Homemade Meal Ready to Eat (MRE): Apple Oatmeal

Meal Ready to Eat or MRE is individual rationed foods in lightweight packaging that is a basic simple heat and eat meal. It is meant to be eaten when out in the field where a kitchen is not available.

I am updating my emergency preparedness supplies and wanted to add MREs to my staples. I currently have canned and dehydrated foods in my emergency containers, but wanted meals that needed basic heat and eat ability, so that in an actual emergency I could save time.

I went to my local Army Navy Surplus Store, saw the MREs selling for $6-8 a package, and thought that I could make my own. I wanted to start out with a simple basic food, so I made an apple oatmeal meal that could be eaten on the go.  The cost of this recipe is 18 cents a packet, but we usually use 2 packets a piece for a more filling meal, so the final cost is 36 cents.

Step 1: Gather and Mix Ingredients

Homemade MRE: Apple Oatmeal

This recipe will make a 1 cup serving

1/3 cup of instant oatmeal

1 tablespoon of dry milk

1 tablespoon of homemade dehydrated apples, cut small

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

2 small pinches of cinnamon (to your taste)

1 very small pinch of salt

          Step 2: Package for Long-Term Storage

I vacuumed sealed each serving of oatmeal and labeled with the directions below:

Boil 1 cup of water, add homemade instant apple oatmeal, and stir till thicken.