Review: Meal Kit Supply MRE's Part 4 of 4

Well, it's been a while since part 3. No real good reason for that... life is bigger than the internet I suppose. Yet, here we are. I'd like to wrap this series up by doing a couple of things - I'd like to review the final MRE provided by Meal Kit Supply, and I'd like to do a quick comparison to those readily available civilian alternatives. I'm not going to go into great detail regarding the alternative options; this is a Meal Kit Supply review, not a Army Surplus review.



And here we are, the final episode in a four part series dedicated to the review of Meal Kit Supply MRE's. I've grown accustomed to the staples of this product. The lemon-lime juice, the instant coffee... My wife always takes the hot chocolate before I can even think of getting to it.

This last MRE of four sent to me by the staff at Meal Kit Supply had a few things we had not yet gotten to sample. The first thing I wanted to try was the cookie... my wife was at a baby shower today and I had to take advantage of this opportunity; dessert before dinner!


On opening the package, for the first time out of any of the MRE contents, I heard the 'whissssssp' of the vaccum seal breaking. Immediately I could smell the sweet cookie. I didn't know what to make of the description - "pan coated chocolate discs"... just means candy coated chocolate chips. The best way I can describe this cookie is to compare it to those 'Mr. Christie' cookies I used to get as a kid. Good stuff - and would be a nice treat on the trail. Really flaky, something I didn't expect out of an MRE.



Next I opened up the crackers. Not much to say here at all. Look at them more as a 'foodstuff' than an actual supplement to a meal. Tasteless and crispy, but they get food in your belly.





Tasteless, yes. But when you open up that cheese-spread... that's better. Easiest comparison to make here is to something along the lines of 'cheese whiz'. It's a little stronger though. Perhaps that has something to do with the 'fortified' labeling on the tube.



I followed direction and kneaded the tube before applying a generous amount to my crackers. I was happy to find that the spread was not 'greasy' as I can often find off-brand cheese spreads to be. Again, stronger than regular 'cheese-whiz' and tasty.

Next, I opened up the first of two included entree's. I had Mexican Rice and Chicken with Dumplings in this package. In all honesty, I wasn't hyper to try the chicken with dumplings. My mind, again, ran into the field of 'what MRE's look like'. I had envisioned a baggie of grossness - and was afraid to ruin my admiration for actual dumplings.



I am happy to report that the chicken and dumplings pack was not terrible. Actually - it basically just tasted like a cream of chicken soup. I couldn't distinguish any difference between the 'dumplings' and the rest of the mush in there, but I am fine with that - it tasted good and my wife would be happy to know that I even ate the 'peas'.

The mexican rice was exactly as I expected it to be. It's the same kind of mixture you'd find in an Uncle Bens Express type of rice mix. It had a little bit more zip though, and people who are sensitive to hot foods might get a little fussy over this, but I didn't call it 'hot' - I practically drown my food in Franks on a nightly basis; I like a little bit of kick.



And with that - I think we're safe to say that this review series has finally come to a close. Meal Kit Supply was kind enough to supply us with a few of their products for review. I dealt directly with customer service, who were helpful and nice to provide sheepdog readers with a limited time coupon for cases of MRE products.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Meal Kit Supply MRE's are not just 'survival food'. Most of the food we tested was really good to eat. Nutritious and cost-effective for those on the run or otherwise disabled from food storage of larger, bulkier products. It's an all-in-one food solution for the hiker, camper, worker or preparedness-minded individual.

Feel free to contact me directly with any questions about my experience with the company, the product or otherwise, the review process. We were not paid or 'reimbursed' in any way for doing this series of reviews. We're non-partisan and non-biased - hopefully you've found this helpful and informative. Meal Kit Supply has earned my personal seal of approval; quality products at a competitive price.

***

A quick look at the competition...

I feel it's my responsibility to give a contrast here. Some kind of comparison. Granted, I won't be going into any kind of detail about these products - I just want to bring in some competition. These products are readily available by a number of sources at this time. I found the IMP at my local army surplus store. I also found the Mountain House meal there.

The prices are relative - but the quality is not. Some major problems I had were as follows:

• Mountain House meal requires boiled water - in some situations this is just not possible. I don't care what gear you're humping - if you don't have a water source, you can't boil it; that's why they're called emergencies.
• I couldn't find a date of manufacture on the surplus meal - the guy behind the counter said... it doesn't matter; in terms of long-term storage, I personally need at least a posted best-before date, qualified by the factory directly.

Now - I'm sure that fresh IMP's are tasty - but why risk it?

Lastly, the bread in the IMP, as compared to Meal Kit Supply's MRE - was NOT good at all. In fact, it tasted sour and I immediately stopped eating it. Wheat Snack Bread - now that's a treat.

Again - I don't want to review these products, just simply to state some observations I had when comparing them directly to Meal Kit Supply MRE's. And yes, of course I'm leaving some things out - the focus here is on Meal Kit Supply.

Review: Meal Kit Supply Part 3 of 4

Welcome back!

Part three of our four part look at the product supplied to us by Meal Kit Supply. We've reviewed two different MRE's and we're here to look at the third of four. Unfortunately, there wasn't much more to this one than there was to the others that we had sampled.


First of all, I can't go on enough about the Wheat Snack Bread!

When I opened this MRE up and saw that it included a Snack Bread - I immediately opened it up and took a bite. Awesome.


One thing that was included in this MRE that hadn't been included in any others was a little packet of silica-type substances. It's to keep everything fresh. Nice to see.

If you meet me in a situation where we're eating MRE's and want to trade a poptart for your Snack Bread... just ask.

Really tasty. However - I didn't have the jam this time, I had peanut butter. I don't personally like peanut butter. I don't have an allergy, but I just don't like it. Gave it to my wife to try - she said it was like any other peanut butter she had tried, and liked it.



The biggest thing included in this MRE that we hadn't tried before was the Mixed Fruit. It is packaged in a cardboard box - one thing I thought was really neat was the inclusion of a post card. When you flip the package over, there's a spot to write out a post card. Could be me, but I thought that was a really useful idea for the packaging.



So - it's basically what you used to eat as a kid. Like a fruit cup in a bag. Good, sweet and sugary. Would prove to be a good snack and definitely a morale booster. My wife agrees - really good.


As I had said before, we got a bunch of stuff we had reviewed before in this pack, so we only really wanted to focus on the things we hadn't touched on yet. This portion of the review turned out not to be as long and detailed as the other parts - just because we didn't have as much material.

Touch back for part 4 and a comparison of popular consumer-grade MRE's. Again, these products seem, on the surface, only suited to emergencies - however, the food enclosed is really tasty and could easily be taken to eat on a hike, in a boat or on a sunday afternoon - in your living room. Might be pricey to eat regularly, and I'm no nutritionist, but it's much more than 'emergency food'.

Review: Meal Kit Supply MRE's - Part 2 of 4

We're here at the second part of the review. I opened a second of four MRE's provided by Meal Kit Supply to sample for the purposes of a full review. This particular MRE contained a few things that the previous one did. For instance - both included the delicious Wheat Bread Snack and Blackberry Jam. Honestly, really tasty - first thing I ate and was actually excited to see it.

Above is a picture of everything that was included in this MRE. The usual two spoons, condiment pack and a few things that were included in the first MRE we tried. I didn't make the hot cocoa from the first batch - it wasn't until I was cleaning up the packaging that I noticed I had missed it. We were sure to include it in this review, however. So it was time to see what the second MRE had in store for us - tactical review gear in place, we sat down for chow.


The two main dishes this time around were Sloppy Joe Filling and Potato Cheddar Soup w/ Bacon. I didn't get right into these - I wanted to see what else there was.

The first thing I did open was the juice pouch. I'd like to make another thing clear here - well, two things, really. One, I do NOT like lemonade. My wife does, I do not. Let that reflect my view on the supplied juice packet, later on. The next - I REALLY like juice. This can also sway my opinion, so let's not forget that. Some people just don't like juice - just as some don't like pop. I do, however.


So, I mixed up a cup of the Lemon-Lime juice packet, half expecting to hate it. I don't know what it is, I just don't like lemonade. After mixing all the crystals up, I took a sip. Goosebumps! Cough! Sputter! Again, I don't like lemonade. I found the juice to be very sour on the first sip - almost candy-sour, if there were some kind of scale you could apply to it. My wife, on the other hand, thought it was nice and a 'summery drink'. She likes lemonade - I don't.


Like a little kid, I went straight to an old-standard. Hot chocolate. What interests me most about Meal Kit Supply MRE's is the 'all-in' structuring of them. They include everything - minus water, that you need to enjoy whats inside. The container that houses the mix for both beverages have the capability to both mix and serve the beverage itself. Awesome.

We mixed up the cocoa and poured it into a cup. Nothing separates this mix from anything you'd get in the grocery store or a Tim Horton's drive-thru. Rich, hot, tasty. My wife is basically a hot-chocolate connoisseur. She drinks it as opposed to coffee - crazy, right?


Well, she says there's two kinds of hot chocolate at the grocery store - brand name and no-name. She compared this to no-name hot chocolate. Good, fulfilling, but not brand name - not as creamy.


Next - I opened the Sloppy Joe main dish. Hungry at this point as the little hand was gracing the top of the clock. I must say - this was really, really good. We had just finished putting groceries away - I had my pick of good food. I ate this for lunch. Not just because it was open, in front of me and available readily - because it was genuinely tasty. Here's the kicker - I didn't even heat it up!

A little history here, my younger brother and I used to eat Chef BoyR-Dee or however you spell it, straight out of the can. This was almost identical to that taste. I couldn't describe it any clearer than that. Really good.


The next thing we tried was the Potato mix. Opening up the package - it looked exactly as I thought it would. I said to my wife;

"Brace yourself, this is gonna look like puke."

Past that, I took a bite, cold. Bacon and Potato. Nothing more, nothing less. Texture was as you'd expect from a potato soup mix. I expected it to be slimier than it was, but was surprised to find a very pleasurable texture, even cold.

We warmed it up and found a massive difference. Perhaps only as a morale issue, we were much happier to eat the mixture hot, rather than lukewarm or cold. In fact, my wife had several spoonfuls and remarked that it was delicious.


Last but not least, we opened the Fudge Brownie. It smelled like a brownie but was kind of hard to the touch. Maybe hard isn't the right word for it, but compared to the Wheat Bread Snack, it was definately not as moist or soft. We both described it as 'chalky'. I couldn't really think of anything else - it tasted good but wasn't 'bakery moist'.

I suppose I had high hopes, given the absolute delicacy that we found in the Wheat Bread Snack. It's good to note that this could act as a major morale booster - chocolate tends to do that. There were actually little hunks of chocolate in the brownie itself, we both liked it despite the relative textural differences when compared to other snacks included with the MRE.

But here's the thing - if I had this brownie, and my wife had the Wheat Bread Snack, we've already agreed on a trade.

All in all - it's interesting to note how typical 'breakfast' foods would 'go down' better in the morning than 'lunch foods'. I mean, sure, we'd eat the Sloppy Joe mix at sunrise, but the increase in morale in having sausage and hash-brown would be welcome. Both my wife and I have agreed that so far, these MRE's would be wonderful for camping, hunting and long term storage. Really nice to put in the basement and forget about them until they are needed. We'd cycle through our cans before we'd open these up on a Wednesday night. However, we'd much rather take a few of these camping than a cooler full of food - so long as your campers can give up the creature comforts of specific things, or can get over maybe eating one or two main dishes cold. Alternatively you could just bring things to cook in - pots and pans, and leave the camp utensils and dishware at home.

We still have 2 more MRE's to review, and 2 consumer-grade substitutes to compare. Stay tuned.

Meal Kit Supply has assured us that a coupon code should be ready to roll out for Monday.

Review: Meal Kit Supply MRE's - Part 1 of 4

As an introduction to what's happening here, I'll introduce a part of myself to this site that has yet remained untold. I'm in my mid-twenties. That doesn't automatically qualify me to do anything, rather, quite the opposite. I completely understand that because of my short time here on Earth so far, my opinions and perspectives are due for changes later on. However, I know what I know.

I'm committed to creating an online Canadian preparedness community. I've done reviews on things I've bought and soon, things that other people have bought. Sometimes a Canadian perspective on things is going to be different than an American viewpoint, because we have different lifestyles that guide and mold us. For instance, a review on a pocket knife here in Canada will be different from one in the States' - we've got different laws that govern what we can and can not have.

Below, I'll start off the first part of four in a series of reviews on a product supplied by Meal Kit Supply Canada. This review series is very unique in that, these products were kindly provided to me for free by MKS - specifically for the purposes of reviewing. This does a couple things; it provides a degree of legitimacy to the Canadian preparedness community as a whole - our opinion matters, it also perked my interest to know that MKS would so willingly ship me a few MRE's - they really, REALLY stand behind what they're selling.

So we're clear about the intent of this review, let me explain. This first review of four is happening in my kitchen, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. I have all the amenities that we consider luxury. I have a fridge full of food and just finished a double-double. In no way is this a scenario where food is a scarcity. I'm not trying to starve myself to see how full these MRE's really leave me. I am interested in the production value and taste of them. I'll be asking my wife to sample them as well. Let's face it - at the end of the day, we'll eat anything to make it through to the next day, but to buy a case of MRE's - a good tasting one couldn't hurt.

These products were given to me to review on a volunteer basis - no pay or endorsements.

I've purchased a few readily available MRE type packages as well, for both product-to-product comparison and to illustrate what is readily available to the consumer. I figure this accurately represents a cross-section of what's available to us; the mail order MRE, a Mountain House dehydrated package and a mil-surp MRE.

After a few phone-calls and emails, the package arrives at my doorstep. Little brown box that was much lighter than I expected. I brought it upstairs and immediately opened it up. I received four full MRE packages. At this point, I hadn't opened any up yet - as I wanted to do a full sit down review of each package. It would have to wait until the weekend as my job had me staying over in Welland, ON for a few more nights.

*

The first one I picked to review was the Pork Sausage Patty. Some resources regarding this product are listed below the main review and provided on the Meal Kit Supply site.

I immediately noticed one thing about the MRE when I unpacked it all onto my kitchen table. It's all in subdued colours. I noticed this outright because my brain automatically triggered my 'cool' reflex. I took this as a good and bad thing. I subscribe to the theory of '2nd kind of cool' as stated by nutnfancy. This is an added bonus of subdued colours - it looks cool. Sure, it's practical in the bush and definitely for the military, but it's also cool. I hesitated on this fact however, as sometimes things that look cool are only that...


Welll, time to dig in. As you can see - I had my oh-so-professional reviewing equipment at the ready.

Upon further inspection of the packaging, I noted to my wife that the outer layer - reads: Meal Kit Ready To Eat - could be used as a waterproof container in a backpack. A stretch, but in a stretch it could prove to be very useful. The MRE contents read Made in MO - but it's all distributed out of Canada, which I'm glad to hear.

I'm only going to go over the things actually worth reviewing - let's face it, pepper is pepper. While the little condiment packages are not worth the hard look, it is worth noting that they are included. Two spoons, one short, one long. A napkin - I have read that it's a frustration among people who use these in the field to only have one napkin, but as far as I'm concerned, that is unfounded. I haven't experienced this particularly, however, and can therefore not comment on it accurately.


So the first thing I did was pour myself a glass of water and put a boil on to test out the coffee. I mixed up the orange electrolyte mixture and had a sip. It pretty much just tasted like freshy. There's no more accurate way to describe it. Like any orange mix you'll find. No detectable aftertaste or off-putting taste at all. Good and refreshing.


With boiling water, I mixed up a cup of coffee. I didn't use the creamer or sugar included - I spent many a night shift living off this stuff. Mind you, it's no double double, but on a rainy morning, stuck inside a tent, it's a gift sent directly from the gods. There's just nothing like a hot cup of java... instant or not. Again, nothing you wouldn't find at the grocery store, but it's all included in that little plastic bag.


I opened the Snack Bread first - I had wondered since I opened the package if it would just be some kind of hard tack or if it was indeed a 'bread'... not a 'board'. I was sincerely surprised to find a decent little bread-type, almost muffin-textured treat inside. I spread the included Blackberry Jam on top and had a bite. Without question, my favourite part of the MRE. I would buy this separately - just to eat. Really, really tasty. Almost sweet, not too chewy and almost moist. Awesome.

My wife went as far as to say she'd eat it as a snack, any day, while comparing the taste to something like a poptart without any filling. We both liked the fact that the jam was more like a spread - no hunks of berries. I was interested to get my wife's input on these products, knowing what her predisposition to them were. She insisted they would taste like cardboard - she was very surprised to eat and enjoy all that was included.


Next, we ripped out the sausage patty. The picture above is fresh out of the packaging. I wanted to try the 'main' stuff cold and hot - you never know, maybe you'll have to eat it cold. The sausage was greasy and, to be brutally honest, unappealing when it was fresh out of the package and cold. I took a bite - decent. Could definitely taste the maple, and that was a huge plus for me. Heating it up in the microwave for a half-minute or so (yes, I know that's not always possible in a bad situation, but I wanted to give the main dishes a thorough review) proved a valuable endeavor. After getting it out, the area right in front of the microwave fumed up with the scent of Sunday morning. Pork and maple - oh! Canada!

When eaten hot, the sausage was really quite tasty and you could really get the taste of maple. A good healthy portion too. About the size of a McDonald's hashbrown, but twice as thick.


After that, I pulled out the Hashbrowns w/ Bacon package. We tried the flameless heaters with great success. After reading the instructions twice through, I couldn't for the life of me find the 'fill line' for the water, but the instructions luckily included a measurement of water to use.

Here's basically what happens - Rip off the top, slide your food pouch in, put 40ml of water in, fold over the top and stick it the food pouch's box, tilted upwards.

Here's what I didn't expect - this thing gets HOT. I mean - "holy shit I need to find somewhere to put this" hot. I stuck it in the sink - suggested time is 12 minutes. I let it sit there for about 10 minutes before I took it out to see. When I removed the food pouch from the heater pouch, it was really, really warmed up. The pouch had steam rising from it before it was even open.


The hashbrown's packaging allows the user to open it horizontally - a great feature so that you don't get any on your fingers trying to reach down for the last bits.

We tried the hashbrowns cold. They were good - you could really taste the bacon.

Warmed up they were my second favourite part of this MRE. I dumped the pepper in there and gave it a stir - and finished the package. My wife had a couple spoonfuls and noted that she would have expected it to be gross, but that it actually tasted really good. From sitting in the heater, the hashbrown mix was steaming - right up to the last spoonful.

Supplied as well was a brand name Pop-Tart. Not much to say - you can get them at the grocery store and everybody knows they're good. I could see keeping this, however, as a 'snack' for after the main meal - maybe kept in a pocket for later as it retains it's own packaging.


MKS has kindly supplied a hand wipe with each meal as well. Cleanliness aside - this could prove to be a major morale booster to those not really used to not having a sink around. Good call.

I had always viewed MRE's as military issued survival food. I knew I could get them at the army surplus store and had thought that they'd be really, really gross. To the layman - food sitting around for YEARS will not be very tasty.

This is much more than just 'suvival food', it was in fact very tasty and I'm really looking forward to getting into the next three. We'll look a little deeper into the nutritional benefits of these packages and how best to keep them, next time.

I would encourage sheepdog readers to stick around for the show - we're being offered a limited time coupon for purchases from Meal Kit Supply!

Resources:
FAQ - Shelf life, allergies, nutrition.
Case Details - Configuration and information about packaged MRE's.
Ration Heater - More information on MKS Flameless Ration Heaters