Food for survival

[AStone]

Book recommendation: The Well Fed Backpacker

Nobody has mentioned of the most important staples of any food storage program..................................spam!

I'll sheepishly confess to having a can or two in my camp box. I won't touch the stuff at home, but in the camp, after a few day of camp food, it actually becomes more ... interesting.

I need to spend some time on Frugal Squirrel's thread. Haven't been there yet.

Since Shooter mentioned do-it-yerselfing, it reminded me of my favorite do-it-yerself backpacking cookbook: The Well Fed Backpacker.

It's truly excellent. I've used it for about a decade and a half to make all my backpacking food. WAY cheaper & WAY better than any of that freeze dried cardboard crap, and you can make virtually any recipe in the book from off the shelf grocery items. You prepackage all the recipes in baggies at home, measured out, then just dump them in the boiling water at camp. Easy, delicious. (Well, again, nothing I'd necessarily fix at home, but on the trail, let alone a bugout, they'd be great.

One of my fav recipes is called Cheesy BacoSpuds: basically potato flakes, butter buds, some onion flakes, powdered milk, and parmesian cheese...a couple of other things I can't remember now. Mix into a single baggie.

In camp, just add to boiling water, let sit for 2 minutes, and bingo, big quick hearty dinner.

We always make up three of them for a 5 day trip. One for the first night at the end of 5 miles of switchbacks when we're to tired to cook anything else and just want a heap of calories. One for the last night when we just want to get out an eat burgers (it's fast), and one for the end of a rainy day, when everything is soaking wet, and we just want to eat and crawl in the bag.

Nem

 

[rustymaggot]

mountain house brand foods do stay good for 20 plus years. i had one from 1983 last week and it wasnt bad at all.

 

[DesertEagle613]

I don't know how easy it is to get in Indiana, but just as a general note, consider Matza (i.e. unleavened bread for Passover). This is not a joke.

The stuff cannot go stale, it has expiration dates measured in geological periods, and you can usually get tons of it cheaply around holiday time.

The only drawback is that it will constipate you something fierce...

 

[AStone]

... consider Matza (i.e. unleavened bread for Passover)....The only drawback is that it will constipate you something fierce...

That's what beans are for.

Add lots of greens (turnip, kake, spinach, dandilion, etc) to avoid the constipation.

The herbivores learned that millions of years ago.

But now we've got meat (including prime rib & BBQ), wheat (including matza & pasta), rice, polenta.

It's only when our diets become only meat, wheat, rice & polenta that constipation occurs.

Add those fiber components, and it's all good.

Matza, eh? Ok, I'll look into it.

Got a source?

Nem

 

[DesertEagle613]

Personal experience

I should say that I don't know for certain how long it will keep. But in my family we routinely use 1-year-old matza (we swap out every year for the holiday, so no older than that) for cooking, and you cannot tell the difference between that and new stuff.

We also sometimes use it for backpacking food.

 

[Davo]

how about protein powder?

This stuff is used by body builders, and has a decent shelf life. Seems like an adjunt to peanut butter. Also its very light, just add water and drink. Also It comes in sealed containers, and prove useful for storage afterwards also. You can also get the stuff in bulk, unflavored but very cheap protein.

 

[AStone]

Personal experience

Oh, sorry, DesertEagle, I didn't mean I was questioning your comment by asking for a source. What I meant was, a source for either a recipe or for purchasing it.

I plead ignorance about matza. Does one buy it, or make it? (Guess i could just google it to find out....)

Davo, that's an interesting idea about the protein powder. Never even considered that for backpacking before. Makes sense.

Probably not the most delicious stuff around (not as good as venison or squirrel stew), but would do the job in a pinch.

Nem

 

[Cosmoline]

For your starches, the ultimate survival food is of course Sailor Boy pilot bread, but it's tough to find outside of Alaska. Ramen is a second choice. Ramen with pilot bread in it and chunks of spam added is ideal.

 

[scotjute]

Matzo are typically available in larger grocery stores around the time of Easter or Passover in the spring.

 

[texascarl]

A bump because officials are recommending today that everyone buy a few extra cans of Tuna, a box of powdered milk now and 'store them under your bed' in preparation for the bird flu. There's really no good way to prevent an avian flu pandemic since birds can fly in and out as they please, but planning to survive the 'downtime' that could happen if 50% of the population 'calls in sick' for a few weeks is worth our time. Think what might be affected, including trucking/fresh food supplies, electricity? Water supply?. A quick review of the info in this thread and a good time to check your BOB equipment for fresh batteries, candles, freshen your stored water, etc.

 

[Tokugawa]

While I totally agree on being prepared , it is sort of funny that we are discussing things that 100 years ago were everyday standard practice. I still remember grandmothers root celler, shelves of home canned foods, etc. If we ever do have a wide spread SHTF event, I fear our society have tossed away about 40,000 years of very practical info. I mean, half the people I know can't even sharpen a knife.

 

[perpster]

What?! They ignored Desert Eagle and didn't recommend throwing matza under the bed too?? And with Easter/Passover just around the corner? Dang!

 

[ball3006]

My wife and I are antique/flea market...

junkies. We buy any 2 quart blue BALL canning jar we come across under 3 bucks. We put dry goods in the jars and are sealed with new rubber rings from Lehman's. Nothing will get into them. We have all of our food stuff at camp stored in these jars. We also use them at home too. Quite attractive on the counter. Beans and rice can be had from Sam's or Costco in 50 lb bags. Spam and other canned meats are sold in multi packs cheaper than any store. If you have an oriental food store near you, they have dried soup mixes that make Rahamen taste like crap. Big selection of noodles and rice too......chris3

 

[IllHunter]

hey honey!

I can't believe nobody else stashes honey. The only food that keeps forever without refrigeration ofter opening and is great alone or with anything . Definately a winner, Matzoh, peanut butter and honey.

 

[Thin Black Line]

Store what you eat and eat what you store.

Those of you who think you will subsist long-term on Ramen noodles
will have your remaining supplies of food and ammo relieved from
your possession as you will be too emaciated to ever pull a trigger
to stop it.

 

[Ares45]

Everything you ever wanted to know about MRE's =
http://www.mreinfo.com/

 

[AStone]

If we ever do have a wide spread SHTF event, I fear our society have tossed away about 40,000 years of very practical info. I mean, half the people I know can't even sharpen a knife.

Oh, not to worry.

During a SHTF event, everyone will just be able to run over to the local TacoBurgerKFC and score some chicken mc-tacos w/ a side of fries.

What? The TBKFC was destroyed in the tornado/food riot?

OMG. What do we do now?

"Honey, I can't find a can opener for this can of spam. And this plastic bag of bread is moldy. I'm hungry."

 

[wheelgunslinger]

good link for the mreinfo site. MRE's are not the best extended term solution. They can cause damage to your digestive tract that will permanently impair your ability to process food. So, be wary of letting your stock consist of any one thing.


Another thing that I haven't seen mentioned is flower pot gardening. If you live in an area where you can't plant a big garden, but want to grow and can your own food, several staple veggies are easily grown in pots around the house. These veggies can be canned and put away easily. Meats can also be canned at home if you are a hunter, or have access to raw meat you'd like to can.

Legislation to allow Monosodium Glutamate in canned food in a much more broad scope than previously allowed has instant soups and a LOT of canned foods holding this stuff. MSG is one of those chemicals you can do without should you be living on this stuff for an extended period. So, you may want to turn the cans around and read the ingredients before you make it your primary source of food. Organic canned goods are usually a good bet.

Don't leave out multivitamins, herbs, and pure protein sources like whey and egg protein powders, either. After all, you can't forget that you may get sick while this scenario is going on and its possible that you can't get to a drug store to buy sudafed or Ny-Quil. So, learning a few herbal remedies to common colds, rashes, sores, cuts, and such may not be a bad idea.

 

[LAK]

Dried meat (Jerky), dried fruit, nuts. Rice, pasta, oatmeal etc. Canned sardines, canned vegetables, canned fruit in juice, etc. Canned cream. Coffee, tea etc. Liquor, cigars and or cigarettes, chocolate etc. Vitamins; multi, extra Vit C, Bs, etc.

Some of these items are best kept as a rotated supply - use one off the end of the shelf, buy one and stack it at the beginning of the shelf, etc.
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[CoachVince]

Also powdered drink mixes, if you or members of your family don't usually like drinking "plain" water. Hot chocolate, TP, baby wipes, 5 gallon bucket (for "sanitary" needs). Vitamins, as mentioned, are a VERY good idea. Someone mentioned protein powder; you could probably mix that w/ powdered milk and make a survival ration easily. Assume that utilities may be intermittent due to "sick-outs"; either people will BE sick, and not come in, or not want to GET sick, and avoid leaving home. While our world may not implode, the usual cycle of break-down and repair may be halted, meaning anything that breaks down doesn't get fixed. This would be a gradual process, that would mean store shelves might not be restocked as often , due to slow deliverires and factories/plants on reduced work schedules.
Also, anticipate the possibility that chicken will be in VERY short supply soon; take a look at the numbers of birds being killed overseas. If you or a member of your family has an extremely strong preference for chicken, wean them off it NOW. You could also try stocking up on canned chicken at ALDI, Costco, etc.
My wife has overheard co-workers talking about this; asking just what you could possibly need. She, having discussed such things with me, didn't say much, just asked people things in response to what they offered.
Things like having 1 gal. per person, per day of water, is seen as ridiculous for a 3 DAY EVENT. They can't even see that a water main break could cause this in their neighborhood. Having batteries on hand is foolish because it's not like the flu can make power go out.
One of the single gals says Spaghettios(TM?) and a can opener are all you need to be fine. At least she thought of the can opener, but "fine"? Not in my book. I know I can do a lot better, even without being prepared how and where I'd like to be (i.e., out of NJ).

For my overall view, check my sig. It's "borrowed" from an LDS newsletter (I'm not LDS, but respect their ways, and those of others who are self-reliant or prepared).

 

[Spec ops Grunt]

Dont forget.

It might help to contact your local botonast and ask what local plants are edible.

 

[Mannlicher]

Living in Florida, I have learned to prepare for each coming hurricane season. I have a set menu, and buy fresh to fill it each spring. Its just my wife and I, but I buy for three people, since you never know what is going to happen. My menu plan covers three meals a day, plus snacks, water, cleaning and sanitation supplies. I keep stock for a full month, and can go longer if needed. This past season, with Wilma, I was without power for weeks.
After the season, we just eat the stuff, and re stock the next spring.
My supplies are portable, but heavy. If we had to take off, I could bring all of it with me.

 

[Mannlicher]

Now don't forget, along with the food, you need something to cook with. There are a number of choices, Coleman gas stoves, propane stoves, wood fired, and others. All that pasta and beans takes a LOT of energy to boil the water. A stove and fuel is a vital part of planning for an emergency.

 

[DontBurnMyFlag]

rice....


if millions upon millions of little tiny asian soldiers can survive for months in the jungle on rice, you can too IF you have to. Im not saying it will be easy, and of course our bodies would have to adjust to the loss of protein and other nutrients, but that can be remedied elsewhere. Huge bags of rice are easy to store, transport and can be quite tasty.

If all else fails, Ive heard only good things about cannabilism. I mean, Im sure if the person being eaten could talk, he would say otherwise.

 

[LAK]

Ah, but remember, many of those hardened fighters had no choice.

Preparing for this kind of thing one has the opportunity to not only make things more pleasant - but give your body (or bodies) the best fighting chance. On a sustantially reduced diet of nutrients vulnerability to disease is increased, while recovery from disease or injury is reduced.

Aside from general health, one of the keys to survival in very harsh conditions is morale. A few niceties can help greatly in this regard, as I am sure many who have been in even a moderately miserable and protracted predicament will agree.

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