Survival foods?

Coldwood

Coldwood

Joined
Jun 5, 2006
Messages
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If the SHTF I will probably hunker down right where I live. Other people have spoken about BOBs and I respect that. Different circumstances for different folks.

In other posts, we have talked about peanut butter as a choice survival food. But you don't want to be living off that for two weeks. You could, but you probably won't like it after the second day, looking forward to that as a permanent choice.

I also like canned sardines. But I don't want to live off that for two weeks.

What I do like are foods that I like, such as the above, but also red beans, spam, corned beef, green beans, asparagus, anything I can make a soup out of...I think high protein foods will be essential, but I may be wrong, what carbohydrates would I want to stockpile. Rice? Suggestions?

I keep a foodshelf in my basement, cases of foods like the above?

I'm not a hardcore survivalist, but I do believe in stockpiling foods for the odd emergency...in '98 we went 7 days without electricity, couldn't drive because of the ice, deliveries to local food suppliers stopped.

Ideas?
 
To further the question, what do you do if people show
up at your door, homeless and hungry? We want to help them but: Do you let them in and do you trust them? Are they going to kill you while you sleep to get what you have? I know this may sound paranoid to some, but these are hard questions we have to ask and answer.
 
If you watch the fliers from all your local grocers, you can pick up canned vegies very inexpensively. When I was stocking up in Florida, I bought with my own family in mind, and the odd neighbor or passerby. Quite often the chain stores, or independent affiliated stores will have a house brand of canned goods. Whereas you might pay .89c for a can of name brand corn, the store brand might be 4/$1.00 on sale. Buy a flat (1/2 case) per week of whatever is on sale. I also did the same thing with pasta, rice, and beans. These are in more perishable packaging, so I packed them in 5 gallon buckets with gasketed lids. These also came from the grocer, in the deli. They get them with frosting and batter mixes, so they are food grade.

So...power is out...people are drifting thru looking for a handout. Be nice. Listen to their story and empathize with their plight. Sit them down on the porch with a canned coke (store brand), and come back out with a sack of four cans of vegies, one canned meat, some sort of pasta or rice, maybe some spice packets or gravy mix (store brand cost you .15c). Send them on their way with their day's meal. Two days if they husband it. Just watch for marks on your door, gate or trees. Hobos and the homeless mark places where generous people give handouts.

Codger
 
I always have roughly three months worth of food around...didn't plan it that way, it's just the way my wife shops. lots of canned goods, noodles, etc.. as to the second question, it would depend on the situation. If something like Katrina, where I knew the real world would return shortly, I would probably let them in and share (as long as my feelings said they were trustworthy) if I wasn't sure about them, I might give them some supplies and send them on their way. If it was one of those crazy scenarios like "the world has reverted to savagery, no government survives, roving bands of cannibals competing with zombies for any tidbit of food, only 5 out of every 100 survived the collapse of civilization" (ya I know...corney, but just trying to encompass the craziness I have seen previously posted) Hopefully they wouldn't find me in the first place, and if they did, they aren't getting anything from me unless they have something to offer in return ie. do I need somebody backing me up, am I starting my own tribe with visions of neo feudalism? etc... Probably gonna send them on their way as the survival of myself, my wife, and my friends takes precedence (by a large margin) over any wandering unfortunate who may stop by.
 
No offense people but this "let them in and share" idea can and probably will get you (best case) robbed at gunpoint (worse case) dead...
Discretion is more valuable than food here , humans are notoriously shitty when it comes to the every man for himself scenario , one can be as noble as one cares to be I suppose.
I'm not a selfish person but my family comes first and then me , the rest of the world is on thier own.

California for instance , the land of sunshine , pollution and fake boobs... I can see pretty clearly what things would be like here if the SHTF , it would be like opening all the cages in a zoo at once.
There are no disasters at all now and almost nightly I hear a gunshot or see some new graffitti the next morning. Thinning of the herd is one of nature's bounties , why try to forestall it ?
Some people are breeding like rabbits with no thought as to who will feed thier multitude of kids if things go to hell.

If you live in the city , I hope you have good neighbors and a good neighborhood watch program in place before things get ugly because it takes about .1 second for most people to revert back to the cave mentality.

That said , I would think about having no power and thus needing foods with little or no prep.
If your lucky and have time in advance you can 'jerk' the meat in your freezer beforehand , if not then....
Canned fruits and veggies , meats , fish are a good suggestion and start.
I would supplement any long term food storage program with MRE's style food too , in case you have to leave and dont have time to spend packing all your canned goods up.
Dont forget water.

and ammo ;)
 
As a little side bar. I noticed in Costco today that they are selling 5 gallon buckets with a bunch of "survival" food in them (think Nitro-pac) http://www.nitro-pak.com/ for a pretty reasonable price. I don't remember exactly, but something like 120 servings...all vegetarian though. I might pick up a bucket for a just in case.....stuff has a claimed 20 year shelf life.
 
Codger, I am amazed and concerned about what you said, that "Hobos and homeless mark places where generous people give handouts." I never thought about it that way before, but I believe it! It makes me thing twice about a lot of things. We want to help people in need - that's a Good Samaritan fantasy - but we don't want to be sapped or victimized by them.

I stockpile all the water and food that I think we will need in an emergency, but I can also see that my household could become a target for others who are looking for a food cow. They'll eat lead first.
 
Coldwood said:
Codger, I am amazed and concerned about what you said, that "Hobos and homeless mark places where generous people give handouts." I never thought about it that way before, but I believe it! It makes me thing twice about a lot of things. We want to help people in need - that's a Good Samaritan fantasy - but we don't want to be sapped or victimized by them.

I stockpile all the water and food that I think we will need in an emergency, but I can also see that my household could become a target for others who are looking for a food cow. They'll eat lead first.
Click to expand...

Yes , Codger is right i read somewhere that hobo's would carve a smiley face
into a fence post in front of the house to show others were to get food
 
1. Buy extras of the long-storage foods that you normally eat and rotate the supply, consuming the older stock and replacing it with new. In that way, you insure a food supply that you will tolerate well. After you hit your goal (1 month supply, 3 month supply, etc.), you really have lost nothing in creating that supply -- like $$ in the bank. If it's food you will not normally eat, it will tend to just spoil, and the $$ invested is gone.

2. Dried beans, rice, and powdered milk (store in good, air-tight containers) are great combo to sustain life, unless you hate those foods. In that case, see above.

3. If you are REALLY getting ready for TEOTWAWKI (which I am not - I just garden), remember to store seeds of easy-to-grow crops (like squash, beans, tomatoes, and corn) -- and be armed to the teeth. :(

4. Insure a supply of potable water.

5. Don't forget salt.

6. Spices are nice.

7. A rotating supply of multi-vitamin/mineral tablets insures against deficiency diseases if the menu gets restricted.

8. Don't forget essential personal medications.

9. More on TEOT etc.: Got streams? Have gill nets. No time to be fussy.

10. Honey lasts virtually forever.
 
Coldwood said:
If the SHTF I will probably hunker down right where I live. Other people have spoken about BOBs and I respect that. Different circumstances for different folks.

........
I also like canned sardines. But I don't want to live off that for two weeks.

.......
I keep a foodshelf in my basement, cases of foods like the above?

I'm not a hardcore survivalist, but I do believe in stockpiling foods for the odd emergency...in '98 we went 7 days without electricity, couldn't drive because of the ice, deliveries to local food suppliers stopped.

Ideas?
Click to expand...

Try an oriental market in any city, I especially like the different variety of instant noodle and dry good. (The Chinese been surviving for thousand of years :) )

And if you are MAN enough get a simple cookbook and buy bulk ingredients, have fun with family doing "survival cooking/baking" in the backyard :D

Helping others or not is up to you. Big smile and big gun go hand in hand when helping total strangers :eek:
 
Regarding stockpiling food: I say, buy the things that you really like to eat. I can't see buying a case of MREs, unless you really enjoy them...or a case of Hormel pork'n'beans, unless you really enjoy that. You might be eating that stuff three times a day for a long time. Buy and stock up on your favorite foods, and soups, things that you can stretch out. Forget chips and soda, think chocolate, nuts, dried fruit, canned meat and vegetables, dried sausage, bulk cereals and flour and oatmeal, and stuff you can trade. Water is a biggie. I know, it takes money to do this.
 
I keep a couple cases of Mre's for tossing into the SUV in case I have to bail but for storage food I buy canned vegetables on sale; corn , green beans and peas along with canned fruit and yams.

I also eat these through out the year and replenish them when on sale so there is some overlap. I supplement meat with tuna, corned beef, Spam (my favorite), beef stew and canned soups. I found some gallon cans of stew and corned beef hash for 3 bucks a can at a liquidator place this past summer. I picked up a 1/2 dozen cans for cheap.

Dry food is mainly rice, oats, nf milk and some sugar. I buy beans by the sack but I think they consume too much fuel for the amount of nourishment in return. Fat is a can of Crisco.

Beverages include Gatorade, Tang and some instant Joe.

My supply is several weeks worth but if I was to eat everything in the house I would guess twice as long. There is also a 55 gal barrel of water in the garage.


Might I add: don't forget OTC cold and flu meds, ibuprofen, pepto, hand sanitizer and the like. Part of the plan is to stay healthy and these remedies can make things a bit more comfortable.

Don't forget an extra bag of food for the pooch!

hatchet-
 
not that i would eat my pet but if youREALLYneed food ypou could eat the pooch....:eek: :(
 
Hatchetjack - yay, another spam eater! A couple of slices of spam with fried eggs...yum!

Again, I will say - don't go cheap on the food you will stock up. In an emergency, your food will become a valuable resource for your peace of mind.
 
Yes, store food you WILL eat and like. Subsistance will be much more tolerable that way.

When I was growing up, some canned corned beef with onions over hot rice was THE meal and maybe some canned creamed corn. I still like the first 2 but the creamed corn is NOT part of my larder these days.

Spam fried to crispy edges then add a little soy sauce and sugar to the pan to coat the slices...yumm!

Sit down and make a list of what you think you need/like, put it away and then review it a couple days later. Then go out nad buy say 10 bucks worth off the list every payday till weverything gets crossed off so you don't burn a hole in the pocket.

If the need arises tomorrow, oh well, you're stuck but if it does happen down the road, you'll have some or all of your stash ready. The important thing is to get started on something.

Have a way to cook off the grid: camp stove or gas grill with side burner. Nothing like cold Dinty Moore out the can to spoil an appetite.
 
Man, you ate better than I did. Once a week my mother served up liver and onions. Of course it was good for me. Of course I also didn't know that I wasn't supposed to like it, I just didn't know any better. Fortunately, she did give me corned beef sandwiches. Crap, now I'm going to have to go peel open a can, with spicy mustard and a big slice of dill pickle. Later.
 
Coldwood said:
Regarding stockpiling food: I say, buy the things that you really like to eat.
Click to expand...

I have another perspective on this. Foods you would normally not eat (i.e. prefer to eat) will be left til last, when all your favorites are gone. By then, a can of mackeral and a cup of rice will look a lot better. Also, the stuff you can get extra cheap but don't like yourself will make for excellent barter and give aways. Beggers can't be choosers.

It doesn't take wealth to buid a small reserve (a term more sheeple friendly than "stockpile"). If you add one can a week to your larder, that is 52 cans a year. You'll hardly miss the money from your budget. Buy five pounds of rice a month, that's a 60# reserve at year's end. That will fit in two large buckets, or three small ones.

Codger
 
Coldwood ? first and foremost you have to take care of you and yours . What is the point of being prepared if you do not . If you want to care for one or two others that is fine as well .

If they are good intelligent folk they will appreciate it and be willing to help out .
They will also realise they are not family or kin . If you can set it up so that they have a place to stay where you can sleep securely then have them work for their keep . If they balk at this then you have made a wrong choice and should look over what made you suggest they could stay .

Banding together and helping a neighbor are both good ideas . It adds to your resources and fortifies your defenses .
 
Codger, good advice on the term "stockpile". I should not use that word in polite company. Also, are there laws against "reserving" quantities of food, or gas, or ammo or money?

I don't intend to be caught off guard by a stranger at the door. Also, I know there are people in my neck of the woods who wouldn't think twice about robbing a summer camp if the SHTF. During the ice storm of '98, when I finally managed to get down to the 7-11 for beer, I saw local people standing in line, with scared looks on their faces. They were out of supplies and they should have known better. My wife and I keep a full pantry and larder, but apparently other people do not. (by the way, beer and alcohol might be another thing to reserve for those cold winter nights when the power is out...adds to the entertainment when your killing time playing gin rummy...and of course a good battery powered radio or miniature TV)

Regarding expense, I don't have a problem with that. I go to Sam's Club periodically to see what they've got, will buy a case of something I think I'll like. But I know other people can't do that, they live hand-to-mouth on a daily basis, chips and soda. Those are the ones that I would worry about in an emergency, for their sake and my own.
 
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