Just Curious

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But what are MRE's like?

[River_Rat_459]

Most people are going to immediately equate them to some form of undesirable bowel movement as far as taste goes. While they aren't gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, they aren't the worst things I've ever eaten. It really depends on which meal you get. Some are very good, while some make you wish you had a cinder block to chew on.

It's really a mixed bag, to be honest. Some of the entrees are so good that people fight or trade for them, while others can't be given away. Same with some of the side portions and desserts. If you ask anyone who has had them in some form (and most of us have), each person is going to tell you what they like and don't like.

For me, the go-to meal was always the beef stew. Even cold, it was still pretty good. That with some crackers and the Nutella-like spread was all I really needed. I think the only thing I would definitely throw out was the shelf-stable bread. That was absolutely horrible.

[HAVOK]

I, on the other hand, actually liked MRE's. Except Jumbalaya. I hated that one. Beef Stew, Chicken w/ Rice and Spaghetti were my favorites.

[David_3033]

I liked the sloppy joes one during the last year or so I was in. The hamburger wasn't too terrible. Some of them were just horrible though...

[jxspyder]

Been summed up pretty well. MRE's, especially nowadays, are pretty awesome, except for one or two that are pretty universally hated.

Beef Stew was the best entree, but didn't have much in the way of good shit on the side. I liked the enchilada, make sure you heat up and mix in the jalapeno cheese too.

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[David_3033]

Another one that I hated was the egg omelet entree. If I remember correctly it came with some hashbrowns that were pretty edible.

[River_Rat_459]

How many of you remember the very early versions of MREs? I went to basic training in 1988, and back then they came in a dark brown package. The very early version of the egg omelet tried even the heartiest of eaters. If you opened it and the eggs weren't already green, you were kind of lucky.

Another one they had back then that was a complete disaster was chicken ala king. It was as bad, if not worse, than the jumbalaya that Havok referenced. It's only saving grace was that it came with M&Ms, which everyone wanted.

[Bull3tBait]

How many of you remember the very early versions of MREs? I went to basic training in 1988, and back then they came in a dark brown package. The very early version of the egg omelet tried even the heartiest of eaters. If you opened it and the eggs weren't already green, you were kind of lucky.

Another one they had back then that was a complete disaster was chicken ala king. It was as bad, if not worse, than the jumbalaya that Havok referenced. It's only saving grace was that it came with M&Ms, which everyone wanted.

The earliest I remember weren't called MREs, they were C-rations and MCIs. I still to this day have a P-38 on my keychain that came out of one of the C-Ration boxes my dad gave me. I tend to get what was in the types mixed up because I was around 7-9 yrs old at the time but I do remember the canned "forever" crackers as I called them and the canned peanut butter and the cheese spread lol. Out at the site my dad worked at in Landstuhl we had tanks periodically drive past and the soldiers in the tanks used to throw rations to us kids that would stand by and watch them. We would actually fight over the spreads. They also gave us a box of rations on the military hops for visits back to the states. I forget what aircraft we were in but we were in the cargo area sitting in webbed seats on either side. They handed us a ration box right before takeoff and that was our inflight meal. The C5 was awesome. We got to sit backwards in that one, don't remember what we were served tho.


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[MARDIGRA21]

Wheat snack bread with jalapeño cheese is all you need, beef steak and mushrooms and enchiladas are great too.
Why the hell does the omelette exist anyways, I just open it for the potatoes then throw the rest lol

[Khy3eb]

Why the hell does the omelette exist anyways, I just open it for the potatoes then throw the rest lol

The first, last and only time I ever had the omelette was in basic when the 1SG came around and wouldn't let any of us in a group throw away or trade the omeletts (not that anyone would have taken them anyway). I can't remember exactly why a group of 4 of us all had the damn things, I think we were the last ones in line because we had just gotten relieved from ammo detail (we were on a range) or something like that... can't remember but it sucked pretty hard core.

Honestly, there were some MREs that I'd rather have than the food they served at several army DFACs in Iraq (FOB Warhorse... :mad: ) and even here stateside (Ft. McCoy........ :mad: ).

[loakii]

I will say this the U.S. MRE are hit and miss as too what everyone likes...every MRE is packed with the so many calories enough for the average person for a day worths in one... I am on board with the beef stew is a pretty much a decent meal to get. But on a side note, when I was in Bosnia we traded some of ours for other countries... I will say they are similair but don't compare to ours. The Russian version had some tablets that we thought could be after dinner mints like our gum, but no it was iodine tablets to clean water...Just so you all know not the best taste in the mouth. In hind site maybe we should asked for translation of the items inside after trading...

[toby2533]

proud owner of a P38 (john Wayne) had c-rat's on boot then the first MRE all I can say is driest damn cracker you have ever eaten. bind you up worst then a traffic jam a rush hour then in a middle of a hump you get the mRE cramps and drop a brick, hell i bet you could have set those on fire to head your MRE better then the heat tabs we had then would almost kill some dumb-asses who would heat them up in a closed tent or bunker.

[obtainedpilot]

I loved all of the mre's except for the breakfast menu and I loved the beef stew I would actually trade for it but I think it doesn't really matter which one is really good when your really hungry except for that crappy bread and the omelet and always looked forward to getting the peanut butter instead of the candy

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[RECONB4]

Anyone else ever "dip" the coffee? We used to all the time, sitting on O.P. trying to stay awake. My old SSG would actually take skoal or whatever he had and put some in his lower eyelid. hahaha. No lie, saw him do it on more than one occasion.

I attempted eating the omelette MRE one time and one time only. I literally gagged. Which is odd because I'm a pretty adventurous eater. Brains, marrow, organs, doesn't matter to me. But something about the smell of that damn omelette. Pretty much all the other ones are fine. You gotta mix everything though. Jumbalaya sucks ass, but it's not too bad with the cheese spread and a whole mini bottle of tobasco mixed in.

I want the old days back.........Can of Spam, a pack of cigarettes and some hard tac. lol

[Rickety Rob]

Another one that I hated was the egg omelet entree. If I remember correctly it came with some hashbrowns that were pretty edible.

The worst out of all the MRE's I have eaten. You get to at least get "a" pop-tart...hahaha. I didn't mind eating MRE's either. Especially when they started adding new additions to the shitty kind they always had.

[Pakman3000]

Beef stew with a pack of white rice and tabasco.

Chicken and salsa with Spanish rice and tabasco.

Chicken and rice with tabasco.

[airbornedaddie]

shitty: Franks, Beef Grilled...aka 4 fingers of death

yummy: beef stew w/jappy cheese and crushed crackers

[HAVOK]

I also liked the Jamaican-style Pork Chop, Chicken Cavatelli, Cheese Tortellini, Beef Teriyaki, Chicken with Salsa, Meatloaf with Gravy and the Enchilada. My absolute fav was taking the Spaghetti and mixing in crushed crackers and the cheese spread.

[HAVOK]

Super Nasty: Jambalaya and Country Captain Chicken. I'd go hungry before I ate those two

[River_Rat_459]

Super Nasty: Jambalaya and Country Captain Chicken. I'd go hungry before I ate those two

I knew there was another one that sucked as bad as the jambalaya, and you just named it...the country cRaptain chicken. Given the choice between those of the vegetarian meals, I ALWAYS went for the vegetarian or saved an apple from breakfast.

[SSMayNV]

They aren't that bad to me, except the omelet and hoah bar.

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[jxspyder]

Hooah bars were the shit. Or they kept you from....I always get the two confused.

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[Rickety Rob]

Hooah bars were the shit. Or they kept you from....I always get the two confused.

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I got a hooah bar once in my MRE's. Damn the person who kept them away from me..hahaha!

[MaximusR3]

Given the choice between those of the vegetarian meals, I ALWAYS went for the vegetarian or saved an apple from breakfast.


speaking of the vegetarian meals, I always did enjoy them. maybe because instead of having the imitation meat they didn't have meat at all? I took the vegetarian ones more often than not because if i didn't they'd always be the last one in the case since everyone else seemed to avoid them for some reason

[bobopong]

some of the newer meals arent that bad. Especially that new breakfast one: Maple flavored sasuage. It was pretty good yesterday.

[BilgeRatBilly]

I always like the cheese tortellini one the best. The one that looked/tasted like chicken noodle soup was pretty good too. They're really aren't any that can't be fixed by super heating and a full bottle of tobasco (except the horrid omlet) :p

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[bulletmagnet]

Was told about the 5 fingers of death....to be avoided at all cost.

[iamthesgt]

speaking of the vegetarian meals, I always did enjoy them. maybe because instead of having the imitation meat they didn't have meat at all? I took the vegetarian ones more often than not because if i didn't they'd always be the last one in the case since everyone else seemed to avoid them for some reason

I find the vegetarian meals the best too...not just because it was mostly pasta, but because they always came with the best sides!

[SSMayNV]

MRE bomb with the little Tabasco = OC grenade. Good times when I was an instructor.

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[weakmustdie]

Some of the ones these days such as buffalo chicken is preety damn good i think. Some are very bad though.

[TooLoLo]

How many of you remember the very early versions of MREs? I went to basic training in 1988, and back then they came in a dark brown package. The very early version of the egg omelet tried even the heartiest of eaters. If you opened it and the eggs weren't already green, you were kind of lucky.

Another one they had back then that was a complete disaster was chicken ala king. It was as bad, if not worse, than the jumbalaya that Havok referenced. It's only saving grace was that it came with M&Ms, which everyone wanted.

The old ones, I graduated boot camp in 90...the omelet was only good heated and with lots of Tabasco. The chicken and rice was the best and it also had the best sides. Who remembers the oatmeal bar you could sharpen your kbar on?