I carry a little emergency kit in my backpack. They’ve been threatening us with “The Big One” for as long as I can remember so I figure it can’t hurt. I do have a pocket solid fuel stove and little pan to boil water but I’d like to carry a few meal replacement bars instead of cooking food.
Does anyone have any recommendations for good, reasonably cheap, meal bars? I don’t need low calories as I’d be trying to maintain at least a 1200 cal daily amount on the assumption that I’d be moving around and expending energy. I am looking for high cal/energy so that I can carry only a few bars, perhaps three per day for three days. After that either help will have arrived or I’ll be far enough away to be able to get regular food- I hope!
If you’re wondering, I also have a foil space blanket and a foil emergency tent which is just a big tube of space blanket material. I also have a change of clothes, including light shoes and a jacket and personal items, something I’ve done since my best friend got burned out. Nothing like wearing a sleep shirt and borrowed hospital pants for three days. My backpack is down beside the bed at night.
So Dopers, suggestions? Btw, I also need bar ideas to be available in Western Canada and if possible around $3.00 or less. I don’t shop online either.
The local Red Cross chapter recommended Datrex bars. They’re definitely “lifeboat rations” in that they’re very small and high calorie but not exactly exciting food. They’re supposed to be coconut-flavored. I have a package of them but yeah, I’m not going to break into them unless I need to. They also last for several years, so you can drop $10-15 on a package and not worry about having to replace them any time soon (hopefully!).
Oh, you said you don’t shop online (why not? Amazon is reliable, at least). Try sporting goods-type stores for this sort of thing, then, or maybe your local Red Cross chapter would have some good pointers.
Hilariously, Canadian Arctic Rescue says the best emergency ration is… dog food. The reasoning is that people tend to go through their rations too quickly, and people put off eating dog food until they’re seriously hungry.
Thanks for the ideas! I need cheap because I make minimum wage and small/light because these will be in my backpack full time, which kinda lets out the jar of peanut butter! I also have no bank account, personal choice, and would rather go across town to shop than fiddle about with online shopping. I’m picking Doper brains because I figure you’re not trying to sell anything and the Red Cross etc will likely want to try to get me to buy their emergency kits.
thinkThin bars (pay no attention to the silly name, they are 220-240 calories each 2.1oz bar - I know because I just ate one, haha) are my favorite protein bars. 20g protein in one bar. Where I live they are about $1.60/e.
Protein is where ‘meal replacement’ or ‘emergency’ rations usually are insufficient IMO.
Which is why cans of tuna (that you periodically rotate out by regularly consuming them), are hard to beat for protein. Just make sure you either have a mechanical can-opener, or the cans that open with a tab.
MetRX has a line of protein/meal replacement bars that are pretty tasty and filling. They sell in the US for about $3 each for a 3-4 ounce, 320 calorie bar. I rely on them for lunch when I am traveling in the boonies and can’t count on finding a place to eat.
I opened this thread to suggest pemmican, which you can make yourself. No point reinventing the wheel, I always say. Lots of recipes on line which all pretty much boil down to drying out some meat, drying out some fruit, pulverizing them in a blender and mixing the resulting powder with rendered fat. Mmmmm…
If the OP wants something store-bought, Mainstay rations are USCG approved and have a five-year shelf life.
One can also go the frugal route and simply keep a sealed jar of peanut butter and some pilot bread (hard tack) in your bug-out-bag. 3000 calories per one pound. The peanut butter is probably only good for 12—18 months of storage so you will definitely want to rotate.