About
Redcon1’s MRE is a meal replacement product. Its name is an abbreviation of “Meals Ready to Eat”.
MRE is made from blends of “real protein” and natural ingredients from the “best possible” whole foods sources. Ingredients include milk, eggs, coconut, salmon, pea and rice protein, sweet potatoes, goji berries and more.
The meal replacement contains 47g of protein per serving. Each portion also contains 75g of carbohydrates – 8g of which come from dietary fibers in the form of rolled oats and sweet potatoes.
In contrast to other meal replacements such as yfood and Instant Knockout Complete, this powder contains a high carb content making it unsuitable for diabetics and people that find it easy to put on weight, therefore we do not recommend this in our best meal replacements list.
In addition to the proteins and complex carbohydrates mentioned above, MRE also comprises “healthy fats” in the form of MCT oils.
jamesjsix –
This MRE is definitely ready to eat
—-Quick Summary—-
This MRE is one you should have no problem scarfing down while you’re on the go
—-Introduction—-
Greetings SR! Back again with another review and this time it’s MRE brought to you by Redcon1. Firstly, I want to thank the SR TROOPs program and Redcon1 for giving me the opportunity to try this product out. If you want to know of my background, you can find it in my profile here at: https://supplementreviews.com/users/jamesjsix
—-Ingredient Profile—-
7.8/10 Nutritional Info: Serving Size 4 Scoops (130g total, wow!) Servings Per Container 25 Calories 525 Calories from Fat 35 Total Fat 4g Saturated Fat <1g Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 200mg Potassium 250mg Total Carbohydrate 75g Dietary Fiber 8g Sugars 5g Protein 47g Ingredients: Rolled oats Protein blend: salmon protein, chicken protein, egg albumin, brown rice protein, and pea protein Dehydrated yam Dehydrated sweet potato Pea starch Coconut water powder Dehydrated blueberry fruit Dehydrated goji fruit Maltodextrin, dextrose MCT oil Natural flavor Cellulose gum Cinnamon Salt Sucralose Acesulfame potassium. Starting with the macros, a full serving of 4 scoops gives you a big punch towards whatever your calories and nutritional needs are and has a fairly common 1:1.5 ratio of protein to carbs. This meal replacement is a little different from many others in that its based on "real food" choices. Usually we'll see a heavy portion of milk proteins, either whey or casein, but this product has salmon and chicken protein as the first 2 ingredients in the protein blend with 3 other supporting protein choices. I both love this and am concerned at the same time. The pro to this is that a variety of proteins is nice, especially for a MRP, as it can hit different nutritional notes than just chugging more whey. The downside to me is that they are no specific on the protein source. Maybe it's just me but I see chicken protein and I want to know what part of the chicken (or fish) that I'm eating. Carbs are also from more recognizable food choices with rolled oats (a lifter's carb if there ever was one) as the first choice with dehydrated additions after that. Fat is minimal but seems to be generally derived from coconut sources. All in all the ingredient profile is a refreshing different take on a MRP and fits a niche in the marketplace that wasn't well addressed.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
7/10 Taste isn't super important to every supplement but for a meal replacement, its high on my list of things I care about. I received the Dutch Apple Pie flavor and while its doesn't quite hit the taste head on, it certainly reminds me of it. The dominant flavor is apple cinnamon (which really comes through) that finishes with the fairly benign oat flavor. Given the ingredients list, I think this is as good or better than I expected and was an overall positive. Mixability was okay, but nothing to write home about. Clumping wasn't an issue at all but the heavy concentration of oats made this not a shake that's going to fully dissolve. If you've ever had a protein shake in a blender bottle that you added oat flour to or made a shake with a blender and used rolled oats, its similar to those, the oats stand out and give it a "sticky" mouth feel. Dosing is a highlight, simply because the smaller scooper allowed me to take only what I needed for my macros for the day. Four scoops usually ended up being a really heavy shake so my normal was to take 3 scoops. Something as simple as the smaller scooper made a big difference for me in this product as some have a single huge scoop that is harder to deal with.
—-Effectiveness—-
8/10 As a meal replacement option, this is pretty darn good. As I said, I played around a bit with the dosing and found that the sweet spot for me was 3 scoops and I almost always mixed with water. This gave me right about 400 calories and struck the right balance for me between saiting my hunger while not leaving me overly full and sitting like a brick in my stomach. It functioned for me as a MRP should, it replaced one of my meals on days i was at work and didn't have time/access to real food.
—-Value—-
8.3/10 The best I could find for this supplement is $60 for a 100 scoop tub of ~7lbs. This puts you at $.60 a scoop total and if you use the standard dose you'll pay $2.40/serving. Another way to look at this is that you're essentially getting 219 calories per dollar. At this price point, the value is pretty high in raw macro terms and if you are looking for a real food choice, it's definitely a good value. For comparison sakes, you are getting more calories per dollar than in many mass gainers as well as comparable MRPs. Most of those do not break 200 calories per dollar. In general, MRP (and mass gainers as well) value is always in the eye of the holder for a product like this as you are paying for convenience calories, food is almost always cheaper. Compare this to a meal-prepped option, this is almost certainly more expensive but it's also easy to make, keep good, and transport.
—-Side Effects—-
None at 3 scoops, 4 scoops made me feel a bit bloated which is why i reduced my dosage.
—-Conclusion—-
8.1/10 I like this product and if i was looking to use a meal replacement shake normally, this would be high on my list of ones I could choose from. What sets this apart from the pack is the real food choices contained therein and the corresponding flavors. While the taste isn't spot on, its pretty good and different from almost any other I had from milk based sources and the calories come at a pretty good value. I'd like for there to be a little more info in the protein sources particularly, but it wouldn't prevent me from buying the product in the future. Recommended.
DaSlaya –
I was ready to eat this meal!!
—-Quick Summary—-
Great meal replacement with a low sodium ingredient profile. Mixture of different proteins (no Whey) that make you wonder what the actual Amino Acid profile is, but fairly priced and does its job other than that. Dutch apple pie flavor is delicious mixed with milk or water.
—-Introduction—-
38 years old and lift four days a week, while still recovering to total reconstructive surgery to my left ankle. I actually picked up this tub of MRE back in January, and drank it slowly here and there. It was not until the last month I started to use MRE as my breakfast on days that I workout and have to go to work, otherwise I would just cook breakfast. I have also been on a quest to try out all the REDCON1 products I can, since I find the company interesting. Lets see how this MRE compares to the standard military MRE.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
A serving size here is 4x130g scoops. Each serving size nets you 525 Calories (35 from fat), 4g Total Fat, 200mg Sodium, 250mg Potassium, 75g Carbs, and 47g Protein. I like the low sodium content in here, as I have to watch my sodium intake since I am prone to being diabetic due to family history (getting older is real fun). There are 15 other reviews of this that go over different portions of the ingredient profile, so I will not belabor the point here. Of note, rolled oats are your source of carbs, but lets touch quickly on the differnt types of proteins included and discuss quick pro’s and con’s. [u]Beef Protein Isolate (bovine):[/u] Beef Protein is derived from processed beef, in this case the bovine. This is still a protein so it will aid you in building muscle and contains all essential amino acids. The drawbacks here are it does not contain BCAAs, and has a lower bioavailability index. [u]Salmon Protein (fish):[/u] I could not find much information about this at all, but from what I understand it digests very quickly. Some studies have even shown the Hydrosolate version digesting faster than Whey, but that is not the type of protein here, so we can only guess this is fast digesting. Unsure of Amino profile here. [u]Chicken Protein:[/u] Obviously this comes from chickens, and is a complete protein, meaning it contains all the necessary amino acids. [u]Egg Albumin (egg):[/u] This is derived from egg whites. Egg protein digests at a moderate speed, and is said to contain all essential amino acids. Egg white powder is said to be a complete protein, so this helps to make up for some of the lesser proteins here. [u]Brown Rice Protein:[/u] This is low in lysine, but high in other amino acids. Combined with Pea Protein you get all 9 essential amino acids. [u]Pea Protein:[/u] Made from yellow peas and is high in BCAAs and gluten free, lactose free, and dairy free for easy digestion. Here we have some BCAAs but since this is listed last, it has the lowest amount in the protein blend, so we have no idea what we are really getting. I will echo everyone else’s sentiments on their review, REDCON1 you need to add an Amino Acid Profile to this. I think the sources of protein are great combined with the rolled oats and multitude of other ingredients to mimic real food, but its hard to say now nutritionally valuable this really is. When you break it down and look you may be getting enough Amino Acids to be that “building block” of protein synthesis, but its really hard to say since we do not know how much of each protein is in here. It could be all beef and a sprinkle of the rest for all we know. Otherwise this has a unique and interesting profile, and I appreciate the low sodium content, which is hard to find in protein powders these days. Of note if you are allergic to Eggs, Fish (Salmon), or Coconut then stay away from this product.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
[u]Taste:[/u] I got the Dutch Apple Pie flavor and loved it. It had a very strong cinnamon taste to it and almost does taste like an apple pie. I mixed this with milk mostly, but also used water and the flavor was definitely stronger in the milk, but was still good in water. I enjoyed it. [u]Mixability:[/u] 4 scoops in 15oz of water or milk you would think would be a nightmare. This actually mixed well with a few good shakes in my blender bottle. If I let it sit for an extended period of time while I was driving to work, it would settle to the bottom, and I would get a lot of residue left over. Other than that it mixed pretty well. [u]Dosing:[/u] I always used 4 scoops (1 serving) for breakfast on days I worked out and had to go to work. Dose this as you need for a meal replacement, do not rely on this solely to get your daily macro’s. Its a SUPPLEMENT after all.
—-Effectiveness—-
The big things when it comes to a meal replacement or protein powder for me are was it easily digestible, did it keep me full, and how was the taste. Yes this digested very well for me. 4 scoops would almost get me on the verge of feeling bloated, but instead it was that full feeling after a big meal. If it was any more servings this would have made me feel bloated, but as it is worked fine and digested really well for me. The goal for this was to drink it around 9am, and keep me full until noon. It did just that, I was more reliant on the actual clock to eat lunch than my hunger. For 3 hours this would keep me nice and full, but at times I was busy I got to that 4 hour mark and was hungry, so there are limits to this. Finally, the taste I enjoyed. While some people do not play this in as a big factor, when it comes to protein or meal replacements in this day and age, you need it to taste good because your competition already has that figured out. Good to go here. I thoroughly enjoyed using this as a true meal replacement.
—-Value—-
You can get this from DPS Nutrition currently at $59.99 for 25 servings (100 scoops), depending on how you take this. That comes out to $2.40 per serving which I think is okay. At first glance you may think its expensive, but its basically a meal, so I judge this off it being breakfast for me. I would pay more for a breakfast elsewhere with the convenience this has, so I think its a fair price especially when I factor in how useful of a product this was for me.
—-Side Effects—-
None.
—-Conclusion—-
So yes, I did enjoy this MRE much more than the military’s version. Yes I know the military has updated their MRE’s over the years, but I am old school and stared eating MREs in 1999, so I prefer delicious dutch apple pie over that any day of the week. In all seriousness if you are looking for a meal replacement then you should consider this, because it is a great option. I could have rated this product higher, but until REDCON1 fully discloses the amount of each protein included and shows an amino acid profile, I have to stop in the 8’s. I highly recommend this and stamp it with the DaSlaya stamp of approval!
kt34lifting –
MRE Heavy hitting Meal Replacement
—-Quick Summary—-
I have heard a lot of good things about the Redcon 1 brand, and for good reasons. The product I heard about the most was the MRE and MRE lite. When I saw this product on the website I decided to give it a try, And I was not disappointed however at the price point I am not sure I would go out and purchase it myself. Before I get started I want to put two things out there, thanks a lot to the SR TROOP program and Redcon 1 for sending me this product. Secondly, I always like to add that I am not at all a nutritionist or have any degree of sorts to back up scientifically what I say in this review. I only go off my experience gathered from lifting and what I can read from scholarly articles to bodybuilding articles. On to the review…
—-Introduction—-
When I requested this product I was starting a lean bulk, and then midway through I began a little heavier bulk. The product for sure works better when I was on the heavier bulk because I consumed this basically daily every night to finish off my eating. During the process of using this product, I did see some weight gain as I intended since I was mainly using this as an extra meal for the added macros. However, I did try it as a meal replacement also which was very beneficial due to how filling this shake could be.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
The ingredient profile is actually really appealing when you look at it from a macro and healthy diet standpoint. The large 4 scoops of this pack 525 calories, 35 from fat (4 grams of total fat), 75 grams carbs with 47 grams of protein. Ingredients: Rolled oats- Just oats which are commonly a source of protein, and fiber. Protein blend: salmon protein, chicken protein, egg albumin, brown rice protein, and pea protein- All real protein from real life ingredients which is a good thing. Dehydrated yam- Yam is much like a sweet potato( see below ) mainly a source of carbs. Dehydrated sweet potato- Sweet Potato is a common carbohydrate for bodybuilders, one of the most common sources of carbs for people in the fitness industry Pea starch- is a starchy carbohydrate, that is added obviously to help get the carbs into this meal replacement Coconut water powder- Coconut Water is known for its great ability to hydrate, this is probably why it is included. Dehydrated blueberry fruit- Obviously, the common benefits from getting fruits and the vitamins they possess. Dehydrated goji fruit- These are like a “superfruit” with many of health benefits that are claimed, and I have yet to see anything negative on it, so it seems good from my perspective. Maltodextrin, dextrose- Common food additives, maltodextrin is questionable for if it is good for you or not, and dextrose is a common form of glucose. MCT oil- This is a newer “craze” in the supplement industry from what I have seen. It is a derivative from coconut oil and helps provide healthy energy to the body and can possibly aid in brain function and help promote weight loss. Natural Flavor, Cellulose Gum, Cinnamon, Salt, Sucralose, and Acesulfame potassium- All of these are here for flavor and taste, for anyone not aware the last two are common artificial sweeteners. The full ingredient list is solid, sourced from real food ingredients, so that is hard to beat.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
[b]Taste[/b]- The taste of this was difficult to judge due to how hard it was to put down. The taste itself was not that bad when mixed with plenty of cold water to help thin it out. However, the mixability was a key to this. [b]Mixability[/b]- With Milk, The mixability was way to thick for me to get down. With around a whole water bottle with the recommended serving of 4 scoops the mixability was smooth enough that you could get it down, and with minimal clumping. [b]Dosing[/b]- From what I noticed the dosing was on point. While using this I did gain some weight while retaining my muscle definition and abs.
—-Effectiveness—-
Effectiveness is the hardest section to fill out for supplements like these or proteins. As far as it doing what it was supposed to I believe it does. As I stated I did gain some weight, also the MRE digested easily. The MRE also if needed could act as a full meal and keep me from needing to eat an actual meal, it would not make me feel super full but it would give me energy and curb any intense hunger. However the MRE also because it did not fill you up, you could use it in addition to an actual meal to pack in some macros and extra calories.
—-Value—-
The value is not bad when you think about it as a meal. you can normally find it around 50 dollars for 25 servings or 100 scoops. As a meal that’s around 2 dollars per serving which as a meal that is not a bad value.
—-Side Effects—-
No side effects, as said it digested good and caused no stomach issues.
—-Conclusion—-
In conclusion as a meal for when you are in a hurry, or if you are in a caloric surplus and having issues gaining weight the MRE is very beneficial. However, as a product, the flavor could use some help and the mixability could be better to decrease the thickness of the shake. A solid product that could be improved on for sure.
MarsheS –
Hey Redcon1, I wanna buy this MRE until the day I die, what price can I get!?
—-INTRODUCTION—- Thanks to [b]Redcon1[/b] for participating in the SR TROOP program and SupplementReviews for making this connection possible. I was looking for a product to help me lean bulk and I was able to grab MRE. I also wanted to try a real meal replacement supplement. I was also curious of how these ingredients would work together… —-INGREDIENT PROFILE—- Other users did a good job explaining this section. [u]Protein Types:[/u] Beef Protein Isolate, Salmon Protein, Chicken Protein, Egg Albumin, Brown Rice Protein and Pea Protein. But there’s also Oats and they have Protein also so I wonder how much Protein is coming from the Oats… [u]Carbohydrates:[/u] Rolled Oats, Dehydrated Yam, Dehydrated Sweet Potato, Pea Starch. [u]Fruits:[/u] Coconut Water Powder, Dehydrated Blueberry Fruit, Dehydrated Goji Fruit. [u]Fat:[/u] MCT Oil. This is where the product is lacking, Total Fat. Overall, great profile but I’ll have to give it a 8.5/10 because fat needs to be higher and also we don’t know how much Protein is coming from the Oats. Also using Beef Protein Isolate will reduce a bit the points given because there are high doubts companies use real meat without the other parts of the meat to get the protein. —-TASTE/MIXABILITY/DOSING—- *TASTE: I received Banana Nut Bread. P E R F E C T. Just like the name says, it was a combination between Banana, Nuts, and Oats, all of them balanced greatly. 10/10 *MIXABILITY: It wasn’t bad and there were no clumps. However, you might feel the oats at the bottom of your shake. The easy way of solving this minor issue is to revolve/swirl the liquid when you’re close to the bottom of the shake, that way you won’t feel the oat particles or whatever their name is lol. *DOSING: I usually just took 2 scoops per day, sometimes took 3 scoops, especially when used as a real meal replacement. Tried it once or twice with 4 scoops just to test it. The amount of liquid (usually water) I used for 2 scoops was 8oz and 12oz for 3 scoops. —-EFFECTIVENESS—- I used MRE to add extra Protein and Carbohydrates to my daily diet for the purpose of lean bulking and I also used it for being a real meal replacement, for example, when I didn’t have time to eat a proper pre-workout meal, I would use MRE. In both of these situations, MRE was very effective. The fact of not having any dairy protein (whey, casein) was excellent, first to ‘rest’ from them and second because milk and pre-workout supplements usually don’t react well together, at least in my case so it was excellent to use as a pre-workout meal. It was also effective for adding extra Protein and Carbohydrates. 2 scoops gave you 37g Carbs and 23.5g Protein, that’s a good amount for any person to add to their diet, let’s say if your breakfast, dinner or lunch lacks any of these 2 macronutrients. MRE was an excellent addition to my daily diet, without digestive problems, kept me full, helped me as a pre-workout meal, helped me reduce cravings, helped me to replace any of the daily meals… overall, excellent! I would have given a 10 on Effectiveness if it wasn’t for the low amount of total Fat. It only has 4 grams of Total Fat and that’s based on a full serving (4 scoops) so 2 scoops give me 2g and 3 scoops 3g. I think Redcon1 was scared the Fat would cause digestive issues so they decided to put a low amount. —-VALUE—- MRE’s website has it for $59.99 right now, they had it on $79.99 days/weeks ago though but you could always find some 20% coupon somewhere. BB has it for $79.99 but all 3 flavors are in backorder so something might happen there. GNC has it for $79.99 but I think it has a BOGO 50% offer right now. Amazon has it for $79.99. Walmart has 2 units left on $64.99. FitnessfirstUSA has it on $64.99. So anyways, $79.99 seems to be the “standard” price but there are always coupons/discounts/promos/etc that you can use to make it cheaper. I saw a great deal on MRE but I won’t say it because I don’t want you people taking my products! hahahaha —-SIDE EFFECTS—- None. —-SUGGESTIONS FOR THE COMPANY—- 1. Add more Total Fat (the good healthy fat of course) to this product… OR make another MRE with more Total Fat. Some avocado powder would be good. 2. Consider replacing the Beef Protein Isolate or putting less of it and more amount of the other types of Protein.
Sparticide –
Delicious, filling, convenient meals.
—-Quick Summary—-
MRE from Redcon1 is a whole foods (no whey or casein) meal replacement powder and is arguably their breakout product.
—-Introduction—-
It’s well understood that the surest method for gains acquisition is to eat plenty of lean whole foods, but life is fast moving and there isn’t always time to put together a proper meal every time. Enter meal replacements; the solution to this conundrum. Meal replacement products are convenient to use and can usually be taken on the go. But more often than not these meal replacements are just whey and/or casein with some carbs and maybe fats added to make it “complete”. With a competent whole foods profile, MRE seeks to provide us with the actual foods we are likely replacing.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
The first thing (for some, the only thing) that people want to know when shopping around for a meal replacement or mass gainer is the macros. It’s safe to say that the macros are not a weak point for this product. They are as follows: Nutritional Info: Serving Size 4 Scoops Servings Per Container: 25 Calories 525 Calories from Fat 35 Total Fat 4g Saturated Fat <1g Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 200mg Potassium 250mg Total Carbohydrate 75g Dietary Fiber 8g Sugars 5g Protein 47g Already a promising set of macros, wouldn't mind a bit more fat in the profile but its not a dealbreaker in my opinion. The next matter of importance is the source of the above macros, the quality. Ingredients: Rolled oats Protein blend: salmon protein, chicken protein, egg albumin, brown rice protein, and pea protein Dehydrated yam Dehydrated sweet potato Pea starch Coconut water powder Dehydrated blueberry fruit Dehydrated goji fruit Maltodextrin, dextrose MCT oil Natural flavor Cellulose gum Cinnamon Salt Sucralose Acesulfame potassium. Solid choices for whole food sources, a handful of familiar faces, and some MCT oil make for an encouraging batch of ingredients. The one thing this product absolutely needs is the amino acid profile on the product label. Any concerns a person may have while deciding the purchase of MRE would be taken care of with this information being made readily accessible.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
So far this is the best tasting meal replacement I've tried. If we include mass gainer products this takes 2nd to Major Mass, which is absurdly well flavored. That being said, MRE has a more natural "food" feel which I prefer. This is likely the "chalky" feel that other reviewers have referred to, so texture preference will play a big part in your enjoyment of this product. I've tried every flavor of this product and enjoyed them all. That being said my top 3 (in order) would have to be the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Sweet Potato Pie, and Strawberry Shortcake. The range of flavors feels quite diverse in spite of there only being 7 as of writing this, so it will be difficult to not find a flavor you enjoy. Mixability is quite good considering that rolled oats is the most prominent ingredient. I've had no real trouble stirring this product but a shaker is enough easier to make it my preferred method. I take anywhere from 3 to 4 scoops mixed in water (the macros on this make a milk base unnecessary) depending on how hungry I am or my current diet strategy (for a bulk I would even consider 5 scoops). I would feel anywhere from satisfied to full afterwards, so I'd certainly call this an effective meal replacement.
—-Effectiveness—-
A good meal replacement makes you feel well fed, doesn't make you feel bloated and irritable, and digests well. This product checks all those boxes so I would consider this an effective meal replacement.
—-Value—-
Even at it's $79.99 MSRP the value here is pretty good when considering its function. But you'll likely never pay that high a price; discounts codes are provided by Redcon1 fairly regularly on social media and their website. Amazon usually has this for $60-$70 also. A tub contains 100 scoops, intended to be consumed 4 scoops at a time for a total 25 servings. Because of the scoop size it is very easy to customize your ideal serving size depending on your fitness goals.
—-Side Effects—-
No adverse side effects to report here.
—-Conclusion—-
MRE is a delicious way to fill in for meals you don't have time to make without compromising quality. Easy recommendation.