I bought a bucket from "wise guy" and then did the math. It's like $5 a meal that's only 210 calories. Ouch!! I have seen videos on YouTube to dehydrate chili, you could put it in some mylar with an oxygen absorber. I've heard that you can dehydrate browned ground beef if you rinse all the fat off. If you dehydrate meat the fat is what makes it go rancid. I recomend the excalibur dehydrator if you go that route. You could always can meat.