In this video, I break down some of my experience and insight with infantryman food. Drop down in the comments your favorite field food. Enjoy! And stay tuned for more.
I was backpacking with a friend for a month straight and it took like two weeks for me to break him of his weight room diet. We were easily burning upwards of 3k sometimes as high as 6k calories a day depending on the terrain. We were in the Rockies, and elevation gains of 500+ feet per mile were not uncommon. Dude would eat like 1800 calories worth of shit through the day and wonder why he felt like absolute garbage and couldn't keep up a decent pace. Gear Skeptic has like eight hours worth of lectures on backpacking food and nutrition on his channel along with a massive excel sheet with like 700 commercial food items on it all broken down by caloric density and macros.
I've read about arctic explorers who were sking to the north pole. They ate nothing but butter dipped in sugar for the final push to their goal. The calorie vs weight vs easy to eat conundrum.
We lived on ramen both cooked and uncooked in Asscrackistan, along with jerky, trail mix and chicken/tuna packets. What I learned from SrSNCO’s in the 89’s…plan for 3, pack for 5.
Operating environment dictates like you mentioned. In my experience freeze dried rations are absolutely superior to "wet food" in cold (say about -20 C / -4 F) conditions hence why all Nordic armies use freeze dried rations. In the arctic/sub-arctic winter you need freeze dried rations because MRE style or canned "wet food" simply freezes and you cant eat it without heating it up somehow. Gas burners usually take really long in cold conditions and most gasses simply dont work. We use Trangia with burning alcohol. It too takes long but it has no issues with producing flame. MRE ration heaters i have found insufficient if the meal is frozen. 2 heaters seems to be just enough though. Another point in favor of freeze dried rations in the winter is that you dont need to carry water for them. Snow is plentiful. Eating your food cold is not the thing you want to do in cold environment as then you have to use calories to heat up the food to body temperature inside you. The difference between having cold and warm food in the cold is massive for both net kcal intake and morale. (You can mitigate the freezing food issue by keeping the next meal inside your clothing but that is quite inconvenient as you already have to have your water stored under the jacket anyway). Alas, operating environment dictates. I have often wished i had "wet food" rations during the summer months when almost all of the benefits of freeze dried rations are nullified. -best regards from FDF reserves ps. This channel has been a joy to follow. Keep going!
Packs of Uncle Ben's ready rice are great to just crack open and eat on the go. Packs of ready to eat salmon and tuna go great to dump into those rice packs. Ready to eat chicken packs aren't too bad either. I keep a shaker of all purpose seasoning in my pack to use to add some extra flavor. Swedish fish and gummy bears are also my go to for home made MREs.
Back before electricity, I used to carry a couple of cans of the 'ol chef with me into the field. It was never meant to be a replacement food, just a treat every once in a while. Now my kids eat it cold out of the can, just like me I got old.
Electrolytes are a must. MRE will freeze in cold environments, that’s where mountainhouse is best. Mountainhouse is better for long storage in hot/cold. MRE will not last long in high heat, i.e… in a vehicle go bag for a long duration of time.
This video is SO IMPORTANT. ive known and heard of kids, adults, even soldiers dieing out in the wilderness because they did not have adequate water, food, clothing, or shelter. Earth is a dangerous place. You can go hypothermic in 60 degree wet weather and die. Thats how easily were talking. Proper hydration, food/fuel, clothing, and shelter is paramount to your survival. Alot of frontiersman,pioneers, and pilgrims died this way. Learn from our forefathers.
The best alternative to the jetboil is an alcohol stove made from a can of cat food. It weighs nothing, takes up very little space, boils a half-liter pot of water in 6 minutes, makes no noise and barely makes a flame. The jetboil is something to reserve for high mountains, where the temperatures and the lower amount of oxygen make it more difficult to heat water.
Great video. For a couple of years now I've been packing the Tasty Bite curry and Seeds of Change rice mix pouches as my "main meal of the day". Rice pouch is 8.5oz (240g) and has 400 cal. The curry pouch is 10oz (285g) and has 280 cal. So combined you've got 18.5oz and 680 cal. Combined total 16g of fat, 108g carbs, 16g fiber, 9g sugar, and 19g protein. Pretty salty for my normal taste, with 1510mg combined sodium. But not too much weight, and the flavors are pretty good, if you like Indian foods / curries. I've got Madras Lentils flavor with quinoa & brown/red rice mix. The pouches are pretty handy - you can eat them cold, heat them up with hand warmers, spare MRE heaters, boil the bags (hasn't killed me yet), or you can just eat them cold. For lunch and trail stops I'm doing granola bars, jerky, trail mix, and a couple of tuna pouches with a mustard packet squirted in there, just for some different flavors etc.
My lieutenant used to go to these patrol competitions that took place in the european winter and are hard as fuck. He was different in that he was an actual chad in the physical patrolling part. He swore by oat biscuits that he would bake himself the night before. He would take some butter, oatmeal, salt and sugar and make biscuits that he could eat on the go and would give him sugar and fat for quick and longer term energy. As well as salt. Long term you would need to supplement it with some proteins, naturally, but it works great. I have found myself that baked goods in general are god tier. They taste good and are dense in calories and easy to eat on the go. Most of them have a good amount of fats and salts in addition to sugar.
11C, I use to make around 2 dozen peanut butter balls and roll them in oatmeal. Not the best might need a little water to wash it down but I’d share with my squad and it at least something other then the MRE. I found to be fairly filling. Mainly used it as quick breakfast or something like that on the gun line.
Squeezable Peanut Butter is another good one. Also, I prefer the Peak Refuel meals vs Mountain House. More calories and protein, about the same weight.
We use to take the Top Ramen and crush it up and throw it in a ziplock bag and add the packet to it. It was a great quick meal you can just eat out of the bag. Only downfall is you will need a lot of water to wash it down with.
Just parroting what I heard from Steve1989. The military experimented with just dehydrated mre’s but I guess if you eat enough dehydrated food unhydrated it can cause digestive issues so the military chose to only use them for cold weather mre’s where freezing is a concern and water is (generally) accessible.
I did Keto for awhile and it sucked but it did introduce me to MCT oil. They have it in small 1 tbsp packets. Just like there are different carb sources, there are also different fat sources. MCT is a high quality fat that your body can directly convert to ketones fast. It is awesome when you are needing a boost and sick of the fast crash from carbs. It burns totally different! I think for optimal performance you need to be fat and carb adapted. Just adding my 2 cents. Thanks for all the awesome content!
Jet Boils and overnight oats came into play on my companies mission on our deployment. Again, though we are a heavy weapons company, so we had the luxury of trucks for storage.
Great video! I know I’m late to the party but wanted to add a few things I always like. Aged, hard cheeses last a long time without refrigeration. Think aged cheddar, Parmesan etc. Summer sausage and hard cured deli meats too. Hard salami/pepperoni etc. Nuts, Fritos and Reese’s pieces are some of the highest calorie per ounce foods.
as a boomer jarhead from the c-rat days...yeah, avoid carrying canned foods. If you are dead set on chef boyardee ravioli, remove it from the can and put it into vacuum-sealed bags. BUT, you FORGOT THE FREAKIN CRAYONS! Not great for calories, but they plug your ass up, come in variety of flavors, need no preparation, and are multi-use (can replace those gawd-awful heavy sharpies, pens and pencils). Glad I stumbled upon your channel, you're doing Chesty's work here. Semper fi.
Canadian here. One of the people I've trained with had frozen butter (provided it's not too hot) and pemmican for their rucks. Absolutely disgusting going down, but it's light in the pack and will keep you going.
dry ceral and baked goods like a danish or biscuits arent bad . i pick up these muffins from the gas station and 2 things of butter each its 5 oz 700 cals and over 20 gram of fat and 10 grams of protein , i eat one for a snack the first day and breakfast the 2nd and 3rd day before they are nothing but crumbs or dry. the bridgeford mre sandwhiches are good too i normally eat muffin or pop tart for breakfast , mre sandwich or main for lunch and chicken packet with rice or ramen or a mountain house for dinner then i have candy, beef sticks , trail mix and granola bars for snacks. cant believe you forgot about the jar of peanutbutter or nutella guy lol
It's high dollar, but a brand called "Just Cheese" is exactly what you're talking about. I carried some on my last fire season and enjoyed them. Jerky, Cheese, and Dried fruit covered me when I was in a spot where there was no fire camp. You're 100% on the cramps.
The Gear Skeptic channel has a backpacking series on food/water/fuel/etc with spreadsheets that make my OCD happy and are really useful in making food/nutrition/weight ratio decisions. I've found it very useful in cutting weight for FTXs and even having better food nutritionally and calorically. And if a voice in your brain said "ooohhhh yeee-ahh" during the vid, chances are you had a good childhood. 😆
This page is so awesome man, as a non-infantry Marine this account has taught me so much of the stuff I feel like I haven’t learned / retained well. Thank you man
I do the mountain houses usually chicken whatever in a galon siplock with the mountain house breakfast eggs. Mixed-up dry and filled up (mutiple moutain house)in a gallon bag then pour a portion in a empty tatlenti iceream container and cold soak them. I learned this from backpakers. Such a game changer in the feild mood boost and you dont have to pack out wrappers. its not hot but if you keep it close to the body its warm enough.
if you are in a COLD environment, factor in double rations AND you want to lean more on carbs and fats. your body uses more energy processing and digesting protein than the other two and that can be a big impact in a cold weather environment.
Caffeine can also dehydrate you. As a SNCO Toon Daddy, I was asked to assist an A-Team with a two day vehicle patrol of south Helmand. Hell yeah! Still getting acclimatized, I wasn’t thinking, too excited about my first patrol in country…boot ass move, I knew better! The night before while going through my kit getting ready, I downed probably for big bottles of some fantastic Italian peach tea that the PX sold. Dumbass me, next day, I was hurting. Luckily I recognized the symptoms and was sucking down water and Gatorade! Later the team Delta and I was laughing about my boot move and said that he gladly would have stuck me! Being too excited, even being experienced could have been costly if it was foot patrol
My man. Mountain infantry guy here. 11b. Light. IYKYK. but yes this video is 100 percent accurate except I actually think that jet boil has way more uses than you describe. During day time ops with proper security, can’t you use a JB as a way to procure water. Or even just have a brew …even war doesn’t stop us from having a brew. Ya mates!? Yes. During winter(true winter) you can use it to make more water. (Pro tip, use a little water at the bottom of your JB so the snow melts faster.) also use a panco over head if you’re doing any night time JB work. You’d be surprised at how effective that is. Also the JB is best for a morning brew. Wake up pull security. No attack!?!?!? Fuck yea first of all and second is we gonna make a cupppa!!! Sorry ruskiees, you get to for after we’ve had our coffee/tea😂. Then. Then you will die.
Not a great idea to seal yourself under a poncho with a burning jetboil - they kick out a lot of Carbon Monoxide while burning. There are instances of backpackers suffocating in their tents because they've left their jetboil running with all the tent doors zipped shut
Great stuff like always. Some recommendations from long distance hiking, look into cold soaking for the mountain houses and ramen. Basically get a leak proof jar add the product and water, seal it up keep moving and when you get where you are going it is done. Also a pack of tortillas and a jar of peanut butter go a long way and are pretty light.
You can actually make tuna work. It has so little calories because it doesn't have fat. But you could have something like small bottle of olive oil or buy pack of small sachets similar to how you get kethup in some fast food places. In fact I would highly recommend extra virgin olive oil as good tasting condiment that also adds a lot calories for military or outdoor stuff. It's also quite healthy.
You put your Ramen noodle and tuna in a wide mouth bottle with an appropriate amount of water. You do not have to use hot water. It will be edible within an hour. You just carry the premade Ramen tuna mixture in your pack, ready to go whenever you can take a slurp.
Same works with dehydrated food like mountain house meals, MACV -SOG guys would add the water, stick the meal in the camie blouse until the next rest stop and then eat. Also a popular UL backpacking method now too
I got so damn tired of granola bars in cold weather training (87-91). It took me 30 years to get to a point I would even buy them again. We used to do smoked oysters, crackers, and spray cheese. Poured the oil out and had a freezer ziplock to bring the cans back. Small, high calorie, and tasted good. Slim Jims were good too.
I can't remember if it was The Gritty Soldier or Gruntproof who suggested mixing mass gainer, peanut butter and whatever else to keep you going in a little container but that's what I'm gonna try out this winter. I'm going into the snow this year with a vast caloric surplus 😂
You actually have me debating the relative merits of MREs/ vs mountainhouse in a civillian survival/ preparednesss context. Currently using store-bought (starkist chicken packets and pre-cooked rice). tested a mountain house last year and it was pretty tasty but MREs are sounding like more of a good idea. FWIW you can use a solid fuel stove like I do (esbit) I use a BCB fire dragon. It's a light discipline issue a bit but it boils well and its compact.
Mountain House is bulky. I get the protein cans to put into rice. Minute Rice is cheap. Soup greens and Textured Vegetable Protein (dehydrated soy) is fantastic for a base meal to add a scoop of Mountain House to.
with regards to MRE's, im not sure if they still have them in the menus but I fondly remember my first time getting the veggie omelette mre. Nasty thing scarred me for life lmao. Im pretty jealous of the new flavors you guys get nowadays but then again i was that weird jarhead that enjoyed the chow hall food
Crap load of clifbars, squeeze tube of pb. Decent amount of mountain house with bcb stove and fuel. Couple of mre main entrees and small amount of some type of slim jims or jerky
some freeze dried meals are made to be cold soaked. No stove or boiling water needed. Also look at other brands, mountain houses are known to usually have too much salt, and not the best quality.
Your doctor may think it's too much salt in the MH meals. When I'm short on food (but not water) I suddenly have a diabetic piss schedule. Downing salt and electrolytes fixes that. Hope that makes sense.
So I ain’t infantry but I am asian so I can confidently say you can eat the ramen quickly. Just smash it up in a bag, pour in the soup base and eat it like a dry snack.
How do you feel about on occasion practicing only eating what can be resupplied to you in LSCO environments? For example not eating poggy bait to better understand what to eat and pack out in that environment.
Tortillas with peanut butter are legit. Realistically, I’d be more concerned I brought enough cigs to the field; It gets expensive making snack runs every time before the field. A little bottle of mio is also nice.
Pb packs are good, but it is dry. I would chug the coffee packs if I needed a perk. I always had my canteen cup and stand. Back in the day, before MRE heaters we had heat tabs. In combat ops we would burn C-4 to heat water. I am surprised you did not mention Nutrient Survival as they are all the rage. I have never tried them, but they do have snack options...
