When I went to my National Guard Annual Training (AT), I took with me RXBars and Epic bars as well as some random various jerkys and unsalted almonds and cashews. I survived the two week AT by eating:

• 1 RXBar
• 2 Epic bars
• 1/3 cup almonds or cashews
• 1 orange or apple

The cost of each meal came out to around $7, give or take a buck. This isn’t too bad, although it’s not cheap. What it was, however, was healthy for me and allowed me to maintain my diet and even lose a little more weight. I could likely have upped the volume of food to maintain my weight, but I didn’t need to. I never felt hungry, I had no cravings, and I always felt energized and ready to go.

For two weeks, I ate at least two meals a day that I brought with me with the third meal being provided by the Army. The result was:

• ~$14/day
• ~$98/week
• ~$196/AT

I could have eaten the food they served us and MRE’s at lunch, but I didn’t want to deal with the stomach issues and the exorbitant amount of carbs that were in the food they were serving. My peace of mind was definitely worth the money spent, and my body thanks me for it as well.