The article has been generously contributed by Tess Pennington of Ready Nutrition. After joining the Dallas chapter of the American Red Cross in 1999 Tess worked as an Armed Forces Emergency Services Center specialist and is well versed in emergency and disaster management & response. You can follow her regular updates on Preparedness, Homesteading, and a host of other topics at www.readynutrition.com .
Those of you who plan to take the first steps toward preparing for emergencies may feel a bit overwhelmed at where to begin. After all, there is a lot of food to choose from at the grocery stores. Many websites, including this one encourage families to start buying small amounts of food related preparedness items each time they go shopping. This way, your budget is not dramatically affected.
Food storage calculators are a great tool to incorporate in your preparedness planning, and can help you understand how much food your family will need for a given emergency. The food storage calculations can also be printed out and used as an inventory list to keep you on track in terms of what preparedness supplies you have and will need.
To make the most of your emergency food supply, keep these essential food pantry rules in mind before purchasing:
- Caloric intake is an important factor in survival. In any disaster situation, you want to avoid malnutrition. Having foods stored to prevent this health issue will keep you at your optimum health. Stock up on foods that provide you with essential nutrients to maintain body functions, proteins and carbohydrates, fats for energy, as well as foods that are not high in salt (the more salty your food is, the more water you will drink). To calculate how many calories you will need in your diet, click here.
- Consider buying multifunctional food items. Items that can serve more than one purpose will help your finances, as well as save precious space in the food storage pantry. Items such as oats, pasta, rice, wheat and beans are some great low-cost foods will serve a variety of uses.
- Store high energy snacks to help boost energy levels. Eating snacks that are high in complex carbohydrates and protein will provide you with a guaranteed energy boost. High energy snacks such as nuts, peanut butter, crackers, granola bars and trail mix can be stored for up to 1 year and will help keep energy levels and spirits high in an emergency scenario.
- Bring on the protein! Protein is an essential ingredient in our daily diets and cannot be omitted out of a survival diet. Canned meat is a good source of protein and can also help you maintain your energy level. Meats such as tuna, ham, chicken and spam are great additions to the food pantry and are multifunctional. (Remember, the oil in canned meat can be used as an emergency candle.) Beans are another great source of protein, and when beans are accompanied with rice, it makes a complete protein which provides all the amino acids needed to survive. One serving of beans and rice provides 19.9 g, or 40 percent of your daily vitamins.
- Don’t forget the basics. Essential staples such as cooking oil, flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, spices, baking soda, baking powder and vinegar should not be overlooked. If they are present in your kitchen, they should likewise be present in the emergency food supply.
- Convenience helps in stressful situations. Many moms know that boxed dinners can be a lifesaver when you are in a time crunch. Having some pre-packaged dinners and meals-to-grab during emergency scenarios will help you begin acclimating yourself to cooking in a grid down scenario as well as can help provide some comfort at the same time. Personally speaking, my family has the “just add water” pancake mixes, corn breads and drink mixes that are a great convenience.
- Variety’s the very spice of life, that gives it all it’s pleasure. Variety in your food pantry is important and can prevent the monotony that comes with eating the same foods day in and day out. Having a well rounded food storage will cut down on culinary boredom, as well as balance your diet. Further, stocking up on a variety of spices will also enhance your food pantry.
- Find comfort in the little things. Have some comfort food items that provide enjoyment to the family. Items such as popcorn, sweet cereals, hard candy, juice boxes, pickles, applesauce, pudding, cookies could be a great way to provide a bit of normalcy to the emergency situation you may face.
- Have backs up for your backs ups. Compressed food bars are lightweight, taste good and are nutritious. Having food bars as a back up to your existing food supply can provide you with piece of mind knowing you have an alternative to turn to if you run out of food. Further, these are great additions to your 72-hour bag or bug out vehicle. A review of the different types of bars can be read here or you can practice your survival skills and make your own with this recipe. MRE’s are another alternative food choice to turn to if you happen to run out of food in your pantry. Although many have turned their nose up at MRE’s (due to their high amounts of preservatives), they will provide you with sufficient calories and nutrition when it counts. Note: These should not be the only items in your food supply. Over time, you could become nutrient and vitamin deficient.
- Rotate and resupply when needed. Any items bought for the food storage closet should be used, rotated and resupplied. This is the best way to have the freshest foods available in the event that a disaster occurs. When organizing food reserves place the item that has the earliest expiration date in the front so that it is used first. FIFO is a well known acronym used in the restaurant business that stands for, “First In, First Out,” and can be incorporated in your food storage endeavors. Do an inventory check every 6 months to make sure that canned goods, preserves and other storage items are within their expiration dates.
Keeping the above considerations in mind when purchasing your food supply will provide your family with a well rounded food pantry stocked with an array of foods that will assist in promoting a healthy diet. Not listed in the suggestions is water. You must have water to survive. To learn more about potable water, click here. It would be prudent to have a 2-week supply of water on hand, as well as a water filtration device to rely on for extended disasters.
Prepping is a passion for some. For others it is the most efficient way to keep their family as safe as possible. For further resources and a list of essential items for your emergency supply, click here.
This article has been contributed by Tess Pennington of Ready Nutrition. Subscribe to Tess’ Get Prepped Weekly Newsletter for more emergency preparedness tips, homesteading ideas, and insights. As a subscriber to her free newsletter you’ll receive the latest updates from her 52 Weeks to Preparedness Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Planning Series. It’s well worth your time, and oh, did we mention it’s totally free?
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Am I first?
We must be looking at this in a different way. Energy bars, convent food, compressed food bars MREs. Shit I’m lost. What the hell are you going to do when it all runs out? Some of us have had conversations with people that went through the depression. Back then they would eat anything edible. Our parents and grandparents had no idea what an energy bar was. If we must go through this the idea of maintaining our present diets is ludicrous. And you had better get use to the idea! Disturb our present food chain/transportation/supply system and were fucked. From what I see in this article it looks to be out front a couple of months or so. What the hell are they going to do a couple of years from now? Caloric intake? If you are hungry you won’t be worrying about that much. You are going to eat whatever’s available. How would you feel about a white flour and water biscuit and watered soup? If you were hungry you’d woof those things in a heartbeat. Wakeup people, a lot of our recent ancestors went through “just that” Maybe some people we know, personally!! Buy #10 cans of food and rotate them out. Get grains (wheat corn and rice lots of rice) in Co2 storage. Rice feeds a majority of the world now, today and maybe you too, soon. Have a way of processing them into food. Grinders and mills. Salt, pepper, and other minor spices. There isn’t any since in getting gourmet on this shit, you won’t care. Get some seeds; lots of them if you can’t get food you will damn sure grow it! We just received a shipment if seeds from www. My Patriot Supply.com. these are the best seeds I’ve seen by far. If nothing else get their Genesis Garden Heirloom Survival Seed Vault or a few of them. They are $37 bucks, you can’t beat that. Everybody else is trying to gouge the shit out of you. Take my word on this; it’s worth every damn nickel. Seeds are going to be damn tough to get we have the opportunity to get them now. Medical supplies, ANTIBOTICS in particular in any form. Bandages, Band-Aid’s, tape, sutures and suture needles, gauze, anything is better than nothing and you will make due with what you have available to you. If you have nothing, you are pretty much “DICKED.” I can go on and on about this until it get ridiculous. Fuel, parts, fasteners, guns, ammo, oil, WATER and purification methods. All I can say about this is we need to be looking way out in front of us a few years. That Bug Out Bag is going to be pretty damn flat a year from now. As far as Caloric intake, here’s what we figured out simplistically. We have calculated that there will be nine people here. Average meal per person weighs between 8 to 10 ounces. I went through and calculated all of the food weight we have and divided it by 8 ounces. I even went to 6 ounces accounting for two meals a day. I know it’s random, but it’s better than nothing and its close. We are getting to the point where even if the stores get stripped out we won’t be part of the fray. People; get independent quick!!!
~HR~
Great post! Gave you your 1st thumbs up(well deserved)!
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The 10 rules should actually be “11” & perhaps more. The 11th being the ability & possessing the courage to defend the prior ten!
The link & embedded video below is likely old news…but its worth a review (& watching the vid) again. Enjoy!
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/01/only-two-types-of-people-will-survive.html
You have a very valid point in suggesting folks get seeds and learn how to be self-sufficient. I think the point she was making in her article is that we all need to start somewhere and stocking items we are accustomed to is a good place to start.
We all need to know how to grow and store our own food if it really does it the twisting blades because as you pointed out, there won’t be the local grocery store to stop by and pick up whatever has been consumed.
A root celler is a need in my assessment, because you won’t have a refridgerator. A pressure canner and tattler lids is another must -you can pressure can lots of foods that would otherwise spoil. I would also add that getting mother of vinegar and learning how to keep it going to produce your own vinegar is another must for food storage. There are lots of things to being able to produce and store your own food, but I think these are pretty essential.
Hammerun..
I too am at a loss of this time element..what?? a year?? a month?? well, I’m prepared for ___ years(any longer and who cares about living??)–because I started 3 years ago and I know I’m on an acre of rocks…there won’t be a garden here, ever..tomatoes only if they are planted by my back porch..LOL
As far as calories and nutrition, I am the healthiest person I know….ramen noodles and tomatoes/macaroni fill me just fine; with a cornmeal patty, sounds even better.
Like you, after I calculated and hit a certain number of years–I said, enough…if this lasts this long, dh won’t survive anyhow.
Peace…JayJay
“I’m on an acre of rocks”
Are raised beds an option? Also, do a google search on straw bale gardening. These might be options for you to look into.
As far as living on rocks, consider a cheap (less than $500) hydroponic system powered by a few solar panels, 12 volt bildge pumps. Use 4″ PVC waste pipe, the kind without the holes in it already. Drill your own holes on top to hold the planter. Mount the PVC on a 2X4 rack everything dumping into the next lower level back into the resivour. But some hydroton for the media. Can be setup outside in warm weather then dehydrate for storage. I grow all kinds of veggies this way. Uses very little micronutriants in the water solution. Something to look into. Consider Kale, Chard, tomatoes, cabbage. All do weel in this setup.
Great info on My Patriot Supply. I just looked, their seed prices are quite a bit less expensive then other places.
Thanks…
Thumbs up! Cold hard facts. 🙂
I think the person who wrote the article was implying the use of storing food that would cover everyone in the household UNTIL those crops can be harvested and the poultry raised to the point they are supplying eggs, meat or both.Your comments covered all the essential points people need to be considering or to make a point in buying right away. For myself, I’m trying to work out a way that I can raise some poultry (ducks, since they are supposedly higher in protein than turkey or chicken) in town , then transfer them to a friend’s farm before they get too noisy and the town make trouble and he can finish raising them for slaughter next Thanksgiving.
Commercial growers only raise chickens till they are 8-10 weeks ond. At that age they are not full grown and not full of vinegar so they tend to be fairly quiet as chickens go.
I understand muscovie ducks are “quackless”. And duck eggs are very good nutrition. You might look into them. I figure birds will be noisy in some way. If you want quiet you might look at rabbits. And all of these produce supperior manure for your survival garden. Weed back to the birds and manure and eggs out. Win win.
personally i am not going to raise hens… i aint here to feed coyotes and fox… i can just grab a wild turkey, wring its neck and there you go!
You also have to prepare for the possibilities of a bad harvest or no harvest due to:
~ impurities in the environment such as radiation
~ drought
~ pestilence
~ theft
I’m sure there are many more reasons a harvest might fail – those are just a few off the top of my head. We should be storing far more food than we expect to need – because that is what PREPPING is all about – preparing for as many different variables as possible.
Hammerun,
I completely agree with having buckets of dry goods stored for extended emergencies as well as seeds for a garden, etc. This article was meant to be a primer for those who are becoming more prepared for long-term emergencies. Self reliance begins when are able to completely care for ourselves without dependence on outside groups or organizations.
Further, food storage is one piece of the pie in terms to total preparedness. But those who are new to this have to start somewhere, and having the ability to meet your basic needs is the best place to start.
BTW, good job calculating how much food your group will consume daily.
Tess;
I want to start off with an apology if the flavor of my post came off as condescending or critical towards your article. That was not my desire or intent. Quite on the contrary, my original intent was to spur thoughts towards, what to do and what could be done before, during, and after the initial SHTF scenario. As most of us know they’re people that haven’t the slightest clue of/as to the potential future possibilities of our modern situation and what they would do if they ran out of milk and they found the local grocery striped out. The people that read and post here regularly, we are for the most part are on the same page. My post was geared more towards the “shall we say the more novice” prepper. The ones that add an extra couple of packages of hotdogs to their freezer and thinks, this will do! And maybe towards those that have a slight belief that once, if this hits, it will be all over in a couple of days or so. We call this Normalcy Bias as we all know. We have kids in their 30s that are prime examples of this. A couple of years ago my wife and I made a conscious decision whether to go after this or not. With some minor reluctance Betty finally agreed and we went after it, like a mechanic with a boat payment. The further we delved into this the deeper we got. The lessons we’ve learned so far. Our image for example. We have learned not to talk too much about this to others generally. Some think we are out there orbiting Pluto. Still others want to get into it as deep as we are and seek information. I think our kids have a tendency to patronize us, but they are our kids. Moreover, I hope and pray we get out of this and get back to a more normal lifestyle. But, what convinced us into this was the very thought of, if in the future and if this thing goes south and all the while sat on our laurels and did nothing in preparation when it would have been so easy to do. Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda! Maybe for some, but not for us. We don’t want to go through this mess and damn sure understandably don’t want to see our kids and grandkids go through it either. I personally am comfortable with the impending image of being the loony old dude that was preparing for “doomsday” if this thing don’t come off. That’s fine with me! But if it does we might have a chance to survive the coming shit storm, maybe not us, but our kids. It will be comforting to know as I am speeding towards the warm bright light that I have to the best of my capabilities left those that I most care for in a more comfortable and survivable situation, contrary as to; if I had done nothing.
Sincerely;
Hammerun
Hammerun: Very good points, however CO2 in the buckets is very old school and complicated. Now days all you need is oxygen absorber packets that are very cheap. If used in conjuction with mylar bucket bags to make a super pail, the grains will still be good long after we are gone. I always go 50% over on the packets just in case as they are so cheap. The new mylar bags from Walton Feed are zip lock so you don’t need a sealer.
When it comes to prepping for TSHSF it is different for everyone. I live in a rural area and will bug out even further to the mountains God willing. Everyone has to look at their situation. For me it’s mostly dry foods (rice and beans) with canned meats for flavor, spices, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, dry goods, hygene supplies, etc. I have long term storage nonhybrid seeds, gardening tools and am going to build a large dehydrator. Water is not an issue, will have plenty and a way to filter it. Also since going to higher elevations in WY have a green house for colder sensitive plants, it’s not fool proof in this area but it helps. Have survival books to help identify edible plants to keep that option open also. At the start at least plenty of meat available so think I need to dry a lot just in case.
Winters are harsh here. Have a brand new chainsaw but it requires gas and oil…if things drag out for a few years it’s hard to store enough fuel and oil for it, especially if one has to really go survival mode. My wall tent has a wood stove i built but they take a lot of wood to heat. So my next plan is use the tent when needed but build a sweatlodge and put my stove in it, hard to find a better insulator than dirt.
I guess my point is this, in my situation my plan is to have stored supplies to keep me going till i get settled and up and running. Then it’s back to basics…lol. I really feel for anyone in an urban setting, I think it will be much tougher!!!
That’s just my two cents worth…what do you people think???
Heath
Heath… your plan looks good to me but I would not worry about the fuel and oil for a chainsaw. This is a VERY useful item to have and a 55 gallon drum of gas (with preservative) will run a saw for a LONG time. Oil in unopened containers will last for several years if kept cool and dry. Of all the things that would be useful to us during a SHTF situation, a good chainsaw is one of the top tools you can have. As backups to this, some good hand saws are also good. A couple of bow saws with spare blades can be very handy as would a good cross-cut saw.
@41magman
Thank you for your ideas. As with fuel for me portability (sp) is something i think about. My list of needed supplies is already so big i’m gonna need a semi lol, but do agree with you.I had thought about a cross cut saw, not sure where to find one i can afford on my budget…i have other hand tools, axes, log dogs, oh and a log splitter plus maul and wedges also. it’s all pretty mind blowing to try and figure out and plan for.
Anyway been lurking here for a while, really like the site and input from users, it’s better than any of the others i go too. Good luck and God Bless!!!
Its your turn in the barrel Daisy! Thumbs down, all around!
That wasn’t me, DK – that was one of my stalkers. 😉
@dk
We’re all gonna end up in the barrel if this sh*t doesn’t pick up.
The Baltic dry Index is now down to 2008 levels and crashing.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=BDIY:IND
here’s an explanation as to why its important.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_Dry_Index
yes anon007
what the baltic dry index did this week is freightening… im not sure if it is what it used to be but i sure as hell wouldnt hold any stock this weekend… we shall see on monday what happens.. if europe comes out this weekend with another of their dog and pony shows… well .. lets just say flash crash 2010, 2008, 1987… we could see an event like this on monday.. stay tuned!
wow, i never heard of that index before. SO this says that nothing is being shipped, right? Thats not good. How about what the EU has handed down on the Greek people. Sounds like they are going to Foreclose on the whole country
jimanother- do some dogging around, the rr tonage sucks a$$ to!
Anon 007: I have a number of shipping port links I check including this one and understand what you are saying, but haven’t checked it lately.
I stated early in the Fall that WE were most at risk of a deflationary spiral when everyone here was concerned about … what else?
Hyperinflation. 🙂
WE are still between a rock and a hard place and I don’t see that changing until later, maybe as early as March, maybe not until July.
Whenever the SHTF with Iran.
Its pretty clear to me that Greece WANTS to default and eliminate ALL of its debt. Its not satisfied with a 50% haircut for the banks.
They are really driving a hard bargain.
It appears to me that after they get the next tranche they will tell the GB’s to “kiss their ass”, default, and fire up the Drachma.
shootingblanks00 says:
January 24, 2012 at 4:36 pm
They moved the Aicraft carrier Enterprise into the Persian gulf because it is scheduled to be decommissioned soon. It has 8 nuclear reactors on it. It will cost millions if not billions to tear it apart with conventional methods. Isreal will blow it up and they will blame it on Iran so oBummer will not have to appear before the court and tell on himself that he is not a U.S. Citezen.
I like it blame iran
Your hammered ass, you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Huh …Jan. 28 2012 “Large vessel”,going to be refered to as “The Mothership” to be located in the gulf….That’s curious?
Lets see and pray that you’re right my friend…
rich99- I was kinda nervous(for some reason) when I read the enterprise was going to the gulf. I have wondered all my life about why the japanese attacked a row of obsolete battleships in hawai, and not the weapons(carriers) that everyone knew was the future. I hope and pray the senario above, and any senario that puts the enterprise on the bottom of the see, does not happen.
Kevin, the Japanese thought the American carriers would be at Peral Harbor. They did not know their location which is why they cancelled the third wave and left the area. They were afraid that they would be hit by the American Carriers while the majority of their planes were hitting Peral Harbor the third time.
Redleader-Yeah, I get all that. I was trying to phrase my statement so, someone might ask themselves…hmm, If the japanese inteligence thought our carriers were in port, And we moved them, then our intelegence knew(we craked there code), that they thought our carriers were there, so hence, we knew they were comming!!!! MORE LIES FOR WAR!!! THEY LIED ABOUT THE MAINE,THEY LIED ABOUT THE LOUISITANIA! THEY LIED ABOUT THE ATTACK ON THE LIBERTY! THEY LIED ABOUT THE GULF OF TONKIN! THEY LIED ABOUT WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION! So I ask everyone reading this, why wouldn’t they lie about pear harbor?
RESEARCH ALL ABOVE- THE MAINE-studies of the maine show that a fernace with amunition stored on the other side of a metal wall caused that. THE LIBERTY- Isreal attacked it. THE LOUSITANIA- arms have been found in the reck, the germans HAD a target of war. WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION IRAQ- were they at? THE GULF OF TONKIN- STAGGED, the audio of our pres proves that. For some reason I think of the bombing of the cole, NO AMUNITION ISSUED, you kidding me!!!!!! who ordered that???
Miller/az-a story about that ship was on the msm “world news” last night, and in the WSJ and my local paper!!(I was forced to sit through it during dinner) Sure is getting alot of press! That concerns me!!
“I have wondered all my life about why the japanese attacked a row of obsolete battleships in hawai, and not the weapons(carriers) that everyone knew was the future.”
Well, a couple of things. 1st, battleships were considered the “queens of the fleet” in the early days of WW II. They had the big guns and the mobility to clobber the enemy. 2nd, the aircraft carriers were seen more as support ships and not as true capital ships. Everyone did not know whether carriers were the future or not as they were unproven in combat at that time. Lots of US admirals believed in battleship power, not in air power. Even after PH, many admirals thought that battleships at sea would be much tougher targets than those at anchor in PH and would survive an air assault. It probably was not until the Yamato was attacked and sunk by a large force of US aircraft that admirals around the world started to believe in air power as their primary fleet assault force.
Today, of course, all of the BBs have been retired, scrapped, or put into museums. Too bad, that. They could still fulfill a good naval mission if properly armed and equipped.
I post on just a couple of sites several times a day. I have noticed on my local newspaper site that people are starting to discuss storing canned food & preparing for the worst – it usually comes up on political articles.
Oh yes, the naysayers are still there to ridicule us – but they are starting to be outnumbered and they have far less fire & vigor than they did a year or two ago.
To me, the hardest part of storing food is properly rotating it. We’ve arranged all our shelves (all 30+ of them scattered around our house!) by expiration date. Six months before the expiration date we clear that shelf, inventory what we took out, put that food into our regular/everyday pantry and then replace it with new stuff – typically the exact same thing. It’s a lot of work.
No doubt. It’s easy to miss expiring foods, especially canned goods. That’s why we are big fans of dry storage — beans, rice, pasta, etc. Stored properly it’s a set it and forget it kind of thing… You’re good to go for 15+ years easy.
Canned goods are important as well, as Tess pointed out above. Meats, especially, is what we’ve got in the pantry.. some of those hams have a shelf life of 5 years! Solid for canned goods, if you ask me. The other stuff, though, only gives you a couple years.. We try to keep everything in rotation, but every year before Thanksgiving we go through and run inventory, and anything expiring the following year goes to the local food pantries, so no biggie.
Yeah, people are definitely moving into preparedness mode. A close friend who always gave me the courtesy of listening to my doomsday views but never really believed the “hype” called me the other day to discuss the best ways to purchase gold and silver, and asked my recommendations on an AR vs an AK.
More people are realizing that something is amiss.. They may not be panicking, but they are definitely taking note, especially now that mainstream sources like Drudge and the MSM regularly carry stories about the failing economy, potential for riots, and the worsening condition of the entire social safety net. Unfortunately for many, by the time they take serious action it may be too late.
Thanks.
Mac
Most canned meats, stored in the proper enviroment, have an indefinate shelf life according to the manufactures websites! Spam in particular.
AZ and Mac, the key for canned foods is consistant temp., as close as possible. Another item to purchase (some will not like it) is canned clams, they are a great source of iron. Most canned sea food is but next time you’re at the store, look at the daily iron provided.
The expiration dates on most all canned goods are VERY conservative. For a couple of reasons;
1. The shorter the ED, the less liability they have. If something goes bad, well, it was out of code.
2. They want people to think they need to consume things faster (and replace them faster). They don’t even care if you toss it, as long you buy more.
Store you stuff in a cool, dark, dry environment like a basement or unused room, with the lights off and a dehumidifier. A window AC unit will also keep things both cool and dry.
You can keep most things for many years past the ED and it will still be edible, although maybe slightly less nutritious.
There are numerous web sites and articles about this so I won’t go on about it, but just don’t think those dates are hard numbers cause they’re not.
POF: You are absolutely right. From 1965-1968, during the Vietnam War, my husband and his company ate C-rats that were canned during the Korean War. Said they could still eat them. As a rule, the only canned thing I have found so far that goes bad by its expiration date is tuna — tastes really weird after that and develops a strange texture.
KB, tuna tastes bad when it’s still pre-expiration date! But my wife likes it, se we have that too. Better keep and eye on it tho. Thanks.
Paddy …if it goes bad KB will still eat it..
You dont really need the stored food to last for more than a year. If by that time you dont have a strategy in place to grow/raise your own food, you are not gonna make it anyhow..
Why don’t you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don’t you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don’t you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?Have a little faith Big Joe, have a little faith baby.
You need enough to last you through your first couple of growing seasons. You’re most likely not going to get the hang of providing your own food exclusively for a couple of years. Better have something to supplement you till you figure it out.
In talking about canned foods, sure, they are only a short term solution, but does that really need to be said amongst a group like this? Certainly everybody here understands that. But they do have their place. In addition to learning to farm and garden, learning to preserve has to follow.
Most people garden only as a hobby. They never grow enough to completely meet all their immediate needs, let along future needs which necesitate canning equipment and knowledge.
Joe, good thing the military doesn’t think that way. We’ll never be able to predict the future weather for farming/planting.
Whenever possible, we should eat fresh foods. Yet, we don’t know how long the shtf will last. What is hidden is easier to keep than what is seen growing.
Having MREs, on hand that will out live me, is a wise investment. Hopefully they’ll stay in food storage.
kelly’s hero’s … definitely a true classic … love that movie and love that crazy theme song they play as they blow the crap outta de’ germans!
song: burning bridges
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc8fjFfnJ9E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IatwoA00E0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyh-JpWdGmQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuStsFW4EmQ&feature=related
That’s not always true. You need to plan out much further than just 1 year. Growing up on a small farm, my family was mighty poor. We canned everthing that was edible and stockpiled it in the pantry and closets during the times of plentiful harvests so we could survive the times of drought and pestilence. Try making a meal for 6 hungry tummies on a quart jar of pickled beets that was canned 9 years ago! Been there, done that.
message to mac salvo… from tekroanin.
mac mike rivero of what really happened , just reported on his website whatreallyhappened.com radio show that his website was attacked openly on
01 25 2012 , mac he is experiencing the same website connectivity problems your site is experiencing as well as dprogram.net is experiencing…
YOU ARE ALL BEING actively HACKED BY THE FEDS… it’s a MAN IN THE MIDDLE ATTACK… ALT NEWS WEBSITES ARE ACTIVELY BEING ATTACKED BY THE NWO.ZIONIST.cia.fbi.FEDS … i suggest you contact … both mike rivero at wrh whatreallyhappened.com and shahim at dprogram.net and coordinate info on attacks and share it all with us all… so we can fight it!
thank you mac for all you do for us… to anyone having problems posting here… it’s cause the feds are stripping your posts before they register on mac’s home server… the feds are literally stealin your posts in mid transmission along the web to mac’s home server! these alt news websites are bein’ filtered by the feds of anti nwo anti bank anti gov news posted by us WE THE PEOPLE!
The bs on the net hit high gear on the 22nd, me and eeder having been bitching about the bullshit for 5 days. HEY FEDS-YOU AND YOUR TROLLS WILL NOT STOP THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION FLOW. YOU WILL MEET THE SAME FATE AS THE STAZI, THE TRUTH WILL CONVERT YOUR TROLLS AND THE SLEEPING SHEEP TO LIBERIES SIDE, TRUTH CAN NOT DIE, AND ONE WAY OR ANOTHER IT WILL GET OUT! US BOOTS ARE ON THE GROUND IN LIBYA(ACCORDING TO CYNTHIA MCINLEY) THE FEDS ARE LYARS!
more great vids KELLY’S HERO’S … GOTTA FIND IT ON AMAZON.COM NOW AND GET IT FOR MY SHTF BUG OUT BOOK BAG! ;0) love this movie…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJPYAcPkDcc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezfvb3xRfNI&feature=related
if this shit gets real bad , im starting my own newsletter.. fuck the feds.
Sorry, off topic here.
Mac, have you seen all the info on ACTA. This one makes sopa and pipa look good.
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/acta-global-internet-censorship-now-even-foreign-governments-will-be-able-to-have-your-website-shut-down#respond
Thanks Highspeed. Haven’t had a chance to review the details yet, but will do so at the link above. Thanks!
I just read that article. Not sure how much power they have with it, but I love how Obummer signed it with no one knowing about it
Thanks for posting this needed information, if for nothing else, a reminder of what we need to be doing NOW! As for myself, I try to cover all bases in a ‘scattergun” technique: MRE’s, canned foods, freeze dried, energy bars, seed. I am, also, in the planning stage, to get some ducklings, raise them for a month or two, and transfer them before they get too noisy (I live in a town) to friend’s farm who will finish the raising and slaughter them in November. He will, also, process the meat to packages for storage. One thing more, and this kinda scares me, is the forecasts made on this site a month or so ago how 2012 was going to be a bad year. From the events that have transpired in the last 3-4 weeks, it likes like those forecasts are starting to come true. In short, there isn’t alot more time left to prepare, since anything (war, a natural disaster, and so on) can trigger a chain of events leading to a world wide economic depression. Time is running out.
Relax: Remember the old story of the two guys in the tent; when the bear showed up. First guy put on tennis shoes; second guy said you can’t out run a bear, first guy said; All I have to outrun is you.
All you have to outlive is, at most, the people who have done nothing. That’s 95% of the people. Be ready to keep your head down for 2 winters. Start cheap and simple: 500 vitamin pills, 10# salt, 50# of cooking oil. 100# sugar 600#. flour (Grain),beans, rice. 20 rolls 1000ct TP. That will get you through. Not well, but alive, (For very little money)
Next add spices, P-nut butter, blankets, 22 rifle It never ends but making a BIG improvement is easy
Mac, I would tell your friend to go with the ar-15. Our troops will be carrying that round if you need to get more when SHTF, you know what i mean. Ar-15 are more accurate by far at stock configuration. ak-47 dont jamb and can fire in bad conditions but overall you shouldnt have to worry about that too much really anymore. very comparable round. Its all a preference what you like, that is all. I have shot over 50,000 rounds at least of both in my life easily. If you could get my name in your servers or know of a way so my posts dont get waiting moderation or a trick around that let me know please. I read these every single day mulitple times a day for a good year now or longer.
Eric, great comment. To become a ‘trusted’ user in the Akismet Spam system, i recommend you use an email address (even a fake one, just use the same one each time)… After we approve your comments a couple times the system will more than likely start recognizing you as being a regular 🙂
My apologies for the need for moderation – it’s automated and it blocks tons of spam.
thanks.
Mac
Mac, this is what I like about Mountain House #10 cans. They keep for 25+ years. As you put it, I can set it and forget it. I keep all of those foods stored in the basement and keep the temperature below seventy degrees, ensuring prolonged shelf life.
Question, What do you call spam on the summit of a 10,000 mountain? Answer- filet mignon!
“More people are realizing that something is amiss..”
Indeed so, Mac. They may not see the flames yet but they definitely smell some smoke.
Mr. Blutarsky,
My biggest problem is to actually find space for storing.
Living in an appartment is not easy to store big quantities.
What i have done, is to create a store place in my dad’s basement. The problem is that when SHTF i must drive downtown to get some of that stuff.
As you mentioned, rotation is very important.
Finally we buy stuff that we eat anyway. I don’t want to end up in some armaggedon, stuck with a pile of sardines, or goose pate. 🙂
Be safe.
Do what I do (I live in a townhouse) and get light wgt items like 72 hr emergency packs of meal pouches and store under the bed and on top of the kitchen cabinet (there is a 3-4 inch space between the cabinet top and the ceiling. Just an idea.
Like Old Soldier, I store my canning jars above my cabinets. They look pretty and make me feel secure. btw, I even “canned” cookies! gotta have my chocolate when the SHTF.
Wow, Jenn… canned cookies… that is definitely HARD CORE! 😉
Is anyone else having a tough time finding good, Strike Anywhere Matches? I am not talking about the new “Green” matches that don’t work work worth a darn.
Good Matches would be a great barter item if you could find them.
The only place that I have seen them for sale is on Ebay for as much as $5.00 a box!
Try a magnesium fire starter from Walmart or a camping supply, their about $7 bucks. They work great.
Hammerun,
That same fire starter is $2.00 at harbor freight, combined with cotton balls soaked in vasoline and you can light a fire in a rain storm.
DPS
I have several of those and fire starters. I am thinking more in the way of a barter item. They would be worth their weight in gold if people have to resort to cooling with wood.
Strike Anywhere Matches..250 count/$1..Ace Hardware..dh got me lots of boxes.
And IF you can find them, the little langards with the plasticc that kids wear around their necks in the pool(to keep their money, etc.)? they are great for storing and have one in each BOB..
Or in your fire starter bucket in your cars..you DO have firestarter buckets in your cars, don’t ya??
It’s a ‘lost in the mtns. with snowfall and lose your toes to frostbite kinda story’ that was on a few years ago!! My insurance is in the car in that bucket.
lanyard–not langard..oops
Maybe it’s a California thing. Our Ace hardware only sells the crappy green strike anywhere matches. I have read that the reason the good ones are no longer sold is that the meth freaks were using them to make meth.
I am glad I bought a hundred boxes last year at the $100.00 price. I would like to buy more if I could find the good ones.
Storing lighters does not work. They cannot hold fuel over a year or two. You could buy the high quality refilable lighters and store cans of butane refils.
Red Leader,
I found them at the grocery store, so take time to look close sometimes the stash them by the charcoal. I have alot of matches but I also bought a few more zippo lighters with a bunch of fuel. I also pick up lighters I find every where and pull the flint out them for my zippo’s. And if any of you are smokers then let me say growing tobacco is easy. it just takes time to cure it.Its going to make a great barter item in the crunch.
DPS
lol DPS…I thought I was the only one that cannabilized those bics for my zippo.BTW where do you get seeds for growing tobacco? I buy bulk tobacco in bags and roll my own but would like to maybe grow some this spring.
Trying again…this is for JRS…www.thetobaccoseed.com/www.victory seeds .com….theres others online too but heres a couple you can check out,hope this helps!
JRS – check out the rules on growing tobacco. Apparently you are only allowed to grow so much per 10 or 100 acres. The stupid federal govt even regulates what you grow!!!!!!!!
Vons, our grocery store only has the green matches.
JRS,
My Daughter got them for me from http://www.horizonherbs.com
I just got bored a fews weeks back and started some of the tinys seeds indoors and they are really taking off. Another thing I have been playing around with is lights, So far the best light for the least amount of money to run is the small CF light bulbs. The little plants will follow that light every where I move it.
DPS
PS keep robbing those old lighters bud once I started look for them I found them every where. Gotta love free flints
Does anybody think about storing BIC Lighters? I’ve got a boatload of the generics… Something to think about.
All the cheap ones I ever had lost their gas in a year or so…BIC brand seems better.
I’ve seen wooden “kitchen matches” at CostCo but haven’t bought any yet. They would be good for lighting our wood stove. These come in boxes about the size of 2 decks of playing cards and about 4 boxes to a plastic wrapped pack. I’m thinking that two of these boxes could be vacuum packed and would stay good for a long time.
The old strike anywhere matches will keep forever if kept dry
They are now classified as hazardous material and most Groc stores don’t stock them. I still see them a lot of places.
Thank you Mac!
Excellent post!
Congratulations,
I was reviewing info on the Water Brick. Does anyone have any suggestions for water storage?
http://www.waterbrick.org/products.php
Thanks in advance,
Y’all Beware!
Well, If “Y’all” are in East Texas, I could tell you where to get the 20 gal. used barrells for about $15.
Other than that, you should have already started on this aspect of prepping long ago.
You can always go to china-mart and get their blue cube type of water storage containers. We use them all the time and they work fine………
KEEP PREPPIN’
For anyone near Lexington, Ky..Lexington Containers has 30 gallon blue drums, 10/$100 or $15 each..I got 20.
Hope this helps someone.
There is an indoor flea market near Pittsburgh, PA that sells food grade plastic barrels that originally held olives for $13 each with bulk discounts. You can find them on Craigslist.
Here is a link to a discussion on water storage – oddly I was looking at it myself just yesterday. Make sure you read through all the discussion comments for some ideas.
http://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/lets-talk-about-water-storage/
We have a well & 2 ponds – spring & rain fed – but I would also like to have a water tower so we have water pressure. I also need a solar system to power the well. It’s too deep for a hand pump (almost 300 feet).
If you have limited space, you should hook rain barrels to all your gutter downspouts (though I worry about the chemicals in our shingles).
I also found a video a year or so ago on You Tube – there actually were several – these folks dug their own shallow wells and put hand pumps on them. Now the water was cloudy and would need to be filtered & boiled but hey, it was water!
Clean water will be our biggest problem.
Mr B.
Something alot of people over look is the above ground pools, The water would still need to filtered and boiled but hey its water. Plus the G.F. and the kids have a blast with it. And I’m with you on the water well here its at 345 ft deep so the hand pump is out. They did start making some really cool solar pumps but still pretty pricey.
DPS
Don’t forget that a 40 gallon water heater may be a lifeline for a while.
DPS, I thought about the kiddy pools awhile back. You can keep them stored easy, but if you need them, blow them up and fill them when the first signs of the SHTF takes place. They do hold alot of water and cheap to buy as well.
I buy a 5 gallon jug of filtered water every week for $3 at the grocery store. I have plenty of storage room in my basement, so that’s not an issue. They fit on my water dispenser, which uses, but does not require, electricity. I figure the jug alone is worth my $3. I also have a couple hundred 2 liter bottles filled with tap water.
Bottle fee? ChinaMart seven gallon Coleman square jugs stack and the water is free to dump each year with no plastic cheap cap that doesn’t seal or travel well and can’t be stacked.
We put our well on a hill. It is solar powered. We have 50psi at the house. I put four 2,600 water tanks near the well, manifolded together. Each tank has it’s own valve. I keep two tanks full and turned off so we always have 5,200 gallons in reserve. We also store a spare pump and controller.
Similar to Daisy, I have at least 30 2-liter bottles filled with tap water. I also have 6 6-gallon jugs filled with tap water. The water passed through a fluoride filter on its way into the containers. The filter pulls out other particulates as well. Add a small amount of bleach and it’s good to go for a while.
AZ,
The pool I got last summer for $49.00 holds 1745 gals of water. Which would last a long time, and if you add that to my storage tanks in the shed , I have around 2000 gals. Plus a same lake about a 1/2 mile from my house.
DPS
DPS, sounds like we are on the same page. I have a few of the small inflateable kiddy pools. Not sure exactly how much they hold, but has to be close to a couple hundred gallons each based on my calcs from a 55 gallon drum. Gives me close to 1500 gallons with the other water I have plus we live next to a very large lake as well!
my well is also 300 plus, but the water table is only 22 feet down. pull your cap and measure the distance. i got a battery powered 12v pump from harbor freight and a 50 foot hose. already tested it out. yep i’m good on the well.
be careful buying the pump. make sure your lift distance is adequate. mr b are you in n.c.?
“I also need a solar system to power the well.”
Have you considered using a windmill to generate the power to run the water pump? Around here, wind power is a lot more reliable than sun power. Could be different elsewhere but at least the wind blows day AND night.
“Clean water will be our biggest problem.”
That could be the case for a lot of folks. Where I live, it falls from the sky in giga-ton quantities, so there will be no lack of volume. Our problem will be with filtering to make sure it hasn’t picked up anything nasty.
Try Emergency Essentials. They have a full line of barrels in different prices. Max shipping: $12.
Hey Ya’ll
Canadian condo prepper here. I buy the Ocean Spray, gallon size, Pink Grapefruit Juice (love the handle) and a mickey of gin, drink my way through it, and use the empty jug to store water. I have over 30 gallons, now. *hic*
Good list. My high calorie preps will be grahm crackers,chocolate bars,marshmellows,pop corn and coke a cola. My survival plan for the colapse is to sit around the camp fire, make smors, drink coke and eat popcorn and enjoy the show.
Can I join you you, I’ll bring the dogs. Nobody, I mean nobody puts catsup on a hot dog except Kerry.
MUSTARD ONLY!
I do. And relish. Its the only way to eat a hot dog.
Hey, I love catsup on hot dogs… mustard too… and I’m somebody. 😉
We’ve designated leaders for specific tasks in our SHTF planning, one of them being the food security/inventory manager… I recused myself from the food stuffs…
Otherwise that chocolate won’t make it past 30 days.
I will destroy some Hershey’s kisses with reckless abandon and no conscience, and have no problem looking a crying kid straight in the eyes while I eat the last piece.
Knowing ones weaknesses, and admitting them, is critical to survival.
A man has to know his limitations.
Thats shitten funny!!
Hammerun, I got a good chuckle out of Mac’s weakness admission also.
Good way to end the work week, needed a good laugh,
Thanks again Mac, everyone have a great weekend.
Stay in Grace.
Take it easy and make sure to relax this week end!
http://www.candyfavorites.com/hershey-s-kisses-bulk?gclid=COCZ47zy8K0CFaFeTAodSTb5rA
Mac,
Damn mental note stay away from Mac and daisy’s choclate.
Another good article Mac, Its good to remind us what we should have already done.
Alot of ya’ll are really lucky because around my parts I’m on my own, nobody within 30 miles is prepping.
DPS
Fifty pounds of dark chocolate here, baby, and I’ll defend it to the DEATH!!!
“Damn mental note stay away from Mac and daisy’s choclate.”
No kidding, DPS! Anyone messes with their chocolate is likely to get riddled. Anyone asks, just say, “they touched my chocolate” and everyone will go on about their business. 😉
Dang Mac, we must be related. I have stored a lot of the powdered baking chocolate in #10 cans from Walton Feed.
I am wondering what you would trade me for some homemade whole wheat brownies after the SHTF?
That is funny, Mac.
BTW, what is the shelf life of chocolate? I’ve taken steps to get hard candies like lifesavers and root beer barrels, but not chocolate since I don’t know how long it would last.
The CoCo powder HERSEY Sells will last at least 15 years M&M plain are still good at 2-3, never managed to keep any longer
My wife hides our chocolate stash cause she’s got more self control. I’ve even looked for it and can’t find it.
Dove Dark
lmao kevin
My link to the coke song karaoke video, is taking a while, but will be available shortly for you campers!
Kevin. 🙂
In all wisdom, we both might want to wean ourselves off of the Coke so when it becomes unavailable we don’t die of the caffeine headache.
I do like your smores idea a lot!
sing it! ” i’d like to teach………………………….”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a8F28WVXlk
Oh, man, that was great! But… am I the only one who thought that he heard automatic weapons fire in the background? 😉
Oh,my……I just now finished reorganizing the “daily-use” pantry……..great minds??
Anyway, I need more small canned items……..
KEEP PREPPIN’
may i suggest mussels and oysters….mmmmmhmmmm!
and those little baby mandarin oranges!
ditto
No to the mussels and oysters, they are not “clean” as we try to eat Messianic. (yes , I’m one of the ones you hate)
Yes to the oranges though.
Blessings to you eeder……….
TMI
HEY,country mom… i dont hate you.. eat what you want…not many jews are country moms so i guess i respect you… eat what you want! do what you want! as long as you dotn tread on me.. i really dont give a damn! i dont even hate jews anyhow… i do hate zionists who insist on trying to cram their evil communist agenda of israEL on me but not all jews do that… anyhow…. do as you see fit so long as you dont harm me … and i still say the mussles are the best… not dirty either … and the baby oranges
may god bless you too country mom.
eeeewwwwww… fish bait! >:-[
While I agree that foods and items do expire, many canned goods are just fine to eat long after their “expiration date”. The expiration date was made mandatory for consumer protection. So, if your can of corn expired 3 months ago and it isn’t bulging or showing other signs of nastiness upon inspection (sniff test), dig in. The same goes for many other items including many meds.
Exactly……..not that any of us really care what the gov. says, but here is their guide lines for different foods..http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/Food_Product_dating/index.asp
It may help someone to decide that some of that food doesn’t need to be thrown out and to just eat it !!
If it’s bulging, trade it to the neighbor. I found out that tomato cans are a ticking time bomb.
Poor neighbor…….
that’s funny
True Tomato products are very acid and do not keep well. 2-4 years, best in glass
Home canned in glass should do just fine. 🙂
I’m the worst at rotation, but several months ago one of you suggested using stickers on expired items so you know what to eat first. That was a great help, thanks to whoever posted it. I assigned the task to my oldest, great way to get them involved.
I’m considering trashing the 2009’s, everything tastes like tin.
see anonymous above
On a prepper formum, many share foods they prepared long past the exp./use by/best by dates.
Last recent post was cake mix..a use by 2008 date..
She said it was great, fluffy, and taste just like always.
Great, because I have a shelf full..and Aldi’s has red velvet on sale now..so adding to my shelf soon!!
You can make your own easy chocolate icing–I did…dh loved it!!
(note:fingers underneath suspenders, rocking back and forth action here)
I ate quite a few bulging can while I was a raw cadet in MA. that was quite stupid and provided a lot of time for contemplation while purging stomach and guts. however we had no other choice, back then it was either eat it or do without. so one thing I can tell you from my own painful experience – if the can is bulging it is far safer to leave it. however, there will come time when you will thank God for even a bulging can, then do as Simon says.
Simon says: open it, cook it with water (take it out from the can!!!) for at least half an hour, it should not only kill bacteria but should also destroy botulism toxins if they are present.
I’m a living example of this. but on the other hand this is the last thing that anyone would wish to do…
Heating will not kill botulism. Botulism will kill you however. Don’t eat bulging cans!!!!!!!!
hey, don’t just go on shouting man. check your facts before you spout 🙁
Quote:The toxin is destroyed by normal cooking processes (heating at >85C for five minutes or boiling for a few minutes). Unquote
from
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs270/en/
caboom to you dude 🙂
I walk the talk, because I ate that shit (bulging cans) and I went through NBC advanced course…
“I ate quite a few bulging can while I was a raw cadet in MA. that was quite stupid and provided a lot of time for contemplation while purging stomach and guts. however we had no other choice, back then it was either eat it or do without. so one thing I can tell you from my own painful experience – if the can is bulging it is far safer to leave it. however, there will come time when you will thank God for even a bulging can, then do as Simon says.
Simon says: open it, cook it with water (take it out from the can!!!) for at least half an hour, it should not only kill bacteria but should also destroy botulism toxins if they are present.
I’m a living example of this. but on the other hand this is the last thing that anyone would wish to do…”
“quite stupid” yep, lucky to be alive
“purging stomach and guts” lucky this is all you suffered
“far safer to leave it” exactly
“it should not only kill bacteria” apparently didn’t in your case
“I’m a living example of this” again, you are lucky to be alive
“but on the other hand this is the last thing that anyone would wish to do” only advice worth a shit you posted
Here is real advice, don’t eat a bulging can!!!!
Botulinum neurotoxin is considered one of the most potent, lethal substances known. As little as about 1 nanogram/kg can be lethal to an individual, and scientists have estimated that about 1 gram could potentially kill 1 million people.
There was no need to quote me verbatim on everything and then add “witty” remarks on them.
since you specifically used a very derogatory remark on the last one (and I quote): “only advice worth a shit you posted” I feel obliged to respond in kind.
You sir are a total failure (on this matter at least). You posted first that botulinus toxin can not be destroyed by cooking the food, and when I provided you and other members with the WHO quote which proves me right, instead of admitting that you were WRONG, you went on and started calling my post a shit…. well…
you smear others with what yourself are full of.
OK Giurza, you are correct that the site you posted does say it can be killed by heating. Happy now?
Funny though how most of the sites I read said not to consume it anyway, heated or not.
If you wish to take the chance with your life eating bad food, go for it, your choice. It’s a bad idea to give that advice to others because if you DON’T kill ALL the bacteria, you are screwed, plain and simple!
OK AZ… I AM happy 🙂
and I hear you on all the issues. but I give good advice. Now, don’t jump on me. since we dropped the hostilities, let me explain.
first off – heat WILL kill all bacteria (botulism or not)! that is one undeniable fact
second – heat will NOT kill all kinds of botulism SPORES! but spores by themselves are not harmful
heat will destroy botulism TOXINS and toxins are neither bacteria nor spores. toxins are biological biproducts of bacterial activity. for example cholera bacteria does not kill people its the toxin which causes diarrhoea and subsequent death from dehydration, loss of electrolytes etc etc. botulism toxin affects nervous system (neurotoxin) as you correctly observed.
so, my advice was is and will be good, because there will be time when you face a situation – eat that bulging can or die. now, if you would not know that heating will kill bacteria AND destroy toxins (those of botulism) you might take the risk and probably save your life.
cheers mate! knowledge safes life 😉
completely screwed my last sentence, I meant:
if you would know that heating will kill bacteria AND destroy toxins (those of botulism) you might take the risk and probably save your life.
oh and… knowledge saVes life…
I must have eaten something from shroom’s diet today (shroomie, no offence meant, just the pun with the previous jokes in mind)
look .. bottom line , any food that is edible will be better than nothing if it hits the fan… however these are great ideas… just try and improve on your position as time goes on… prepping never ends… so what ever you have when things go awry will be an advantage to nothing.
Get a sharpy marker.
Start writing dates on your packaging.
When you bought it.
When you opened it.
When you finish it add it to a list.
You don’t know how much you need until you figure out how long it lasts.
Mac, Tess,
Thank you both for getting this information out. It is a good reminder for experienced preppers, and a VERY GOOD summary for people just getting started. Thanks again!!
Thanks SB. It’s all Tess. She’s got this stuff down and has a huge amount of resources for beginner and pro preppers alike at her web site.
A vaccum sealer is a great investment besides sealing food I use it to seal medical supplies, medicine, and ammo, things that I don’t want oxygen to oxidize, plastic will dry over time but if you seal it 10 years from now it will still be like new everything last 4 times longer, can’t go wrong with a vaccum sealer.
Can and preserve, anything you can think of can be pressure canned. Chili, Sphagetti sauce, seafood gumbo, stew, vegetable soup….make a huge pot, season to your taste, then pressure can.
With the large pot we use, any one batch we get 15-20 quarts of whatever we cooked.
Make jams and jellies.
We also buy the canned hams and meats from the “dollar” stores, they are inexpensive and have lots of protein and fat in them…
Just some thoughts…
We also put up dry goods, like Mac suggests…lots of beans and rice…also jerked meat…
Itt’s Friday, fixin to head home, get started on this weekends welding of the ethanol units for my fellow preppers…
I should finish two units this weekend, maybe, depending on Murphy….lol
Terry
Terry,
How are those snares coming along?
DPS
The best advice I can give someone new to food storage is that most things do not need to be nitrogen packed in #10 cans. Certainly, things like milk, grains, etc. should be if you are not rotating frequently, but I can my own cheese for 1/5 the cost of freeze-dried. Salt and suger only need be stored in an airtight container. Another important consideration is heat. Canning jars are kept in the cellar for a reason. Heat will greatly limit the shelf life of food storage.
‘Best Buy’ dates are not expiration dates. According to the National Dairy Council. Unopened cans of evaporated milk are safe as long as the cans are intact; however, they may thicken, carmelize, and turn brown with time.
How about powdered milk? It only has a year shelf life, how far beyond that would you say it can go in it’s original box?
Vacuum seal Sandy and keep in freezer if you really care.
I always buy my powdered milk professionally packed. The best taste/price I found is from Costco.com. They have free shipping and membership is not required to buy. They say it is good for up to ten years, but I am rotating mine out after five and it is still good.
I believe you can buy it in a #10 can and it will last much longer.
I have used it out of the box for 2-3 years. But better way is to vac seal in Qt jars with a pump, and an O2 absorber
I used powdered milk this past weekend that was vacuum packed 9 years ago and kept in a sealed 5 gallon bucket, stable enviroment. No problems.
And don’t forget the beer.
yes and the homeade wine and “everclear”
Here is my problem. While my wife does see something on the horizon, she is also the type that will wait for it to happen before being spurred into action. It comes from a long lineage of procrastination. Drives me crazy. That leaves it up to me and it is overwhelming. My shortcomings come at me from at every angle. I have some food, but not enough, Some ammunition but not enough to make me feel comfortable, some fuel storage but not enough and much of that gets used on the farm regularly but always keep 200 gallons or so just to level out short term fluctuations in pricing.
I try to keep a level head about this, but I think that this summer things will get strained. I struggle to subdue the panic, it doesn’t help the situation I am in. I have tried to compell my wife to have more of a sense of urgency about food storage or anything, but it will end up being my responsibility.
Mike: My wife is not into it either, but since I have no car payments (although I have an old diesel truck and a dual sport motorcycle), agrees that I can spend the equivalant of her car payment each month on preparedness. She sees me sacrifice by riding the bus to work and knows I would get a part-time job at the local sporting goods store if necessary. Maybe something like that will work for you. Steady plodding brings prosperity, hasty speculation brings poverty
PP: Jobs are pretty tough to find around here. My slow time is winter, but that is also everyone elses slow time. Rarely is a business willing to hire someone for 4months a year and employers hate to hear that they will come 2nd to a damn cow.. Usually I can make some extra money welding in the winter without commuting expenses.
The overwhelming sense comes from being the only squirrel putting nuts in the tree knowing that there is alot of others that will be coming to that tree.
mike..perhaps,since it sounds like you live on a farm, you should start gardening this spring in a big way. Potatoes are an excellent survival crop.I don’t know your soil type, but there should be many different food crops you can garden. Try asking your neighbors for unused canning jars and get a pressure canner. It is an upfront expense that can save you a bundle.If you raise a couple hogs you can butcher them with very little equipment and can the meat. You can can almost anything you grow or raise on your farm.
I live in Appalachia and come from a farming family. It is hard to make it sometimes and they often worked full-time, delivered mail as a contract carrier, or left the farm in the winter to find temporary work in other states. Their is no easy answer. Only ideas.
My father was a welder and if he had taught me I would be making and selling wood-gas generators from plans available from Mother Earth News. Complete one, make a YouTube video on making electricity from wood scraps, and start taking orders.
To mike says:I too have a “Lot’s wife” kinda of lady.She just tunes out the “storm on the horizon” when I try to talk to her about it.Just rolls her eyes and tunes me out.She does have other qualities that for today offset her shortsightedness on what’s ahead.Good cook,smart about getting value when we shop and the mundane things of that sort.Don’t think she’ll have the moxie to survive when we need to GOOD,though.I can at least say I tried get her not to become a “pillar of salt”.
LTR,
GFG
Mike don’t despair you are doing what you can with the resources at hand. Keep mushing. I prioritized my preps to alleviate my sense of being overwhelmed by my
perception of just how unprepared I was.
Water
Food
Protection
Energy
Sanitation
Medical; etc.
I found that by prioritizing and working from a list I felt more in control knowing that I was solving one issue at a time versus trying to solve it all at once.
Mike…I hear where you are coming from. My husband tolerates my prepping, not minding the food part so much but looking askance at me if I bring home any ammunition, charcoal briquettes, kerosene, propane or camping items that haven’t been officially approved by him. (He does enjoy reaping the benefits of canned salsa and stockpiled peanut butter, and he is impressed that I now keep my gas tank full, but he is still concerned that I have gone off the deep end). I would love to hear more about your farm…you have a milk cow, wow! I recently calculated the amount of produce I grew in my 500 sq. ft. garden, and then compared it to retail prices…I grew $800 worth of food in that little space, and that was with a failed potato crop. Every time I throw scraps into the compost, I wish I had a pig and some chickens.
Mama Bear: Sorry to have mislead you. I don’t mess with dairy cattle. We have beef cattle and a small herd of working cow horses. I grew up with beef cattle and my grandfather milked about 100 head of holsteins. I travelled from our place to his from late spring after calving and school let out until school started again in the fall. Whoever was baling hay or putting up sileage or just needed labor that is where I was.
I will never own hogs, chickens, or dairy cattle, until I am forced. Just not enough money for the amount of headache. Only reason I have stayed with cattle is I love the life and cattle are pretty self reliant creatures. I have never owned hogs but have friends with big hog operations.
This summer I am going to plant a garden. I have as much space as i want but the challenge will be time management throughout the summer.
Aw, i was going to be all jealous of your milk cow. I wondered if you had a garden…it’s hard to garden after putting in a long day at work, and probably harder when the work involves cattle. I grew up next to a small farm of Herefords and spent many a long summer day just playing with the cows. I used to jump horses too, and thought I was pretty decent till I started riding a cutting horse that we were schooling for jumps…he put me on my butt a few times. Why isn’t your wife doing the garden and the chickens? I have hundreds of heirloom seeds, both seed packs and ones I have saved, and although I work full time and have two young children I am putting as many hours into the garden as I can. I am two generations off the farm but I think it still runs in my blood or something. I’m trying to build up the nerve to get some contraband city chickens.
Mama Bear: Most days she is out in fields with me in a different tractor or doing something I should be doing but cannot like running for parts. She does stay busy. I think she will enjoy a garden this summer. I think it is a chance to both work and unwind at the same time. I grew up having planted many of them and harvesting alot less of them. Usually the cattle or deer would get in there and tear everything up. But I love fresh produce. My mom used to freeze and can everything, so I will be on the phone more often than usual with her getting instructions. I have also been advised to plant half heirloom seeds and half regular seeds. Someone told me that heirlooms are kind of tricky. Is that true?
I could never jump horses, you must have a tremendous vertical. But in all seriousness there is no better animal than a good working dog and a good working horse.
Well, if your wife drives a tractor, I think you’re pretty set. She sounds like a hard worker who has your back. I know my husband has mine too. I would agree to do a mix of heirlooms and hybrids, because the hybrids are going to bear more prolifically from my experience. This is the first year I didn’t do early girl and rutgers tomatoes and I really missed them. I had a wide range of productivity in the ten heirlooms I grew, and I am sure it is also dependent on location and weather. You just have to keep testing things side by side. This year I am hoping to have more room on a relative’s property to do some comparison testing….but I mainly like heirlooms in order to stick it to the man.
Thanks for the good laugh…I haven’t JUMP-jumped horses since we were in elementary school and would vault onto our ponies backs…then we would wonder why they bucked us and ran us through the sticker bushes and apple trees!
Trade her in for a new one while the market is still good. Do background investigation.
Rich: I am assuming you are being humorous. Although I like to think that I am a pleasure to be around 99.9% of the time, I think after a few beers the wife would tell it differently. She has her faults, but I also have my baggage. If I were to ever leave her, I would never get married again. Probably wouldn’t ever get into another serious relationship. Sometimes I don’t know why I stay and other times I don’t know why she does.
You assume right.
Mike, who is drinking the beer?LOL
mike
Same with my wife. Here in Norway it is even more difficult, because we have no crisis and at the moment and even unemployment is on a record low.
What I did, when I started perparing three years ago, is that I took over cooking and therefore had to do the main bulk of shopping. Since then I have tried to make every meal special and we even make our own bread. That gives me the liberty to buy as much food as I like. For tools and other equipment I have free hands, because she is not really interested in what I store in the barn. However, she doesn`t like the idea having hoarded 800 litres of gasoline.
For the food I did the smart shopper approach. Most food and groceries I buy on sale or in Sweden. I buy in large quantities, also to save money. This way we happen to have now food for two years minimum and toiletries for many more years.
What my wife likes about this is that we always have enough food and groceries at home. She sees the point that due to smart shopping the montly food bill is low and loves that our dinners have improved.
Mike… I hear ya, man. I suspect that a lot of us are in this same situation. We see the flames of destruction long before those around us even smell the smoke. I agree that it is difficult to do a good job of prepping and doubly difficult when we have to drag our loved ones along for the ride. Human nature being what it is, when (not if) the SHTF I am sure that a lot of our relatives will be whining about “Why didn’t you do something?!”. All we can do is our best. Peace, Brother.
I am an avid canner and dehydrator. My canning supplies and pressure canner are the best investment I have made. I have some of the #10 cans of freeze dried foods, but I much prefer the things which I have grown and preserved at home.
My best advice for someone new to food storage is to grow a garden (even just containers) and learn to preserve what you grow yourself.
Splurge on a cast iron needle bearing heavy grain grinder and you will fall in love all over again.
http://www.lehmans.com/store/Kitchen___Grain_and_Grain_Mills___Diamant_Grain_Mill___525?Args=
In 1969 as a 19yr.old in SE Asia I ate C-rations made in 1945,,it was 110* and they were placed on the ground and ya grabbed what ya could.I would hope canning has progressed since 1945,,,at any rate I’ve only had one can out of hundreds go bad,lima beans.I eat out of date can goods as long as the can isn’t bulging or rusted.Just facts,no sheet.
Yep–dh said he ate sea rations in VietNam from WWII.
OMG!!! Not Ham & MotherF***ers again!!!
Metals are still up and markets down. I think the game just got started.
anonymous….
yes i think gold is going to run soon to its 1900 high and test its all time inflation adjusted high…. if youre a trader i would be accumulating here.
I keep getting hammered on my survival discussion group for holding silver, but I figure if I have my ground, grub, and guns squared away why not hold 90/10 PM/Dollars rather than 100% Dollars?
Pastor… as an item of barter, silver will probably always have some value. I collect it too and for just that reason. I like all kinds, too… 90% US coins, ASEs, Maples, and bars. They would not be the 1st things that I would add to my SHTF stash but there will come a time when they will be quite useful. They also make a great way to store wealth that is not in rapidly eroding dollars. I like gold too but, man, is it ever spendy!
The new 2012 silver eagles are out. I just got a few on order. Get the metals while they are still cheap!
Tess has a great site!! I’m making this today! http://readynutrition.com/resources/no-knead-to-worry-bread_24022011/ Might want to print it out so you have it on hand for SHTF!
I’ve been making a variation of this bread for over 25 years. It’s absolutely the easiest to make. Here’s a trick… If you let it cool completely the crumb will be the best. If you cut it too soon the steam escapes and it effects the texture. Learn to make this.
Thx Bill!!!
@1happycountrymom,
Thanks for the info. I was changing water in my two large containers. That afternoon I noticed they were both leakin’.
Y’all Beware!
You are welcome. Sorry I jumped the gun on your preppin.
Sometimes we have to wrap a little of the plumbers tape around the screw part to get the spigot to line up right.
Got to go pour up the soap……later all.
This is one of those topics where this community shines like the sun.
We truly are the Jedi’s of preparedness.
Some here are master Jedi’s at that. It’s so second nature to us that in the event of a true emergency, we joke about not forgetting the popcorn (or cheetos in my case).
I believe we will have more people reaching out to us as the financial crisis grows closer.
Those that laughed at us before may be asking for advice in the near future.
Try to be patient with these pricks, better late than never and we are all gods children
In the end.
Crunchy or puffs
That’s a hard one,
They are both gifts from God.
The puffs I have to eat with a toothpick. Fifteen minutes to Judge Wapner.
Saddam liked them too, then he changed to Doritos the last few months.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8288955/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/saddam-guards-describe-his-doritos-habit/
Anon,
I’m taking you to Vegas.
Counting cards, counting cards. I’m an excellent driver.
Something I regulary do when finding dates that are running close to expiration. Buy that same item at the store, keep the reciept, later return to the store with the “short” dated product and ask for the money back on the returned item. I always blame my wife for buying the wrong item we did not need. Example being the processed cheese in a can, usually about a 6 month shelf life.
Yea that would be theft, glad you don’t shop at my store, not like stores have a bottom line and the owners dont have families to take care of.
Theft? I buy the same product. Replace what was short dated with fresher dates. They got their money the first time I bought it. It just a way to rotate. I do not let it go out of date. Gives them time to resell to someone who will more than likely eat it right away. Besides as a prepper I am always checking dates on what I buy. So if there is something there fresher I buy it first. Explain the theft part?
salva-Thats kinda like what the federal government is doing, taking my money and with holding it, and then giving me fresh ones in april after I lost some purchasing power. You are are a thief by stealth, the least you can do is go in there and shop lift face to face, hell, even the feds have the curtesy to do that.
Dan… I used to shop at a gun store that had a sign above the counter that read, “Shoplifters will be shot. Survivors will be shot again”. Probably not the case but at least the folks coming in knew where the owners stood on thievery… my kind of store.
My guess is youd squeal like a hog if you found someone did something similar to you?
salvadordaly..
i mean. … im not sure what to say! this really isnt right and is not recominded… i admire your thinking , but i mean this just isnt right… why not take it to the food bank instead…god will smile on those who do good… the problem is we all lose , yourself included when you do this shit….keep it to yourself pal…
I buy 5 gal plastic buckets at pizza joints for 50c. Mushrooms come in them. Great for sugar, rice salt etc.
Body Fortress Whey Protein Powder, available at Walmart for 15 bucks a 2 lb tub. Good shelf life, taste OK. Can be mixed with water or milk and you get 26 grams of COMPLETE protein per scoop.
Everybody should have four or five of these at least.
try ……..35-40
KEEP PREPPIN’
Sounds interesting. Do you add that to other foods, such as oatmeal, or eat it by itself?
costco.com
$99.00 5 gal sealed bucket > 30 day supply of freeze dried food. for 1 person..
Have you tried that stuff? Several people told me it was not very tasty, and had lots of chemicals, but you could live on it. Jim Bakker has been hawking it on his cable show for at least a year. It is on several times a day if you want to get a better look at the product before ordering it from Costco.
If you rotate your food, you can feed three people for a year for a couple thousand dollars using mostly #10 cans from Costco or Sams. Meat, grains, fruit, veggies, starches. It’s all there.
Check the calories, 30 days on a starvation diet.
Mac and the Crew of SHTF PLAN:
Has anybody come up of a system of stages / levels from a economic boom to an economic collapse? This would bar war or natural disasters and ect…
These stages would keep people on the same page when talking about preparation for a bad event.
Rough draft:
1. Credit cards / Money
2. Money / Precious Metals
3. Precious Metals / Barter / Gardening
4. Barter / Gardening / Hunting / Gathering.
5. Ends here. Like the movie , “The Road”
Understandably, some of these items can be switched around and scenarios can be different.
I believe we are in the first stage, but leaning closer to the second.
Has anybody ever seen a list of stages?
What’s your opinion? 🙂
Can you handle the truth?
Bring it on !!!!!!! 🙂
1. Price of fuel doubles
2. Grocery shelves go bare
3. Emergency Broadcast System (think state of union address) with no clapping from pop-up clowns
4. State/Fed law (try and find it)
5. No fuel
6. FEMA
7. Radiation (real or fake)
8. Shoot out at the OK Corral
9. Zombies
Anonymous:
Interesting list of events, I can see those happening. 🙂
Once everyone realizes the S has HTF, things will unravel rather quickly. One might have an hour to get to the bank, get the cars fueled up AND get some food out of the grocery store before chaos prevents those from getting these done.
Those of us who have already done so can sit quietly with the curtains drawn while watching their favorite movie and eating popcorn (a la Ferfal).
ScoutMotto; I agree, I am at that stage now.
E.D.,
No wait, I’m gonna call you by your full name,
Eagle Dove.
Did you come up with that on your own?
Cause that is F-ing brilliant!
As it narrows down and gives a time line as well to the feeling of the moment.
Thanks Slick ; wasn’t sure if it was brilliant or pure insanity on my part. 🙂
“wasn’t sure if it was brilliant or pure insanity on my part. ”
Hard to tell sometimes. The line between genius and insanity can be very thin…
Dmitry Orlov has listed five stages of collapse. A smart, interesting guy. He based this upon the actual collapse of the Soviet Union.
http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2008/02/five-stages-of-collapse.html
Here’s his revised, more recent version: http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2011/10/stages-of-collapse-revised-joined-at.html
Thanks Stoosh, I am going to look into it . 🙂
great article and tips.
Something that has really boosted my prepping dollars is buying things at the grocery store and farmer’s market that are “Last Day of Sale”. I get fruits, veggies and meats this way all the time, and have yet to kill us with food poisoning.
The only caveat is that the foods must be processed that day. I can, dehydrate and freeze the items that are purchased this way. It’s good practice in putting up foods and it’s a really cheap way to get groceries.
Great idea! Another is sign up at MyGroceryDeals.com to get an email when what you are looking for goes on sale. Six #10 cans of freeze-dried cheese costs $199, but if you can the same amount yourself it only costs $35 if you buy the cheese on sale.
Boost comes in banana and chocolate too. 10 g of high quality protein. 26 vitamins/minerals.
Save your nickles….. And buy silver as well.
Keep on prepping.
Save pre-1982 pennies also.
just remember most cannibalism starts within 3 to 4 weeks of the last can of food bein’ eatin’… wtshtf … just sayin’ don’t gorge… put everyone on stricter diets… cut everyones calories in half at once… you can always forage and eat bark… yes the under layer of growing bark is edible… always do the tongue test… when foraging… place some on your tongue… if burning or numbness spit it out… no good… if nothing eat a little wait/ watch an hour , then eat a little more… repeat. watch local animals… eat what they eat… you will survive by doing this… when real hunger sets in… you’ll be surprised what you’ll eat! like grubs worms grass most roots are edible and ants…
nina
grubs, worms and roots are the good stuff… wait til you have to eat cedar, or mice…or or or….i think ill just wring a turkeys neck!
How about getting a good LOCAL field guide before the SHTF and learning more about the more palatable edibles in your area?
We live in a small city and folks would be astounded how much food there is nearby, in parks and empty lots. I’d really rather eat berries than bugs, but that’s just me. 😉
Better yet, decide who you are going to eat right up front. Don’t wait, Jerkey for years and you can get rid of some real pains
“watch local animals… eat what they eat… you will survive by doing this…”
Good advice but do not watch what birds eat. They can eat alkaloids that would kill a mammal and suffer no ill effects from it. Not that there are a lot of alkaloids around, just saying.
WE ARE EVERYWHERE, WE ARE NO WHERE, WE CAN DIE, BUT WE LIVE! PLANNING A BANK HOLIDAY??? US TROOPS IN LIBYA??? COMEX DEFAULTED IN DECEMBER??? WE KNOW!! YOU FEDS THINK YOU ARE PATRIOTS, ANSWER ME THIS, WHY DO THEY COUNT VOTES IN SECRET, WHY DO THEY COUNT VOTES IN SECRET??? IS BETRAYING YOUR OATH WORTH A JOB??? HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT!! YOU MIGHT ANSWER THAT- ON A COMFORTABLE BED. I CAN GUARENTE YOU YOUR KIDS WON’T, WHEN THE DOLLAR IS DROPPED BY THE WORLD IT IS GAME OVER!!! YOUR KIDS WILL BE RUMAGING THROUGH GARBAGE FOR FOOD, JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSES!
I cannot control everything. I am only responsible for my part and am allocating my government pay so my children will start rummaging through the garbage seven years later than average. Maybe the garbage-to-peasant ratio will be higher by then. I suggest you do the same. Silver is a small portion of my assets, but it will skyrocket when COMEX can no longer be artificially propped up. When it does, I will buy I nice plantation for you to work on.
govguy-What can you do about the lies?
It really does my heart good to see home many people are REALLY getting ready. When I start to get bummed out, I can come here and see that there are a great many people getting ready and it gives me hope.
I just wish all these folks lived on my block. There’s no telling what the other mentalities are on my street.
gOOGLE HAS A FLAG THAT THEY ARE CHANGING THEIR PRIVACY TERMS. Thats not all you changed, you changed to sopa sunday! chinese giving you money google?? traitors!
“One capitalist will sell us the rope to hang another” has a more modern twist.
One capitalist will build us the factories to manufacture the rope to hang themselves.
phuck google, yahoo, aol, viacom, the whole lot of em’… all their doing is showing their nwo.zionist.cia.gestapo cards … forcing more folks too wake up and finding alternative websites like startpage.com and encrypted email services… and tor tunneling protocols.
just remember kevin that which is built by man can be un-built by man… you just have to known how to find the correct foot path in the maze is all.
Yes, if this keeps going and we are tracked another website will come out and be a instant hit and its users will drom FB and Google and even tough they have many users, it will change their habits rather quiclky just like bank of america did or the effect it had when a lot of people said enough is enough, im dropping my facebook soon. I just use it for work related stuff to put my work schedule on there for people to use, I have to in my line of work.
I do not understand what she means that beans and rice make up a complete protein that will give you 19.9 grams or 40% of your daily vitamins.
To me she sounded like the basic, run of the mill nutritionist who thinks eating a few almonds will give you your daily protein requirements.
Then, I saw my all time favorite statement, ” Beans make a great source of protein” If, and I repeat, if 50 grams a day is what you need in protein to survive, then maybe a large can of beans would suffice.
I did agree with her about the grains. but, hell, what prepper, at any level does not know that.
I don’t know if anyone can advise me on this. I was given a -80 degree freezer (yes, it freezes down to minus eighty degrees). It was bought by a laboratory and never used so it freezes things quick and solid. I am wondering whether to use it for freezing food. Will it freeze too solid and damage things like meat and vegetables? I realize it will be no use if the power goes out, but as things now stand, what would be the best way to put this to use?
best way to put it to good use……..donate to local goodwill…….it will damage your food. You don’t need it……..good luck, and keep preppin’.
Well, If Anon. and eric are right, then donate it to a local food pantry. I used to run several of them and a good freezer is always needed. And, remember, you reap what you sow………
Keep preppin’
Sell it while you can. Don’t donate it. Probably uses too much energy. It will not ruin your food. It’s all chemistry/physics. Dry ice (CO2) is colder countrymom and it will not ruin food. Nitrogen (N) is even colder and will freeze dry food. Absolute zero-now that is cold.
No the colder the food is the slower the molecules are moving and it will preserve it longer. Just chemistry. That is awesome if you got something that good.
Open sperm bank or egg factory.
CLASSIC! Gingrich heckled, staffer strikes photographer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MKsvLiJwYSo
newt is a vile , zionist piece of crap.
http://12160.info/forum/topics/35-pounds-of-cocaine-found-at-united-nations-hq 35 pounds of cocaine found at un headquarters?????WTF?
http://poorrichards-blog.blogspot.com/2012/01/president-obama-mentions-energy-company.html obama mentions this company in speach. It goes bankrupt instantly!
Rocky Marciano was fueled by pasta fazole (beans and pasta soup/stew). It consisted of tomatoes, pasta, beans, garlic, bay leaf, celery leaf and a bit of pork fatback. A million very tough Italian American kids ate that damn near daily.
Very good article, and topic.
Consider adding a book on wild edible plants to your BOB, you never know.
Consider adding some Datrex bars, good nutrition to wieght ratio.
A Chinese guy I worked with once said: “Where I come from, it walk around on four leg, they eat.” (Never name nothin’ you might have to eat…)
A while back, there was a vid-doc about North Korea, showed little kids scouring the ground for bugs to eat. Documenter noted there were virtually no birds of any kind left there, as most had been eaten.
With so many people unprepared, those of us who are will probably have more of a problem holding on to what we have, long before it’s used up…
Finishing 2 deer tonight, bambi chops, roasts and burger. Does anyone know how to preserve cream cheese? Tried drying it and my dogs won’t touch it. Freezing didn’t work well either. I know its powdered in the box dinners but can’t figure out how to do it myself. Any suggestions?
The FDA does not approve of canning dairy products, but I know a lot of people can cheese, butter, and cream cheese. If you visit paratusfamiliablog.com or Google ‘canning cream cheese’ you will find lots of play-by-play descriptions of the process.
Don’t forget about honey. It’s anti-bacterial, good for small cuts and scrapes and delicious. Make sure it’s raw honey. Also, the skin from a raw egg, is a great band-aid for a blister, and imho, think it heals it more quickly.
I’ve been stocking up on everything from a-z (or zed in Daisy speak)
Hey, in case anyone is looking for a good way to have bulk propane, but can’t get a 500 gallon tank in the back yard, Uhaul website has 100 lb propane tanks for $135, free shipping. Just got one and will store it in shed in backyard. I can get it filled (80% full or ~20 gallons) for $75. Considering the 20# exhange tanks are now filled with 15 lbs (if your lucky), the 100lb tank will hold about 5 1/2 of them. Got to be able to cook those beans. With a small 15,000 btu camp stove, that tank will last you about 100 meals.
Craigslist often has 100# tanks pretty cheap. I just bought a couple for my instant hot water heater and cabin range. We need to have a plan if they cannot be refilled one day, but may as well use it while it lasts.
Good info!
keep on prepping
The thing about a huge stockpile of freeze-dried crap, MREs, powdered milk, canned glop, etc. is that you have to rotate it and consume it before it expires. So you better be prepared to eat that pallet-load of soon-to-expire MREs during pre-collapse times. Me, I only stockpile stuff that I actually like and use anyway. That’s not just apocalypse insurance, but it’s also a sound money-saving habit. Get into extreme couponing (there’s a million websites that do the legwork for you) and you’ll have your stockpiling/hoarding needs covered while at the same time spending a lot less money.
Regarding expiration dates, you can usually go far beyond them. I just opened olive oil from 2009 and its fine. Brown rice from 2008 was fine, and it wasn’t even stored correctly. Various beans and other things have been fine. Soda in plastic bottles goes flat and tastes terrible. You can find saltine crackers from the 50’s cold war era, open the can, and they taste fine. The expiration dates are a combination of marketing and liability, unless of course it’s something like milk or meat. Dry goods store pretty well.
Not too bad an article, but consider too :
1. Stock up on multi-vitamin pills. In a prolonged crisis situation you can’t be sure of what you’ll get to eat on a daily basis and you need to try for an optimum nutritional intake. 250 MVP’s (8 month supply) are around $15 at the supermarket so that’s pretty cheap.
2. Baked beans are your friend – forget the Blazing Saddles theory – they ain’t that bad ! No Really !
They’re a good source of protein, vitamins,minerals, low GI carbs and fibre and they’re CHEAP and store for years.
3. Forget use-by dates on most tinned foods. The REAL lifespan is a decade or more.
I recently opened a can of carrots that had been in storage for 23 years. Yes 23 years.
They were so good (looking) I couldn’t tell them from freshly tined ones. The water had leached out of the can over the decades but the carrots were still moist, looked and smelled A1. I resisted the urge to try one though but I was 95% certain they’d be fine. So if 23 years look good, then 5-10 years certainly should be 100% ok, but try to keep food at low temps (<say 15C) so store in a low down cupboard or underground.
4. Get some solar capacity ! A 1kw solar panel array and a 5kw continuous rms sine inverter and some batteries (6+ car/truck batteries will suffice) goves you AC power an so lighting/heating/cooking capacity as well as powering the RAPS fridge/freezer you should have too.
5. Water filters are ok but don't forget they need to be replaced and you can't assume they'll be available when you need them.
A big (36" or so) fresnel lens is a real bonus – it can sterilise/boil water/start fires/weld metal etc easily and quickly and a nice hot shower too never hurts.
6. Omega-3 fish oil capsules are a good idea too – gotta keep the old grey matter ticking along !
7. Use salt sparingly – you can use pepper,herbs,curry powder etc as alternatives for seasoning.
8. Grow chillies ! Makes for a real nice pepper-spray/supersoaker gun combo.LOL..
Now…as to when it's SHTF time – I'd say September this year is the deadline. I'm not often wrong …
As for duration – it should all be over around the year 2030 so STOCK UP !!!
(the previous 2 depressions ran for around 25 years and given the nature of this one, I highly doubt it'll end before then)
Oh yeah – get out of the USA/Europe/UK/middles east asap – I'm in probably the safest (from any perspective) place on Earth but if I told you where it was I'd have all you damn lot on my doorstep ! LOL…
“Baked beans are your friend – forget the Blazing Saddles theory – they ain’t that bad ! No Really ! They’re a good source of protein, vitamins,minerals, low GI carbs and fibre and they’re CHEAP and store for years.
Oh, man! Speak for yourself on this one. I like beans but they do NOT like me! One meal of them and the gas shortage is OVER.
no name
I doubt if a time frame of the duration can be given. This is a realignment of global power that has not been seen before. Previously we were never faced with such an evisceration of industrial capacity.
My thought is 50% reduction in standard of living to roughly match our present wealth creation. The power elite desire enough political stability and wealth to keep their big stick enforcer the US Military functioning. Below the 50% level long term problems would inhibit such plans. My fear is that all of this is spinning out of control of even those that facilitated this globalization. In that case all bets are off on the duration.
If this gets worse and goes beyond a few years spinning out of control I see a fragmentation of the USA with states grouping up and leaving the Union or at least claiming the 10th Amendment when dealing with the Federal Government. The power elite does not control State Legislatures like it has grabbed the Federal government.
The best bet for those young and healthy enough is to move to those States that have the potential for self sufficiency.
I already live on half my income and allocate the rest to paying off debt, improving my solar cabin, and provisioning it years into the future. It requires sacrifice. The house in town in only 1/3 the average size in America and I walk past my diesel truck and motorcycle on the way to the bus stop, but I can do it indefinitely.
When our jobs in the city vanish so will we.
God bless, Pastor. You are definitely a man on a mission. Best of luck in whatever hard times come. Wish that you were my neighbor. 🙂
Canned salmon… expires 06/2017
Well if we are just throwing out some dates then take a look at the web bot project, From Dec 21 2012 to May 2013
There is a complete Data gap, Nothing can be found. Which could mean a host of things.
DPS
Cliff has never had a data gap like this before.
He’s pretty creeped out by the March 2 to 9th for the event.
We grow most of our own foods and have done so for years. But we STILL have a very large quantity of dry and Freeze-dry food stored. Even being experienced gardeners, bad weather and various plant diseases can cause problems with yearly harvests so it’s critical to have backups for all food supply.
Salt is very important for long term storage. Sugar and/or honey is also very important for long term storage. Both are necessary with canning.
Even though we cook from scratch and eat good quality foods, we still have some MREs and some prepared FD foods because we know from years of experience how time intensive raising all your own food can be. It takes 1-2 days to butcher a hog and when the cook’s butchering, who’s cooking?
For the long haul, plan for down time, height of season activity, and illnesses. Have some easy to prepare mixes or foods on hand. Have some ready-meals on hand. We even have some compressed dessert bars in case we need a quick calorie fix. Some day, we’ll be more than glad we have them stored.
Gardening is NOT learned in 1 season or in 1 year. After 25 years of gardening, we still learn. Gardening is called a skill for a reason. Armchair preppers need to get off that chair and live the life, not theorize or plan about it.
absolutely zoltanne…all good advice
Daisy- Hows the neck?
Why, Kev, how sweet of you to ask. It’s just fine, thank you. 🙂
And how are you today?
Doin great!! Everyday is a blessing!! I am just frustrated with the internet again today,hard to find info on whats going on outside n. america!! The internet has changed!! sopa by the corporations is here!!
Kevin – I suspect our problem isn’t SOPA – it’s ACTA, a secret treaty unconstitutionally signed by our “fearless leader” Obama back in October. Unfortunately, the restrictions are only gonna get tighter from here on out. 🙁
Daisey- I am allready sufficating!! We are in deep doodoo!
It just means that we have to be more creative in getting around the restrictions, Kev. There’s always a way – the Bad Guys haven’t got the net locked down yet!
Looks like we got a troll here, going down the rows of computers at the public library, changing their name!!
I am a terrible salesman. I posted a reply to someone who stated they have rocky soil. I suggested a PVC hydroponic system, someone else suggested a hay bale garden. While both of these are great think about this. The reason the PVC hydroponic system is better in a SHTF scenario is: 1. the crops grow twice as fast as any other system. 2. The hay/straw bale system will use a lot of water, probably hundreds of gallons more. It runs right through it down to the ground. It must be re-hydrated often. 3. The hydroponic system will use 1/10th of the required nutrients. Theses nutrients can be made from a compost tea, readily available in SHTF times. You do not want to be wasting anything. My suggestion would be to have both systems, the hay bale and the hydro system. Have spare pumps on hand or water manually if no pump is available. The water you pour/nutrient through the system returns to a resavoiur and is not wasted.
Don’t forget canned sweet potatoes …ranked #1 in nutrition.
CSPI ranked the sweet potato number one in nutrition of all vegetables. With a score of 184, the sweet potato outscored the next highest vegetable(white potato) by more than 100 points. Points were given for content of dietary fiber, naturally occurring sugars and complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium.
~JJ~
Thanks much, I wasn’t aware that sweet ‘taters were that nutritious. Keep posting in detail please…as I’ve learned much from you & the other smart ladies here…
…again, thank you!!
And, they have a great shelf life compared to other canned veggies. I rank them up there with salmon for nutrition & shelf life.
Thanks, Sandy..I need more salmon(or mackerel)
Are canned yams as good as sweet potatoes?
yams and sweet potatoes, yum!
Some random thoughts on earlier posts:
Strike anywhere matches .92 cents for a box of 250 at wally mart.
Vacuum food sealer: priceless. Just got done putting up Ten lbs of rice in 1 and 2 cup portions.
To waterproof your matches, paint them with clear nail polish. Tedious but it works.
Honey will store on the shelf indefinately. It also is bacteriostatic, and can be used on minor cuts, scrapes, burns to speed healing.
Tomorrow after work I’m going to learn to pressure can.
This week in Detroit they announced they are immediately discontinuing bus service on the weekends. Can’t afford to run them.
I’m done rambling for now. Really enjoyed reading all the posts here.
God bless.
Would you recommend sports supplements such as creatine?