Homemade MRE From Aldi Revisited

hey everybody welcome back to the channel so many really cool and exciting things are happening here and this video is no exception in the video that I dropped last week I was talking about how so many comments have told me to go to ALDI to make an MRE and to date I've had such a hard time with it now I did do one a couple of years ago but it was when the channel was under a different format and I just kind of put everything in the bag and was like here's the stuff that I found but since these videos have become kind of successful I've really wanted to go back but Aldi has been a struggle I'm usually there a couple of times a week it's a favorite from my family and it's an easy stop on the way home from work so I'm constantly on the lookout while I'm shopping for regular things well it just so happens that yesterday my wife and I were out and I happened to think hey let's run by Aldi get some things for dinner while we were there quite by accident I stumbled across my Holy Grail I found something there that I can use for a homemade MRE with Much Ado and much excitement here is the dad budget Adventures homemade M menu al2 remember two because we've already done one at Aldi I feel like this needs a celebration so everybody jump up and down a couple times let out some whoop whoops or whatever you feel like doing because here we have done it finally thanks to everybody for all your comments telling me that you'd like to see something from Aldi and thanks for your patience while I try to figure out how to make it happen so part of the trick with Aldi is that they try to get items that don't have a lot of preservatives don't have a lot of extras to them and are intended to be fresh and when you're looking for shelf stable items that have a decent Shelf life that's hard to do in a store like that not to mention while Aldi does have a regular inventory that tends to be very limited and it's only on occasion that they get seasonal items and that's where I found our entree for this one so before we get into what's in there let's go over the rules real quick other than the fact that I try to Source everything that's in that bag from a single location rule number one is everything in here must be able to be consumed straight out of the package it doesn't mean we have to eat it that way we just need to be able to good food is good morale and being able to have it prepared the way it's supposed to be that's a big plus rule number two everything in here must have at least a onee shelf life or Best Buy date from the day that I buy it and all that is is so that I can ensure freshness in the event that this thing gets put away for a year and then when I finally pull it out I want to be sure that the items in it are as fresh as they can be and finally rule number three is the menu this MRE must have an entree a side a walking around snack a dessert and a beverage so I know y'all are dying to see what I found let's rip into it and see what's in here forour on I finally managed to find one of the PAC pouch meals this particular one is lentil and veggie tikka masala it is a vegetarian dish and as I've said before I continue to be amazed at how many vegetarian options there are available in the Shelf stable prepared meal section this one should be interesting it has lentils with pumpkin and sweet peppers I'm looking forward to trying this I've said this before I am a carnivore I like meat in my food but sometimes you just need to do without and this is going to be one of those cases I didn't get any kind of meat to go in this or strictly sticking with this vegetarian option to go with that as our side and this is going to end up being a lot of food in the long run but I got this 90c barle and lentils pack so we've got lentils in here we've got lentils in here this is one of those packs that's got a lot more moisture in it than a lot of the pre-cooked rice so this is one that I definitely think you could easily eat straight out of the package and it would be just fine by the way this is also this is a vegan option this is not just vegetarian this is vegan for all y'all that are looking for vegan options for your MREs here's a good one to go with once again this could be the entree in itself depending on your dietary habits you could easily just cook that and that's dinner and because it takes a little while for these things to warm up we're going to go ahead and get our entree and our side cooking and for this one we are going back to the beginning some of you love this thing and some of you just have to complain about it every time I use it I realize it's a little bit pricey I realize the fuel is expensive but this thing is such a handy little item if you're new to the channel and you haven't seen it yet I did a video about the barrel cook flameless cooker go back and look for that and I'll put a link to it in the description box below but we're going to put our food in this and get it cooking and then we're going to explore the other items that are in this bag this stuff smells really good see what I mean that's going to be a lot of food all righty so while that's cooking away let's move on and see what else is in my kit for our walking around snack I picked up one of these elevation energy bars this is a crunchy peanut butter bar it's not necessarily a protein bar it's more just like a meal bar and as I've said before I'm not a fan of protein bars so every time I try one of these it's an experiment I found some that I like but I found a whole lot of them that I just cannot stand the elevation products I found I pretty much like these especially if they're made with peanut butter for dessert I picked up this simply Nature chocolate chip granola bar once again chocolate is a staple for MREs it doesn't have to be in there but it always helps and if you can get it in a way that's not just going to melt into goo that's a good option so having chocolate chips and granola I think that's going to be a good choice for a dessert for our beverage I got something really unusual I'd seen these there a couple of times before and I thought if I ever were to finish an MRE there that this is what I'd want to add and fortunately there were still some left when I went back these are water drop mic acly tablets these are grapefruit flavored and they're just designed to be dropped in a bottle of water shaken up and then consumed that way these have extra electrolytes in it I've had lots of comments about people saying something about adding an electrolyte beverage into these things and that's what we've got here a few videos ago I posed a question about whether you thought I should add an extra item into these MREs as a booster item maybe some extra calories some extra protein something like that and because the responses have been so mixed I don't think I'm going to do it regularly I think the that I will occasionally as I find interesting items I will add those into the MREs and this is an example of that I came across something that I was really curious about and I thought this would be a perfect addition what I found was the single serving pouches of bone broth this is a powder which means we are going to have to add water to it but it's no different than making coffee or making another drink the great thing about this is the nutrition that you're going to get in this bone broth is going to be an extra little pickme up not to mention the fact that if you have have other things with you that you want to mix it with you can make a soup so it gives a lot of interesting options when you have something like this in your kit and once again if you don't need it you don't have to consume it just put it away maybe later you'll find another use for it now that we've dug into our kit and our Entre inside are cooking away back here I'm going to get started trying these things out and see what we've got so before I get down the road too much with these things I'm going to mix up my drink so I've got something to wash it down with if I come across something I don't like I'm really curious about these water drops this I think this is a product that's designed to go with another product if I'm not mistaken there was a water bottle called water drop and that's what these things are were designed for but I'm going to go with the redneck water drop bottle so even though they're packaged like this the tablets are individually wrapped inside if you don't think you need more than one you could just pack one of these away or just take them out of the package because three of these takes up a lot less room in your kit than this so we're going to peel that open the tablet itself doesn't have a strong smell to it so I'll be interested to see how well it flavor is the water I'm going to start with one and if I decide that I need another one in there I'll add another tablet in there so let's toss this in our bottle think it's fizzing let's close this up give it a little shake and while that dissolves we're going to set it back here and we're going to start trying some of these other things first thing we're going to tear into is this elevation energy bar crunchy peanut butter this bar has 11 g of protein in it so if you need that little protein boost this will do a good job for you that's interesting it looks like a little cookie bar or cake bar instead of being that really compressed protein bar thing the peanut butter of course is a dominant smell it's got a note of something else and I'm not really sure what it is let's give this a try and see if this something I'm going to like that's quite good I did not expect that it's crunchy peanut butter so it's got chunks of peanut in it there's a texture to it almost like crystallized sugar so as you bite into it there's this fine grainy crunch it's not an unpleasant it's it's like it had a sugar dusting or something like that that's quite nice I like that a lot I will definitely get more of these so checking out our drink look how orange that turned that's a lot of color from that one little tablet there's still a little bit of it in the bottom it's not quite dissolved all the way so we'll give it another minute and while I'm waiting for that to dissolve I'm going to go get some hot water so we can try this bone broth so we got our hot water we're ready to try out this bone broth and to do so I get to show you guys another item from another generous viewer this Yeti mug was sent to me by rondall Floyd off of the Amazon wish list thank you so much I've been needing an insulated mug that I can keep with the teardrop camper and this thing is going to live in this camper so it's going to see many great adventures if you're curious about the Amazon wish list it's in the description box below it's just a list of items of all different price points if you want to send us something to help the channel along with that being said let's mix this stuff up and see what we got oo that is a strong smell this is the beef bone broth so I expect it's going to be very rich we going to pour all of it in here and see what we got you know dried broth has been a staple in MREs and and Inc rations since the outset back to the earliest days of the American Military some form of dried broth has been included in these meals not all of them of course but it was a big part of it early on but it's a great source of nutrition and a little bit of beefy flavor we're going to use one of our bamboo sporks to mix this up it smells delicious it's got a good hearty beefy Aroma to it I feel like this is one of those things that you could mix with a lot of stuff and just really give it a boost and I think we've got it mixed up let's give this a taste so let's give this a try this is an interesting flavor it definitely has that beefy taste to it there's not a lot of seasoning of any kind to it there is a decent amount of sodium in this I think it's 4480 Mig of sodium in this so you would think it would have a little bit more flavor to it and it's not that it's unflavored it just it tastes like beef that wasn't really seasoned but the great thing about it is you could add whatever you wanted to it add a little bit of salt little bit of pepper kick it up to whatever you want but it's very rich flavor the less water of course that you put in it the more it's going to concentrate that flavor and the thicker it's going to be a little bit heartier by adding less water but that is a satisfactory booster item right there highly recommend that all right so let's try our water drop beverage see what we got here oh wow that really mixing with water really released Aroma out of this I can smell grapefruit so let's see if we can taste grapefruit I think coming in on the tail of the beef broth made the first sip a little weird there's not a strong flavor here for as much color as we ended up with I really expected the flavor to be a little Bolder it's not an unpleasant flavor at all it's just not strong but the fact that I've got two more tablets over here I could make this as strong as I want but I feel like this right here would be sufficient just to have a little bit of extra flavor in your water plus we're getting those electrolytes that's surprisingly good typically I wouldn't expect it to taste like grapefruit I would expect it to taste like a 5-year-old imagins grapefruit would taste all right so I think our entree and our side have been cooking long enough that we will be able to enjoy them as intended so we're going to break this open and see what we got I was going to take it out of the Barrow cook because it's still cooking away but as soon as I touched that I instantly regretted it so we're just going to leave it in there of course the barrel cook has this neoprene sleeve on it and I've add a little paper towel to the bottom of it that's one of the flaws with this product is that there's nothing on the bottom and I don't know a lot of people that eat holding things like this so barel cook if you're paying attention we need something on the bottom of this thing all right so I'm going to reach in here and get some of this lentils and barley without the other stuff on top of it by the way this smells absolutely delicious I can pick up some of the smells like the pumpkin and the other stuff that's in here so this is a very nice the barley and lentils it's just you know doesn't really have a outstanding smell of its own it's not bad it's just not know it's nothing that makes me want to Chow Down on it that's pretty good if I were eating that by itself it would need something I'm thinking hot sauce at the very least but it needs some kind of a kicker to it it's a very just ordinary taste to it and it I don't even know how else to describe it it needs a little something something extra all right let's get a taste of our vegetable Tika Masala I about you but I love Tika Masala we make it a lot at our house I usually make it with chickpeas and chicken I'll give the vegetable version a try I do this for you guys love y'all that's delicious that's really good I like that it's not a strong flavor there's a little bit of spice on the back end I could see adding a little more heat to it for my personal tastes but for most people I think this would be just fun if you're not somebody that likes spicy food this would probably come across as being a little bit on the spicy side to you but for those of us that like a little bit of heat especially if you eat Indian food and you get used to the Heat this will be just fine all right so I'm going mix them all together here we go that's quite tasty that's worth the effort right there little chunk of yellow pepper that's really good the lentils and The Barley add some bite into this the Barley's just got enough snap to it that you feel like you're chewing on something because most of the vegetables in this are really cooked down they don't really have a whole lot of bite left in them so adding that lentils and barley to it that gives you a little bit of a little bit of substance yeah that's really good that's a great combination even though we already had lentils in the tika Masala and we had that barley in lentils that we added to it it's not Overkill especially if you feel like you really need some substance in this meal that is going to be a belly filler right there if I were in a disaster and for some reason I had been cut off from food for a while and I got a hold of something like this this would absolutely make me feel like I had had something to eat I don't want to stop with that that's really good we have one more thing to try so let's cleanse the pallet and last but not least we have our dessert our simply Nature chocolate chip granola bar granola is always a good choice for MREs whether you're using them for camping or disaster relief or what have you they're always a good choice cuz even if they get a little warm you can still eat them just fine yeah no doubt there's a lot of fiber in this meal in a few hours I might be regretting my decisions with all right let's give this a try there's almost no smell to this maybe I don't know maybe the tikka masala cooked my sinuses but let's give it a taste this one's got a surprisingly just neutral taste to it not picking up on chocolate or anything else there's a sweetness to it it tastes almost like this is made with cane syrup or something like that as opposed to Sugar it's good but if you went into this because you wanted the flavor of the chocolate you're probably going to be a little disappointed in this I feel like the chocolate in here is more just a way of getting a little something extra here and there but for the most part it just tastes like sugar and oatmeal not unpleasant just not a strong flavor so since we were talking earlier about bonus items Kind of a Funny Story during all the hubub and excitement of me finally finding what I needed to do my MRE from Aldi I ended up buying another item that I threw in here and I guess maybe I just got distracted and with my wife helping me we were finding things right and left and I ended up with something extra in here so I guess we have a bonus bonus item in this the reason I decided to go ahead and put this in here was for so long I was not able to find what I need for an M from Aldi and when I finally did I found more than I needed so as a bonus bonus item I have some of this Southern Grove sweet and salty trail mix it's hard to beat trail mix but if you needed an extra walking around snack or an extra booster item in your M once again Aldi came through this time so let's try this one last extra item and see if this is something we want to keep around you just never know what you're going to get around here just when you thought we were done all right so let's pour this out a little we've got raisins we've got peanuts we have little chocolate candies M&M's but without a m on them sunflower seeds all right that's pretty good looking combination right there give that a try look I love peanuts but I think sunflower seeds might actually have peanuts beat when it comes to natural flavor I would sit need an entire bag of sheld sunflower seed they just add that additional kick to whatever they to come with so what do you think everybody did Aldi come through or did they come through everybody that has been asking me go to ALDI there it is we made it happen and I think it was a tremendous success everything in this kit I'd buy again I would rebuild that exactly the way it is I would feel confident enough sharing that with other people all right so if you're enjoying these videos please don't hesitate to leave comments down below if you can think of a place that I have not been that you think I might have some success building a homemade M please let me know about it and I'll try to find find it I may not have it in my area but I do travel quite a bit and when I do so I try to find places that I don't have at home be sure to click the like button don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already share this with your friends tell them to subscribe this has been such a fun ride glad to have you all along thank you so much for everybody who has responded with the Amazon Wish List It is an absolute thrill when I come home and there's a package sitting on the doorstep that says Dad budget Adventures that to me is one of the most fulfilling things about this I love your supportive comments and if you're not in a position to do something like sending me something off the Amazon wish list keep those supportive comments coming those mean just as much to me and that's a wrap for this video so until the next one prepare for the world that you live in not the one you wish existed and we'll see you next time

Channel: Dad Budget Adventures

Views: 10,620

Keywords: camping, outdoors, hiking, survival, camp cooking, camping gear, tent camping, bushcraft, campfire, exploring, solo camping, car camping, mre, military, bugout, disaster preparedness, doomsday preppers

Id: UHr1gb1howw

Length: 18min 45sec (1125 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 21 2024