MRE Monday - Hash Browns With Bacon

Since we had such good luck with last week's review, we tried another potato side dish.

Nutritional Information:

Serving Size: 5.0 oz.
Calories: 220
Calories from fat: 100
Total Fat: 12g or 18% DV ( Daily Value )
Cholesterol: 15mg or 5% DV
Sodium: 550mg or 23% DV
Total Carbohydrates: 22g or 7% DV
Dietary Fiber: 2g or 8% DV
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 8g
Vitamin A: 0% DV
Vitamin C: 15% DV
Calcium:  2% DV
Iron: 2%

Expectations:

My hope was that it would be like the local breakfast shop that serves my favorite hash browns. These are MREs, so I'm hoping that they are pretty good.

 

Realities:

Row was the first one to try the hash browns and on the first bite, he was a little disappointed that he couldn't taste any bacon. He dutifully took another small bite, and decided that he didn't like them. Later on during dinner, I asked him if that was the only thing to eat while camping, would he eat it? He said that he would, but only if there was nothing else.

Red Ant was more discriminating and told us that he didn't like it even before taking a bite. The small bite that he did take only confirmed his prejudice. I am really going to be surprised when he says that he likes something...and I'll order a lot of it too!

MIL was over for dinner, and she was thrilled to sample the potatoes. She summed up her critique that "There's hardly any potato  you can feed me that I won't like."

Sweetheart noticed the smell of cheese and bacon, but the package didn't mention any cheese in the MRE. She liked the potato texture and commented that it was really good. She liked it.

I was rather disappointed in the whole experience. The hash browns were firm, but covered in a creamy potato goo that had a slight chemical/preservative taste. I actually prefer rehydrated hash browns, and the texture didn't match up to my expectations. The bacon was lackluster. The hash brown's color was an off-white color, which in my mind equates to old.

Final Thoughts:

In this case, I would recommend making your own MRE pouches with dehydrated potatoes and possibly some dehydrated onions. A trimmed down mylar bag with an oxygen eater would also give you more bang for your buck, and a better product. The only downside is the time to hydrate the homemade MRE.

Stars: * (1)