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Once again I'd like to give a shout-out and big thank you to Drew78 for sending me this LRP, very much appreciated!

Today we have the LRP Menu #8, which is the Spaghetti With Meat Sauce, this one is from 2013, same as the #9 LRP I had done previously. The last time I had a freeze-dried Spaghetti With Meat Sauce entree it was in a 1996 RCW Menu 5-B pouch... where mostly everything was gone rancid, so hopefully this time around I fare better. Haha

First of all, here we have all of the components laid out. Along with the main entree we have Vegetable Crackers, Chocolate Peanut Spread, Nut Raisin Mix, regular M&M's, lemonade beverage mix, Tabasco sauce and assorted other accessories.

For the most part the M&M's were in great shape... a few had their shells broken up, but that's not bad considering this ration was manufactured in 2013 or 2014.

Next we have a nice sizeable portion of the Nut Raisin mix. Mostly peanuts, but we also have a few almonds and hazelnuts mixed in, as well as some raisins and walnut pieces. Tasted perfectly fresh. I always love getting the Nut Raisin Mix.

I've never had the MRE Vegetable Crackers before, but had heard that they are vastly superior to the standard MRE Crackers. These are like night & day compared to the regular ones... they actually have a discernible taste. Not quite as strong as, say, a Breton vegetable cracker, but somewhat similar. The chocolate peanut butter spread was another item I have yet to try and made for an interesting yet delicious flavour combination when put on the vegetable crackers. Savoury and sweet!

To create a different texture and taste profile for the crackers and spread I threw some of the Nut Raisin Mix on top... this was perfect! Only complaint was that there wasn't more of it. Hahaha. I find I do this a lot... throw random items on top of crackers and spread or wheat snack bread and spread... I'm a very texture-oriented eater I believe.

Lastly we have the main entree, Spaghetti With Meat Sauce. I'm not sure if freeze-dried food is SUPPOSED to be bland, but this sure was. Even with some added Tabasco there wasn't much life to it. The pasta had a good enough consistency and the meat was actually present and plentiful... but it was just missing something. A little bit of black pepper would have probably helped... and maybe some onion or garlic flavouring. I try to stick to the flavour that the ration provides; I try not to add any outside extras, as that might not be much of an option out in the field. But I'm sure that some soldier on patrol probably wouldn't complain of such things. This was a very big portion, and that would have been positive enough.

Once again, thanks for stopping by everyone! Hope you have a good one.

(PS: I will not apologize for all of the U's that I put in random words... that's the English I was taught. Hahahaha)

good review. Nice layout on the pics.

elandil wrote:good review. Nice layout on the pics.

Thanks! My tripod for my phone/camera is apparently delayed, so I can't create any new videos until it arrives. Can't go wrong with a written review and some pictures. Hahaha

BTemple wrote: Lastly we have the main entree, Spaghetti With Meat Sauce. I'm not sure if freeze-dried food is SUPPOSED to be bland, but this sure was. Even with some added Tabasco there wasn't much life to it. The pasta had a good enough consistency and the meat was actually present and plentiful... but it was just missing something. A little bit of black pepper would have probably helped... and maybe some onion or garlic flavouring. I try to stick to the flavour that the ration provides; I try not to add any outside extras, as that might not be much of an option out in the field. But I'm sure that some soldier on patrol probably wouldn't complain of such things. This was a very big portion, and that would have been positive enough.

I too don't want to use anything that isn't actually part of the ration or something you'd be expected to have access to (like water).
Of course you can approach ration reviews in different ways. One way is to make the best of them with what you have at home. Another way is to only use what's in the bag. I prefer the latter, but I guess that can get boring after a few years, and then you start experimenting
(I was the one who asked about using carbonated water for some isotonic beverages so I'm threading on thin ice here)

BTemple wrote:(PS: I will not apologize for all of the U's that I put in random words... that's the English I was taught. Hahahaha)

And yet you're Canadian! It's always an issue for me when I try to write in English as we are also taught British English in school but the majority of the English language (media, people, whatever) we encounter is American, so it's confusing.

Nice review, and yes, I have also heard that freeze-dried food is not really the best option if you want rich flavo(u)rs and nice texture, but they're also lighter to carry and I'd expect they should have better shelf-life since there's no water in there, but I have absolutely no experience regarding that so I'm just guessing

And yet you're Canadian! It's always an issue for me when I try to write in English as we are also taught British English in school but the majority of the English language (media, people, whatever) we encounter is American, so it's confusing.


Hahaha well Newfoundland didn't join Canada until 1949, and we are Britain's first overseas colony, so still a strong connection to Britain here and it's language conventions. Also a fair bit of Irish thrown into it as well. Some people who live in communities only an hour away from me sound like they are from County Cork in Ireland.

Great review! And damn why did I never think of combining the but raisin mix with the bread and peanut butter/ jam!
Its a pity the spaghetti seemed bland but I suppose as long as it was edible that's the main thing.
Looking forward to you starting your videos, I'm already subscribed. Need more ration videos !

Conrad wrote:Great review! And damn why did I never think of combining the but raisin mix with the bread and peanut butter/ jam!
Its a pity the spaghetti seemed bland but I suppose as long as it was edible that's the main thing.
Looking forward to you starting your videos, I'm already subscribed. Need more ration videos !

Thanks man. Finally got my tripod in the mail today so hopefully start putting out part 2 and 3 of that First Strike Ration this weekend.
Mixing the toasted corn kernals and cheese spread with wheat snack bread is the best thing I've ever had in an MRE. The spreads act like glue to hold other items on them, like nuts or whatever, works out great!

Great review, thanks for sharing! Looking forward to the next one...