Wise Company - Prepared Meals

In the box

Today I prepared my sample of Wise Company Chili Macaroni.  Via USPS I received an entree meal, and a catalog.

I was a fan of Man Woman Wild; and during Doomsday Preppers I see Ruth Hawke, hawking Wise food during commercials.  She extols the quality - and seems lately every prepper featured has a couple of the familiar tubs showcased in the background.

After my sample of GoFoods! emergency meals I was excited to try out what I consider a big name in emergency rations.   My judging criteria remains: Would I rather eat an MRE?

In the Bag

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF):  Yes, I would rather eat an MRE from a taste and 'feeling satisfied in the portion size'.  Taste - well...quite honestly this tasted akin to a very old can of Chef Boy Ardee.       Flat flavours; I picked up tomato and the starch of the pasta - not much else. I used about a tablespoon of my favourite hot sauce (Trader Joe's) to make the meal interesting. Telling:  I asked my 11 year old if he could eat this in an emergency.  His reply was "Only if we have hot sauce in our bug out bag!"









Details - Made in USA, 28 Feb 13.  100% Vegetarian
Serving Size: 1 Cup - Servings per container - 4, except I'm sure I could get 5 if pressed.
Calories: 250
Fat: 2.5g
Sodium: 970!!!!!!!!!!
Carbs: 47g
Fiber: 6g
Sugars: 8g
Protein: 11g

On the Spoon

Carrying Gelled Fuel

In a perfect world, we'd carry flamethrowers.  In a real world, we have to carry what we can in case life gets cold.  Today I filled plastic drinking straws with gelled fuel.  Carrying a straw with me, as an emergency fire starter, gives another edge.  While I've shown you how to use wax, lint, and cotton to make fire-starters, I prefer to have plan A, B, and C when it comes to keeping warm in an emergency situation.

First - gather supplies:

From Amazon.com I picked up a bottle of gelled fuel.
From my garage I found curved needle-nose pliers
From the cupboard I found the straws (our pack was from Ikea, but any standard drinking draw should work)
And lastly, one of the dozen or so disposable lighters I keep around the house, and in the cars.

Here's the how-to video, followed by a close-up of how the end of the straw closes.




















When finished - cut (or burn) a hole in the straw, and pour the gel onto whatever it is you want to burn. This little bit of fuel gel might mean the difference between shivering and staying alive.  Thanks for reading!

Go Foods - Emergency Foods

Surfing the net looking for emergency food leaves me mind-numb.  Among the many choices - a product my digestive system is all-too familiar.  The gut-buster....Ready to Eat Meals. Side note, the reason they are called "Meals, Ready to Eat" is because on packing slips, forms, inventory sheets, etc, the noun is listed first - thus, as a supply guy is taking stock, he'll find something like this:

• Meals, Ready to Eat, 10ea 

That's 10 Ready to Eat meals.  As opposed to other meal options like T-Rations (T-Rats) which required prep from sitting over boiling water, to actual 'cooking'.   My google searches brought a lot of results, from freeze-dried type to self-proclaimed "Gourmet" rations.   To being to get a handle on what's out there, I coughed up $9.95 for a sample kit from Go Foods.  The package of two boxes arrived within a couple of days.  What you see here is the contents of just ONE of the boxes; labelled with identical contents.

  Now - I'd be remiss if I neglected to mention their awesome GoForces! program, offering substantial savings to members of the Armed forces, First responders, and Dept of Defense employees - just to name a few groups.  Check out the link to the program here.


Armed with half-bottle of my favourite hot sauce (see image), a bunch of water, heat, a pot, and bowls, I set out to answer the question - "Would I rather eat a MRE".

*Note: the package labels did not match one-another.  The explanation letter is pictured above.


Creamy Pasta Roma
BLUF:  Creamy, almost a little citrus flavour - I can pick up the sweetness of the tomatoes, and tang of the Parmesan cheese.  Very high sodium content.  Definitely smokey, too.  I enjoyed it best with a dash of hot sauce.   Better than almost any MRE I can remember; I'm positive it's better than any T-Rat.   For sure would turn to this in an emergency - but also would pack it for camping and eat this by choice.  WITH hot sauce.   I WOULD NOT rather eat a MRE.

Details:  eFoods Gold Label.  Vegetarian, manufactured 10 Jan 13.
Serving size: 1 Cup - 4 verified* servings per pack.
Calories: 240 - 50 from Fat
Sodium: 800mg
Carbs: 41g
Dietary Fiber: 2g
Sugars: 9g
Protein: 6g

*sometimes food makers list 'servings per bag' as if their product will be eaten by small fish.  When I use 'verified' it means their serving is enough for a fat guy (me) to feel like he ate something.

Images:
What was in the bag:

What was on the spoon:

 Chicken Cheddar Rice
BLUF:  This was a family-favourite. Sometimes we grill marinated flank steak, cut across the grain on the bias, and cooked medium rare.  We dip the steak pieces in homemade curry mayo.  I want this Go Foods dish to replace our typical boxed rice side.  Creamy, cheesy - the only thing I didn't get a lot of was Chicken.  I didn't notice chicken texture (thought they'd have fake-chicken bits) but I tasted chicken base.  Risotto-equse. SUPER-high sodium content.  Hot sauce not required, but delicious of course with a few drops.  Two members of my tasting panel complained of a bitter after-taste.  I WOULD NOT rather eat a MRE.

Details: Gluten Free, no added MSG, Vegitarian, best if used by 26 Nov 2027
Serving size: 1 Cup - 4+ verified* servings per pack
Calories: 269 - 90 from Fat.
Sodium: 912(!!)mg
Carbs: 34g
Dietary Fiber: 2g
Sugars: 4g
Protein: 7g

*sometimes food makers list 'servings per bag' as if their product will be eaten by small fish.  When I use 'verified' it means their serving is enough for a fat guy (me) to feel like he ate something.

Images:
What was in the bag:

What was in the pot:




What was on the spoon:

Creamy Potato Soup
BLUF:  Bland.  Starchy.  Tasted like potatoes.  Boil a tater - before it gets too soft remove and cool a bit.  Now eat that in warm milk - with assorted spices, chives maybe, and that's pretty close to this dish.  UNTIL I doubled-up the hot sauce; then it became pretty okay.  Could eat this with a warm grilled cheese and feel comforted.  I WOULD rather eat a MRE.

Details: eFoods Gold Label.  Vegetarian, manufactured 4 Feb 2013
Serving size: 1 Cup - 4 verified* servings per pack

Calories: 130 - 90 from Fat
Sodium: 532mg
Carbs: 17g
Dietary Fiber: 2g
Sugars: 3g
Protein: 1g


*sometimes food makers list 'servings per bag' as if their product will be eaten by small fish.  When I use 'verified' it means their serving is enough for a fat guy (me) to feel like he ate something.
Images:
What was in the bag:

What was on the spoon:

GoFoodsGlobal.com lists a week's worth of meals (Family of 4) for $240.  Compare that with about $100 for a case of 12 MREs, I'd spend three-times the cost of GoFoods meals to feed my gang.  GoFoods.com - if their other meal packs are as-good, I would not feel hosed or cheated sending in my money for their emergency foods.  In fact, I recommend - and will when asked - GoFoods to my friends and Family.  And Aoife - the SoupSandwichSurvival.com mascot - agrees with me!

Wax-based Fire Starters

I suppose the title of this entry isn't appropriate. I'm not making fire with what I tried today -I am simply trying to make fire-starting bits; to help hold a flame until whatever I put over the bits catches - and blazes.

No, I'm not going to be the Eleventy-billionth guy to show folks how to rub sticks together. Frankly, I haven't the energy. I bought a value-pack of disposable lighters - that's what enlightened men do, right?

Bottom line up front:  Stuffing a section of paper-towel tube with dryer lint, then covering with wax makes a very good fire-starter.  Using one of these 'pucks' kindling is not required - just stack your logs up, place one strategically between a few, light - and within minutes you will have a roaring fire.  Working very well, but not quite as robust, a cotton-dipped-in-wax wafer is effective at jump-starting a fire in wet conditions.

Here's the scenario I'm thinking: My dog and I are in the Jeep four-wheelin' in the back yard, when the POS Jeep breaks down. It's cold, and I am at LEAST 1000 feet from home. What to do? Gather what I can and make a fire.   Good thing I packed.



First off - I set up a double-boiler thing using an old stainless-steel bowl, set over a sauce pan about half-full of water (which half of the pan you choose to fill is your call. I chose the 'bottom' half). I found a small candle in a glass jar-thing. I banged it upside down (get your mind out of the gutter) until the wax fell out, then placed the wax in the bowl as shown.

While the heat was, uh, getting hot, I gathered supplies - dryer lint, paper-towel roll, scissors, and cotton squares.

After cutting a few sections - about 3/4" inch each - of the paper towel roll, I stuffed them with dryer lint, and placed atop wax paper.





While waiting for the wax to melt, I made a plate of nachos. Then I ate the nachos on that plate. I used shredded 'taco' falvoured cheese - picked up at the local Kroger. Very delicious.

Okay - now things are just like I like it: hot and ready....

My first method sucked. Using a coffee-measuring spoon I poured the wax atop the what-I-now-call-pucks.  As the wax dripped, I imagined being a GIANT pouring hot oil over attacking hordes. I need help. The pouring method saturated the lint with wax, but left the puck leaking like a...uh...something that leaks terribly.

 
As my motto is 'Semper Gumbi' - Always Flexible - I changed my technique to dipping the top of the puck into the wax. Worked much better - did not leave sticky nasty lintwax blobs on the wax paper.

Repeating my dipping technique with the cotton squares, I then allowed everything to dry in front of an open window. Keep in mind the pucks take a bit - they become thick and, just like with people, the bottoms and the middle take longer to firm-up.

Out in the Jeep, my co-pilot was ready to go. By 'go' I mean 'escape the jeep', as she frequently tried darting under my legs, into the driver's side footwell. Poor skeerd pup.

The trip lasted - like me - just about 90 seconds as I reached a spot in the middle of my back yard; again like me, with a soft mushy foundation. My intent is to see how well the fire-starters work atop mostly wet ground. I found an expired xmas tree - previous owner used real trees it seems, as my yard is littered with the decaying tree carcasses of Christmases past. Good for me, though - lots of good tinder.

Below you will find video from my experiments - yes, I realize I neglected to get video of me actually lighting the lint puck. Poor form on my part - I'll get better.

Next - is the cotton square dipped in wax - audio is not clear - sorry.

Last - just a little vid driving from my 'camp' site, back to the house.  Thank you so much for visiting.  Remember - you probably will not face the end of the word, just be prepared when life gets really annoying.

About this blog

Within the next week this blog will move to its new domain - www.soupsandwichsurvival.com.

My name is Darin. This blog begins behind the powercurve, as the interwebs are flooded with fantastic survival or prepper blogs. As I searched the net for good ideas, I was struck by the flood of blogs and sites geared to reviewing or promoting views of prepping or surviving completely oustide my scope of reality. 

Cover of my first big project:
Training plan on Basic Survival concepts

I am a working man. I put in my forty hours + per week struggling more than some, less than others, to provide for my Family. I cannot run out and 'start a homestead'. I cannot afford a seperate bug-out vehicle, towing a mobile command center equipped with solar and metal lathing equipment and heaters and all that. I am up to my eyeballs in credit debt, living only slightly better than pay check-to-pay check. I found a void for people like me. As I cannot afford to Prep for Doomsday, I will focus on prepping only for when society becomes ate-up like a Soup Sandwich. When life become annoying and frustrating. I am prepping not for a new age or a repeat of the 1800s. I am preparing for the next extended power outage. I am trying to prepare for the stuff that falls out of the sky on a random thursday and turns my world upside down for just a little bit.
In this blog you'll see me attempt to replicate the good ideas and instructions I find online. For instance, I will pick a good professional-type blog and decide to try and follow their instructions on building something, or a new way of preparing. I will chronical my attempts from a 'common-guy' perspective.

I am not - repeat NOT - a prepping or surival expert. I'm just a guy with a little free time, and two kids who depend on me to hold it together when times get difficult. I am a Veteran of the U.S. Army, but I'm not Special Forces, or Ranger, or even Airborne. I'm a guy who did six years in the Military, and the training I have comes from a few chances to play Opposing Force, or deploying to training areas for Force-on-Force manuevers. Throw in the every-thursday Sergeant's Time (a block of five hours dedicated for Noncommissioned Officers to train their troops on basic tasks common to all Soldiers - such as First Aid, Land Navigation, or basic patrolling) and you will have a solid summary of my training.

It is with the above I present the vision and mission of this website:

SoupSandwhichSurvival.com

Mission: Provide honest reviews and lessons-learned from Survival, Camping, Military Surplus, or other equipment and create unbiased evaluations of the ease and effectiveness of other people’s good ideas.

Vision: The trusted source for the ‘everyman’ – preparing not for the end of the world, but for when society becomes a soup-sandwich.

My first review is season-specific. I'm looking for good ways to make fire. Prior to recently I spent about $8 on a dozen or so? Maybe it was two dozen Prestone-type fire starters; little bricks wrapped in paper. I think I can do better. Today I tried. You will find the review of three methods of starting a fire at this link.

So - that's the rundown.