2013 Canadian IMP: Lasagna Review

[SentientTootsieRoll]

Hello MREInfo!

I was feeling adventurous and dug into my small collection of rations and decided to try an IMP for lunch. The one I chose is a 2013 Lasagna (thanks to forum member Westview for telling me the year). Let's break it open!

I noticed there's a website address on the back of it. Interesting. It's quite a long URL to remember, and if you're in the field, I wouldn't think you'd have access to a computer or any internet connected device to go that website. Nonetheless, I am unable to access it. Is it a private address? Did I spell it incorrectly? Or is it just simply a dead link? The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine didn't have anything either. http://admmat.mil.ca/cosmat/lbi/dfoodsv ... amme_e.asp
"admmat.mil.ca" doesn't even point to an IP address, so my guess is that it's either private or no longer functional. In either case, let's continue!

Here's what we have in this one:
-Lasagna
-Baked Dessert with Coconut Filling
-2x Strawberry Sports Drink Mixes
-Bread
-Peek Freans Shortcake Biscuits
-Nescafe 3 in 1 Instant Coffee Mix
-Peanut Butter
-Raspberry Jam
-Hot Sauce
-Matches
-Wet nap
-Gum
-Werther's Original Coffee Candy
-Toothpick
-Spoon
-Napkin
-Beverage Bag

This is looking pretty solid so far! Here's a look at the cardboard sleeves and the entree's prior to being opened. I'm assuming the date would be on these.

A quick look at the strawberry drink mix before and after adding water:

And last but certainly not least, the whole meal prepped and ready to eat!

Hoo boy, where so start? The Lasagna was just okay. In my opinion, it had just a bit too much meat and not enough cheese and sauce. Everyone's taste differ, so many may like more meat and less of the cheese and sauce. The coconut desert was fantastic! The packaging said to warm it up, which I thought was interesting, but I did anyway. It had a nice balance of chocolate and coconut. What a great moral boost indeed! The bread was pretty good, I think it tastes a little better than standard US MRE wheat snack bread. The tastes were somewhat similar, but the Canadian version has a better texture and tastes a tad bit more natural. Adding some raspberry jam really brings it to life. The shortbread cookies were lacking in flavor. I hoped for a stronger shortening taste, but they were still pretty good to munch on regardless.

The strawberry drink mix was very sweet and quenched any thirst I had. Seriously, that was probably the best tasting drink mix I've had in a ration. And they give you two of them! What more could you ask for? I didn't drink the coffee mix because I don't like to drink coffee past noon for obvious reasons. But I've had it before in a different IMP and I really enjoyed it. I didn't use the hot sauce as I don't like my food spicy. I ate the peanut butter directly, it tasted like any other peanut butter. I finished everything off with the remaining strawberry drink mix, the coffee candy and the gum and they left me very satisfied with this menu.

I was asked if I liked the IMP better or the US MRE better. I really don't know - to me, I see a lot of similarities. The lasagna had that typical MRE smell and taste to it. The things I liked about this ration compared to a US MRE are:
-The desert tasted amazing, perhaps far better than any US MRE one that comes to mind.
-The bread had a better texture and taste.
-They provide two drink mixes, which taste great.

I haven't had many IMPs, but the few that I've had, including this one, left me pretty satisfied. Overall, there are different things I like about both the US MRE and the Canadian IMP. Thanks for reading!

[Westview]

Not sure what month it was packed, but the 13 in IMP 13 RIC means it was packed in 2013

[SentientTootsieRoll]

Makes sense, Westview. Thanks for the clarification!

[sourwes]

That looked like a very nice ration! I've not had that particular menu, but the only IMP I've had I did not like was poutine. Overall they are excellent quality and in my top 3. Thanks for sharing!

[SentientTootsieRoll]

You're welcome! I've never had the poutine, but someone on YouTube did a review of it and I was really surprised (and perhaps a bit disgusted) that they added chicken to it. That really turned me off, personally. But in all fairness, I'm not a big fan of meat in general.

[BlackDogBob]

Nice review. Looking forward to the next one!

[Apocalypse]

... someone on YouTube did a review of it and I was really surprised (and perhaps a bit disgusted) that they added chicken to it...

Does this mean the ration comes with chicken in it, or the reviewer added it in some misguided crime against Nature?

[sourwes]

... someone on YouTube did a review of it and I was really surprised (and perhaps a bit disgusted) that they added chicken to it...

Does this mean the ration comes with chicken in it, or the reviewer added it in some misguided crime against Nature?

The chicken comes in it

[Apocalypse]

Blasphemy!

[Westview]

You're welcome! I've never had the poutine, but someone on YouTube did a review of it and I was really surprised (and perhaps a bit disgusted) that they added chicken to it. That really turned me off, personally. But in all fairness, I'm not a big fan of meat in general.

About the poutine....It's not a bad tasting menu, i actually like it. But it's not even close to what poutine should be or taste like. Maybe they should call it something else, like potato strips with chicken in gravy. That way people won't be disappointed by any preconceived ideas of what it should taste like.