Posted: 2/8/2012 3:18:08 AM EDT
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can someone explain the difference here
Sams club has some LTS foods These are 2 kits seems the cheaper one has more then the higher prices one.. am i missing something. Link Link I would like to start a food store for my family but cant afford to completely break the bank... are these type kits worth it.. or do you think just buying the larger #10 cans a little at a time is better? |
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One is in #10 cans the other is in mylar to compare you need to look at calories not just the "30 day" nonsense. Its the only way to compare directly. look at the nutritional info, and then look at servings included. You will find that 30 days for the all in one kit really sucks ass |
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can someone explain the difference here Sams club has some LTS foods These are 2 kits seems the cheaper one has more then the higher prices one.. am i missing something. Link Link I would like to start a food store for my family but cant afford to completely break the bank... are these type kits worth it.. or do you think just buying the larger #10 cans a little at a time is better? Honestly, the best way to start is to just pick up extras of a lot of the items you usually use for a while. Instead of buying 5 cans of corn, buy 10. A few extra cans of tuna here and there, grab a 5 lb. bag of salt... you'll be surprised at how soon you end up looking for space to store it all  .
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can someone explain the difference here Sams club has some LTS foods These are 2 kits seems the cheaper one has more then the higher prices one.. am i missing something. Link Link I would like to start a food store for my family but cant afford to completely break the bank... are these type kits worth it.. or do you think just buying the larger #10 cans a little at a time is better? Honestly, the best way to start is to just pick up extras of a lot of the items you usually use for a while. Instead of buying 5 cans of corn, buy 10. A few extra cans of tuna here and there, grab a 5 lb. bag of salt... you'll be surprised at how soon you end up looking for space to store it all .
So should we not really be concerned as much about the shelf life.. i know most canned goods are like 2 years.. i was hoping to get some emergency buy and forget till needed type of stuff... I would personally like to mix and match the 25 year life cans to fit my family likes and add some needed items that they might not like but need like Moos milk etc etc |
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One is in #10 cans the other is in mylar to compare you need to look at calories not just the "30 day" nonsense. Its the only way to compare directly. look at the nutritional info, and then look at servings included. You will find that 30 days for the all in one kit really sucks ass Yes i noticed the calorie counts were way off on allot of kits i looked at. some were 1000 some were 1700 |
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can someone explain the difference here Sams club has some LTS foods These are 2 kits seems the cheaper one has more then the higher prices one.. am i missing something. Link Link I would like to start a food store for my family but cant afford to completely break the bank... are these type kits worth it.. or do you think just buying the larger #10 cans a little at a time is better? Honestly, the best way to start is to just pick up extras of a lot of the items you usually use for a while. Instead of buying 5 cans of corn, buy 10. A few extra cans of tuna here and there, grab a 5 lb. bag of salt... you'll be surprised at how soon you end up looking for space to store it all .
So should we not really be concerned as much about the shelf life.. i know most canned goods are like 2 years.. i was hoping to get some emergency buy and forget till needed type of stuff... I would personally like to mix and match the 25 year life cans to fit my family likes and add some needed items that they might not like but need like Moos milk etc etc Nothing wrong with picking up some of the longer-term stuff along the way, but if you get into the habit of rotating your 'regular' stock, you'll still have relatively fresh supplies on your shelves when disaster strikes... so that two-year shelf life extends from that point on, more or less. It's generally agreed that food is actually good well beyond the 'use by' dates printed on the cans. Anybody who tries to come up with an answer for "how long are they really good for?" is just guessing, but I've personally eaten canned stuff that was over a year past the printed date and couldn't tell it from a can purchased that day. My own take on it - and I know others will feel differently - is that a lot of the quote-unquote "emergency food storage kits" are kind of gimmicky, and overpriced for what food value you're actually getting. Not that long-term storage packaging is a bad idea in itself - I imagine most of the members of the forum have LTS food in addition to the "store what you eat" stuff. But you can do a big part of that yourself... packing staples like wheat, rice, beans, etc. into mylar bags/buckets is just as effective as the pre-prepared stuff, and can be done much cheaper. If you haven't already done so, spend some time looking back through the forum... pretty much every imaginable topic related to LTS food has been discussed at some point or another. You're already ahead of a lot of folks, just in realizing that having a backup food supply is a pretty good idea. |
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I would avoid food kits. Start by stocking up on canned foods you already eat. Add canned pasta's , canned meats as well as vegetables and sauces. Add the long term after you have a good supply of your normal everyday foods. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile The kids do like the canned pastas in sauce. Does anyone know the TRUE shelf life of canned items? I know the expiration dates is not really a true date. |
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can someone explain the difference here Sams club has some LTS foods These are 2 kits seems the cheaper one has more then the higher prices one.. am i missing something. Link Link I would like to start a food store for my family but cant afford to completely break the bank... are these type kits worth it.. or do you think just buying the larger #10 cans a little at a time is better? Honestly, the best way to start is to just pick up extras of a lot of the items you usually use for a while. Instead of buying 5 cans of corn, buy 10. A few extra cans of tuna here and there, grab a 5 lb. bag of salt... you'll be surprised at how soon you end up looking for space to store it all .
So should we not really be concerned as much about the shelf life.. i know most canned goods are like 2 years.. i was hoping to get some emergency buy and forget till needed type of stuff... I would personally like to mix and match the 25 year life cans to fit my family likes and add some needed items that they might not like but need like Moos milk etc etc Nothing wrong with picking up some of the longer-term stuff along the way, but if you get into the habit of rotating your 'regular' stock, you'll still have relatively fresh supplies on your shelves when disaster strikes... so that two-year shelf life extends from that point on, more or less. It's generally agreed that food is actually good well beyond the 'use by' dates printed on the cans. Anybody who tries to come up with an answer for "how long are they really good for?" is just guessing, but I've personally eaten canned stuff that was over a year past the printed date and couldn't tell it from a can purchased that day. My own take on it - and I know others will feel differently - is that a lot of the quote-unquote "emergency food storage kits" are kind of gimmicky, and overpriced for what food value you're actually getting. Not that long-term storage packaging is a bad idea in itself - I imagine most of the members of the forum have LTS food in addition to the "store what you eat" stuff. But you can do a big part of that yourself... packing staples like wheat, rice, beans, etc. into mylar bags/buckets is just as effective as the pre-prepared stuff, and can be done much cheaper. If you haven't already done so, spend some time looking back through the forum... pretty much every imaginable topic related to LTS food has been discussed at some point or another. You're already ahead of a lot of folks, just in realizing that having a backup food supply is a pretty good idea. You make lots sense... Basiclly keep the stuff you like but have some LIFE sustaining LT food as a back up. |
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No one here knows your exact situation, so it is hard to give specifics.
Example: You did not define the size of your family or ages. Adults have different needs than children, children have different needs than infants. You also did not say how long you would like to have storage for. (3 days, a week, a month, 6 months, etc.) and we have no idea how much storage space you have. (house, apartment, farm.....) This is my take on it. There are basically three ways to look at food storage. (or even a combination of the three). 1. You can stock up on canned goods. 2. You can go the freeze dried meal route. 3. You can stock staples, i.e. rice, beans, wheat, oats, etc. I would start by looking at how you eat now. If you eat a lot of canned goods such as chili, vegetables, soups, chef boyardee stuff, etc., you can stock extra of that. Most canned goods list a 2yr best by date, however in reality, canned goods last a lot longer. Do your own research, Google is your friend. They can be eaten directly from the can or heated up. I would not buy a lot of canned goods and store them away forever, best thing is to set up a rotation system. I also look to see where canned goods come from, I stay away from China produced and packed stuff. (That is just me) I include MRE's in this section as they are wet packed in pouches instead of cans. Freeze dried foods last a long time. Depending on packaging, most have about a 25 shelf life. They are fairly expensive and usually high in sodium. They require water to reconstitute. They are light weight and easy to move and take up a small amount of space. If you are not used to eating them now, I suggest trying them before stocking up, different brands taste better than others, different menus taste better than others. The biggest problem with freeze dried is the calorie count in the pre-packaged kits. As mentioned above, you really have to look at what you are getting. Most freeze dried pouches are entrées and an entrée is NOT a meal. Most meals include an entrée plus bread, vegetables, desert..... something. Staples such as rice, beans, pasta, oats, wheat berries can be stored in their whole grain form for 30+yrs. The better you package them, the better they stand up to LTS. My wife cooks. We eat these types of items now, so that is the bulk of our storage. You can actually store a lot in a small amount of space. They require water to cook. Wheat berries, corn, oat groats, etc., require a mill in order to make flour. A benefit is that whole grains are better for you. And you can do other thangs with them besides just make flour. |
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I would avoid food kits. Start by stocking up on canned foods you already eat. Add canned pasta's , canned meats as well as vegetables and sauces. Add the long term after you have a good supply of your normal everyday foods. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile The kids do like the canned pastas in sauce. Does anyone know the TRUE shelf life of canned items? I know the expiration dates is not really a true date. Shelf life of canned goods is going to vary depending on storage conditions. Heat is an enemy, so is freezing. Best thing to do is set up a rotation system. If all else fails, when it comes to canned goods: If the can is leaking, toss it. If the can is bulged, toss it. If you open the can and stuff starts spewing out, toss it. (it should be a vacuum, not pressurized) If you open the can and find mold/mildew, toss it. If you open the can and it looks/smells bad, toss it. You get the idea....... |
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... You make lots sense... Basiclly keep the stuff you like but have some LIFE sustaining LT food as a back up. One place I kind of like for "real" LTS food is the LDS (Mormon) online Home Storage web site: Family Home Storage Having a few of their "Starter Kits" on the shelf isn't a bad first step to take in building up a true long-term supply, and the prices aren't bad considering shipping is included. |
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No one here knows your exact situation, so it is hard to give specifics. Example: You did not define the size of your family or ages. Adults have different needs than children, children have different needs than infants. You also did not say how long you would like to have storage for. (3 days, a week, a month, 6 months, etc.) and we have no idea how much storage space you have. (house, apartment, farm.....) This is my take on it. There are basically three ways to look at food storage. (or even a combination of the three). 1. You can stock up on canned goods. 2. You can go the freeze dried meal route. 3. You can stock staples, i.e. rice, beans, wheat, oats, etc. I would start by looking at how you eat now. If you eat a lot of canned goods such as chili, vegetables, soups, chef boyardee stuff, etc., you can stock extra of that. Most canned goods list a 2yr best by date, however in reality, canned goods last a lot longer. Do your own research, Google is your friend. They can be eaten directly from the can or heated up. I would not buy a lot of canned goods and store them away forever, best thing is to set up a rotation system. I also look to see where canned goods come from, I stay away from China produced and packed stuff. (That is just me) I include MRE's in this section as they are wet packed in pouches instead of cans. Freeze dried foods last a long time. Depending on packaging, most have about a 25 shelf life. They are fairly expensive and usually high in sodium. They require water to reconstitute. They are light weight and easy to move and take up a small amount of space. If you are not used to eating them now, I suggest trying them before stocking up, different brands taste better than others, different menus taste better than others. The biggest problem with freeze dried is the calorie count in the pre-packaged kits. As mentioned above, you really have to look at what you are getting. Most freeze dried pouches are entrées and an entrée is NOT a meal. Most meals include an entrée plus bread, vegetables, desert..... something. Staples such as rice, beans, pasta, oats, wheat berries can be stored in their whole grain form for 30+yrs. The better you package them, the better they stand up to LTS. My wife cooks. We eat these types of items now, so that is the bulk of our storage. You can actually store a lot in a small amount of space. They require water to cook. Wheat berries, corn, oat groats, etc., require a mill in order to make flour. A benefit is that whole grains are better for you. And you can do other thangs with them besides just make flour. My family consists of 3 children 7, 9 and 7 months. me and my wife... Oh yea 1 dog :) space is not at issue we have a single family home with lots of space for storage. i would like to have a few months of storage.. Your points are valid.. We do allot of cooking as well i just think it will be hard to store allot of the fresh meats and veg that we use daily... of course the kids like some canned items also. |
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i just think it will be hard to store allot of the fresh meats and veg that we use daily... Canning. My wife and I do it all the time. You can can any meat and almost any veggie. ... and freezers. While they're not SHTF-proof, running one for a month or so (think severe ice storm) is certainly reasonable. Having lots of freezer space lets you save money by buying in bulk, and gives you some diversity in your storage methods. Home-canned corn is great for long-term storage, but frozen tastes better... at least to me. So in typical Arfcom fashion - do both! 
Couple of other things to consider: a FoodSaver or other vacuum-packer (many survival/preparedness uses), and a dehydrator (yet another option for preparing food for storage). |
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Quoted: +1Quoted: Quoted: i just think it will be hard to store allot of the fresh meats and veg that we use daily... Canning. My wife and I do it all the time. You can can any meat and almost any veggie. ... and freezers. While they're not SHTF-proof, running one for a month or so (think severe ice storm) is certainly reasonable. Having lots of freezer space lets you save money by buying in bulk, and gives you some diversity in your storage methods. Home-canned corn is great for long-term storage, but frozen tastes better... at least to me. So in typical Arfcom fashion - do both! Couple of other things to consider: a FoodSaver or other vacuum-packer (many survival/preparedness uses), and a dehydrator (yet another option for preparing food for storage). I have two stand up freezers running on battery backup in my basement. |
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My family consists of 3 children 7, 9 and 7 months. me and my wife... Oh yea 1 dog :) space is not at issue we have a single family home with lots of space for storage. i would like to have a few months of storage.. Your points are valid.. We do allot of cooking as well i just think it will be hard to store allot of the fresh meats and veg that we use daily... of course the kids like some canned items also. It is hard to store fresh meats/veggies for long periods of time. You can freeze them. Our family is just me and the wife, the kids are all out of the house now. However, we expect if something major happens that kids/spouses and grand kids could show up. My wife cooks everything fresh, we use very little canned foods now. What we did was start thinking about what we could store to allow us to eat as close to how we eat now. We opted to store ingredients. We store rice and beans. We eat a lot of these now, they store a long time with minimal preparation. We like bread. Fresh bread is hard to store. Pilot bread, mre crackers, etc., have a fairly good shelf life. You can bake your own bread. Flour and mixes do not store particularly well. If you do some research, you will find they remove a lot of stuff from flour to prolong shelf-life in the store. Wheat berries can be stored for 30+ yrs. A mill can turn it into flour. They can also be used for cracked wheat and cream of wheat cereals. You can also use it to grow wheat grass. We store wheat berries. You have kids, so milk is going to be a must have. There is UHT milk that stores longer than fresh milk. You could have cows or goats, but you need a place for them and you need to feed them. We opted for powdered milk. Stores 10+ yrs. There are a lot to choose from. I suggest you buy some and try it before you store it. We have tried several. My wife is a milk lover. We decided on Augason Farms Country Fresh Non-Fat Milk as it tastes the most like fresh milk we could find. Another product that we store is Augason Farms Morning Moos. This is a whey based milk substitute which tastes pretty good. It also has fat in it. A lot of people here have tried it and say it is one product their kids will drink. Some people say who cares what it tastes like, when SHTF, you will drink it whether you like it or not. (I think these people don't have kids ).
Our thoughts are, if we can find stuff we like now, why not stock it? Pasta (spaghetti, macaroni, etc.) are easy to store long term. But you can also store the chef boyardee stuff for the kids. Meats can be freeze dried or canned. SPAM, DAK hams, corned beef, tuna, etc. require no refrigeration and have long a long shelf life. You can also can you own meats (requires a pressure canner) Fruits can be purchased freeze dried, or canned. Both have a fairly long shelf life. You can also can fruits yourself, usually in a water bath canner. You can also make your own preserves, pie fillings, etc. They store a long time. Gardening can produce a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. Learning to can these items is very helpful. |
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I would avoid food kits. Start by stocking up on canned foods you already eat. Add canned pasta's , canned meats as well as vegetables and sauces. Add the long term after you have a good supply of your normal everyday foods. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile The kids do like the canned pastas in sauce. Does anyone know the TRUE shelf life of canned items? I know the expiration dates is not really a true date. I bought 6 cans of walmart great value canned chicken with the intention of testing edibility vs expiration dates ate the first one a little after expiration and it was fine ate the 2nd at 6months past and it was fine ate the 3rd at 1yr past and it was fine ate the 4th at 18months and it was fine have 2 left and the next is due in april at the 2yr mark,I expect it to be fine also I have also had chef boyardee spaghetti w/meatballs & ravioli canned pastas at 1yr past and they were fine just my 2 cents YMMV |
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There is actually a tacked thread over in the Homestead, Farm & Garden forum regarding Canned goods shelflife.
You might want to add your results over there. |
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wshbrngr pretty much nailed it.
I started off with beans, rice, wheat, canned bacon / spam then worked up and around everything else. Personally right now, I would stay away from all fish - tuna / salmon due to Fukushima. eta: Be selective, I'd pass on purchasing any dented cans. The ones without perforated type pull up lids are preferred for long term. Here's why, as the cans are stacked in boxes, they stand on each other. If the box is dropped or stacked heavily, the can on top presses on the perforation on the can below it. I've seen a sardine type can with the seal only very slightly cracked - barely noticeable - I'm sure the food would be bad. Back to what wshbrngr said - inspect them carefully for a complete factory seal when you open them - if anything is out of the ordinary, dump it. |