Since most of us would agree that MREs aren't the most tasty of foods, what "main stream" food items, like Raman noodles or PowerBars, do you keep in your stock? My favorite is powdered Gatorade.

A wide variety of ravioli and Campbells soup.

It'd be ramen noodels, campbells soup, and kraft deluxe mac and cheese(the kind that doesn't need milk/butter).  Also, canned soda and beer.

Some of the higher quality freeze-dried backpacking foods.  They'll keep for many years and a lot of them are IMHO better than MREs.  
I keep a lot of cans of tuna, beef stew, tomato sauce, etc. and a variety of soups around.

Pasta, crackers, rolled oats, vitamin pills.  Beans, lentils, peas, cheeses that don't require refrigeration.

And water.  Lots of water needed around here.

Rice and dry pinto beans. Carbs and protein, baby.

Oh, and Sour Patch Kids.

SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM RAMEN CHILI SPAM SPAM RICE SPAM BEANS SPAM SPAM JERKY AMD SPAM.

Bloody Vikings...

Canned food in general.  Both the commercial variety and my own pressure-canned stuff.  I try to keep a fair amount of canned meat stuff on hand in case of long-term emergency since it is calorie and protein rich.  So, I stock canned stew, canned hash, canned chili, canned corned beef, canned chicken, canned tuna, canned salmon, (my own) canned venison, canned meat sauce, etc.  I also keep lots of pasta on hand.  Many of the canned meat products can be mixed with pasta and thereby extended.  I also keep lots of canned vegetables and fruit on hand.  As I've posted in other MRE threads, I am a firm believer in the superiority of canned food over MRE's in the overwhelming majority of situations.  Long live C-rats!

spanish peanuts, beef jerky and dried fish.

I'm fond of the following:

[b]The readily mobile/BOB stuff[/b]
Powdered gatorade.
Lipton instant iced tea, sweetened.
Shrinkwrapped Jerky, just about any kind.
Ramen noodles.
Tuna, especially in the new no-drain foil pouches.
Vienna sausages.

[b]Stuff that stays in the pantry and doesn't last as long[/b]
Cambells Chunky Soups (2/$3.00 at my local Super Wal-Mart).
Other soups (can't remember the name, but good stuff).
Spaghetti-O's w/ meatballs.
Chef Overstuffed Raviolli
Spam
Corned beef
Rice
Beans
Pasta

God Bless Texas

Lots of canned stuff like Bush's Baked Beans, canned soups, parboiled/pre-boiled rice(MinuteMade, Uncle Bens etc, requires minimal cooking), 5 minute quick cook oats, dried fruites(raisins, apricots, etc from Trader Joe's [url]www.traderjoes.com[/url]) & veggies, powdered & canned milk for the kids, pancake mix, butter flavoring, honey, sugar, instant coffee, various cold cereals(corn flakes etc), canned hams.

Long term freeze-dried food from Mountain House [url]http://www.mountainhouse.com/[/url] in 2,4 camping meal sizes(recommend 5 yr shelf, just that taste decreases over time, but good indefinitely according in phone call to Mountainhouse), and #10 steel can(good for 30 years, according to Mountainhouse website), and lots of water.

Years ago I used to Back Pack a lot in California, Washington and Montana. Check out the available "Freeze Dried Food" made for that purpose.

Think of "Tent Camping" when planning your "Survival Food" as everything you have there won"t perish.

I have a pond on my property and a bayou behind my house, so properly filtered, sterilized, etc. I have plenty of water. I live in the country anyway.

Home made venison jerky, made from "veny" burger and a de hydrater.

Edited to add make extra dry and it will keep forever.  Found a piece in my hunting jacket after being there for 9 months and it still tasted good.

Red beans
Basmati rice (best rice I've found)
Soft white wheat
Spelt
Powdered milk
Corned Beef
Vitamin "T"  (that's tabasco)
Canned soup

The best stuff I've eaten is freshly ground wheat berries made into pancakes. The absolute best "long term" food I've ever tried.

Peanut Butter

[size=5]SPAM!![/size=5]

I like MREs, why does everyone hate them?

Toastems. 400 calories per 2 pack, only 25% fat. Can currently get 3 12 toestem boxes for $5. Probably last many many months (no exp date on package, I'm going to check to make sure)

Only downside is 3g protein per 2 pack. But that can be supplemented with jerky.

Powdered Gatorade is good stuff.  Food would have to be freeze-dried Mountain House food, just add hot water.  Pasta and spaghetti sauce is great stuff if you are stocking up on a budget.  So is peanut butter.



"Do what you will,
just don't give me anymore MREs, please."

Baked beans are off, then?!

I think most of them taste pretty darn good.  Especially the Chicken Chow Mein, mmmmmmm now I'm getting hungry.  If you are looking into canned meats I would avoid the whole chickens in a can.  I dont care what my mom says, they taste like tuna.

Does anyone have a good site with dehydrating instructions.  I saw that Wally World has a el-cheapo dehydrator for $19.99

[:)]

Army biscuit. It will last for centuries, virtually impervious to rot as long as it is made without eggs, fats or sugars. Flour + Water + heat = army biscuit, or "hardtack".

1 cup flour
1/2- 3/4 cup water
Mix/stir like hell
Put on baking sheet
Roll until uniformly 1/4" thick
Cut dough into squares with pizza cutter
Use fork to make vent holes in dough
30-45 minutes at 375 degrees F
Done when uniformly golden brown
Let cool then remove from baking sheet with spatula.

It will keep you alive, as it did our ancestors in the American Revolution.

Libby's Corned Beef.
Stuff stinks like hell though when you try to fry it.

SPAM PLEASE [8)]

I can't believe nobody has mentined DINTY MOORE BEEF STEW yet. :)

My SHTF box (which doubles as my "going to the cabin for the weekend" box)has rice, dry beans, canned vegetables(29 varieties for 29cents/can at Save-A-Lot), baked beans, pasta, canned spaghetti sauce (Hunt's has some that tastes good and is cheap),ravioli, macaroni/cheese(the kind that doesn't need milk/butter, canned soups, ramen soup, canned chicken(tuna sized cans), canned chicken broth(sub for water when making rice to add lots of taste), instant potatoes, some chocolate bars, saltine crackers, a couple quarts of canned venison, venison jerky, dried vegetables, etc., etc. I keep it all in two Rubbermaid Action-Packer boxes ready to go at all times. I have a little checklist of all the stuff in it that I refer to when buying refills after a weekend of camping.

I have a Magic Chef dehydrator from Wally-World ($25-$30) that I use all the time. Just buy one and give it a try-its pretty hard to screw up dehydrated food. I just dried a bunch of peppers and tomatoes from the garden since all the plants got whacked by two nights of low 30's and frost. They are great for cooking into soups and stews and other dishes. I also take any fruit(apples, bananas, oranges, pears, peaches, etc.) that is getting amlmost over-ripe and slice it up and throw it in the dehydrator overnite. It can then be put in ZipLoc freezer bags and stored in the cupboards almost indefinitely(great to take on hunting trips as I eat all day long and this stuff is light and compact) . If you get a dehydrator make sure it has heat and a fan. Some of them don't have the fan and they don't work worth a s#!+.Finnbear out

Or Twinkies!!!!

Cat jerky and dry milk!

Beanie-Weanies or Mainstay bars.  It's a toss-up.

I guess Sonic extra long cheese coneys and cheese sticks don't count.  How bout some peperonni pizza!!!