Making an MRE

Hi my name is Brandon Anderson. From what I’ve learned in the
military, Eating MRE’s is essential to maintain good performance. Did you know that military personal burn up to 5,000 calories a day during Basic Training and AIT? Because of this we’ve needed to have an intake of at least 3,000 calories a day. I’m going to show you these steps on how to open, cook, and eat an MRE. I’ve learned from some of the best senior drill sergeants on how to make an MRE.

MRE, Water

First off, on the top of the bag there is a seem that you can open by pulling the seem, and the back portion of the bag. It can be really tough to open, so it is reasonable to use a scissors or a knife during this process. Once the bag is fully open, take all of the contents out of the bag. There is a smaller bag inside of this one. This doesn't always happen, it just depends on the MRE. If there is a smaller bag then take the contents out of this one also. Make sure to save the large main bag, because this will be used as a trash bag later.

Now that the we have our food separated, we can start cooking the main meal. Depending on the MRE, there might not be a cooker. If this happens then skip this step. For those who have a cooker, locate the large green bag. This is a chemically activated bag, that starts to heat up when it comes in contact with water. Pick up the cooker, and tear at the first seem at the top of the bag. After that, insert your main meal into the cooker. Locate the cardboard sleeve, and insert the cooker into it. There is a black line at the bottom of the cooker which indicates how much water is needed. Find a water source, and start filling it up. Once the cooker is filled up, tuck the top of the bad into the cardboard sleeve and place it on a slightly slanted surface, this is so the heat can make it's way throughout the meal.

Since we're waiting for our meal to cook, this is the time to start opening the rest of the MRE. There are so many different snack that could be inside of the MRE's, it's just a matter of luck if there good or not. I opened my flour tortilla to get ready with my main meal. There is always a drink included in every MRE. This could be anything from coffee, to chocolate milk, to flavored punches. Sometimes there are clear bags that you can put your powdered drink into. If there is then pour the contents of your drink into the clear bag. Then fill it up with water, again there is a line that you should stop at. Shake it all up then drink it right out of the bag. Now move onto some more foods. I opened up a cookie which is amazing.

Your meal is done when every part of the sleeve is really hot. Carefully take out the cooker from the sleeve, and tear the cooker at middle portion of the bag. Take out your meals, and tear them at the seems. With your plastic spoon, start eating or transferring the food to a flour tortilla if given. There are packs of salt and pepper included, so feel free to use them. Enjoy eating.

Dump out the water from the cooker so it can be disposed. Place everything that are done with or didn't use back in the lager main bag that we started out with. There are wet wipes, and napkins given to help you clean up your mess.