HBecwithFn7 296 Posted January 28, 2018 If you were looking to "prepare" for a time when there might be a "food shortage," what would you buy, and how much? It should be food that: 1) Is relatively cheap to buy, up front and in decent quantities (Perhaps a 1-2 month's supply); 2) Will store for a long time, unprepared (à la MRE's). 3) Meets all the basic nutrition requirements (proteins, "good" carbs, etc.)...and will "fill you up..." 4) Fairly easy to prepare (i.e. "just boil water" or "nuke" it). IIRC, Dana Loesch was hawking such a company that provided "survival meals" of this nature, but I forgot who they were and, also IIRC, they were a bit pricey for what you got. No, I'm not privy to any future 411 on "shortages..." I was just thinking a bit ahead of the next Hurricane season, having dealt directly with Irma this past season. No better time to "stock up" than when you don't "need to." Thoughts? Thanks! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mossburger 406 Posted January 29, 2018 Canned tuna and beans. Protein powder. Mixed nuts, plain oats. Hot sauce, mustard, vinegar. Ground coffee. Gallons of water. Dehydrated fruits. For shorter term, eggs last a while too. No need to buy expensive "tactical" food. Shop-Rite Can-Can sale has you covered. Also, think healthy. Slurping down sugary foods, high fat foods, eating too many carbohydrates, etc. is anathema not only to healthy lifestyle, but also to being prepared for a natural disaster or time of peril. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlexTheSane 236 Posted January 29, 2018 Minute rice has a shelf life of 5 years. Canned tuna is about 3 years. SPAM supposedly will last forever, it may just discolor. Canned beans are about a year. If you're looking for easy, no planning stuff. Mountain House is good for 10 years. Wise is good for 25 years. All depends what you're going for. Or you can go with this https://www.costco.com/Nutristore-1-YEAR-Premium-Food-Kit-36%2c000-Servings.product.100302316.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1LtCAP 4,259 Posted January 29, 2018 my grandmom used to keep a couple months worth of canned food. a lot of stuff like ravoilies, spaghettios, etc too. stuff that if need be could be eaten right outta the can. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xXxplosive 822 Posted January 29, 2018 Buy a dehydrator......you won't be sorry you did. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeke 5,504 Posted January 30, 2018 On 1/28/2018 at 5:27 PM, HBecwithFn7 said: If you were looking to "prepare" for a time when there might be a "food shortage," what would you buy, and how much? It should be food that: 1) Is relatively cheap to buy, up front and in decent quantities (Perhaps a 1-2 month's supply); 2) Will store for a long time, unprepared (à la MRE's). 3) Meets all the basic nutrition requirements (proteins, "good" carbs, etc.)...and will "fill you up..." 4) Fairly easy to prepare (i.e. "just boil water" or "nuke" it). IIRC, Dana Loesch was hawking such a company that provided "survival meals" of this nature, but I forgot who they were and, also IIRC, they were a bit pricey for what you got. No, I'm not privy to any future 411 on "shortages..." I was just thinking a bit ahead of the next Hurricane season, having dealt directly with Irma this past season. No better time to "stock up" than when you don't "need to." Thoughts? Thanks! Most say canned food. I agree. I’d get a wise bucket for jus Incase. Pasta and other stuff gtg. A vac sealer before a dehydrator Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1LtCAP 4,259 Posted January 30, 2018 14 minutes ago, Zeke said: Most say canned food. I agree. I’d get a wise bucket for jus Incase. Pasta and other stuff gtg. A vac sealer before a dehydrator good thing with canned food...there's bunches that you can eat right outta the can should the need arise..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scorpio64 5,120 Posted January 30, 2018 I've tried several Mountain House products. They range from good to excellent and have an astounding 30 year shelf life. Midway has frequent sales on Mt House. I suggest buying one of each and seeing what you like and order more. Side note: Wouldn't it suck to fill a 5 gallon bucket with dry beans or rice just to find out when you need it that insect eggs were in the original packaging and worms ate up all your beans. On the bright side, I guess, you'd have protein rich worms to eat. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlexTheSane 236 Posted January 30, 2018 11 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said: I've tried several Mountain House products. They range from good to excellent and have an astounding 30 year shelf life. Midway has frequent sales on Mt House. I suggest buying one of each and seeing what you like and order more. Side note: Wouldn't it suck to fill a 5 gallon bucket with dry beans or rice just to find out when you need it that insect eggs were in the original packaging and worms ate up all your beans. On the bright side, I guess, you'd have protein rich worms to eat. "The last thing I want to do after saving, planning, and storing food is to open it and find that nasty little creatures have already devoured it. One way to combat this is to freeze it. I’ve read recommendations from 4 days up to 2 weeks in a deep freeze. That should kill any adult insects and prevent them from laying any more eggs. It may kill the eggs themselves. Another way is to deprive them of oxygen. All insects need it to live, so removing it should cause them to die. That is why many people use oxygen absorbers in their bulk food when they seal it up in mylar bags. Using dry ice can accomplish the same thing. So, keep working on your food stores, but by all means, take the necessary steps to make sure it’s edible when you need it!" 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GunsnFreedom 245 Posted January 30, 2018 2 minutes ago, AlexTheSane said: Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers (hand warmers) would likely kill the eggs and worms. This works pretty well. Even has the directions on how to cook http://seasonedcitizenprepper.com/feed-a-family-of-4-for-1-year-for-less-than-300/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
samtechlan 23 Posted January 30, 2018 How about raw Honey since it lasts forever? 3,000 year old honey found in Egyptian pyramids is still edible. http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/history/honey-in-the-pyramids.aspx Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Old Glock guy 1,125 Posted January 30, 2018 I don't reload ammo, I don't build AR's, so I'm not going to start cooking, canning, dehydrating, and vacuum sealing. I have some canned food and MRE's, some Mountain House cans, and some pouches (whose name I don't recall) to which one can just add hot water. We should be OK for a few months if something bad happens. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeke 5,504 Posted January 30, 2018 Spam is northwest pork roll. I love it 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fishnut 2,358 Posted January 30, 2018 16 hours ago, 1LtCAP said: good thing with canned food...there's bunches that you can eat right outta the can should the need arise..... And you can heat it up over a fire right in the can too. Just make sure you open the top first! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mrs. Peel 7,148 Posted January 30, 2018 1 hour ago, Zeke said: Spam is northwest pork roll Taylor Ham. I love it Fixed that. It even rhymes now. You're welcome! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeke 5,504 Posted January 30, 2018 6 minutes ago, Mrs. Peel said: Fixed that. It even rhymes now. You're welcome! Relent Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mrs. Peel 7,148 Posted January 30, 2018 1 minute ago, Zeke said: Relent Never! Carry on.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeke 5,504 Posted January 30, 2018 I’m not sure how to Segway from this ; gracefully Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scorpio64 5,120 Posted January 30, 2018 39 minutes ago, Zeke said: I’m not sure how to Segway from this ; gracefully >Scorpio64 taking the reigns.< The ham will rise again (like the south). Well, you can display your empty OLD boxes that misrepresented the contents and be a "hamist", or get with the times. I know it may be difficult for some who were raised in the wrong part of NJ, they can't let go of the past. My only advice is, if you want to be happier, just roll with it. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mrs. Peel 7,148 Posted January 30, 2018 22 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said: >Scorpio64 taking the reigns.< The ham will rise again (like the south). Well, you can display your empty OLD boxes that misrepresented the contents and be a "hamist", or get with the times. I know it may be difficult for some who were raised in the wrong part of NJ, they can't let go of the past. My only advice is, if you want to be happier, just roll with it. I don't want to encourage you as walk down what is very clearly the wrong path in life... but I must say, I respect that play on words. Well done, sir! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeke 5,504 Posted January 30, 2018 On 1/28/2018 at 5:27 PM, HBecwithFn7 said: If you were looking to "prepare" for a time when there might be a "food shortage," what would you buy, and how much? It should be food that: 1) Is relatively cheap to buy, up front and in decent quantities (Perhaps a 1-2 month's supply); 2) Will store for a long time, unprepared (à la MRE's). 3) Meets all the basic nutrition requirements (proteins, "good" carbs, etc.)...and will "fill you up..." 4) Fairly easy to prepare (i.e. "just boil water" or "nuke" it). IIRC, Dana Loesch was hawking such a company that provided "survival meals" of this nature, but I forgot who they were and, also IIRC, they were a bit pricey for what you got. No, I'm not privy to any future 411 on "shortages..." I was just thinking a bit ahead of the next Hurricane season, having dealt directly with Irma this past season. No better time to "stock up" than when you don't "need to." Thoughts? Thanks! Hope you got your answer/ suggestion Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leahcim 673 Posted January 30, 2018 I keep a lot of canned beans, dry beans, several sealed bags of Trader Joe's quick-cook organic brown rice. Plus dry pasta, quinoa, and some flour and olive oils, and canned/packaged fish (mostly sardines, mackeral, anchovy, and salmon). I generally just buy a lot of stuff when I find it on sale, and I am eating from the stock also, so nothing gets too old. I think a good supply of Bourbon is a good thing to keep on hand as well. I believe it will keep for years, and could be very handy for medical use, pleasure, and for trade during a crisis. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HBecwithFn7 296 Posted January 30, 2018 9 minutes ago, Zeke said: Hope you got your answer/ suggestion I'm getting some good ideas, thanks! I already do canned veggies, and I like the idea of things like Chef Boyardee canned Pasta (i.e. Ravioli, etc.). It was remarked on one of my FL forums that local grocery stores usually offer things like Chef Boyardee cans for sale ($1.00/can) on June 1st... start of the Hurricane season. And more canned items like Chef Boyardee as well as the house brand canned veggies have "pop top" lids and don't require a can opener. I think they started doing that after Irma. I'm also looking at vacuum sealing rice and other things. I'd like to be able to vacuum seal pasta, but I normally eat Angel Hair pasta which I buy in Nests from Costco. A bit hard to vacuum seal those, and they'd be crushed. I also like the idea of the Ramen Noodle cups... very cheap and filling. I might also consider Spam and other canned meats, as well. I'm probably going to shy away from the classic "prepper" meal products (MREs, Wise / MH, etc.) as they are way too expensive, and I don't need to store the items for *that* long. I'd be willing to cycle everything on a 6 month basis. This is not to say that I might not consider those, eventually, but they aren't needed in the short term. I'd like to limit this to things I can get easily at either the grocery store or Costco... very cheap and things I could cycle on a regular basis. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeke 5,504 Posted January 30, 2018 3 minutes ago, HBecwithFn7 said: I'm getting some good ideas, thanks! I already do canned veggies, and I like the idea of things like Chef Boyardee canned Pasta (i.e. Ravioli, etc.). It was remarked on one of my FL forums that local grocery stores usually offer things like Chef Boyardee cans for sale ($1.00/can) on June 1st... start of the Hurricane season. And more canned items like Chef Boyardee as well as the house brand canned veggies have "pop top" lids and don't require a can opener. I think they started doing that after Irma. I'm also looking at vacuum sealing rice and other things. I'd like to be able to vacuum seal pasta, but I normally eat Angel Hair pasta which I buy in Nests from Costco. A bit hard to vacuum seal those, and they'd be crushed. I also like the idea of the Ramen Noodle cups... very cheap and filling. I might also consider Spam and other canned meats, as well. I'm probably going to shy away from the classic "prepper" meal products (MREs, Wise / MH, etc.) as they are way too expensive, and I don't need to store the items for *that* long. I'd be willing to cycle everything on a 6 month basis. This is not to say that I might not consider those, eventually, but they aren't needed in the short term. I'd like to limit this to things I can get easily at either the grocery store or Costco... very cheap and things I could cycle on a regular basis. Love me sum angel hair! Pasta has a good shelf life for hurricane scenario. Unless your buying the fresh stuff. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HBecwithFn7 296 Posted January 30, 2018 5 minutes ago, Zeke said: Love me sum angel hair! Pasta has a good shelf life for hurricane scenario. Unless your buying the fresh stuff. No, not the fresh stuff. But I have had some issues with the Angel hair nests I'd buy at Costco. I had some shelved for 3-4 years. When I cooked a couple of nests after 4 years, it tasted its age, unfortunately... I suppose that if I could vacuum seal them, they would do much better, but it's hard to vacuum seal angel hair nests.... 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeke 5,504 Posted January 30, 2018 Just now, HBecwithFn7 said: No, not the fresh stuff. But I have had some issues with the Angel hair nests I'd buy at Costco. I had some shelved for 3-4 years. When I cooked a couple of nests after 4 years, it tasted its age, unfortunately... I suppose that if I could vacuum seal them, they would do much better, but it's hard to vacuum seal angel hair nests.... No nest. Strand in box. And seal in box. i know, I’m a helper Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HBecwithFn7 296 Posted January 30, 2018 5 minutes ago, Zeke said: No nest. Strand in box. And seal in box. i know, I’m a helper I don't think Costco was offering Angel Hair in "strand" packages.... only nests... with 4 nests per shrink wrap pack in a box of maybe 20 shrink wrap packs... And, besides, the nest pasta was a lot thinner than strand Angel hair... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeke 5,504 Posted January 30, 2018 5 minutes ago, HBecwithFn7 said: I don't think Costco was offering Angel Hair in "strand" packages.... only nests... with 4 nests per shrink wrap pack in a box of maybe 20 shrink wrap packs... And, besides, the nest pasta was a lot thinner than strand Angel hair... Ok, on your own Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnnyB 4,289 Posted January 31, 2018 I vacuum seal everything, including my ammo! You could vacuum the nests to a point just short of crushing them. For survival food however, what do you care how they look on the plate? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HBecwithFn7 296 Posted January 31, 2018 8 hours ago, JohnnyB said: I vacuum seal everything, including my ammo! You could vacuum the nests to a point just short of crushing them. For survival food however, what do you care how they look on the plate? I suppose I shouldn't care but, at least, I like the longer strands that result when the nest unravels naturally than if it's crushed. But, yeah... it all "meets the same endpoint..." doesn't it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites