I want to know if the MRE can be doctored with spices or sauce. Many fast food places have single serving condiments or salsa. Does anyone know if there is someway to spice them up? Pizza Hut or any pizza place has parmesan cheese or red pepper (crushed), Taco Bell has hot sauces, Long John Silver has vinegar, shrimp sauce, tartar sauce. I have seen packets of mayonaise, sweet pickle relish and onions. Do you see what I mean!

Also small botle of seasonings, dried minced garlic, onions,and green Bell Peppers. Appreciate any help. My son is at a compound, they only get one hot meal a day, if they are lucky to be there when it arrives. Other than that it is MRE's, poor guys

Hi szrudy,

I send a box once a month that has garlic powder, onion powder, pepper even bbq sauces and hot sauces all that type of stuff to my unit. They are so thankful and grateful for them and yes they can be doctored with those items!

I've got one unit that I support that has requested "food add-ons" in their updates - presumably for the MRE's, since they're at a very remote forward location.  I've gotten a positive response by email to stuff like that that I've sent. I'm sure anything to make the food taste better will never go to waste!

Pat 

Wasabi in a tube: http://www.amazon.com/S-B-Wasabi-Plastic-Family/dp/B0002YGSAU   Four-Dipping Seasonings: http://www.amazon.com/Xcell-4-Bread-Dipping-Seasonings/dp/B000FGY0QY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=gourmet-food&qid=1204333529&sr=1-2  This container is divided up into four compartments, with four different herb combinations. 

Both of those, which I find on my supermarket shelf, are favored in my boxes.  I send them with Tuna-in-foil or when the group posts for MRE "enhancements".   "Mrs. Dash" is a favorite standby, they come in many flavors now: spicy, Italian,  Chipotle, Tomato Basil.  About $3 each in this neighborhood.  Once, when traveling to pre-deluvian New Orleans, I happened upon a gift pack of hot sauces that were in plastic. !@#$ the expense, they were going into field!  It may sound incongrueous, but I've sent Coffee & plastic bottles of liquid Hershey syrup. Went over just fine (double bagged or, what I did was use my vacuum food sealer).  At 140+ degrees, it brought up some smiles.   

What an outstanding question!!!

 Like everyone said before...YES!! As a man who has had to suffer through the same 24 meals offered (only a few are sought after, the rest are just blaah) day in and day out on many occassions.....doctoring them up is the only way to break up the monotony of those things. The Department of Defense has changed the MRE to provide a more appealing meal to the soldier by changing up the meals offered in the last five years. While they change the menus and do what they can to make it more appealing to us soldiers, there is always one thing that stays the same. The preservatives. They all maintian that same preservative taste and it is this taste we get sick of and thus do what we can to "Doctor" it up. Yes....food enhancers are very much appreciated by those guys who have no choice but to eat MRE's. The Parm packets will work great with the "Spaghetti w/meatsauce" meal as well as some good hot sauce(far too often have i opened an MRE only to find the mini bottle of tabasco dried up!!). Salsa packets will work well with the "Beef Enchiladas" meal....again some hot sauce too. That meal only provides a pepper season packet..which isnt all that. Tha salsa will also work great as a enhancement to the "Mexican rice", even when heated (providing that you luck out and the heater actually works!!) it maintains that "preservative" taste. A general rule of thumb is, if you think that it, as a codiment or food enhancer style spice would make anything taste a bit more palletable, then by all means send it. I know those guys will appreciate anything to break up the monotony. They offer..meal numbers 11, 12 and 23 and 24 as "Vegetarian" meals. Nobody really goes for these. Although i dont mind the "Vegetable Manicotti", it really isnt all that bad. Again...the preservative taste though.

 If you have never had an MRE, you should drive down to your local Mil Surplus store and pick one up, give it a try. THis will give you a better more indepth understanding.

Just to add my 2 cents, if you have a store called World Market near you, in the back of our store, they have little bottles and packages of foods and condiments. They are like picnic size. But, they have the mini tabasco bottles in I think a 6 or 8 pack, plus other packs of hot sauce, the mustards and ketchups, spices and all that. That might be a good place to try if you have one of the stores.

Heidi

We used up "family" MRs when camping.  Stone soup was better.    I also save all those "things" you get with asian call outs and send them over, double plastic, etc.....jz

PS don't call out much anymore, cuts into my anysoldier budget

Garlic salt, spiced salt and pepper grinders, hot pepper flakes have all gone over big with my soldiers, for the MRE's.  I also send tartar sauce with the foil-pack tuna fish; that has been a real big hit.