Made From Scratch MRE Meals for ONLY $1!
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- Опубликовано: 9 сен 2024
- I put myself up to the ultimate challenge with my Freeze Dryer today! I am making Mountain House MRE meals not only taste better, but also for MUCH cheaper! Follow along to see if I can keep my budget to $1/per serving, and don't make the mistake I made!
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Plus the electricity, plus the mylar bags, plus the gas to go to the store
And the cost of the freeze dryer, amortized on a cost-per-meal basis.
plus the o2 absorbers, plus the heat sealing machine, plus the food processor and energy costs to cook the food in first place, and if you consider how much time was spent for all that ...
And a final thought: besides of all costs which truely calculated might be finally even higher than the costs for any ready made meals, all contents here were already anyhow pre-processed and plastic packed and who knows from where transported food items, which were twice again processed (cooking plus freeze drying and rehydrating). Compared to food you get from a nearby farmers market or harvest yourself from your garden, prepare it anyhow at home and sun dry it, the food you finally eat at the end of this freeze dry process contains surely less vitamins and has consumed a bizarre amount of energy, creating an unimaginable carbon dioxide footprint. And about the huge amount of (mainly plastic) waste I don't even want to think ...
It might be an exciting hobby and a lot of fun, but economically as well as ecologically seen it makes surely not much sense to follow that path.
@@stevestruthers6180 Shush, youre ruining her clickbait title with your logic. The freeze dryer is only ~$2500, it can totally pay for itself in a year...not
We took your list but tripled the ground turkey and doubled the black beans. It definitely added to the cost but I believe it was worth it. This gave us individual meals with one cup rice and one cup fajita mix each. It takes about 1.5 cups of hot water per meal and 10 minutes of waiting after water added and mixed. I don't think that Mountain House could have done it any better.
@@JAD1DAD nice job!! Sounds so good 👏 I love being able to make them myself and control the ingredients
With the cost of electricity in your labor and everything else not just the cost at the store
32 hours at lets say 15 cents a kwh. 7.2 dollars in electricity. Some places will cost more than that some less. 16 for the groceries (i know your budget was 12). 3k for the harvest right. Lets say you make 3000 of these in a year, thats 333 days of the harvest right running, so realistically a year. Now lets actually round the budget up to 20 per cycle for 12 meals. per meal for 3000 meals. Plus the cost of .24 for each mylar bag. The cost of the tray liners and lids. And the cost of pre cooking and pre freezing. No additional cost for time spent. $3.59 per meal actual cost.
A lot cheaper then 12 bucks
@@user-ih3fg5zz2o Wrong. It was supposed to be 12 meals for $12 or $1 per meal. Not even close.
Depends on how much money are you willing to spend up front with infrastructure. Santan solar normal has used 250W panels running at 75% (187W) for 50. If you have the real estate for 100 panels (5K plus taxes and shipping) you will generating about up to 3K worth of electricity every long summer day. Spend more on the biggest model to maximize production schedules. That should lower it to about 70 cents per load.
Freeze drying is great if you have a garden and want to preserve the most amount of nutrients in the least amount of space/weight. But if you won't have a way to heat water or access to clean water in the future, you might be out of luck. I mean you can still eat the freeze dried food unhydrated like bannna /strawberry chips, but the lasagna won't be the same.
hi Robert, everyone seems to be criticising your post, BUT I love it, i'm a geek so if you hadn't done the math I would have. To take this a step further if she makes these meals over the course of many years...each year the price will drop and the cost of the MRE (in the store) will increase. Of course so will the price of the bags, electricity (we have had a 40% bump in PGE costs this year alone) etc. No matter what this is much cheaper. than the $9 or whatever it was listed for. That said often I look for the 10# can's of their items and just measure them out and while they didn't have this exact meal I priced out a couple others and they came out to be less than $3 each. Finally since the poster is doing a lot more freeze drying than only these meals the cost of the unit itself will cease to be an issue once it pays for itself for food storage assuming she is using it for other things. Over all I think the poster did a great job and I am looking for a used unit myself as I have a huge garden and want to freeze dry my own meals... Robert again thanks for the inital post, it's important to realize that things cost money even if they are made at home...nothing is free, really not even our time. take care
Nice. Great video! When you calculate the cost for your MREs, be sure to also include the cost of the mylar bag, oxygen absorber, and power estimate for running your machine to get the true cost. Take care!
I've done the math on mine - It's about $10 per batch with mine. But I have very expensive power.
Don't forget the cost of the machine = $4,000
This is one of those weird videos recommended to me. I wasn't even looking for it. It sure is a good idea and I'm glad I watched it!
same >_
So I've definitely always been fascinated by freeze drying. I know click bait titles exist for a reason; but how many premade MRE's could you buy for the price of a freeze drier?
This is like those woodworking videos about making $2M a year in a shed, but yet they're rocking tons of high grade equipment.
Still subscribed for when I can afford a freeze drier, as they seem awesome and as long as they can last a few years will eventually save me money.
@@chuppath1ngy thanks for following along - I try to show all of the uses for a freeze dryer and why it is a worthwhile investment for those who want to preserve foods 😍😍😍 but i definitely get your point
Mountain house is crazy expensive. I have two in my truck all the time. You’ve done good her lady
@@tomevans4402 thank you!! I love making my own 😁😁
Most people have no idea what their actual cost is. Your actual cost is probably twice once you calculate in your other expenses. It’s always going to be better and cost less when you do it yourself. The real question is what is your time worth. I love diy and just saved $1000 by doing my own brakes. Buying and using one of these isn’t a once and done. You need to use this machine a lot to get your value. Also you have to be;eve the world is going to end. In a modern world I make and eat fresh with some left overs.
A neat way to check if they are done is to use a thermal imager, it will show cold spots if it's not done. Amazon has some that connect to your phone.
@@HollyArms1 ok I should try that it would have definitely saved me some hassle! Thanks 😊
She is amazing! I love that she uses the freeze dryer. Believe me it’s easy to buy one, and let it sit unused. I’m going to use mine.
@@rce2553 tell me what you make 😄😄😄
@@DIYfreezedry Hi. When 2020 Covid started I bought a lot of canned chicken that hasn’t been eaten. Which is so much more expensive now 4 years later. I don’t want to lose any of it, so that’s my first priority , freeze drying Canned chicken, I also have a few cases of canned albacore tuna, but I expect it doesn’t freeze dry as easily as chicken. Haven’t seen freeze drying tuna on RUclips. Have a great day!
I've never even heard of a freeze dryer before. This is a first.
@@rce2553
How’s your freeze drying going? I’m here to encourage you to do it! Hehe! 😊
Cost of food $16.00, cost of freeze dryer $3000.00. Equals $251.33 per serving for 12 servings.
You'd have to make 1000 of these meals to achieve a per-meal cost of $3.00 for the freeze dryer, and whatever the per-meal cost is for the food.
My immediate thought, _“This lady is Superwoman!”_ ❤
I loved this one! Please do more like this!
@@erics.786 thank you!! I’ll definitely do more
Even after you add in the cost of the electricity used and the mylar bags it's a savings. Plus you control the ingredients.
@@kimgage4354 that’s the best part I can make them how I like them - and use the freeze dryer for SO many other things. Totally worth it to me 😁😁😁
Loving what you come up with! MRE such a great hack!
@@carebear8146 thanks 😊 turned out great!
Yay for nice Alaska weather 🎉
Thank you ❤
I love the detail you use and explain as you use your FD machine! I learn SO much from you! Keep up the good work! You are appreciated! Hugs from Georgia!
@@scarleenswalker7923 so sweet thank you!! I’m glad my videos have helped 🥰🥰
@@DIYfreezedry I’m a new freeze dryer…..so much to learn. There’s so much that is not in the manual. I eagerly await your videos as you go step by step with the settings and explain the whys. I’ve learned more about the settings and how to use the machine from you than I’ve learned from reading. I learn better from watching hands in. THANK YOU !
Such an informative video. I appreciate you showing youre mistakes also, as we all learn from them. I didnt know about using the green leaf, to bypass some of the functions. Thanks so much for sharing that :).
@@user-cm4sy1ct7q thanks for watching I’m so glad you found it helpful!
June was our hottest month here in north central Arkansas, temps were just over 100 degrees, but with the heat index it was 110s.
Air conditioner is required here.
@@mikeelder6298 wow! That is hot 🥵 hopefully it cools down soon
Wait, you did not factor on the cost of the mylar bag, oxygen absorbers, and the cost of electricity and the purchase of the freeze dryer machine and supplies or trays, liners, and the plastic covers. Your actual cost is very misleading. Second what is your actual shelf life estimate.
I hope you continue to add more videos of homemade MREs.
@@iwillitryican I will work on more for sure, I love making them
Exactly what i needed, thank you for all the details it helps.
@@flatcat101 oh awesome I’m glad to hear! Thanks for watching
This was the perfect video. We are getting ready to head out for a month in the camper van. Going form SF Florida to the west coast. I’m about to get to work
@@tom_greenery thank you!! Have so much fun - that sounds like a fun adventure. The FD MRE meals will be perfect for your trip
@@DIYfreezedry dog food. The fact that you just made 12 meals for my dog for $15 is great as well. That only $70 month. Crapo dried kibble is $100 month
Alaska looks beautiful
Cost of the machine, the 12+ hours of electricity, the bags and absorption packs……. Your cost is misleading
Ya was gonna say the machine is $3,000 or more and that's not including the cost of your electricity.
Only up to a point. The machine pays for itself after you use it so many times. I have seen people also do cost on 1 cycle. It isn't bad
Electricity is $2-$6 depending on location. People are good at making excuses.
Freeze dried meals can cost anywhere between $10-$18 depending on brand and are always limited to whatever ingredients and recipes they have, this offers you much more direct control. Yeah it’s a big initial investment but if you do a lot of backpacking, overlanding, or food storage this can easily save around 50-70% at least down the road
@Hman0762 no way running that machine to point her room gets hot windows need open for 24 plus the extra she needed say 30 hours and it cost 2 bucks.
I've done a taste test of those mountain house meals, they are high carb, very little protein and taste like cardboard. The best thing you can do is buy the #10 cans of meat and make up your own. I tried the fried rice meal and chicken teriyaki. I couldn't eat the entire baggie.
@@vickieadams6648 it’s nice to be able to make your own, you can make them high in protein and taste great! The canned meat is a good idea too
Girl , you are doing great.
@@lindaorozco4595 🥰 thx!
I live in Alabama. My fd is in the laundry room. Even without anything else running my room sometimes overheats. I put a small fan blowing on the fd on the side with the vent. That keeps me from getting the "room too warm" message MOST of the time. Thanks for that trick with the leaf, i did not know that. Made the same mistake once. Looks like a recipe i will enjoy as well. Plus, your servings are probably larger than commercial ones.
What scale do you use? What do you recommend? Thanks great content
@10xshooters I'm sorry, I missed this question. I use a digital, smooth top scale. Smooth glass top, so no seams to get grimy.
sadly most of us don't got a spare 3 to 7 grand to get starting with a harvest right or the other Cube freeze dryer and the mylar bags, sealer, and so on. would be nice but just not in the cards for many of us. not to mention have to live where you can run it since it is loud and often has to run 2+ days making tons of noise. so apartments are a no go.
Five years ago I was paying half that much for mountain house. The Can mountain house what’s going for about 15 to $20 a can now they’re well over $50 again
@@xman577 oh wow! Ugh prices have gotten out of control
At about $3000.00 for a dehydrator, you did not include in your price per serving. You have to make enough pouches to feed the US army to make it pay for itself.
@@curtistolman5830 We found a 'Large' at CAL Ranch outfitter for $2800. She has the 'Medium'. That is a lot of money, but compared to the Start Up costs of canning, it doesn't look so bad. With a Freeze Dryer , unlike canning, you can also make a lot of different products to sell. My wife is selling hundreds of dollars of candy per week! So you get an excellent food preserver and something that generates income. That sounds like a win to me.
Also, freeze drying is so much easier than canning. There is substantial saving in being able to preserve the, fresh foods, that we often get in bulk. If I could send pics I would, of what our pantry already looks like after only a few months.
I guess she doesn't know in advance how much she will use it. Maybe one could make an estimation based on the warranty of the machine and say that one freeze dries a pot of food per week for the lifetime of the freeze dryer? I imagine that it will be hard to calculate.
Every time you run a batch, the cost of the machine goes down.
Wow 27 hours that's a long time
Fun bounce house! The MRE looks great
@@FIREWEEDthreads the kids love it!
Plus $2,300 for the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer.
Love your video , well done 👍
@@dawn9780 thanks so much 😍
If you're fortunate enough to buy and own your own freeze dryer you'll be able to make survival food at a fraction of the cost if you were to buy it outright.
You didn't seem to have rinsed your rice which you should always do before cooking. Aside from that, if you have the freeze dryer and supplies already, this is a good idea.
Knor rice side $1.28. Pouch of chicken $1.50. Light weight, cheep, no work.
you forgot
the prep costs.
the cost of your machine,
electric to run the machine.
your time costs.
other?
i would just like to find a way to get boiling water with no flame on the trail. as i like mt house better than mre’s. but a mre has a heater.
Ugh I’m the opposite with the dryer room temp. Only place I had to put was garage. I live in SWFL. It definitely takes a little longer for mine lol. Sometimes garage is upper 90s
@@tom_greenery my in-laws in Arizona have the same problem, theirs is in the garage too 😅
You are the BEST freeze dry content on the internet! Obsessed 😍 keep it up pretty girl!
@@cassiesmith6315 🥰🥰🥰 thanks friend you’re the best!
I live in Illinois. MREs must be a thing in areas other than Illinois. Don't ever remember seeing them around here in any stores.
They are not "MREs". They are freeze dried meals. Really just the entree, no coffee, tea or dessert.
Loved your vid! I do the same thing, and I'd like to share a couple of things I've "learned" with you if you don't mind. I found that if I spread my food "piles" out, they FD much faster and more thoroughly. This may require more FD cycles to get them all done, so I'm not sure if it would be any more efficient than your method, but I don't have to do the "weigh/redry" method? I also go so far as to pre weigh a serving before and after, which then lets me calculate how much water I will need to add to "properly" re hydrate the meal, and avoid the too dry, too soupy situation. I noticed some critical comments below, but I do this so I can make meals the "I" like and I know what the quality of the ingredients are going in as well. Also, after a bit of experimentation, you will get a handle on how big to make each serving as well! This way you can tailor the serving size to make both the bigs and the littles happy!! I know for some folks the cost of the FDer and all other supplies may be prohibitive. A lot depends on family size and your families activities. If you do a lot of camping/backpacking and the likes, I find I can't beat this method. And finally, I see many ads for "survival" or "SHTF" food bundles for sale. If you look at what they include, they are mostly carb heavy concoctions. With this system, you can make, and stash for emergencies, far better quality meals, and SO many other treats (like FD fruits, etc) that all others can not hold a candle to. So, keep up the great work, and for others out there, if you can afford a FDer, I really don't think you will regret it!!
@@user-bf5cx8bu5v thank you for sharing!! Those are some great tips 👏 I sure love being able to whatever I want in these meals, it’s fun to customize to whatever you like
Purchasing a FD would be a huge expense for me but I can see myself using this couple times a week when I’ve made big batches of say soups, spaghetti, tacos, etc and if I have extra veggies n don’t want to waste them or for those times one comes across great sales and for me putting things in a FD would be more convenient than dragging out the canning jars n heating up water or pressure cooker for only a couple jars(which doesn’t last as long). Making veggie powders, etc. All forms of putting up foods takes a certain amount of energy costs and container cost comes in many forms of storage/reusable storage so Mylar bags are not a necessity for those who think it’s to costly. IMO😊.
Weather in such a beautiful country
I've wanted one of those machines forever but they are just so expensive 😢
I both agree and disagree with *Noneyabusiness911.*
I fully agree that very few people are calculating in the cost of every single thing that goes into creating one's own homemade versions of a Mountain House freeze-dried meal, or a MealsReadyToEat, aka the ubiquitous MRE from the various militaries across the planet.
The first incredibly serious question that you must ask yourself and be brutally honest when evaluating your answer is why you are undertaking this enormous project. And, recreating the equivalent of an MRE full-day's set of three meals in a vacuum sealed heavy-duty mylar bag is no inconsiderable task.
As far as this ex-military, 70-year-old fart is concerned, the bulk of the three homemade meal entrees has to offer sufficient calories and balanced nutrition to allow a hard-working adult man, or growing teenaged boy, expend from 4,000 calories to 7,000 calories per day without losing muscle mass. And be capable of sustaining such energy expenditures for weeks at a time without either constipation or diarrhea becoming a debilitating issue. Fat in a proper percentage for optimal human health is the key.
I can think of at least 6 valid reasons for creating *complete!* freeze-dried meals. The first is to take food to one's job for lunchtime so that one is not spending insane amounts of one's yearly budget on eating out on high-quality local take-out/delivery foods, or even worse, eating a steady diet of unhealthy local fast food. This is where this particular video in all likelihood has its most useful application.
The reason that most so-called preppers purchase a freeze dryer is to recreate military MRE's. And, that only makes sense if you are truly dedicated to doing so. If you are, and the commitment is real; then making one's own custom-to-an-individual-person's, or family's palate, complete, 24-hour, 3 meals and 2 snacks worth homemade MRE's including all of the wipes, toilet paper, condiments, and eating utensils; starts to make economic sense.
The only two sizes of Harvest Right freeze dryers that make economic sense for creating large quantities of nutritious, healthy, good-tasting complete all-day meals are the large and extra-large models with the newer inserts that add an additional tray to each model size of freeze dryer. The large model now comes equipped with an insert that accepts 6 large trays instead of the previous 5 trays. The extra-large model now holds 7 trays instead of the previous 6 trays.
To make complete meals a worthwhile endeavor, you have got to think in bulk quantities of foodstuffs and scale as far as making enough individual complete meals so that one has the option of eating that particular meal many times over the course of months, or years.
Then, once your freeze-dried meals are made, you have to be able to securely store large quantities of those bulky homemade MRE's in a cool, dark, dry space that is vermin free. The closer to freezing, 32° Fahrenheit, that any MRE, homemade, military, or commercial military-style, is kept, the longer they will last without the nutritive values of the foodstuffs in the mylar bags degrading. A USGI military MRE that is newly manufactured and immediately placed in dry, dark storage between 34°-37° Fahrenheit has an approximate non-degraded lifespan of 25-30 years. The homemade versions should have that ultimate storage end goal as the result, or else I must ask myself, *"Why the f~~k am I spending good money and inordinate amounts of my life's time recreating better tasting, healthier, and more complete versions of a Mountain House freeze-dried meal or a military MRE if I'm going to waste my efforts away through improper storage?"*
A Harvest Right XL freeze dryer with all of the accompanying accouterments and accessories to allow one to freeze dry foodstuffs around the clock is going to set one back approximately $9,000-$12,000. This would include a spare vacuum pump; at least 2 extra sets of stainless steel trays; lids; corner stackers; tray dividers; non-stick silicone mats; bulk pre-cut parchment paper; a decent sized chamber vacuum sealer with 2 heat bars for double sealing; 5-mil and 7-mil mylar bags in various sizes; a large bore funnel with a large square head on a stand for filling bags; oxygen absorbent packs; desiccant packs; a high torque blender with 32oz, 48oz, and 64oz carafes; a large capacity food processor; and a 6qt to 8qt stand mixer.
I'm a now retired professional chef with 22 years of experience who ate a boatload of C-rations, 1st Gen MRE's, and Mountain House freeze-dried foods over the course of 3 years in the military and a decade of spending at least 60-150 days per year outdoors camping, backpacking, rock climbing, mountain climbing, ice climbing, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. Most of those meals were barely palatable, and the C-rats were usually post-Korean War to Vietnam War vintage. I served from 1976-1979 as a 91B medic at Ft. Lewis, Washington.
I can see the value in driving a less expensive car or truck and spending the monies on a new car instead on running a couple of dedicated freeze dryers to put away large quantities of nutritious foods that one actually looks forward to eating because they suit one's tastes and desires. But, I will reiterate this point again, which is that freeze-dried foodstuffs are incredibly bulky, although they are also incredibly light.
A month's worth of 24-hour, 3 complete meals and 2 snacks homemade MRE's are going to occupy a lot more space than military MRE's are going to occupy. Probably someplace between 1.5 times to 2.5 times the volume. If you can't or won't make the space, and you claim to have purchased the freeze dryer because you want to be ready for the coming Apocalypse, then you are just kidding yourself as to why you purchased a freeze dryer in the first place.
Love the video and then idea. however buying Mountain House in bulk saves me all the time and effort. MH is one of my favorite tasting brands- I am sure yours is or could be even better. keep up the video's it is a great hobby.
You're supposed to throughly rinse the rice first before cooking. Rice absorbs arsenic from pesticides and chemicals in the soil.
Turkey chicken fajitas ???
Biggest cost is the freeze Dryer. About 5 thousand plus?
What about the thousands of dollars it cost for the freeze dryer?
Everyone keeps saying, "What about the cost of the freeze dryer?" She already had it before she decided to make the MREs. She may have already gotten her money's worth from it before she decided to make MREs. I've had a freeze dryer for 3 years. I've definitely gotten my money's worth out of it. When I make something in it now, I don't consider the cost of the FD as part of the cost.
@@tonyavermillion2364 that’s exactly how I look at it - when I’m making new things I just count my direct out of pocket expenses, I already have a stock pile of Mylar bags / o2 absorbers / the machine itself. So I just count the foods and stuff I need to make the recipe.
@@DIYfreezedry
Yes, but we don't.
And the cost of the freeze dryer, wow.
Real simple.
Just learn to can.
Much cheaper,easier and faster
You have the initial cost of jars, lids, cooker. But that still cheaper then the freeze drier alone.
But if you want to spend more time and use a freeze drier. Then do it.
@@IvanhoeWolfe-zn6fc very good points, I’m going to start learning and doing canning 👏
@@DIYfreezedry I live off grid. And I've toyed with the idea of freeze-drying.
But the energy cost is just way out there.
I must thank you for your part.
12 hours to freeze dry the food is a lot of energy. No less the freezing before which is another 24 hours.
I do have a freezer and many use to make ice or occasionally to keep things cold.
Where I am dehydration by sun and wind is great. But I lose a lot of flavor.
But for me I did find something interesting.
If I. Buy frozen vegetables or freeze them.
( Only works in winter for me)
And I dehydrate them . They are very much like freeze dry.
Understand that my winters only get to plus 10 degrees.
It's many the winds that dry things.
I can dehydrate year round.
My summers get to 120 degrees.
I started canning a few years ago. Always afraid to take that step.
But canning you can reuse the jars and lids.
Now. You will be told you can't reuse lids.
But, really it's like new lids. If it don't vacuum. It's not going to work.
I've pretty much have canned anything you can think of.
Some say you can't can beans. But you can buy can beans as you did in your video
Also. It wasn't until I learned to can. That I finally was able to make proper beans.
And instead of over a day from bag to bowl.
It takes about an hour.
Here is how.
Rise beans.
Fill pressure cooker 1/3 full of water.
Fill cooker with beans until half full.
Put on high with weight on.
Once it starts rattling.
Let rattle for 15 minutes.
Turn off burner.
Remove pot from stove.
Remove weight.
Once it stops whistling remove lid.
Kidney, navy or whatever beans are done.
To can just beans.
Put in jars to about an 1.5 inches from top.
Add water ( I use water they were cooked in) to half inch over beans. You may have floaters don't worry.
Wipe edge of jar.
Put lids on.
Put in pressure cooker with water half the height of jars or less 2 inches works.
Put lid on with weight.
Turn on high until it rattles.
Then reduce heat ( take practice on where sweet spot is) until you have a rattle a second or better.
Then let rattle for 45 minutes
Remove from heat.
Let cool.
Once cool. Check seal.
If sealed your good for years.
If not find what it didn't seal. And do again.
After 2nd time try a new lid.
If still not by 3rd time. It's the jar, or something unseen.
I find things with grease and oils can cause sealing problems.
Just part of it.
If you find a whole batch is not sealed. With anything. You may not be pressuring long enough.
Somethings require up to hour and half . Like meats.
Another problem I had was I really wanted a no gasket pressure cooker. But they are hard to get. In total I have 4 pressure cookers. But and only run 2 big ones and my small one at once. That all that fits on a. Normal stove.
When I can. I can all day. Switching between my 3 big canners.
I do most of my canning in a two day period for the year. And that's my dinners .
Then to use.
Well sometimes it strait out of the jar.
Other times it's added to something.
Or put in a pan and put in my solar oven during March to December.
Oh. I've never canned Eggs. And frankly id advice not to .
They are Best in Thier shells until used.
Brown and green shells keep over a year in dark places. No refrigerator required.
Store bought and white eggs last up to 9 months this way.
Refrigerator eggs only came about after refrigerators and it reduces the eggs life.
Also washing them reduces egg life.
Of course wash just before using
And you should always break an egg in a bowl before using
Though I admit. I just cook them or use them.
You can smell a bad egg.
Keep your canning out of sunlight.
But. I will also tell you I've had jars in sunlight long periods of time and be fine.
If seal is broken or of you see something abnormal. Discard what's inside. Just don't chance it.
New guides tell you to use a dishwasher for your jars.
As long as you clean then good. A sink wash is fine.
Basicly they want you to sterilize the jars.
Well when you are canning. It's sterilizeing everything inside the pressure cooker.
People have been canning since Napoleon.
Napoleon actually paid for canning to be invented. He wanted a way to keep food for his military. So he paid for someone to come up with it.
And someone did.
At the time. He wasn't looking for canning. Just a way to preserved food.
Since then a lot has been learned and better canners have been made.
But. The rubber seal canners have been around since the 1970s that I know of.
Lol. I remember my mother canning appercot jam. Because we had a appercot tree. She only did it that one year.
If you buy a rubber seal canner. But from a known maker.
If you buy a no seal. Metal on metal. I've never seen a company that was bad.
They are pretty good .
If I could receive UPS FEDEX. Id but one worth the extra money.
The no seals will last for generations.
@@IvanhoeWolfe-zn6fc you have awesome canning tips thank you for sharing! Thats so helpful!
Most people cant afford a freeze dryer.
Yikes!! I was curious and learned that an average home unit is $2-4K!!
I always add 10 hours dry time for anything.
Considering the cost of all that equipment to get that "$1 per bag" freeze dried home food, you can buy A LOT of Mountain House stuff, starting with that $2,400 nice freeze drier, then the vacuum unit (up to $300), the bags for it, the electricity for running it 24+ hours, etc. You can have more than 2 servings per 'dish' especially if you buy freeze dried foods in the #10 cans which have up to 20 or more servings of some items. We'll just stick with dehydration and vac bagging rock hard.
Awesome Thank you!
@@Jodan2531 thanks for watching 😄
Love this and am totally doing it! Love all your videos!❤️
@@MeganHulsey-o1l thanks for watching 🥰🥰
I can find free power, my only issue is not having a freeze dryer
How much were the bags and oxygen absorbers per meal ?
I'd bought reg turkey the taco blend is loud loud
It would be best if you washed your white rice before cooking.
Do you prepare these meals just for your family or are you allowed to sell them? I would think you could offset any incurred costs by selling your freeze dried meals. 😊
@@nealnc07 these I keep for my family - to be able to sell them since I’m cooking food I have to prepare it in a commercial kitchen which I don’t have :/ I do sell freeze dried candy on the side and have recouped the cost of my freeze dryer within a year of owning it 😁😁
I wish you would cover the amount of water to rehydrate without being mushy. I’m assuming you did not weigh pre and post freeze drying.
And when SHTF can you defend you food supply?
Nicely done
Do you have a recipe written out for this? Just got a Harvest Right and want to try this.
Great idea but freeze dryers are so expensive
I can't find the measurements in the video. What size pkg of corn and the pepper and onion mix?
At least a dollar a bag and $2,000 for the freeze dryer. Plus wear and tear and electricity.
And you had to run your freeze dryer for how many hours and packaging, plus additional ingredients and packaging so how much are you really coming out ahead??
Your idia is good, lots of videos on YT about this, your food cost isn't correct...
The cost of the electricity, the mylar bags ect. Still a nice video and idea.
Thank you for the video.
The machines are great but super expensive and you also have to factor in the electricity, Mylar bags and the heat sealer.
The Walmart great brand is something I highly suggest everyone stays away from. The ingredient list is mind boggling.
Nice video, good info 👍🏼
I have never been to a grocery store that sold backpacking food.
Does a freezdryer use more electricity that a dehydrator ?
@@frankenstein3163 yes it does it’s more similar to a large appliance like a fridge. Averages $3-$5/24 hours of use depending on electric costs
@@DIYfreezedry Cool . way better than I was thinking. TY :)
Well??? M.H. aren't really MREs. I like where your going but a 4k F.D. and the electricity to run the machine adds up to a lot of Mountain House meals. But don't stop. If you already have the resources then why not make the most of it? Oh, forgot to add the cost of the vacuum pump oil that needs to be changed frequently.
MH pouches are just the entree. We need tea, coffee, snacks, dessert and a moist towelette for the whole meal.
Please consider washing your rice. The rinse water is good for hair rinse. The rice can be stored on the floor around bare feet, bugs, and mice. Recent recall for rice due to mouse droppings. Thanks for the ideas. Peace
@@heidieho4470 awesome good info thx for sharing! Def don’t want mice droppings in rice 😅😅😅
Nice video but You’re only factoring in the cost of the ingredients. Not the sunk cost of the machine, the cost of electricity, the cost of materials to bag and seal it etc.
Great vid, but a MRE is a Meal Ready to Eat. You don't need to add water to an MRE. What you have is a Freeze Dried Meal. Good, and very useful, but not an MRE. Still, a thumbs up from me and a subscribe! Keep up the content, you are a smart lady.
Can you ever over dry?
@@angelika_munkastrap4634 nope, it won’t hurt anything to go longer. Just puts extra wear on your machine but it fine to go longer
All the oil from your hands when you pick up the food to toss into a mylar forlong term? I understand its "budget" but buying it off the shelf will be promised to last longer. Also the initial investment and if it breaks is to off putting.
What was the cost of the dehydrating machine and how much of an electric bill was used for the 30 hours of running your machine?
32 hours at lets say 15 cents a kwh. 7.2 dollars in electricity. Some places will cost more than that some less. 16 for the groceries (i know your budget was 12). 3k for the harvest right. Lets say you make 3000 of these in a year, thats 333 days of the harvest right running, so realistically a year. Now lets actually round the budget up to 20 per cycle for 12 meals. per meal for 3000 meals. Plus the cost of .24 for each mylar bag. The cost of the tray liners and lids. And the cost of pre cooking and pre freezing. No additional cost for time spent. $3.59 per meal actual cost.
The more the machinebis used, the more that cost is mitigated
@@bairfreedom yeah that's why I presented math of using it for a year straight.
How much was you dehydrated cost
No vacuum sealing ? Expires in 2 weeks
@@joelstanhope7231 if you use Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers that gives you a 20+ year shelf life stored in good conditions
You would have been a little closer to you $1 goal if you had used dried beans instead of canned
I'm new visiting your channel. I was wondering about drying the oranges with the skins on. What are the reasons for that? Thank you
@@tenmilechicks if you slice them thin enough you can eat them with the skin on, but mine were too thick and still bitter so when I eat them I just bite them and don’t eat the rind. The slices are good to scoop into yogurt!
.. well ya, if I had a $15K machine, I would save money. haha.
Would like one ya.
I remember when thos only caust 5 dollars
i love the idea and the recipe idea. I think I'll do something similar, but maybe I'll do ones with diced chicken.
On a side note - I slightly cringe every time you call these a "MRE Meal" - as in a "Meal ready to eat meal" - it's not "ready to eat", and it's kinda redundant. :D
But that's ok, I'm being overly picky. It's a great video anyways! I'm glad you show the weighing method to figure out of it's done or not. not every Freeze dryer shows that step.
Good video but technically freeze dried isn't MRE!
Mamacita ✌
ok soo wow, good stuff here, then the mice counters cliked in, bag cost, machine cost, time costs, then electricity cost, gheesh, do i keep 4-12 in my bugout bag?..vid was entertaining and soo american..minus the h20, and boil, or h2o weight to carry home...i may do better with 6 cans of tuna, a couple bottles of h20, even breadsticks, and vitamens, and a bag of chips, gheesh, less drama..minus 34oo in cost vs, my minumal , ramen, vit, chips, sardines, saltines, yeah am i overboard, or would beef jerkey with cheese help/
Meal Ready to Eat
Not add water....
I like what you did. But let's consider the cost of the $3k freeze dryer, the bags and the accessories for your 12 meals. If you are going to do this for garden veggies, maybe buying things like a whole cow or whole hog, then yes. It is no where close to $1 per meal. But I do appreciate the video.