Exotic Homemade MRE from Kroger: DIY Survival Food

Military MREs don’t have to be the only option for storable meals in a disaster. Let’s build our own from the neighborhood Kroger, and let's make it exotic. Emergency food doesn't have to be boring.

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[cindyminx]

I love this idea! I have a health issue that makes some days very challenging, I'm unable to stand for more that 10 min at a time but I also have better days. You have inspired me to use this idea to make complete meal packs. I can assemble on a good day and then have them ready with food I enjoy and treats! My son is going to set up a prep station with a small folding table near the couch with an electric kettle, a container for rehydration and other basics. I'll have a basket under the table with different premade meal and snack selections. So happy about this! As you said, when times are challenging food can be very comforting. I've thought about trying MREs but this means I get all things I enjoy in a single meal. Thanks for the inspiration!

[Katya-zjni]

Really good advice. The cost of MRE’s is prohibitive for most ordinary people. This could be easily done by anyone. Thank you so much from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[VanGoWanderlust]

I make these kits for my summer motorcycle rides. You never know what the food situation will be in small rural towns, especially late at night. And it’s kind of nice to pull over and have a picnic. I had something very similar to this Kroger one this past summer. That rice and curry dish was nice.

[gohammergo]

Commenting to help the channel. 😊

I really appreciate you doing these videos. It's inspired me to look closer at ready foods. I picked up a pack of meatballs from Dollar General yesterday to try out. I had no idea they were a thing until I watched your video.

[rob]

Watched several of your MRE videos and decided to go back and watch them all and make notes on the contents. This is the first one where you taste the MRE, this makes for a lot better video in my opinion.

[frankgyomoryjr]

I retired from Kroger in Michigan about a year and half ago. Usually us guys in the meat department watched for markdowns on things going out of date, we'd buy 'em and put them in the freezer. I know just the opposite of what you do. Still shop there, I'll have to look around for these things.

[bonapartedavinci]

If you like curry, I love the premade curry and vegetable pouches. I made several MRE's using both s&b golden vegetable curry and the coco ichibana curries. I get them from Amazon, throw some ready made rice in there, and I'm good to go. The coco ichibana even has meat. Only downside is the price. For the curry alone, s&b is around 5 bucks each, and coco ichibana is a little over 7 each. But they truly are delicious.

[jtamsmom]

After watching you, I'm ready to build my own MREs

[scottrennie]

Simple and, .... Dude did not use the sauce packets from the fast food places. Did not even find a "free" spork! He made that with things he could buy, to prepare. And all of it was READY TO EAT! He did not have to use the fancy heater, could have eaten it cold. Not dry beans and rice

[kathycazenave]

I use your ideas to make my own mres. Thanks!

[mandyshaw]

Love seeing new ideas for the MRE meals. IT helps to see different stuff you can put together for a fast grab n go. During these times right now it's good to have these for the family already ready to go just in case. Thank you for your video. God bless you all guys ❤️🌎🕯️💜.

[jimmumby]

I like the 24-hour MRE video i watch early today. Would Like More 24-hour MRE

[rudyyboi]

Thank you for the great ways to explore camping/survival eating. I’m a new viewer/subscriber and my wife is gluten intolerant and dairy intolerant, so I’m looking to help her, using Kroger, our favorite food store and start building our own meal/snack bags. Thanks again
Rudy from Hayes in Gloucester County, Va

[marceld]

I highly recommend for anyone watching your MRE videos to eat a meal *beforehand* There's something about watching a guy eating that makes a person hungry.

[Olyphoto]

Very cool. I’ve had the Skittles and love them but haven’t tried the other items you showed. Really interested in the baro cooker. Good stuff 😊

[reneenart]

Love the MRE videos. Thanks for making them.

[benjaminpendleton]

Oh, looks like you already have done some of the Indian foods. Excellent!

[mrhalfstep]

You and others on YT have inspired me to try this myself. I'm using the NEX-XOS flameless heater system, which is a heavy plastic bag paired with their chemical heating pouch. Barocook also sells a similar system that would probably work just as well. I went with the pouch instead of the three piece bowl just because it might be lighter or store smaller. I'm experimenting with heating different shelf stable foods with it ( I just bought a whole box of foods just for this experiment) and have discovered a few things that might interest you in your quest for "survival" meals.
The first thing I heated was a 14 oz can of Hormel Chili with Beans. I put it right in the bag and wedged the heater between it and the wall of the bag. Poured in 5 ozs of water, sealed it, wrapped it in a towel (just to conserve as much heat as possible) and walked away for 15 minutes. At that time, the boiling had mostly ended and the can was almost too hot to handle. When I opened the pull top lid and stirred the contents, it was piping hot and perfect to eat right from the can.
I next tried one of the Hormel 9 oz Compleats, bowl style, retort packaged meals. I put the bowl in with the heater alongside and added two prebaked Pilsbury canned biscuits, (that I had left over from breakfast) sealed in a ziplock bag, at the top of the bag and then repeated the activation and towel wrapping and came back 15 minutes later to a perfectly heated bowl of Hormel Beef Stew with Carrots and Potatoes.
I intend to try some Uncle Ben's flavored rice pouches combined with pouches of various flavored chicken and pork and tuna/salmon as well as single serve Spam, to create some variety. Uncle Ben's also sells pouches of blended Grains, Vegetables, Legumes and Herbs that are flavored in a variety of ways. I think adding pouched meat to them would be tasty, too. I intend to find out.
Velveeta sells Cheezy Bowls that are in plastic bowls like the Hormel Compleats. Lasagna with Meat Sauce and Chicken Alfredo both struck my fancy and could also be perked up with some pouch meats.
Now that I know I can heat right in the can, I think the whole line of CHEF BOYARDEE pasta meals are game. I think that is what's usually packed in MREs to begin with, just packed as more expensive pouches and not as a 14 oz meal. I bought two brands of canned tamales to try out. BTW, the larger 19 oz Chunky cans fit in these bags as well. They may not get quite as hot though because they're bigger, but I'll find out. I wanted canned food to work because I know from experience that it is viable for many years past the best buy date.
I found that you can buy BBQ pulled pork and fajita style chicken in pouches at Walmart under the Great Value label. I'm thinking that both will be great on some vacuum sealed soft tortillas.
The bags in this NEX-XOS kit can be pack with the food and heater and then heat sealed. There are tear points and a zipper to allow you to access the contents and then reseal the bag for heating. I thought that was pretty handy.
Thanks for introducing me to my new hobby/obsession! LOL

[MndScream]

Love the video Mr. L. As a suggestion, do you think you could have put the jerky in the cooker with the meal? Possibly put some of your water in with it to help soften the meat?

[CowboybubPercussion]

I’ve been working on an MRE myself that’s completely home made, however my requirements were a little bit different, the MRE has to be made in a way that it could be completely home made, and unfortunately that did mean I had to use freeze dried food. However, this just means I need to store the right amount of water with the meal. I actually have been experimenting with completely home made flameless ration heaters using sodium hydroxide and aluminum.