XMRE Meals Ready to Eat (MREs)

What are MREs?

MRE stands for “Meals Ready to Eat”. All the contents of these shelf stable foods are fully cooked and can be eaten hot or cold. An MRE will provide good taste and proper nutrition while maintaining a safe, long shelf life. Each MRE replicates the calorie count of a complete meal. There is no need to add water to an MRE. Simply open the pouch and enjoy! The big breakthrough was the POUCH. Its three special layers allow the food to be fully cooked, sealed and never exposed to the air again. The resulting taste and texture beats any dehydrated and freeze dried food rations.

What Do MREs Taste Like?

That’s a pretty subjective question and obviously depending on whom you speak with you will get a different answer. Just like canned goods, you either like them or you don’t. Many people feel that MREs are just as good if not better than canned food. MREs are very convenient and there are people who enjoy them enough to eat them regularly when they need a quick meal for lunch or dinner. MREs are designed to be as home-style cooked meals. They are designed to last. Home cooked meal won’t last more than a week, our MREs will last 5 years or more and we think they taste pretty good!

What Are the Benefits and Uses of Your MREs?

Some of the benefits of our MREs are: Fully cooked – No need to add water, Not Freeze Dried! Moisture, gravy and sauces are retained in their natural form. These meals are ready to eat right from the pouch at room temperature, have a home-style taste, balanced nutrition, have a shelf life of 5 years or more based on date of pack and storage conditions, require no refrigeration, can be heated in 5 minutes with boiling water or with our flameless heater pouches, are portable and easy to carry and store, water proof, easy to open – unlike canned food, you don’t need a special tool or special skills to open it . You just tear open the pouch and you are ready to eat!

What Are Common Uses of MREs?

MREs were originally used only in the military, but the truth is that MREs are the perfect option for outdoor enthusiasts, preparedness, emergency situations, on the go meals or for anybody who is planning to be in a situation where regular food supply is not available . The special pouches they use provide a long shelf stable without refrigeration. Many private entities, law enforcement, hospitals, fire departments, Red Cross, and government agencies storage depend on MREs as a part of their emergency plan for food supplies. We are also seeing more campers, hikers and other extreme outdoor sport and activity people use them. After all, they are a complete meal, ready to eat, portable, and relatively light weight.

Can MREs Be Eaten Cold?

Yes. Each MRE entree is fully cooked and can be eaten cold, directly from the pouch.

What’s The Best Way to Heat Up An MRE?

If you no longer have the heater pouch that comes with each kit, our MRE pouches can be heated in a variety of different ways depending on the situation.

1) Boiling for 3-5 minutes – take the pouch and place it in clean boiling water heated from available sources: fire, heating tabs, or stoves.

2) Placing next to a non-liquid heat source: radiator, engine block, or even the human body. Be careful of burning or melting the pouch if the heat source is too hot.

3) You can use the sun to warm the pouch by simply laying it in the sun. It’s simple and it works.

4) Remove from pouch into a microwave-safe container, and microwave 2-3 minutes. The pouch contains an aluminum, non-microwaveable layer which gives the pouch such a long shelf life.

No matter how you heat your MRE entree meal, although the foil pouch is very strong and durable, it can be damaged if too high a temperature is applied. NEVER apply direct flame to the pouch like from a BBQ or campfire. The outer and inner layers of plastic laminate will melt and contaminate the food.

Can I Freeze an MRE Pouch?

Freezing an MRE pouch will not destroy the food inside, but repeated freezing increases the chance that the pouch lamination will fail. MRE pouches are designed to withstand 1,000 flexes, but repetitive freezing does increase the failure rate by a small fraction of a percent.

What Is Included in A Typical MRE Kit?

Each complete meal ready to eat MRE kits provides a balanced nutrition with a generous amount of food components. Configurations ranges from 500 to 3000+ calories per meal. MRE components, i.e, entree and side dishes, bread items, snacks , desserts , beverages and other portion-controlled packs. Our MREs come packed 12 meals to a case.