What Do You Think Is Essential?

[so lucky]

My computer kept displaying teaser ads about a list of 37 food items that were absolutely necessary for survival in a SHTF situation. DON'T CLICK ON IT, if you get the ad as a result of this message, because it will lock up your browser and make you have to restart your computer. I don't know what it does to smart phones, etc. The deal was that the guy wanted me to order the list. Whether for free or not, I don't know, but I didn't want to get on his list of suckers.

But it did get me to wondering, again, which food items were on that list. So I'm putting it out to you, to think about, and discuss, if you care to, which food items would we really need that would be unavailable in a disaster/panic situation? He said he wasn't talking about MREs. So probably dried beans and such.

We could put some arbitrary time frame on it: Say 6 months. That may or may not allow us to grow some fresh, depending on the season.
What else? Salt, oil of some kind, dehydrated vegetables? What do you think would be on his list?

 

[moolie]

I'm not a Mormon, but I think most of the usual lists are based on their ideas.

The usual Mormon list for Long Term Food Storage is here http://safelygatheredin.blogspot.ca/2008/07/longer-term-storage.html and their Three Month Supply info is here http://safelygatheredin.blogspot.ca/2008/06/how-toplan-your-three-month-supply.html

Another (also Mormon) source for lists plus a food storage calculator is http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/babysteps/step-4-long-term-food-storage-planning/ The best tool on this site is their 3 Month planner on this page http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/babysteps/step-3-three-months-of-normal-food/ because you put in your usual meals and it works out how much of each food item you need to have on hand

What do I personally think? I think you should store what you eat and eat what you store. I used to live on a remote island where the weekly grocery barge didn't always make it in, so my Mom spent our years there ensuring that we had at least a month or two of food reserves just in case. We simply had a stocked pantry so we could make do when needed. Planning for longer term storage, I would just increase everything to fit your 6 month time frame.

 

[Denim Deb]

Chocolate.

 

[Britesea]

I remember reading an interview of a woman that had been in one of those reality survival shows- where they dump you on a tropical island. She said that although there was lots of things to eat, she was always hungry for the entire month she was there- ended up losing quite a bit of weight- because there was almost no oils or fats available. I also remember reading that the Roman soldiers were paid in salt and olive oil. Something tells me that those two things might be really important.

 

[baymule]

From time to time I go read on Selco's site. This is someone who really did live through SHTF and his blog will help you get your priorities right. He has an online course, I have not taken it, I just read the free stuff.

http://shtfschool.com/#

 

[baymule]

The Mormons have some good lists and those are a help. But what if you don't eat some of that stuff? Moolie has the right idea-store what you eat and eat what you store. Maybe keep a food diary of what you cook, what snacks you eat, what is on your grocery list. What do you take for granted the most? Brownie mix? Cooking oil? What comfort foods do you like?

some stuff you just can't store. Cheese gets real moldy. Darn. If things got really really bad, then maybe having a garden wouldn't work, because people would steal from it. Are you going to shoot someone over a tomato? I read an idea somewhere that made sense to me, plant root crops. They make their product under ground and most people don't know what a turnip looks like above ground anyway. Not only plant root crops, but scatter them haphazardly, no rows of anything to camouflage them better so people wouldn't recognize them. Let the weeds and grass grow. Plant sweet potatoes. Most people wouldn't know a sweet potato vine if you slapped them with one and you can eat the leaves too.

I have made an effort to have some things on hand. I have buckets with beans, rice, sugar, wheat, quinoa, and dehydrated foods from my garden. My pantry is bulging. When I go to the store, instead of buying 1 or 2 canned goods, I buy 6. I stack them and rotate them in order. I am not real big on canned soups, but I keep some on hand because it is an easy meal. Spam is not at the top of my list for gourmet meals, but I keep 6 cans on hand and yes, I cook it from time to time, just to keep things rotated. I have extra canning supplies on hand. I have kerosene, glass lamps and wicks, boxes of wooden kitchen matches and candles.

Here is a list of the top 100 things that some brilliant person put together. A lot of this stuff you probably already have, so you are brilliant too!

http://www.thepowerhour.com/news/items_disappearfirst.htm

 

[Britesea]

Supposedly you can dehydrate cheese- you have to put it on layers of paper towels to absorb the extra grease that will render out. I have no idea how you would use it though-- I doubt it would be very meltable

 

[~gd]

Supposedly you can dehydrate cheese- you have to put it on layers of paper towels to absorb the extra grease that will render out. I have no idea how you would use it though-- I doubt it would be very meltable

Why dehydrate cheese? some of the moldy cheeses taste the best and are very pricely I love "blue cheese" and the blue is from the mold. Many hard cheeses have their water removed by pressing First and having the exterior washed with high salt brine until there is a rhine and then they are waxed for more storage. The hard cheeses are not melters but that can be changed by treating wiith veggie oils.

 

[WyoLiving]

For me, I like bakery so I would have to have white winter wheat ( I grind my own flour), and I also like oat flour in cookies - so oats for grinding also. Oats are also breakfast food! Yeah double duty there. Also need sugar, honey, baking soda and salt. Yeast, oil and baking powder must be rotated frequently for best results.
I like the dehydrated fruits and veg for many things. I like to make mixes to keep in the camper for whenever we go camping - easy peasy meals.
Seasonings are also important for me, so I like to keep larger quantities of these on hand, but I use them up and replace them as I go. I always keep at least one unopened jar on hand.

I believe in using it, so if TSHTF, I am already knowledgeable about how to use the food stores. I know a few people who have food stores that don't know how to cook even everyday stuff. I asked one friend what the cans of TVP were and how to use it and he didn't know. Now what good is TVP to you if you have no idea what it is?

We have about a dozen anti-persperant sticks in the cupboard (6 for each of us), about 20 bars of soap, 3 months of feminine hygine products, 6 boxes of band-aids, 2 bottles of hydrogen peroxide, 2 bottles of rubbing alcohol, two massive bags of cotton balls, and a stack of boxes of q-tips. About 6 tubes of toothpaste and a 6-pack of toothbrushes, three bottles of mouthwash and 3 bottles of shampoo and conditioner. A massive first aid kit. A box of spare light bulbs and two bags of charcoal briquettes.

In the clothes closet, I have two packages of socks and 2 packs of underwear. I am picky about brands, and when I find some I like I tend to stock up.

I'm sure there is other stuff I have, but that is all I can think of for now.

 

[Beekissed]

Oils, salt, wheat, beans, dent corn kernels, clean water.