Posted: 4/15/2011 5:54:58 PM EDT
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I have a fairly large group of family and friends that are now prepping and we're feeling a little frustrated with our progress on food storage. It's been recommended to me a few times to stockpile what we use/eat and rotate, but many of those foods aren't long term storable. No one I know has any experience with survival food, has ever tasted it and no one knows what to expect. I also have concerns that we're protein deficient and sodium heavy in the food we've stockpiled so far.
I have 4 questions: 1 - Has there ever been a good, comprehensive list of locally available (grocery store) food prep items posted? What things do you recommend? (Not including rice & beans) 2 - What long term food products do YOU prefer? Dehydrated, freeze dried, combination of both? 3 - What long term/survival food retailer do you prefer and why? 4 - What survival food brands have you taste tested and preffered? Thanks in advance! |
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To store food you do not need, or want to, start storing for 5+ years. Aim for a goal of 1 month of food, then 3 months, then 6 months.
Personally what I store is what I eat. My family consists of myself, my wife, and my 1 year old. We always eat a vegetable, a starch, and a meat for 90% of our meals. What we did is stored 1 can of vegetables per meal (3 meals a day) per day. I then bought a bunch of instant rice, potato flakes, and other potato products that only required hot water (basically 1 cup dry per person per meal). For meat we bought Spam, canned chicken, roast beef, tuna, and salmon (1 can per meal to share, depending on the can size). We topped everything off with 1 can of fruit per person per day, 1 package of fruit snacks per person per day, 1 juice box per person per day, 1 box of crackers per week. Mixed into all of this is all kinds of misc. food stuffs like cookies and teas and coffee. We also stored enough formula for the kiddo and dehydrated instant chocolate milk for everyone. We maintain a 3 month (eat well and get fat) storage of food at all times, can be stretched to 6 months if we dig into the foods we do not eat often like macaroni and pastas and such. Do not store MREs and Mountain House or dehydrated/freeze-dried stuff until you have stored the basics first. Just look at the foods you eat that do not need a fridge and pick foods that either already have water in them (canned vegetables and fruit) or only need to be warmed up or hot water to cook (canned meat, potato flakes, macaroni, instant rice etc.) Personally I shop at Costco for most of my food, I like the boxes/flats of food you can buy. Stacks nicely. Start simple. P.S. STORE ENOUGH WATER! Everyone talks about food but forgets about the water. You can live a looong time without food, only a few days without water. 1 gallon per person per day minimum, personally we store 2 gallons per person per day plus 3 17oz water bottles per person per day. Cooking can take a LOT of water… |
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Quoted:
To store food you do not need, or want to, start storing for 5+ years. Aim for a goal of 1 month of food, then 3 months, then 6 months. Personally what I store is what I eat. My family consists of myself, my wife, and my 1 year old. We always eat a vegetable, a starch, and a meat for 90% of our meals. What we did is stored 1 can of vegetables per meal (3 meals a day) per day. I then bought a bunch of instant rice, potato flakes, and other potato products that only required hot water (basically 1 cup dry per person per meal). For meat we bought Spam, canned chicken, roast beef, tuna, and salmon (1 can per meal to share, depending on the can size). We topped everything off with 1 can of fruit per person per day, 1 package of fruit snacks per person per day, 1 juice box per person per day, 1 box of crackers per week. Mixed into all of this is all kinds of misc. food stuffs like cookies and teas and coffee. We also stored enough formula for the kiddo and dehydrated instant chocolate milk for everyone. We maintain a 3 month (eat well and get fat) storage of food at all times, can be stretched to 6 months if we dig into the foods we do not eat often like macaroni and pastas and such. Do not store MREs and Mountain House or dehydrated/freeze-dried stuff until you have stored the basics first. Just look at the foods you eat that do not need a fridge and pick foods that either already have water in them (canned vegetables and fruit) or only need to be warmed up or hot water to cook (canned meat, potato flakes, macaroni, instant rice etc.) Personally I shop at Costco for most of my food, I like the boxes/flats of food you can buy. Stacks nicely. Start simple. P.S. STORE ENOUGH WATER! Everyone talks about food but forgets about the water. You can live a looong time without food, only a few days without water. 1 gallon per person per day minimum, personally we store 2 gallons per person per day plus 3 17oz water bottles per person per day. Cooking can take a LOT of water… VERY helpful advice!! Now in regard to the water storage, I have a well a generator and stored propane for the genny. DO I still need to store more than a few cases of water? I am planning on getting a filtering device which would allow me to filter water drawn from a nearby pond should I have problems with the well. |
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Quoted: Can't hurt to have a few cases of water (or 5-15 gallon water totes). May have to bug out or the whole 2=1 thing...Quoted: To store food you do not need, or want to, start storing for 5+ years. Aim for a goal of 1 month of food, then 3 months, then 6 months. Personally what I store is what I eat. My family consists of myself, my wife, and my 1 year old. We always eat a vegetable, a starch, and a meat for 90% of our meals. What we did is stored 1 can of vegetables per meal (3 meals a day) per day. I then bought a bunch of instant rice, potato flakes, and other potato products that only required hot water (basically 1 cup dry per person per meal). For meat we bought Spam, canned chicken, roast beef, tuna, and salmon (1 can per meal to share, depending on the can size). We topped everything off with 1 can of fruit per person per day, 1 package of fruit snacks per person per day, 1 juice box per person per day, 1 box of crackers per week. Mixed into all of this is all kinds of misc. food stuffs like cookies and teas and coffee. We also stored enough formula for the kiddo and dehydrated instant chocolate milk for everyone. We maintain a 3 month (eat well and get fat) storage of food at all times, can be stretched to 6 months if we dig into the foods we do not eat often like macaroni and pastas and such. Do not store MREs and Mountain House or dehydrated/freeze-dried stuff until you have stored the basics first. Just look at the foods you eat that do not need a fridge and pick foods that either already have water in them (canned vegetables and fruit) or only need to be warmed up or hot water to cook (canned meat, potato flakes, macaroni, instant rice etc.) Personally I shop at Costco for most of my food, I like the boxes/flats of food you can buy. Stacks nicely. Start simple. P.S. STORE ENOUGH WATER! Everyone talks about food but forgets about the water. You can live a looong time without food, only a few days without water. 1 gallon per person per day minimum, personally we store 2 gallons per person per day plus 3 17oz water bottles per person per day. Cooking can take a LOT of water… VERY helpful advice!! Now in regard to the water storage, I have a well a generator and stored propane for the genny. DO I still need to store more than a few cases of water? I am planning on getting a filtering device which would allow me to filter water drawn from a nearby pond should I have problems with the well. |
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Quoted:
I have a fairly large group of family and friends that are now prepping and we're feeling a little frustrated with our progress on food storage. It's been recommended to me a few times to stockpile what we use/eat and rotate, but many of those foods aren't long term storable. No one I know has any experience with survival food, has ever tasted it and no one knows what to expect. I also have concerns that we're protein deficient and sodium heavy in the food we've stockpiled so far. I have 4 questions: 1 - Has there ever been a good, comprehensive list of locally available (grocery store) food prep items posted? What things do you recommend? (Not including rice & beans) Almost daily. Archive search is your friend. For me prepping is not about the grocery. If you depend on the grocery you need to increment changes now in to your daily diet 2 - What long term food products do YOU prefer? Dehydrated, freeze dried, combination of both? Canned and dry goods produced by us. you should live the diet you expect now or start learning how to eat, preserve hunt. It;s not a switch to be turned on it's a lifestyle 3 - What long term/survival food retailer do you prefer and why? none 4 - What survival food brands have you taste tested and preffered? We don't depend on someone else's "plan" we eat and grow based on how we live. You can't buy security. family farm life is about means, means to live. Livestock and Gardening skills will get you farther than retailers and food stores. Don't get me wrong. I have retail stored and long term food storage. But, My entire prep routine is pointed at what I can do to prevent using those "stores" Thanks in advance! No thanks necessary, report back when you have moved beyond franchise preps and started on the road to self sufficiency. Good luck! There is a lot of help here. |
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Quoted:
VERY helpful advice!! Now in regard to the water storage, I have a well a generator and stored propane for the genny. DO I still need to store more than a few cases of water? I am planning on getting a filtering device which would allow me to filter water drawn from a nearby pond should I have problems with the well. If you were able I would store more then a few cases of water, (and keep it rotated) in case getting out and hooking up your genny is not a viable option. I would also look at getting a few 55 gal barrels ( or smaller ) to fill up in case for some reason the well or genny does not work. YMMV. BT |
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Quoted:
VERY helpful advice!! Now in regard to the water storage, I have a well a generator and stored propane for the genny. DO I still need to store more than a few cases of water? I am planning on getting a filtering device which would allow me to filter water drawn from a nearby pond should I have problems with the well. That is up to you. I would pair that question with the question of how long you wish to store. Make a goal and a time frame to reach that goal. For example, "In 1 month I will have a store of 3 months of food/fuel/and water." Personally my method of prepping has me stay away from as many mechanical devices as possible. In addition to that I wanted to create an ability to literally not leave my property for the duration of the event, or as long as my supplies lasted. Should SHTF my personal belief is that it may be better to stay at home as much as possible and keep as low profile as possible. This of course highly depends upon the area which you live. That being said, outside sources of water IMHO may not be reliable. Although an extreme example, the crisis in Japan demonstrates this issue. Should there be a large fire that spews contaminated ash or an NBC event you may not want to gather water from an open source for some time. In addition to that you also have to store a water filter plus extra cartridges to clean the pond water, this could be anywhere from $100-$300 depending upon setup. I bought 100 gal water storage containers for $100 each at a local LDS shop. A 100 gal container is enough drinking water for 3 people for 1 month. A flat of water costs me just over $3 and contains 4.5 gallons of water. I buy a lot of bottled water just because it is easy to rotate, my wife and I take them to work, and the bottle may come in handy should SHTF. For 3 people at 1 gallon of water per person per day for 3 months you need (3 people x 1 gallon x 90 days) = 270 gallons of water. If all you bought were flats of water and your flats also equaled to 4.5 gallons per flat then you would need (270 gallons / 4.5 gallons per flat) = 60 flats. At about $3.50 per flat that comes to (60 flats x $3.50) = $210 A well is a giant bonus in your favor, is there any way to purchase and utilize a hand pump if needed? I have no idea how much they cost or what is involved in it but you have an idea of what it costs to store water. |
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Quoted: This is my thought also, but if you have room and $..grab a 275 gal tote. And then a few 5gal and 15 gal barrels. The BIG one is for more permanent storage, and the smaller one for portability. This is the direction I am going, because 15 gallons of water is about all I can tote without getting my balls all out of whack. A pump and suitable hose is also a good thing to have to save your back (and balls)Quoted: VERY helpful advice!! Now in regard to the water storage, I have a well a generator and stored propane for the genny. DO I still need to store more than a few cases of water? I am planning on getting a filtering device which would allow me to filter water drawn from a nearby pond should I have problems with the well. If you were able I would store more then a few cases of water, (and keep it rotated) in case getting out and hooking up your genny is not a viable option. I would also look at getting a few 55 gal barrels ( or smaller ) to fill up in case for some reason the well or genny does not work. YMMV. BT  |
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The genny is a whole house unit, automatic transfer switch running off of a 1000 propoane tank in the ground. I also have a backup gasoline genny that also easily runs the well. I have an RV with a 100 gallon fresh water tank, but I agree we need to get some more bulk water storage containers.
I really like the idea of the hand pump, I'm not sure if well depth makes that a possibility? Mine is about 800' deep. |
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Here's some books: http://www.backwoodshome.com/store/files/books.html#cr From what I understand, Jackie Clay is coming out w/ a new "Cooking from your Pantry" (or something like that) book. If you don't subscribe to BHM, Jackie is an awesome homesteader... -Slice |
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I would store some additional water for cooking, and have the ability to set up a rain barrel to get some water for washing, laundry, etc.
As far as the food storage, it requires effort to incorporate a lot of food storage items into a modern diet and schedule. Some foods, such as legumes, need a lot of time and flavor enhancement to be enjoyable to eat. I do store long term bulk foods but find I really don't eat that much bread and only make whole wheat bread a few times a year. I'm southern, so I know how to make a proper pot of beans, but you guys up north might not. 
There is a system that uses more contemporary foods found at the grocer that can be rotated easier. Take a look at this free online pdf called "everything under the sun" by Wendy Dewitt. She also has a video series on youtube on the topic. She's got a pretty practical system of rotation and meal planning that would be helpful to most. Basically you don't start with a shopping list, you start with a menu. She builds a 14 day menu for her family and measureseverything she needs down to the amount of salt in the water for pasta. She then takes and multiplies by 26. She also incorporates the use of solar ovens, which to me make a lot of sense. http://www.utahsunovens.com/uploads/EverythingUnderTheSun.pdf youtube link- video three is where she gets going into the system. BTW I always recommended you calorie count your food stores. Adults need an average of 2500 calories/day. Many food storage plans are based on 1600 calories, some even less. |
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If you feel you're deficient in proteins: Beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, soy. Mylar, O2 absorbers, buckets. Keeps practically for decades. Delicious. I'm especially fond of lentils, boil in water, simmer for a long time with an onion and a carrot thrown in the pot, maybe a potato too, add spices according to taste, blend in a blender or whatever you can, cook until thick. Delicious, nutritious almost a whole meal. Eat with home made tortillas or naan brad, both also very easy to make. More than half of Egypt lives on chickpeas, fava beans and lentils, eating meat maybe a couple of times a year.
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