The Breakdown of an MRE Full Meal Many people associate MREs with the military. However, there are also MREs available for civilian use. An MRE, or Meal, Ready-to-Eat, is a self-contained meal package that includes everything you need to prepare and eat the food inside, including heating up the food. MREs are used in the military because they are packed with all of the necessary nutrients, vitamins, and calories for survival and sustenance. Civilian MREs are similar to military MREs, but have a few key differences.  Military vs Civilian MREs Military MREs cannot be sold to the public. However, the companies and distributors of military-grade MREs make similar MREs that can be sold to civilians. These MREs differ in packaging and contents like sauces and beverages, but still have the same nutritional value in the food they contain. Military MRE Full Meals include an entree, side dish, crackers, dessert, candy, and a beverage mix like coffee, as well as the flameless ration heater (FRH), pouch of water, and utensils. Military MREs also include items such as chewing gum, toilet paper, and matches. Civilian MREs don’t have the same contents as the military MREs, but they are pretty similar. Here is what a civilian MRE contains: What’s in My MRE Full Meal? MREs contain a lot of nutritional value and provide you with everything you need to make the meal. Below is a breakdown of an MRE Full Meal with descriptions of the contents: Pouch of Water: Every MRE will include a pouch of salt water to pour into the FRH. The water causes a chemical reaction with the heater that heats to high temperatures. Regular water will also cause this reaction, but salt water can help to speed up the process.¹ Heating Sleeve: The FRH can heat to temperatures of over 100 F. You can use the sleeve to place the entree in to heat up without burning yourself or spilling the water. Flameless Ration Heater (FRH): This is where the magic happens! The FRH contains a white pad filled with chemicals that react with the water to heat your food. When heating your MRE, be sure that the white pad is facing down to ensure that it is combining with the water for optimum heating. Entree: This is the packet that you will place into the FRH and cardboard sleeve. This package is a  wet pack, meaning that it isn’t freeze-dried or dehydrated before packaging. In this sense, it is similar to canned food. There are various different MRE entrees like spaghetti and meat sauce, chicken and rice, beef stew, chili, etc. Crackers: MREs contain a carbohydrate such as crackers that are packaged to last up to 5 years. Some packages include spreads to go with the crackers. Side Dish: These dishes are not wet packs and don’t need to be heated up with the FRH. These are most commonly food items like raisins. Dessert: A meal would never be complete without a dessert! It’s the best part of any meal. MRE desserts can be fig bars or cookies. Candy:MRE manufacturers contract with different companies to provide candy in their meals. Currently the brand is Skittles. Utensil Pack: The utensil pack includes a spork so you can eat liquid foods like soups and sauces and harder foods like meats and vegetables. There is also a wet towelette to clean up after your meal. Seasonings and Mints: Also included in the utensil pack are seasonings for your food. Because they are sodium reduced meals, these seasonings don’t use salt.² But they do help to enhance the flavors of your MRE. Mints are also included in the pack to help you freshen up after your MRE Full Meal. As you can see, civilian MREs don’t contain beverage packs or other extra items like chewing gum or toilet paper, but they do provide you with a great source of vitamins and nutrients for your food storage. With an average of 1,250 calories and a small package size, MREs are an item that can be easily stored so you can be prepared with a quick, ready-to-eat meal at a moment’s notice. What about you? Have you ever had an MRE Full Meal? When do you use them?

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1. Patent US5611329 - Flameless heater and method of making same. Google Books,. 'Patent US5611329 - Flameless Heater And Method Of Making Same'. N. p., 2015. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. 2. MRE package contains seasoning with salt-free ingredients: dehydrated onion, garlic, green bell peppers, carrots, and tomato, spices, sugar, dehydrated lemon peel, citirc acid, silicon dioxide and soybean oil.