Road Test of Hormel Compleats Meals

[bellson]

Hello All,

I have become obsessed with finding good and affordable shelf-stable food that can be used in everyday life. I went a little bit nuts in 1999 and still have 300 Lbs of Pinto beans, etc.

I know all about MRE's, canned goods, etc. But I still wanted something more....

Enter Hormel Compleats.

Here is the evaluation:

1. They taste alright, not really good; but as good or better than MRE food.
2. They require NO water, and NO cooking.
3. They are just right for a lite snack for a 210 Lb man.
4. They need no refrigeration.

Some other details:

1. They have a sale life of one year, but I have read that the packaging (made by International packaging) is good for up to 7 years.
2. Low in calories, which seems counter-productive, but think about the dual use aspect; Real life, and SHTF.
3. High in Sodium.
4. Nutritional value is OK. You may want to put up some vitamins if you decide to add this to the SHTF pantry.
5. The packaging seems pretty durable in case you need to throw some in a backpack. I will be testing this soon.

Cost is variable between $1.90 and $3.60 depending on the meal, and the location. My Sister-in-law has found them in Central Texas for about 40% less than I can buy them for in the PRK.

Here are some photos:

[MUSIBIKE]

After watching ammo go out of existence this last week, it is time to invest in this sort of thing more. A lot easier to eat these than have to kill tree squirrels for dinner.

Stuff like this is going to hold you fast against the long days without. It will keep you out of those FEMA camps.

[Lefty]

Squirrel........the other white meat. If/when it ever comes down to it, I highly doubt I'll be carry a pile of food. A few MRE's and whatever I can hunt down............

[sjohnson]

Sounds good as part of a home food reserve. My guess is they are irradiated foods - foods exposed to enough radiation to "cold-sterilize" the food. Most of that kind of food has a very long shelf life, retaining nutrition without need for refrigeration.

Game is so plentiful here in South Dakota that I'm more inclined to stock up on fruits, vegetables and carbohydrate sources.

Which just triggered a memory of a fall drive through the Fort Randall dam area. My jaw dropped, there had to have been hundreds of thousands of migratory waterfowl there that day. They filled the skies, the fields and the water. I don't know what congregated them all in that area but it was an awesome sight.

[bellson]

Hello All,

Del Monte also makes similar meals that are a bit heavier on Veggies. About the same size / nutritional value.

To SJohnson's point, I do not know if these are irradiated or steam sterilized. I know that both methods are used with this type of retort packaging, and it would not surprise me since the retort in these and the Del Monte meals are laminate plastic with no metal.

For me, the attraction is that it is "regular food" that can be consumed in my family's normal life. That translates into no wasted money. We buy rice 60 Lbs. at a time and divide into 5 gallon buckets with Gamma-lids. Dry beans like Navy beans, black beans, split peas, etc. we buy at Smart & Final and those also go into the 5 gallon buckets. We just go and get what we need from the oldest can and we have a list that we update for replacements....

If you do not already have a Tilia Food Saver Vacuum bag sealer, that is a must buy. I seal up EVERYTHING!!!!

Long term storage ammo gets divided up, loaded onto strippers (if appropriate), loaded into cloth bandoleers, and vacuum packed. Then placed into .30 cal ammo cans. I have also vacuum sealed rifles and handguns for "long-term Schedule 40 storage". You do have to "wrap" the firearms in a thin cardboard sheath to avoid poking a hole or tearing the bag.

Back to the original topic.

You can put together a reasonable daily or meal ration for not too much money. I average $5.75 for a real meal (Lunch, Dinner), and $3.25 for breakfast, but you can go really cheap if you want to. That means the everything needed to input 600+ calories is in the vacuum sealed bag and that includes the water.

Just some "Food for Thought".

[sjohnson]

An industrial strength vacuum sealer is high on my list of wants. My butcher uses one to seal meats, and frozen meat from 4 years ago is as fresh tasting as this year's. It's amazing what keeping air from food does to keep it wholesome.

[hcpookie]

Originally Posted by sjohnson

An industrial strength vacuum sealer is high on my list of wants. My butcher uses one to seal meats, and frozen meat from 4 years ago is as fresh tasting as this year's. It's amazing what keeping air from food does to keep it wholesome.

Do yourself a favor and get one! You can spend about $150 on one from the "designer" home and hearth stores.

We got one of the Foodsaver brands for Christmas and I must admit, it has already paid for itself! We invested in every size and shape hard container of theirs and use it frequently.

Kept a *thawed* turkey dinner fresh for over 3 weeks in the fridge (wow!!!) before we opened it and it was as fresh as if it was just cooked.

Everyone should have one and an ample supply of the plastic bagging rolls. You can make waterproof packages of just about anything - including a vacuum sealed pistol in that "special place" - and it will be air and water tight!

[MUSIBIKE]

It is going to get bad for a year until the DEMO Congress can be voted out. Then at least OBAMA will have to be reasonable with his issue of craziness. I hope we survive that long as a country?

[Lefty]

Dark meat is my favorite part on a turkey.............

[jacko]

Gents

be careful of the meals if your in a hot climate

every year here we get 40 deg C + days and every year these meals get recalls afterwards

a couple of days at 38Deg C + and these things have a habit of going bad

i've had quite a few and there ok for a package meal but i keep them in a cool spot

maybe the US aint as bad as Australia but theres some warmish places there too

cheers

jack