More Food Choices

[AmericanSteel]

I have not seen these sorts of choices mentioned on the boards, but I do think they have a place.

1. C-Rations - The game currently has MRE's but the Canadian military still uses C-Rations. They are also sold in abundance in surplus stores and catalogs. There are a lot of great choices here: sausage, bacon, eggs... yummy!

2. Spam - This is a survival staple. You could just call it potted meat to get away from the copyright issues, but still Again, this stuff lasts a long time.

3. Powdered Milk - A packet of powdered milk and 3.5 cups of water returns 3.5 cups of milk. A standard powdered milk box contains 4 packets. I keep this in my home for baking (when you just need more milk umph in a dish) and as a survival staple. This stuff lasts for years.

4. Powdered Eggs - similar to powdered milk. They don't taste great but they are food.

5. Baby Formula - This is similar to powdered milk and could have about the same mechanics. They even have Soy formula if you are lactose intolerant

6. Baby Food - What survivor would not want to chow down on some mixed pureed of peas and carrots? Come on now

7. Powdered Sports Drinks - The large can of gatoraid has about 40 scoops, with each scoop treating about a liter of water. This stuff lasts for years and can replenish a lot of necessary electrocutes... not to mention sugar. Players could just add a scoop to water and make the existing sports drink.

8. Dry Cereal - While this does not last forever, it does last for months. Just because it is stale does not mean it cant be eaten. Get you a bowl of Capt Crunch, some powdered milk and crash in front of the fire reliving your childhood

9. Dry Dog/Cat Food - aka kibble. You can eat this and it lasts a long darn time. You can grind this stuff down, add water and eat it like gruel or fry it into kibble kakes. I know, its gross. However, this is almost identical to the products they use in the UN Food Program (the UN Food Program just adds more vitamins). Imagine finding a 50 lbs bag of this in someones cupboard. That is a lot of food!

10. Feed Corn - I would expect to see this in Pleasant Valley in a barn but it could be in any of the zones. The prime reason to have it in the other zones would be to lay out feed for deer. You can burn it as a fuel source AND you can soak it in water and then cook it. Again, this stuff is usually found in very large bags (30 to 50 lbs). The game use for the product are extensive.

11. Oats/Rice/Beans - all of these dried food stuffs should be floating around out there. You could expand this to include cream of wheat, malt-o-meal or grits. You may need to cook them in water, but they are still VERY shelf stable supplies.

12. Dried Pasta - this has a shelf life longer than dried cereal but it is not rice or beans. Another nice food option that probably everyone on the boards has on a shelf at home.

13. Dried Mac n Cheese - you know the stuff I am talking about. Add water or milk, cook and bingo.. childhood comfort food. Again, the stuff lasts and lasts and lasts...

14. Ramen - It comes with a little spice packet and can be eaten right out of the package (I use to do it on road marches in the army). All your favorite flavors and various levels of spiciness.

15. Noodle Bowl - This is ramen, with some added goodies (like dried meats). Would have a higher calorie content than just ramen.

16. Flour/Masa/Corn Meal - while it does not last forever, it does last a long time. These (along with salt) will be staples in making baked goods of any kind. Corn Meal can also be used a bait for some birds and small mammals.

[DenverDad]

I like all of these ideas especially SPAM (potted meat)

[Amateur Bushcrafter]

Chocolate taste great even when ancient.

[AmericanSteel]

Chocolate taste great even when ancient.

I know I had more than few MREs while I was in Kuwait where the chocolate had gone white-ish on the outside. Same thing happened in the Pacific. It was like talc, but "degraded" chocolate. The bars were harder too. To say they tasted like chocolate would be a lie. I assume this is because the MREs were past date, but it could have been the heat.

That said, the oatmeal cookie bar was ok. Let me redefine ok for you. I took an oatmeal cookie bar in 1995 and carved "The Brigade Stops Here" on the hatchback of my hummer while station at Ft Carson. It took three cookie bars, but I did it. That marking survived over two years of field exercises (including deployments to Pinion Canyon, NTC and Canada). We took our trucks to the wash rack once a month and after every field problem. It stayed! In 1997 we were changing from the desert camo to the new pattern. The paint would not adhere to the markings. The post general (Maj Gen Swartz) saw the marking when they were trying to paint it and asked who defaced it. I said I had done in at NTC two years prior with an Oatmeal Cookie Bar (I just turned Specialist and was sure I was about to get demoted). He looked really serious, laughed and said carry on. I came back to Carson in 99 before ETSing and went by my old unit. The markings were still on the hatchback of that truck. Near as I can tell the cookie bar etched the words into the kevlar/paint coating somehow. To this day I will not eat an MRE oatmeal cookie bar. I have no clue what they put in them but rest assured, you could sharpen a bayonet with one!!!

[Ryan CM]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[DenverDad]

A bag of mixed nuts would also be nice

[The_Hawk35]

Chocolate taste great even when ancient.

I know I had more than few MREs while I was in Kuwait where the chocolate had gone white-ish on the outside. Same thing happened in the Pacific. It was like talc, but "degraded" chocolate. The bars were harder too. To say they tasted like chocolate would be a lie. I assume this is because the MREs were past date, but it could have been the heat.

What you are describing here is flouring and is related to heat. It only has an impact on look and taste, but not on quality.

[jason_scheiner]

Instead of SPAM, you can call it CRAM in homage to Fallout.

[toebar]

I can't pass up a mention of SPAM without thinking of

:lol:

[JErosion]

Let us not forget about Corned Beef(actual corn per serving 0%)