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Category: Science

Vegetarian With a Kick: Mexican Style Rice and Bean Bowl MRE Menu 14
Yesterday, I enjoyed MRE Menu 14: Mexican Style Rice and Bean Bowl from Case B. After teaching one class and spending an hour in the library archives pulling materials for a graduate student from the City Tech Science Fiction Collection, I was ready for some sustenance before teaching my evening class. This MRE hit the spot!

Menu 14 includes the following items clockwise from the top left:
- Carboard Sleeve
- Mexican Style Rice and Bean Bowl Entree
- Pretzel Nuggets Honey Mustard & Onion Flavor
- Crackers
- Peanut Butter
- Beverage Pouch
- Water-activated Heater
- Spoon
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Chocolate Protein Drink Powder
- First Strike Nutritious Energy Bar Cran-Raspberry Flavor
- Accessory Packet (Coffee, Creamer, Sugar, Artificial Sweetener, Salt, Moist Towelette, TP)
I tried the rice and beans before adding the crushed red pepper, and I liked the flavor as is and saved the pepper for later. I didn’t try any of the sides of this MRE, because I also brought some dessert from home. I’ll mix-and-match the sides with other MREs in the future.
February 5, 2025
Canned-Style Comfort Food in MRE Menu 18: Beef Ravioli in Meat Sauce
Last week, I brought MRE Menu 18: Beef Ravioli in Meat Sauce (from a 3/25 inspection date Case B) to work so that I could have dinner quickly between my first class followed by office hours and then my evening class. I was so hungry that I didn’t take pictures of the contents. Suffice to say that it was tasty and filling, and I saved some of the sweets for later.

Menu 18 included these items:
- Cardboard sleeve
- Beef Ravioli in Meat Sauce entree pack
- Italian Bread Sticks
- Cheese Spread
- M&M’s
- Water-activated heater
- Accessory Pack (gum, matches, coffee, sugar, sweetener, creamer, and TP)
- Carbohydrate Electrolyte Beverage Powder: Fruit Punch
- Spoon
- Recovery Bar, Salted Caramel Marshmallow Crisp
- Tabasco Sauce in Glass Bottle
The Tabasco Pepper Sauce was the real prize in this MRE. I haven’t received a Tabasco Sauce bottle in years from the many cases that I’ve purchased. Apparently, they had been removed for about a decade before being re-implemented shortly before the MRE case this menu pouch came from was produced. So, I should have some more Tabasco to look forward to as I work my way through this case!

For my dinner that night, I ate the Italian Break with Cheese Spread and the Ravioli in Meat Sauce. The ravioli remind me of miniaturized Chef Boyardee in a pouch instead of a can. I saved the Recovery Bar for another day–maybe a long hike. I’ve already enjoyed the M&M’s mixed with some peanuts and raisins for trail mix.

While MREs’ main function is ready nutrition, its morale function via its nostalgic, tasty, and sweet contents can’t be understated.
February 4, 2025
Two Desserts for the Price of One: MRE Menu 24, Southwest Style Beef and Black Beans
A few nights ago, I dug into another of my MRE favorites–Menu 24: Southwest Style Beef and Black Beans from the B Case (packed 3/22 with 3/25 inspection date) that I opened recently. The entree has a mild spicy flavor and the beef, beans, corn, and sauce work well together. As I’ve noticed in some recent cases, the tortillas are stuck together. The trick to loosen them up is to heat them with the supplied water-activated heater or microwave them (removed from the pouch, of course) for 10 seconds or so. The reason that I titled this post two desserts for the price of one is that this MRE includes Cherry Blueberry Cobbler and Applesauce Pound Cake. All around, this is a very tasty meal!

Menu 24 includes clockwise from the upper left:
- Southwest Style Beef and Black Beans entree pouch
- Cardboard sleeve
- Cherry Blueberry Cobbler pouch
- Applesauce Pound Cake
- Hot Beverage Bag
- Water-activated Heater
- Beverage Base Lemonade
- Spoon
- Accessory Pack
- Cheese Spread
- Beef Stick
- Tortilla, Chipotle
The Accessory Pack included clockwise from the upper left:
- Bill’s Brew Freeze Dried Coffee
- Creamer, Nno-Dairy, Dry
- Sugar
- Zero Calorie Sweetener
- Iodized Salt
- Chewing Gum
- Moist Towelette
- TP
To make my meal, I emptied the Southwest Style Beef and Black Beans into a bowl and microwaved it for 60 seconds.

Then, I spooned it out onto the chipotle-flavored tortillas and added cheese on top of the beef.

For dessert, I microwaved the cherry blueberry cobbler for 30 seconds in a bowl.

I enjoyed the applesauce pound cake as is out of the pouch!
January 9, 2025
Mixing Spaghetti Noodles with MRE Menu 20, Italian Sausage with Pepper and Onions in Marinara Sauce
In the waning days of December, I wanted to have spaghetti, but I didn’t have any sauce on-hand to a make it. So, I thought to open one of the Italian-themed MREs in the B Case (packed 3/22 with 3/25 inspection date) that I opened recently to mix with some noodles that I had in the cabinet. Here’s Menu 20: Italian Sausage with Pepper and Onions in Marinara Sauce.

After opening the outer protective bag, all of the contents are tightly wrapped in a thinner plastic bag.

The contents of the MRE included the following going clockwise from the upper left:
- Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onions in Marinara Sauce
- Cardboard entree info card/sleeve
- Trail Mix, Recovery with Beef Jerky
- Spoon
- Accessory Pack
- Beverage Base Orange Type III
- Water-activated heater
- Hot beverage drink pouch
- Cheese Spread
- Crackers
- Dry Roasted Peanuts
- Cranberries (Osmotic)
The accessory pack included these items clockwise from the upper left:
- Bill’s Brew Freeze Dried Coffee
- Zero Calorie Sweetner
- TP
- Sugar
- Iodized Salt
- Chewing Gum
- Moist Towelette
- Creamer, Non-Dairy
For dinner that night, I cooked a small pot of Barilla Whole Grain Spaghetti noodles for 7 minutes.

Then, I poured out the Italian sausage entree into a large bowl and microwaved it for 60 seconds.

And added the cooked noodles and some crushed red pepper to make it spicier (after tasting the sauce first).

To supplement my meal, I ate the trail mix before thinking to take a picture of it. It was my first time having this particular kind of “recovery” trail mix in an MRE. It contained almonds, beef jerky chunks, and cranberries. It tasted good, but also a little interesting, perhaps due to the mixing of salty and sweet flavors.

In the field, you can crush up your crackers and add them to the Italian sausage. For that matter, you can add the cheese spread, too. Since I had noodles and I wanted spaghetti, I went that direction instead of using only what was in the MRE. That’s the thing about enjoying MREs–you can mix-and-match them with what you have on-hand and what you find in between different menu pouches.
January 2, 2025
Blue Blocking Orange Glasses for Indoor and Outdoor Use

A long while back, Y suggested that I wear blue-blocking orange colored glasses in the hours leading to bedtime to help me avoid being woken by the blue light coming from my computer display, television, overhead lights, and smartphone. I can report that donning orange colored glasses a couple of hours before sleep (and taking with 1.5mg of melatonin and 700mg of magnesium glycinate about an hour before bed) helps me fall asleep much more quickly than I used to before wearing the glasses every evening.

As I began developing presbyopia or age-related impairment of my eyes to focus on nearby objects, I upgraded from the pair of glasses on the left to the ones on the right to accommodate my reading glasses as shown below.

I repurposed my original pair of orange glasses to wear when I go out for walks at night with Y. I noticed that the bright lights of cars could sometimes trigger a migraine. Wearing these glasses reduces the intensity of on-coming car’s headlights on newer vehicles, which as others have noted, seem to be far brighter than halogen lights on older cars and trucks.

To illustrate how well these glasses cut out blue light, you can see the blue Prospect Park West Holy Pita restaurant sign turn to an orange-white color through the orange lens below.

December 27, 2024