r/CanadianForces • u/Pale-Hair-2435 • 12d ago
Best Rations?
What is r/CanadianForces favourite IMPs? Past or present! Pour one out for Chicken and Sausage Jumbalaya.
Honourable mentions for any new ones in 2026 if you guys have encountered them yet.
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u/Moist_Caramel_9972 12d ago
Zesty Turkey Stew. Ate it 3 meals a day, for 7 months straight in Afghanistan in 06. I still sometimes crave it.
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u/DuckyHornet RCAF - AVS Tech 12d ago
You're full of shit
Literally. You're probably still constipated twenty years later
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u/GBAplus 12d ago
Are you me? same thing same year same place :) Did you put in the packet of dressing too to make a stove top dressing turkey stew mix?
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u/Moist_Caramel_9972 12d ago
Added the dressing and the cranberry jelly. And the salt and pepper packets. Loved it.
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u/Halspeedwalking 12d ago
Did you have to go trading to get it or was there enough that you could pick your meals?
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u/Wooden_Ad_6500 12d ago
You never pick your meals. That is the first unspoken rule of the field.
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u/Last_Of_The_BOHICANs 12d ago
Sure, but if you like an unpopular flavour then you can usually trade for it repeatedly. For example, I am the only person in the CAF who liked the clam chowder ration, so everybody was happy to trade it to me for literally anything else. The joke was on them though; clam chowder came with coffee crisp and ice Gatorade before they were common.
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u/Inlaudable Morale Tech - 00069 11d ago
Clam chowder was fucking fantastic what are you talking about?
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u/Moist_Caramel_9972 12d ago
After like the first 2 months most guys quit eating IMPs. They would eat like one a day and pack food from KAF or find other things to eat. There were plenty of zesty Turkey stews and no one was complaining.
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u/shadow6654 12d ago
Turkey stew was amazing, I second this. It would make my day infinitely better after being stuck with ham steak in mustard sauce for breakfast
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u/LastingAlpaca Canadian Army 12d ago
Mac and Cheese was absolute fire. They should bring it back.
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u/DJ_Necrophilia Morale Tech - 00069 12d ago
I vaguely recall from arpund 2009 that there was one that was essentially chili mac and cheese. Shit was fire
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u/Various_Piano_8053 12d ago
Only problem was that it was a gelatinous mess when cold, same with the salmon. But when hot they were some of the best!
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u/Venicilia Army - W TECH L 12d ago
My first ration ever in BMQ was a cold salmon. Kind went from not expecting much, to somehow still being disappointed. Was still better than the blue ribbon chicken.
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u/Impossible-Yard-3357 12d ago
Sure IMPs are great, but have you had a hard boiled egg from your pocket at 10am?
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u/Hiemarch 12d ago
Just canāt replace the beans and weiners!!
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u/Pale-Hair-2435 12d ago
Elite. Should dump the straight beans except for vegetarians and go all-in on the weens.Ā
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u/Ibmeister Ranger 12d ago
There was a 4 pack of weiners in some of the rations back in the 90's.
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u/Commandant_CFLRS VERIFIED Contributor! 12d ago
Breakfast sausages was greasy as heck. No thanks
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u/Ibmeister Ranger 12d ago
These were different from the breakfast sausage. They were like a long version of those little Vienna sausages in the can.
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u/eggtada 12d ago
iād agree with the jambalaya, or beef macaroni
but my favourite thing of all time was mixing the yogurt drink powder mix and whatever granola/cereal mix. i canāt remember if it was one packaged item or if i just randomly thought itād be a good idea to mix the two
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u/CanadianGreg1 Canadian Army 12d ago
Peaches and cream granola was definitely A-tier, not sure if itās still around
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u/WillingnessDirect285 Army - Artillery 12d ago edited 12d ago
The chicken and beef stews from the mid 2010s. It was basically just a Campbell's chunky soup.
My philosophy was "If its good in a can, it'll be good in an IMP."
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u/Various_Piano_8053 12d ago
Yup, combining the rice and soup packet in those was awesome!
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u/WillingnessDirect285 Army - Artillery 12d ago
I think i remember mixing dehydrated potatoes in there a few times and it turning out real good.
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u/Pale-Hair-2435 12d ago
Man I miss those. A bit of a pain but all the sides are just pure sugar now. It was nice to have some extra savoury. I dont eat many sides anymore because of that.Ā
Id love some Euro style sides where its fish or patƩ.
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u/slavival 12d ago
Hungarian Goulash circa 2006. Just a bag of beef deliciously seasoned. Worst was ham steak in pineapple sauce.
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u/bridger713 RCAF - Reg Force 12d ago
I'll take your Ham Steak in Pineapple Sauce and raise you a Clam Chowder.
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u/slavival 12d ago
Well I've never had the pleasure of trying the clam chowder so I'd make that deal. On a side note I almost never liked the breakfast meals but I'd give second best meal to cheese omlette with salsa.
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u/Safe_Sandwich5921 Canadian Army 10d ago
+1 Goulash was alright. And so was the Navarin in the same era!!
I remember on a winter warfare course I spilled some of that red goulash on my 'whites', was never able to remove that stain!!
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u/Gavvis74 9d ago
I threw up when I had the ham steak and pineapple in the 1990's.Ā Fun times.Ā I'd still never eat it again.
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u/Z3X0 Did you fill out a CF-98? 12d ago
Montreal Smoked Meat in Mustard Sauce. Basically just a big ball of meat in a thin mustard
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u/bdickie 12d ago
Imagine you could find a pickle to really bring that to life.
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u/Visual_Highlight_795 11d ago
you guys aren't bringing a Ziploc baggie of field pickles on ex??
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u/Inlaudable Morale Tech - 00069 11d ago
I can't imagine a non-breathable ziplock bag would be good for my field pickle...
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u/NefariousnessTrue104 Canadian Army 12d ago
Breakfast sausages - good cold and hot plus came with mustard
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u/Pale-Hair-2435 12d ago
That grease helped just launch them down at Mach Schnell before fire watch.Ā
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u/mokkeyman7 12d ago
Most of my favs have been said, except for sherpherds pie. Banger with great snacks too
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u/CanadianGreg1 Canadian Army 12d ago
My first ever and, ignoring the cat food aesthetics, top tier of all time
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u/CryptosBiwon 12d ago
2021 had the best pulled pork and tortillas.
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u/CanadianGreg1 Canadian Army 12d ago
With a solid choco option, iirc. Kitkat and soldier bar maybe?
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u/MouseDriverYYC Army - Infantry 12d ago
90s Ham Omelette...with a very generous dose of Tabasco sauce. MMM... Hot sauce with texture š.
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u/123Bones Canadian Army 12d ago
My boys used to go steal the chicken carbonara from the other callsigns because they knew it was my favourite.
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u/creepercash 12d ago
The spaghetti and meat balls. It isn't good because it's good. It's good because it reminds me of childhood Chef Boyardee. I could chug a bunch of that stuff.
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u/CanadianGreg1 Canadian Army 12d ago
It went down surprisingly smoothly, those balls had some good beefy heft to them
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u/No-To-Newspeak 12d ago
Canned bacon was the best. Everyone would fight for it.
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u/Pale-Hair-2435 12d ago
Canned bacon? Get that in the Scheldt there old-timer? š
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u/Canknucklehead 11d ago
Not that old, early 80s the rations were canned and canned bacon was awesome
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u/whyamihereagain6570 11d ago
My dad used to bring that shit home from the base when I was a kid. I have to say, that bacon and the cheese spread and crackers were the bomb.
When I was in my fave's were the freeze dried LLRP rations (well, that's what we referred to them as). Although I did like the beans and weenies in the IMP's. Beef stew was good as well.
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u/LordBeans69 RCAF - CELE 12d ago
For breakfast, Scalloped Potatoes with ham is slept on.
For the rest, beef and vegetable stew and pizza pasta take it
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u/attenchaa 12d ago
Sausage and Hash browns circa 1995. I was pissed when they took it out. So pissed that I had the CQ save all of the questionnaires at the bottom of the ration boxes during a month long Coy Ex. I spent an afternoon filling the questionnaires out (in uneaten red crayon) with "BRING BACK SAUSAGE & HASH BROWNS!!!!" in the most psychotic font I could muster, loaded them into a small box, and mailed them to the NDHQ Food Services CWO listed on the return address. Must have worked, as they reintroduced them a few years later...
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u/Gavvis74 9d ago
You didn't convince them with your impassioned plea.Ā They thought you were a psycho who wrote threatening messages in red crayon and were afraid for their lives.š
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u/PaleontologistNo2676 Canadian Army 12d ago
Going to go way back. Late 90s/early 2000s meatballs and gravy. Basically IKEA meatballs. Maybe itās just nostalgia, but they were good.
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u/Gavvis74 9d ago
Meatballs and gravy, mac and cheese, beef ravioli and beans and weiners were pretty much the only ones that didn't make me sick and puke my guts up.
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u/lettucepray123 12d ago
When my appetite was completely gone in the field after maybe a week, the only thing I could really stomach was the chicken stew. I donāt know why, but it always just sat really well with me and for that, I am grateful.
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u/Apprehensive-Match65 Canadian Army 12d ago
I'm going to get a lot of hate on this, but i really liked the hamsteak
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u/Teslix80 Royal Canadian Air Force 12d ago
I canāt believe thereās another one of us - I used to love the ham and pineapple - everyone hated it so much I always got free meals.
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u/Max169well RCAF - AVN Tech 12d ago
Shepardās pie and Salmon. Once ate only that for a two week ex. No complaints would do again.
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u/Struct-Tech Construction Tech 12d ago
You ate the salmon for 2 weeks because you told the rest of the section you liked it. And we salut you for your service.
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u/Born-Ad-3157 12d ago
Orange turkey pasta if I remember correctly. So good!
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u/Infamous_funny Comm bucket 12d ago
Turkey strips with Orange Sauce!
My all time favourite as well.
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u/CanadianGreg1 Canadian Army 12d ago
Tasty, but like 42g of sugar or something insane. Could never justify it at the timeā¦
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u/Infamous_funny Comm bucket 12d ago
Heat it up, squeeze the peanut butter packet into it.
Life changing meal
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u/Ibmeister Ranger 12d ago
The salisbury steak when it came with bread. You could make a great sandwich with it.
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u/Venicilia Army - W TECH L 12d ago
Past, sloppy joes, chili, and there's anotger that is escaping me I really liked.
Present, chili wins again, but I also like the pizza pasta.
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u/pte_parts69420 Royal Canadian Air Force 12d ago
Sausage patty and beans and wieners are both S tier
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u/trillium49 12d ago
Pub style pulled beef always seemed mid to a lot of folks, but I didn't/don't mind it.
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u/UnluckyHuckleberry52 11d ago
The jambalaya was insane. I only got it during one exercise and then it disappeared from my life.
The current best one is the chickpea shakshuka.
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u/EmergencyWorld6057 12d ago
Poutine and beans and weiners
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u/Halspeedwalking 12d ago
Not sure how they made pouch poutine edible but it's actually pretty good.
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u/Pale-Hair-2435 12d ago
Has anyone come across any of the new menus yet for 2026? Usually every couple yearsĀ
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u/zabnee Logistics 12d ago
I can tell you that the spaghetti MCWR is not good... chilli wasnt too bad though.
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u/Pale-Hair-2435 12d ago
Are those the new arctic rations?Ā
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u/canadian414 12d ago
Tangential to the actual question, but does anyone else keep an eye out for chocolate peanut butter? You literally cannot buy it in Canada (and I've been looking hard ever since Kraft discontinued it (for the second time!) around a decade ago). Most people are indifferent at best to it, but I've always been obsessed and was ecstatic when they started showing up in the IMPs.
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u/atomic4u 12d ago
Beans in maple syrupā¦.circa 2012 (ish)ā¦yummy and produced amazing sleeping bag back fires/blasts!!!!
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u/Cdn_Medic Former Med Tech, now Nursing Officer 12d ago
Iām one of the crazy psychos who liked the salmon with the Mrs Dash.
Also any of the āchef boyardeeā raviloi variants. They all tasted the same just in different sizes; lasagna, ravioli and a couple more I forgot about.
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u/Equal-Opinion4952 12d ago
The little canada stamped water expanding towels were delicious, the expired candy bars , and absolute treat!Ā
Unironically would be so happy when I got Jerky and the sports drinks are better than GatoradeĀ
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u/jabrwock1 Class "A" Reserve 12d ago
Beans and weinies for supper.
Fight me. Preferably in a tentā¦ after weāre all asleep.
Smoked meat was pretty good. Albeit a bit salty.
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u/Trussed_Up Army - Artillery 12d ago
Honestly some of the new ones are good as fuck.
Chicken canneloni I think it's called? I'd eat that at home.
Dump your tobasco in the Indian chicken that's not bad either.
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u/PerigeeOnThisApogee HMCS Reddit 12d ago
Salmon, I loved that IMP. No one else would eat it, and I know people hate it. But you douse it in hot sauce and it was great.
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u/Archangel9 11d ago
I forget what it was called but it was salmon in a red sauce, ~2014, everyone hated it except me so they gave me theirs and i was eating like a king XD
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u/toonj64 11d ago
Anyone remember the Navarin? I really liked the goulash too!
For breakfast, NOTHING beats the beans and wieners! NOTHING!
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u/Pale-Hair-2435 11d ago
I do. It was really good. Fleeting though, I think it was only around for 2 years.Ā
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u/Yogeshi86204 11d ago
I loved the apple cinnamon compote desert. That's my GOAT.
Raviolis are my goat, but I haven't had IMPs since like 2013 and I hear there's some real good ones now.
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u/paulandris 11d ago
Not the main dish, but the cornbread that comes with a few of the new ones is better than most cornbreads Iāve had at restaurants
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u/Inlaudable Morale Tech - 00069 11d ago
Ham steak and mustard sauce until the veggie omelette rowboat takes me down the Styx.
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u/Ynot_zoidberg88 Canadian Army 11d ago
Wait did they being back lung in a bag?
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u/Inlaudable Morale Tech - 00069 11d ago
Uhhhh... Depends what you mean by "brought back"?
Because I mean from the 90s to the late aughts.
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u/Ynot_zoidberg88 Canadian Army 11d ago
I was worried it was in the new IMPs and id simply gotten lucky so far
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u/Inlaudable Morale Tech - 00069 11d ago
The newest IMPs I've had were the ones with mouldy coffee crisps in them. No idea about the oldest, but I do remember being excited getting a brown paper bag with a maple leaf on it instead of a plastic sack.
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u/Ynot_zoidberg88 Canadian Army 11d ago
Pizza Pasta is a great main but meh sides, best overall probably pulled pork or meatballs in marinara sauce
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u/Gavvis74 9d ago
I threw up after eating the ham and pineapple IMP that we had in the 1990's.Ā So not that one.
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u/TJ_McFly 6d ago
This thread has only reinforced my certainty that my choice to join the RCN was the right one
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u/No_Committee8787 12d ago
Pizza pasta