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.
