Are you prepared?

tarditi said:
There are also humanitarian rations (harder to find) which are often available for special diets.

My recommendation is to make your own rations - you can dehydrate your own food (once you get the equipment and process) and control the recipe and quality.

I recently started making my own granola bars and the family LOVES them. They're also cheaper, per unit, than the store-bought and I can change up the recipe as I see fit. You can even find recipes for Clif bar knockoffs.

Things like honey, peanut butter, canned chicken, tuna, fruit are all good staples to have in your pantry. DON'T forget the condiments - hot sauce, salt, pepper, cinnamon, etc.
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My wife does make some of her own granola, as well as some peanut-butter bars and such. But best I know, they all require refridgeration. I guess she doesn't dehydrate it enough. And yes, homemade is better tasting, IMO.
 
tarditi said:
Sorry to keep chiming in - another GREAT source of food is the LDS Bishop's Pantry.
Many LDS churches have them open to the public (sometimes a reservation is required/requested). Part of their principles involve a goal of 1 year's worth of food stored (canned/jarred/dry goods) for a multitude of reasons, all resulting in a high level of resilience in the individual family.

Imagine if EVERY family in the USA had a stock of 1 year's worth of food - what would that landscape look like?

Anyhow, something to consider - I've got a group of friends here in NC that recently visited the local Bishop's Pantry in Greensboro - we're not LDS, but were respectful of their beliefs and appreciative of their service/outreach to the community.
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Don't be sorry. Chime in all you want. It's nice to see how others do things and get new ideas. :)
 
This is one thing in the last year that I've really put a lot of time and money into. Right now I have enough food and water to last me about 3 months, maybe longer.

3 (55) Gallon water drums
1 (100) Gallon water bob
4 Bottles of Super Spectrum vitamins
2 Months supply of Mountain House freeze dried meals
6 Boxes of Mainstay 3600 calorie bars
2 (5) Gallon buckets of vacuum sealed white rice
3 (4) Gallon buckets of dried dog food (air/water tight)
Some astronaut ice cream for an occasional perk

Plus a whole supply of everything else that I'd need to get me through, TP, batteries, prybars, gas wrench, flashlights, portable toilet with bags, etc...

*I'm going to make a thread soon of my home readiness supply and what it entails.
 
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Mrs.Shotgunner11 said:
One thing I did learn during Ike is that as nice as it is to have bulk things, specifically #10 cans, they're a waste when you have a power outage. You can not keep the left overs cold. So if you're in an area prone to power outage and it's NOT from a snow storm think small cans. If you get power outages from snow storms utilize the cold outside to keep your goods cold. If your power should go out use your frozen foods first, so you don't lose your meats, ect. We decided to keep canning supplies on hand. If we had to cook bulk amounts of meats, ect we could make them into soups, stews and can them for later use. If you KNOW you're going to lose your power but KNOW it will be a short period you can place cases of bottled water in the freezer, all over the place, to freeze and help keep your food cold. If you're only goign to be a day or two you're better off NOT opening a deep freezer. If you have a deep freezer AND a fridge w/a freezer use what's in the fridge freezer FIRST. It will defrost faster then the deep freezer.
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Great advice! Yes, buy small cans unless you're cooking for a platoon. Also a good strategy for frozen goods. We survived 7 days without power during the Ice Storm of '98. When stuff in the kitchen freezer looked like it might thaw, it just went into a box out on the porch. The stuff in the outdoor shop freezer was never a problem.

One thing I'd like to mention again...others have said it, "eat what you store and store what you eat." Don't buy a lot of MRE's unless you know you like them...you might get a great deal on cases of El Cheapo Lima Beans & Brussell Sprouts, but do you want to eat them everyday? :eek::barf::D

We stock up on good stuff that we know that we like :thumbup: The SHTF situation will be stressful enough...not a time to be changing your diet...you want to eat well.
 
Another thing I was going to bring up is that we get most of our practice for any scenario like this out of power outages. We have them year round where I live, even though we're only a few miles out of town. I guess they're hard miles.... :confused: But you can almost be that if there is a wet snow-storm or ice storm, we're going to be out and isolated for at least 24 hours, and more likely 36 to 48. Even a stiff wind-storm after a hard rain will knock our power out for a few hours. So we almost always fill up all our Nalgenes if something is headed our way. Plus, we have our water heater up on a second-story room over our garage. So we have, what, 30 gallons of gravity-feed water always at the ready?

Best set-up I've ever seen was at a mountain cabin we stayed at a couple years ago in WV. MASSIVE storm blew through our last daythere, and the power was out likely for 24 hours. We obviously didn't exactly have our water situation planned, since we were on vacation at a cabin. We were thinking we'd go out and get some, and happened to talk to the owners before we left. Turned out the cabin was fed by an underground stream that came down out of the mountain. We had all the water we could ever want! :D
 
? for Mrs. Shotty---I liked that storage container so much, I went out and bought one tonight at PetSmart. $51 for the largest size.

Do you pour your rice just into the container or do you line it with something first? I was wondering if the plastic would make the rice taste/smell funny? It says food grade plastic so I am assuming it is good to go. Just curious what your experience has been?

thanks.
 
Expatriated said:
? for Mrs. Shotty---I liked that storage container so much, I went out and bought one tonight at PetSmart. $51 for the largest size.

Do you pour your rice just into the container or do you line it with something first? I was wondering if the plastic would make the rice taste/smell funny? It says food grade plastic so I am assuming it is good to go. Just curious what your experience has been?

thanks.
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Yes I poured directly in. You can always rinse the rice a few times before you cook it. I just got the containers so I haven't eaten any rice from them yet. Let me know if you do.
 
Every day I buy the freshest food I can get my hands on and it's prepared that day. That's great for getting the most nutritious food possible. However, I have virtually no food stored. I would be in dire trouble if there was a SHTF scenario.

How long does canned food last? How about rice, flour and other container ingredients?
 
rockspyder said:
Another thing I was going to bring up is that we get most of our practice for any scenario like this out of power outages. We have them year round where I live, even though we're only a few miles out of town. I guess they're hard miles.... :confused: But you can almost be that if there is a wet snow-storm or ice storm, we're going to be out and isolated for at least 24 hours, and more likely 36 to 48. Even a stiff wind-storm after a hard rain will knock our power out for a few hours. So we almost always fill up all our Nalgenes if something is headed our way. Plus, we have our water heater up on a second-story room over our garage. So we have, what, 30 gallons of gravity-feed water always at the ready?

Best set-up I've ever seen was at a mountain cabin we stayed at a couple years ago in WV. MASSIVE storm blew through our last daythere, and the power was out likely for 24 hours. We obviously didn't exactly have our water situation planned, since we were on vacation at a cabin. We were thinking we'd go out and get some, and happened to talk to the owners before we left. Turned out the cabin was fed by an underground stream that came down out of the mountain. We had all the water we could ever want! :D
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And don't forget, if you know something's coming and you have no water containers, you can simply fill up your bathtub. And the toilet water tank has a few more gallons :eek:
 
hoopster said:
Among the many other things like water, batteries, ammo, kerosene, etc. I like to keep enough honey, powdered milk, and peanut butter to make plumpy nut. It's also good with some dry oats added. No cooking required and it's full of calories.
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OK I don't know what plumpy nut is, if you dont mind could you please explain.
 
Don't forget that your water heater contains 30-40 gallons of drinkable water. All you have to do is shut off the water supply valve, turn off the gas, hook up a hose and drain it into a container. There's a pressure relief valve you can slowly flip if the water doesn't want to come out. Just don't bleed off all the pressure inside, slowly release it untli the water starts to flow.

The Water BOB's also work great for water storage. There is a smaller version for kitchen sized sinks if you don't have a tub or want to squeeze out even more water. There's also a version that is designed to fit in the bed of a pickup that holds quite a bit for water on the go. It can also be layed out on the ground, filled up, and kept in your garage, yard, or where ever. They're all real reasonably priced for an emergency water storage device. Just thought I'd let y'all know.
 
If you intend on using your water heater reserve its recommended you hook a hose up to it one time a year and completely flush the water heater.
 
Mrs.Shotgunner11 said:
If you intend on using your water heater reserve its recommended you hook a hose up to it one time a year and completely flush the water heater.
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Why is that? Doesn't it get "flushed" all the time?

The recommendation would seem to me to indicate that the water coming out of the water heater wouldn't be fit to drink otherwise. Am i not supposed to be drinking water out of the hot-water faucet?

Or does this have something to do with keeping the water-heater operable?
 
I have absolutely nothing set aside. But I have plenty of guns and ammo, and my neighbors don't. I figure I won't need to worry about it.
 
rockspyder said:
Why is that? Doesn't it get "flushed" all the time?

The recommendation would seem to me to indicate that the water coming out of the water heater wouldn't be fit to drink otherwise. Am i not supposed to be drinking water out of the hot-water faucet?

Or does this have something to do with keeping the water-heater operable?
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The way it was explained to me is that almost all water has sediment of some sort in it and over time it builds up. This sediment naturally falls to the bottom of the tank. The pipes are in the top for this reason. The flush drain is at the bottom of the tank and will get rid of the sediment as it drains.

If you've never drained it, the first time you do, you may be surprised at how much stuff comes out you'd rather not drink.

I think that is the theory behind draining it once a year. I think it is recommended even if you don't plan on drinking it.

I haven't done mine because it's in my basement, it's 88 gallons and I've got nothing to drain it into that I would be able to carry up the steps.
 
Mrs.Shotgunner11 said:
Yes I poured directly in. You can always rinse the rice a few times before you cook it. I just got the containers so I haven't eaten any rice from them yet. Let me know if you do.
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What kind of rice? Your suppose to rinse rice till liquld is clear anyway. Asian rice anyway. UncleBen or instant no. But then thats not good rice :)
 
Mrs.Shotgunner11 said:
Yes I poured directly in. You can always rinse the rice a few times before you cook it. I just got the containers so I haven't eaten any rice from them yet. Let me know if you do.
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just a heads up in a survival situation you definitely don't want to wash your rice as that gets rid of the vitiamins and other properties on the rice :)

for regular use its up to you whether you do or not but in a shtf situation definitely don't as you will need all the vitiamins and minerials that are water soluble. not sure but my 50 lb rice bags say specifically say don't wash rice before eating it.

sorry for digressing just wanted to throw that out there. i think all folks should be prepared for and have enough food for at least 1 month at a minimun. i keep enough for a year and try to store in multiple different spots just incase something happens all my eggs aren't in one basket
 
Expatriated said:
The way it was explained to me is that almost all water has sediment of some sort in it and over time it builds up. This sediment naturally falls to the bottom of the tank. The pipes are in the top for this reason. The flush drain is at the bottom of the tank and will get rid of the sediment as it drains.

If you've never drained it, the first time you do, you may be surprised at how much stuff comes out you'd rather not drink.

I think that is the theory behind draining it once a year. I think it is recommended even if you don't plan on drinking it.

I haven't done mine because it's in my basement, it's 88 gallons and I've got nothing to drain it into that I would be able to carry up the steps.
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That's exactly the reason why you should drain it once a year. Rust and sediment accumulate at the bottom of the tank and it's wise to clear it out once a year. It's an easy task for a free 40 gallon supply of fresh water.
 
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