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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[@cindyminx2985]

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!

[@dadbudgetadventures]

I am so proud to think that I contributed something to inspire you. Thank you for that.

[@Katya-zj7ni]

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 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Thanks for the support and for checking in from so far away. Glad you found this helpful!

[@scottrennie7382]

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

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Exactly what I was going for!

[@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.

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Sounds like a great application of this concept. I agree, the curry was pretty good

[@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.

[@dadbudgetadventures]

I will definitely look for those

[@bonapartedavinci]

@@dadbudgetadventures not as budget as other options, but I still can put a satisfying MRE together for around 8 or 9 bucks if I buy in bulk.

[@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.

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Thank you. I’ll take all the help I can get!

[@mandyshaw4097]

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 ❤️🌎🕯️💜.

[@dadbudgetadventures]

I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for the support!

[@frankgyomoryjr6167]

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.

[@dadbudgetadventures]

That’s a great way to have meat but save some money. The clearance section at Kroger is a must on every visit.

[@jimmumby3559]

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

[@dadbudgetadventures]

I think I might have to do more of these.

[@user-mr1mq6ob4e]

Love the MRE videos. Thanks for making them.

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Thanks for watching. I’ll keep doing them if y’all keep watching!

[@gud2go50]

Great ideas. Thank you.

[@dadbudgetadventures]

You’re welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@Olyphoto7]

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 😊

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Thank you. It was a fun project.

[@kathycazenave7434]

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

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Thank you for that. I truly appreciate the kind words.

[@theykilledkennyagain423]

It's 5:55 and I'm salivating here hahaha! Thanks for the video

[@dadbudgetadventures]

I feel accomplished. I made someone drool with an MRE!

[@accalt6519]

Excellent video, keep it up 👍

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Thank you. So glad you enjoyed it!

[@psychocephus]

Great Video, Awesome MRE idea 💡

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@psychocephus]

@@dadbudgetadventures I always enjoy your videos. You have awesome ideas, being on a budget is spot on...

[@generator6946]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Thanks for watching!

[@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.

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Very cool. Creativity is a great skill

[@marceld6061]

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.

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Man I’m glad that’s where you went with this comment. I was bracing for you to say it was gross 😂

[@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

[@dadbudgetadventures]

So glad to have had a hand in inspiring you! These are all great ideas. I’m going to check out that cook kit as well. Thanks!

[@benjaminpendleton7797]

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

[@dadbudgetadventures]

A little. I’m still finding interesting options.

[@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?

[@dadbudgetadventures]

I have seen people use rehydrated jerky for meat in recipes. Maybe I should test that concept. Might make for a cool video. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@frankhinkle5772]

@@dadbudgetadventures Especially that really chewy jerky that you might loose a tooth over, or the stuff that is too spicy to eat on it's own.

[@Emeraldwitch30]

Ive used jerky as a soup before when out hiking. My teeth are in bad shape now but even when young some jerky is tough. I have even cut into smaller bits and ran though food processor to make more of a jerky floss lol. But I've also discovered pork floss at costco. Its pretty tasty andceasy to eat.

[@erikanichols9633]

This looks like it would be gluten free except maybe the jerky. I will have to look around at Kroger when I go tomorrow . Another accessible to everyone MRE video. I have tried a different flavor of rice and curry

[@dadbudgetadventures]

I’m not sure but I’d love to hear for sure. I get a lot of requests for gluten free options.

[@susieramick7202]

Thank you😊 Liked your video.I like the variety of flavors. I'm very interested in the cooker. How many packs of fuel do you recommend storing in case of SHTF?

[@dadbudgetadventures]

It’s hard to say for SHTF. I’d almost encourage learning to make your own for that. But I usually keep about 20 on hand for regular use.

[@tomj528]

DIY is the way to go, even for home food storage as freeze dried really doesn't taste that great and is so expensive that they offer in-house financing, lol.

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Anything marketed for prepping or outdoors is going to be priced for a niche market, for sure.

[@tomj528]

@@dadbudgetadventures Isn't that the truth...I finally went with ordinary canned and dry goods for long(ish) term food storage that we rotate through after far too long of looking for ways to make freeze-dried make sense. Today I scored 16oz Planter's lightly salted dry roasted peanuts that were on sale for $2 and they had $1 off 2 coupons on them so $1.50! We got a few dozen as we also make peanut butter out of them in addition to snacking. I also restocked our Milwaukee Kosher Dill Pickles at $2.89 and 12pks of SpaghettiOs with Meatballs for $11.49. I was also looking at 4oz bags of trail mix for $2 but was disappointed by all of the extra crappy ingredients. Instead I figured out to get a 1.75oz tube of Planters peanuts for 50 cents, 1oz boxes of raisins and fun sized M&Ms all for under a buck and even less if I use the peanuts I got today and repackage them. The really funny thing is that because we buy everything on sale and rotate through it all as part of our regular diet, this actually saves us money rather than costing far too much like freeze-dried. Cheers!

[@dadbudgetadventures]

For sure. Some Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers go a long way to making things last a lot longer.

[@frankhinkle5772]

I'm new to the channel, have subscribe and sent a link to a couple friends. I'd be more comfortable going on a hike with your homemade MRE if it had TWO drinks, like one hot and a cold. A second snack, like to get you over to lunch and then mid afternoon, and something to spice up a boring entrée. Be it a flavor packet, hot sauce, something to make a boring meal at least a little more interesting. Just my two cents worth, but give it a think. Thanks.

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Great points. If I’m building one just purely for personal use I would do all of that. These single location meals are more about the thought exercise and thinking outside the usual box people put these in. Soon I’ll do a video about preparation of a full and proper menu when the effort isn’t finding it all in one store.

[@frankhinkle5772]

@@dadbudgetadventures I agree, this isn't about a particular MRE, it is about the thought process. What works for each of us.

[@sheldor5312]

Throw a little canned chicken in the chickpeas and rice would be 100.

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Absolutely

[@phildo87]

You should try and only add half the drink mix to the bottle. I like the drink mixes, but I always add one pack to 32 oz of water instead of a standard water bottle.

[@dadbudgetadventures]

That’s a good idea especially with my dislike for artificial sweeteners

[@jamesramer263]

Crush up some of those chickpeas and sprinkle them on your rice

[@dadbudgetadventures]

Ya know, that thought occurred to me after I was done. Definitely next time!

[@tigerlilly03152012]

Do you have a 24-hour mre that is kid friendly?

[@dadbudgetadventures]

So far I’ve only done one 24 hour. Haven’t done a kid friendly MRE at all yet.