny, and while they do last forever, they are bulky and as I said, expensive. So I decided to find a way to make my own. Of course, I don’t have the ability to make a meal that doesn’t require cooking, but I think I will be happy if I can put together a day of food that requires hot water only.
What will we need to make our own MRE? Well, a lot of do-it-yourself-ers recommend things like Top Ramen, cup-a-soups, and hot chocolate in a pouch. All those things are great, and require only water. I’ve also seen things like Knorr pasta sides added, and with those I have a problem. They require milk and butter, as well as needing to be boiled for about 8 minutes. I’m not saying they can’t be prepared without those little ingredients, but what’s it gonna taste like? So I marked them off my MRE list.
UNTIL I remembered you can purchase dehydrated butter and milk! I recently purchased Honeyville Farms dehydrated butter, dry milk, and powdered whole eggs to add to our food storage. With a little flour and sugar and yeast put back, you can make just about anything with those staples. Including those yummy pasta and rice sides! With a little math, the measurements of powder needed for smaller amounts can be figured and added to your MRE, vacuum sealed (with instructions on rehydrating ingredients and cooking included, mind you), and kept in a cool, dark place to last for at least a few years.
Now, I won’t tell how long it took me to make a conversion chart just for the milk, but suffice to say, I will not be applying to play “Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader” anytime soon. I’ve heard it said that math is the language of the universe. I totally agree, but also admit that I can only say a few words in that language, enough to get me to the bathroom and something to eat. I can get through everyday life with the math skills I have, but beyond basic calculations, I am lost. Sadly, I know many people who don’t even have those abilities, so I am happy with what I have. That being said, I’ve figured these as best I can, using both my brain and online calculators and converters. This chart will give you all the measurements needed to make any amount of milk, using the Honeyville dry milk. The only measurement included with the can is the first one, 2/3 c powder with 1 quart of water to make 1 quart of milk. If anyone sees a flaw with my math, please feel free to comment, but be prepared to show your work, I know how I got these answers!
Honeyville dry milk conversion chart
The measurements to the left are powder, the end amount is for water. Example, you would add 2/3 cup of powder to 1 quart of water to make 1 quart of milk.
1/3c = ½ quart or 2 cups
2 T + 2 tsp = ¼ quart or 1 cup
A little under 2 T (5.3 tsp) = 2/3 cup
1 T +1 tsp = 1/8 quart or .5 cup (1/2 cup)
A little under 1 T (2.65 tsp) = 1/3 cup
.5 T + .5 tsp = 1/16 quart or .25 cup (1/4 cup)
I only needed the half cup measurement, but I figured I might need another amount for another recipe, and since I was on a roll, why not just do the whole thing. I hope you appreciate it.
When using the butter, it only gives instructions for 3 tablespoons butter powder to 1 tablespoon of water at a time, and my recipe only calls for 1 tablespoon butter. So, since we know 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons, we can convert that to 1 tablespoon (T) of butter powder to 1 teaspoon (tsp) of water. That was the easy one.
We’ve also been purchasing dried food it would be difficult to make ourselves, like dried cherries. It’s a lot cheaper to buy a pound of dried cherries from the buy-it-in bulk store than to purchase, pit, sweeten, and dry a pound of cherries myself. Same goes for apricots and raisins. While it’s by no means additive free, commercially prepared beef jerky will give calories and protein, and as long as it’s sealed, should keep until at least the date on the original package, which is usually a year or so. Put a few hard candies and some gum for dessert. Hell, go nuts and add some cashews and chocolate bars, you only live once, right? (They actually say the comfort food is what keeps you going in an emergency situation, so there you go, you guilt lovers) Add in your beverages, like tea, instant coffee (if that’s your thing, ugh), hot chocolate, cider mixes, crystal lite, kool-aid, etc, and you have a pretty good ‘instant’ day of food. All you need is a little heat, which brings us to fire.
A little experiment in the garage with chafing dish fuel has convinced me I can have a few cups of hot water prepared in a relatively short time, using a tin can ‘stove’ and a can of fuel. Granted, I never have gotten it to boil, but I think with a little tweeking, I will soon. Each person should have a few cans and a ‘stove’ so you can have more water going at one time. I can get a can of fuel that will burn for 6 hours in the buy-it-in bulk store for about a dollar a can, which rivals prices I’ve found elsewhere of the same price for 2 hour burn time. More on the tin can stove in another post. A few of those thrown in the bug out bag with my MREs and I can at least have a few hot meals. If you’re able to build a fire, that’s even better as you can add fuel to make the fire hotter and bring your meals to a boil sooner and for longer. Always add those matches to your kit!
So now all I need is the time and space to put a few of these together and see how it all comes out. I’ll keep you posted.
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