Since the 2020 panic, MREs have been hard to find for a good price. It would appear that MRE prices are not going to come back down any time soon. When I used to buy MREs prior to 2020, I paid $55 for a case of standard MREs in Alaska. Now, you will be paying at least three times that. Lets face it, the days of $4 MREs are gone and now it is a question of availability and cost effectiveness. If you can even get MREs, they are going to cost about $20 per meal and another chunk of change to have them shipped. However, there is another option by a company called MRE STAR out of Sarasota, Florida. In this article, I am going to review a single meal that I found in a local store that is common here in Arkansas, but MRE STAR also makes other types of meals like this 24 hour ration sold on mremountain.com. OUTER SHELL The outer shell of the MRE STAR MRE is very much the same as the thick cover of the military MREs. There are subtle differences between a military ration and this one. MRE STAR claims on their packaging to be fit for military, civilian, or disaster relief. It also proudly displays it is made in America. The meal label is clearly displayed on the right of the packaging, just to the right of the large MRE STAR brand seal. They proudly display their contact information on the bottom half of the MRE shelf. Centered on the back of the MRE is a "best if used by" date label, but no other labels or features to speak of. The top of the MRE has the typical label that it possesses a "peelable seal". In my experience, these seal is always hit or miss on an MRE. Fortunately for MRE STAR, this MRE opened very easily. I would have to test more MREs from this company before I was able to definitively say that MRE STAR does the peelable seal right, unlike 99% of other MRE companies that require a sharp object to open. CONTENTS In the Lentil Stew With Potatoes MRE, the meal lays out very similar to the way a military MRE would lay out. There is a total of roughly 1300 calories worth of food in this MRE. The contents of this MRE are as follows: - Main Meal (Lentil Stew) - Flameless Ration Heater - Accessory Pack - Bread Ration (Tortillas) - Snack (Toffee Peanuts) - Spread (Peanut Butter) - Dessert (Oatmeal Cookie) - Drink mix (Grape Flavored) ACCESSORY PACK The accessory pack is very similar to a military MRE, but with some notable differences. The cellophane wrapping is very flimsy. The spoon is bundled into the accessory packet, much like a humanitarian ration. The spoon is flimsy but makes up for it by being large like a serving spoon. MRE STAR provides their own branded napkin, toothpick, salt & pepper, a moist towelette, sugar, creamer, a packet of crushed red pepper flakes, instant coffee and a small bundle of 10 Smartees candies. PREPARING THE MAIN MEAL
MULTILINGUAL
SAVED ROUNDS I found the coffee in the MRE to be pretty typical of MRE coffee. You get only enough to fill a typical mug halfway without losing the coffee flavor, much like the drink mix. That said, I will never know how MRE coffee tastes better than the store bought instant coffee I buy. I don't know, but a cup of MRE instant coffee is fantastic. I threw the creamer, napkin, and moist towelette away, along with the MRE STAR toothpick since I don't use creamer and I didn't need the napkin or towelette. The toothpick is nice if you don't have any other options for cleaning your teeth, but I think gum is better since it activates saliva glands and thus protects teeth from plaque and tartar development. However, I imagine that it comes down to $$$. Gum has an unusually high price these days and since they seem to produce 90% of the MRE in-house, it could negatively effect cost/time of production, and ultimately profit. That is just my speculation, but in the end, I stick with my field toothbrush. MRE STAR seems to have a good little MRE, at least in the Lentil Stew. Their online information is very informative. They seem to be very open to being used as I high-volume manufacturer of MREs. They proudly display photos of their production/manufacturing facility, which presents itself as a clean and professional production facility. It fills me with confidence that they are dedicated to supplying a product that will satisfy our needs of their customer while remaining transparent about their product contents. Unlike the military MREs, they don't seem to fill their food with a load of chemicals. This is comforting, and a reason I appreciate their product. I am glad that this product is sold in my local stores because I really like what they have produced. I don't need a chemistry degree to read the ingredients list, the MREs are cost-effective compared to older military MREs, and there is a good amount of variety in the menus. What's not to like?
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