The cheaper and simpler alternative to the MRE
The MRE (Meals Ready-to-Eat) is a staple of survival food and long-term food storage. They are versatile, convenient, and self-contained. They're great for tossing into a bag or vehicle to have with you on the go. The MRE is a good addition to any survival preps. I keep a couple boxes of MREs in the house and usually have one in a bag with me if I'm going to be out for the day or if I'm going out of town. It wouldn't be the first time I've been stuck on the freeway in a snowstorm and was happy that I had something to eat. They are a great addition to any preparation plan as they contain everything you need in one small package, are quick and easy to use, and are an easy "grab-and-go" option.
But a survival situation doesn't have to be the only use for an MRE. Recently when Presidential Candidate Trump was shot at a rally, I was called out by the Sheriff's Office to come to assist with security at some government building in town. With no time to make a lunch before heading in and knowing I was to be posted in front of a building all night, I grabbed an MRE out of a case as I headed out the door. I've found that they are a lifesaver in situations like these. And with inflation and the price of food lately, I've found its actually cheaper to have an MRE with me if I'm out for the day than it is to stop for a sandwich or a quick bite somewhere. And that's where the Humanitarian Daily Ration (HDR) comes in.
So, what is the HDR? The HDR is a much simpler, scaled down version of the MRE. It is used by the United States to give out as humanitarian aid to countries who are experiencing natural or manmade disasters. It will not contain its own heating element, and the main course is not as fancy, complex, or even as appetizing as the standard MRE. The components and sides to the HDR are fewer and simpler. But what is does have is a fully contained, shelf stable ration that is much cheaper than your standard MRE. The HDR can easily be found at the time of writing this article for between thirty to forty dollars for a case of ten, making each ration only $3-$4. So, let's take a look at exactly what you do get in the HDR.
There can be some slight variation from one HDR to the next. These boxes will contain ten rations. Mine consisted of two rations each of five different menus. Each menu will have 2 main courses, a couple sides, some form of a desert, and an accessories packet. Going over the contents of each menu would quickly become tedious and tiresome, so I chose one menu from the box to focus on. Pictured above is Menu #2 which I chose to focus on detailing to give you an idea of what you can expect from the HDR.
The full contents list for the Menu #2 are as follows:
Peas in Tomato Sauce
Vegetable Barley Stew
Unfrosted Toaster Pastry, Brown Sugar
Vegetable Crackers
Peanut Butter
Strawberry Jam
Oatmeal Cookie
Shortbread Cookie
Salt
Pepper
Sugar Packet x 2
Crushed Red Pepper
Fresh Nap
Spoon
Napkin
Matches
Peas In Tomato Sauce:
While these can certainly be eaten cold, if you have the means to do so it is nice to heat them up. I dropped the full, unopened package into a pot of boiling water for seven minutes and it came out very nicely. Surprisingly enough, it was actually pretty good! I really wasn't expecting it to be. I was anticipating an edible, but boring meal that was just good enough to eat. But I was pleasantly surprised when I found the taste to be flavorful and enjoyable. It's no dining out experience, but I liked it. It reminded me a heartier version of some kind of Chef Boyardee or SpaghettiOs and with more ingredients. The sauce was flavorful and the vegetables had a good texture, not soggy or mushy as I may have expected. For the price of this ration, I was pretty happy with what I got.
Vegetable Barley Stew:
Similar to the last main, the Vegetable Barley Stew was quite good. The tomato sauce was flavorful and not too watery. The contents of the stew were plentiful and had good texture. I felt like I was actually eating a stew and not drinking a watered-down version with few ingredients like I may have expected. The stew itself was tasty and filling. The downside for me was that there was very little variation between the two mains. While good and filling, they were very similar in taste and texture. Overall, I was very pleased with the main courses that I got in the HDR.
Unfrosted Toaster Pastry, Brown Sugar:
I'm going to keep this one simple, it was a Pop Tart. More specifically, a brown sugar Pop Tart with no frosting. Now, the Pop Tart is no stranger to the MRE, so I knew what I was getting as soon as I saw the package. This one was a little dry, and I prefer a Pop Tart with some frosting. But the brown sugar filling had a good, clearly brown sugar taste to it. Not a whole lot else to say. Most everyone I think knows what to expect from a Pop Tart, and if you don't, take $1 down to your local grocery store and give it a try for yourself. But all-in-all, it's always a pleasant addition to a ration.
Vegetable Crackers:
Man, these things never break down the scored lines like you'd want them too! But that being said, these vegetable crackers were quite tasty. They had a sort of wheat flavor to them that I really liked. I used some of the peanut butter and strawberry jam on them that came in the ration. I thought the strawberry jam paired better with the crackers but honestly, I thought they would have been just fine by themselves. I guess I had expected more of a plain, saltine-like taste but they were better tasting than I expected and I enjoyed the flavor of these crackers.
Shortbread Cookie:
The shortbread cookie I was kind of looking forward too, but I wasn't too impressed. It was relatively dry, more so than I was expecting. With that being said, it wasn't bad. I'm not sure who makes these, but it tasted identical to shortbread cookies that I've had in other, more expensive MREs. I had some leftover peanut butter from the crackers and I used the rest of it on the shortbread cookie. This was the way to go. It paired great with the shortbread flavor and helped mask the dryness of the cookie. Next time I'll be saving the whole peanut butter packet for the cookie. On the positive side, it's a shelf stable cookie that is quite large and has decent flavor. Just make sure you can catch the crumbs or are somewhere you don't mind a small mess.
Oatmeal Cookie:
The oatmeal cookie had me pleasantly surprised. I'm not a big fan of oatmeal cookies, but I thought this one was pretty good. It had noticeably more moisture than the shortbread cookie and the flavor was more profound. More complex than the shortbread cookie, you can actually see and taste the different ingredients. I definitely thought this cookie was done better. For a shelf stable cookie in a ration, it was really good.
Accessories:
The peanut butter and strawberry jam were nothing exceptional but completely adequate. The jam wasn't quite like the jam you would get out of a jar at your local grocery store. But the taste was good and I thought it went well with the crackers. For some reason the salt packet in a couple of these meals had salt granules stuck to the outside of the package. The package still had salt inside and had no obvious holes. Not sure how it happened, possibly something in the packaging process. Not sure and not a very big deal to me, but worth noting. I didn't use the crushed red pepper because I wanted to try to mains on their own, but I think it would be a good addition to either one. The ration also included 2 sugar packets that didn't really go with anything in the meal. But if you happened to have some coffee on hand it could be a nice thing to have around. The fresh nap that I got ripped apart fairly easily. However, it was nicely damp and was nice to have to clean off after eating the meal. Napkin was cheap but works. The spoon thankfully was plenty tough. Snapping a cheap spoon in the middle of your meal can be quite frustrating so I appreciated not having to worry about that happening. Lastly, the ration included a packet of matches. I didn't happen to use them for anything, but if you were using this ration in any kind of survival situation matches are always a welcomed addition.
All-in-all I am very pleased with the HDR. I was impressed with the number of things included in the ration and relative quality of the food for such a low price. I can easily keep a couple cases around and have the ability to throw one in a day pack, take on a road trip, hiking, and just to have at the house with my preps in case of any kind of disaster or survival situation. I even threw one in my blind bag last weekend for the opener of duck season. I still love having MREs and I will continue to keep them on hand. But for the ease, simplicity, and low cost the HDR it is a great supplement to these rations and has quickly found its place at the Range395 house. What could you use the HDR for?
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