cmac

the military MRE's that we use have a much higher calorie count than 1300-1500. they are designed to be enough for one person to have one a day..... however that is only if you eat EVERYTHING in the package. I have yet to find one that i would eat everything in it...... unless i was starving that is.......

PourinDiesel

Basic Military MRE's will have 1300-1500 calories per meal.. Cases A or B will feed you equally well. The only difference is menu selection.

You can get by with eating one MRE per day and you will live and decently. However to sustain yourself somewhat well 2 meals per day should be eaten.
If you want to live like a fat cat then 3 is plenty.

In the MRE meal itself there is a graph usually on the main course package that kind of guides you.

The best place I have found to buy them is usually ebay as far as an online source goes. You want the Military versions. Don't buy the civilian MRE's as they tend not to have heaters and less condiments.

You also want to look out for the dates on the boxes. The MRE boxes will have a manufacture date and an inspection date.
Both dates are somewhat important. The inspection date is when a meal should be removed from the case and consumed or "checked" for freshness.

A basic MRE meal will last about 7-8 years stored at 70 degrees. There is an online graph out there somewhere that shows how long an MRE will last at various temperatures.
The hotter the temp the shorter the life span.

Be leery of opened cases because you won't usually know what the date of manufacture of the MRE is.

A case usually runs $60-70 shipping included.

Bark

I agree that they are better when used earlier but if you get a really good deal on older ones get them. As said earlier, the 1982 ones (we have a lot) are still safe as long as the package was not damaged. Different product but my old dad still has a bunch of the 1950's c rations that are good although prepare for a fire if you try to smoke one of the cigarettes.

jrs_dodge_diesel

Yep, kinda like Chem-lites (glow sticks). Don't know why they have an expiration. I've never had one not light that wasn't already broken.

I liked the older MREs. Beef slices in BBQ sauce was my favorite, the pound cake too. About the only thing I didn't eat was the cheese spread, yuck .

fordkiller43

Army/Navy stores or any military surplus should have em stocked. I have seen em all the time. Even tho I wish I'd never see them dang things again. I'd rather eat cardboard. But they did keep us alive on missions in Iraq. Always a good thing!

bway1341

Just make sure you drink plenty of water like 2 Qts aleast if not you wont be hungry for a while.

bway1341

I f you do eat one per day dont eat it all at once spread it out through out the day. Start with a coffee shot just eat the coffee grains and chase with water to get the day started.