MRE: "Man, really enjoyable!"

heatermeal1.jpgA couple weeks ago, Ellen wrote about the HeaterMeal® she picked up at the National Association of Counties meeting in Chicago. They're pre-cooked, self-heating meals ready-to-eat -- MREs -- that can be distributed in crisis situations (to disaster victims, first responders, etc).

Well, we finally had a taste test on the 13th Floor. ("Finally" is a relative term, I guess, since the things have a shelf life of, like, two years.)

You'll be happy to know that MREs are not only filling and easy to make, they're delicious!

Culinary ruminations -- and another pic -- after the jump.

First of all, the prep. All you do is put the meal pack in a special sack and add water (which is even provided in its own little bag). The water reacts with a chemical strip in the sack, and begins boiling almost instantly, heating the meal in about 10 minutes.

Then, the tasting. The meal we tried was Chicken Pasta Italiana. It was a mix of tomatoes, pasta, chicken, kidney beans, celery and carrots.

It was delicious! It was thick, almost like a stew. But the beans and chicken and vegetables all maintained their individual consistency and taste.

360 calories, 10 grams of fat, and awfully tasty -- can't be beat. By the way, here are some reviews of a bunch of other HeaterMeals®.

Oh and, lest you think we're shilling for HeaterMeals® over here, we'd be thrilled -- THRILLED -- to review any other food products you'd like to send our way.

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Ellen steams the HeaterMeal® while Elizabeth looks on. Exciting!!