Difficulty with getting survival food lately

Discussion in 'Back to Basics' started by mysterymet, Dec 8, 2010.


  1. mysterymet

    mysterymet Monkey+++

    Have you guys noticed that it is becoming more and more difficult to get survival food lately? It seems that most of the major distributors are alway out of stock on lots of stuff.
     
  2. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I haven't noticed anything, yet. Where are you looking for your survival food, and what food specifically are you looking for?
    If you're looking for prepackaged stuff, you may need to change focus and work on creating your own packages.
    If it's bulk food items, keep looking trying different sources.
     
  3. Cephus

    Cephus Monkey+++ Founding Member

    I've even noticed at the feed store that they are having trouble getting wheat for everybody around here for their animals .Ya don't think there is something going on do ya .It took 14 days before my last order of PRI-D and G to get filled and I still don't have it in hand yet !!
     
  4. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    One of the most indispensable tools for prepping (IMHO) is the "Foodsaver" or one of it's related ilk. Buying bulk is nice, and bucket storage has it's place, but a small portion of that bulk can be vacuum packed and stashed in your vehicle bag and/or B.O.B., as well as any buried caches. Home made jerky of ANY stripe benefits from vacuum sealing, as does (not surprising) wheat. I just cushion the bag with some paper toweling (to help prevent the sharper edges of the wheat berries from cutting or puncturing the bag then vac and seal.

    As for the commercially prepared stuff - camping survival - http://www.campingsurvival.com has tons of Military style MREs at decent pricing, as does Cheaper Than Dirt - http://www.cheaperthandirt.com.

    Wise Food Storage - Food Storage & Emergency Food Supply | Wise Food Storage - offers pre-packed meals, buckets, and kits. Their food is lightweight (being a combination of freeze-dried and dehydrated foods), easy to make, and relatively decent in the flavor department.

    Personally, the expense of pre-packaged does not outweigh the benefit. I'd rather carry home-made "MRE" meals or create my own dehydrated meal packs - sealed and stashed in my bags with a food saver. - With creating your own, you know what goes in it and have no artificial this and extra salt that, and by and far NO artificial colors.

    One of my favorites is Meat Stew Pouch for one (makes two meals for an active person - double or triple or whatever as needed)-

    Combine 1 cup dehydrated meat ( I prefer dehydrated hamburger, but dehydrated ground chicken/turkey/venison does well)

    1/3 cup each dehydrated onion flakes, carrots, onions, celery (leave or stems - I use both), potatoes, peppers, etc - use your imagination.

    Commercial preparations like "Stew Starter" or "Soup Starter" work fine also. If using soup/stew starter - skip the below ingredients, follow the directions on the package and use re-hydrated dehydrated meat (2 cups boiling water to 1 cup dehydrated meat - makes the equivalent to 1 pound cooked meat).

    4 Tbsp Tomato powder (make your own by dehydrating or sun drying tomatoes and grinding the resultant dried bits in a CLEAN rotary blade coffee grinder - store in a jar/vac bag/bottle)
    2 tbsp garlic powder (or more if you like)
    3 tbsp dried parsley
    4 Tbsp beef bullion powder (adds umph to the taste)
    Salt and Pepper to taste (I add some red pepper flake to mine to give it bite and kick, but that is me).

    Combine all the bulky ingredients in a pre-prepared vacuum seal bag. fold bag over mix well. Put all the powdered ingredients in a zip-top sandwich bag and fold closed (DO NOT SEAL IT). Wrap the sandwich bag with a paper towel and place on top of bulky ingredients. Vacuum Seal, date and stash.

    To prepare it, bring 6 cups water (approx) to a boil. Cut open your pack, remove the "seasoning bag" and dump in the meat and veggie mix, bring back to a boil then lower heat, add the seasoning packet and simmer until the veggies are completely rehydrated, adding water if needed.

    I can post other home-made dehydrated food packs if you like.
     
  5. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Falcon, I would love some more recipes!!

    and I'll second the "food saver". I've worn one out and and use the "new" one heavily. Often times I'll get bulk frozen food and repackage into vacuum sealed bags to preserve them. Leaving the bulk frozen veggies in the original packaging results in freezer burn in just a couple of months or less, in vacuum sealed bags I get 6 months or more.
     
  6. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    Packing your own dehydrated meals in F.S. bags gives you control of what you eat, and what is in it. Also the shelf life of these items, as long as the bag remains under vacuum can be measured in decades.

    Just an FYI - my families B.O.B.'s contain metal measuring spoons and collapsible silicone measuring cups for just these things. So add that to your prep list, if you want to use these recipes. Makes life EASIER.

    Country "Omlette" Scrambled Eggs

    I use powdered whole eggs (commercially prepared). They are light and can be used for cooking, baking etc. You can experiment with dehydrated scrambled eggs, but they are bulky and take more room than powdered.

    This is for one person - double or triple if there are more people. Each ingredient should be sealed in it's own small bag then combined into a large pack. This recipe is a PER PERSON recipe. For 2 people double the ingredients when preparing. 3 people triple the ingredients.

    1st pack - eggs and meat -
    4 Tbsp powdered whole eggs & 2 tbsp (or more if you like) REAL bacon bits or dehydrated ham bits
    2 tbsp onion powder or dehydrated onion bits (I like the powder - no muss no fuss)

    2nd pack - Taters
    1/3 cup dehydrated "hash brown" style potatoes

    3rd pack condiment - Sour Cream
    3 tbsp powdered sour cream

    Not in Vac pack, but kept in BOB

    Canned butter (approx 6 Tbsp - or more if you like - 4 for the taters, 2 for the eggs, INCREASE THIS ALSO IF YOU INCREASE THE RECIPE)

    Recipe -
    Put the hash browns in a container (we use a medium sized camping pan). Pour just enough BOILING water over the hash browns to cover them. Let soak for 15 minutes.

    About 5 minutes before the hash browns are ready, preheat your skillet (you do have cooking stuff like camping skillet or griddle right?). Melt the 2 Tbsp of the butter and cook re-hydrated potatoes in skillet (like regular skillet hash browns - press the potatoes into the skillet, and cook until well browned. Using a plate or the lid of the skillet (if it is relatively flat) flip the skillet so the potatoes fall onto the plate/lid so the bottom (brown side is up). Replace the skillet on the heat, melt another 2 Tbsp butter and slip the potatoes back into the skillet. Cook until bottom is well browned. Slide out onto plate/lid and set to the side. Wipe out the skillet and rehydrate your sour-cream by slowly adding water and stirring until it is the consistency you want (thicker - less water, thinner - more water. I like mine thick). Set aside. In a cup/bowl combine the egg/meat/onion powder packet with 8 tbsp water (you can optionally rehydrate with 8 tbsp of milk made from powdered whole milk), and stir until the eggs are fully re-hydrated. Melt 2 tbsp of canned butter in your skillet and cook the eggs in the melted butter until done. Take the hash browns, slide them back into the skillet with the eggs, remove from heat. Mix the hash browns and eggs together and slather the top with the sour cream, salt and pepper to taste.

    Enjoy breakfast.

    These two packets of food (the Meat Stew and the Country Omlette Scrambled Eggs) weigh next to nothing and when vacuum sealed take very little room. These two packs is enough food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for one (1) active, healthy person for one (1) day.

    Use your imagination. Dehydrate or buy dehydrated foods and make meals YOU would eat normally. Vacuum seal and package them together. This is IMPERATIVE to maintaining comfort levels and health in what will be a stressful situation.

    Additionally, these work great for disaster preps, backpacking, camping, hunting, long hikes etc.

    EDIT: Just thought to include this tip - print the recipes and stash them in their respective bags before final sealing. That way you know what to do with what you have in each pack. I know this sounds like a lot of effort, but time spent is money saved and you can save a TON of money this way. Additionally, if you get the family involved with set-up and prep, the time is not wasted, it is spent as a family activity! Split the cost of the base ingredients with a local Prepper friend/family, and spend a day making food packs. Swap recipes, enjoy the company, drink beer, make merry and above all enjoy the peace of mind these things give.
     
  7. Ladyhawke

    Ladyhawke Monkey+

    Love it...please print more recipes. I am a professional chef, but am totally out of my element when it comes to preparing these kind of meals. Yours sound so good that I am feeling challenged to get it together and come up with some of my own. Thanks.
     
  8. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    OK one more today - maybe another tonight:

    Adapted Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder

    This is a simple one-pouch-one-pot meal for two people. Double for four, triple for six etc. If you know how to make Johnny Cakes (hoe cakes) and have the ingredients (cornmeal, water and salt) on hand it makes an excellent side.

    Ingredients:
    1 Cup dehydrated ground chicken (see my meat stew recipe)
    1/4 cup bacon (Real Bacon) bits
    1 cup dehydrated corn
    1 Tbsp dehydrated chopped jalepeno (I dry mine with seeds and membranes, I like it hot)
    1/4 cup dehydrated diced onion
    1/4 cup dehydrated diced red (bell) pepper
    1 1/2 Tbsp dried thyme
    3 tbsp chicken bullion powder
    1/2 cup dehydrated (cube style preferred) potatoes
    1/3 cup powdered whole milk
    4 cups water
    Salt & pepper to taste (not much needed usually, bullion is salty, but the taters are bland).

    Combine all ingredients in a vac bag, put a couple of folded paper towels at the top to help hold in the powdered ingredients.

    Just another little tip: the paper towels packaged with these dehydrated food packs are handed out as napkins around my fire. Put enough in to serve the # of people who can eat from your pack (2 for 2 people, 4 for 4 people etc.).

    Bring water to boil and add ingredients, stir to dissolve all the powdered ingredients. Simmer gently and add water as needed until the potatoes (the hardest dried ingredient) is completely reconstituted.

    Be careful to add more water as needed, and watch for scorching the milk in the chowder. Cook on a cooler part of your fire grate or lower temp on your propane stove, and let it simmer gently. If you like it thicker, you can add a corn starch or arrow root slurry just after the potatoes are done to thicken it, but I prefer straight out of the bag. If you don't have the corn starch or arrow root, you can just cook it down by 1/4 and that should thicken it nicely.

    Damn I fell like imitating Julia Childs:
    BON APPETIT!
     
  9. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    See also the recipes thread under back to basics.
     
  10. Volcano

    Volcano Monkey+

    how about Emergency Essentials - Be Prepared Emergency Preparedness Food Storage Emergency Essentials seems to have a full stock of most of their items. Since I work for a company that is related to that, my perception is that EVERY SINGLE company that sells survival gear, food or anything related had a banner month in November. Dec. is shaping up the same way.
    IMHO I think that anyone who has a lick of sense can see that most of the "fixing" being done by the current administration is "smoke and mirrors" and leads to a nasty end game scenario..
    I have a pretty good collection of Dutch Oven and related recipes.. If you guys like, I could start posting some of what I have found/stolen/made over the years here.

    -Mark
     
  11. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    I think we'd like those recipes!!!
    Back to Basics - Recipes at Survivalmonkey.com
     
  12. Disciple

    Disciple Monkey+

    Prepared.pro seems to have a great supply of mountain house stuff right now I found them through Alex jones website.............One thing I did notice on their website is they have some quite large "Fallout Shelters" which is something I had not thought of. Use them for long term storage, and living space in case of things other than a neuclear emergency.
     
  13. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member

    Whew......I ran out and checked my survival pigs, cows and chickens.....yep.....all still there.

    Then I checked my stash of Mt House stuff.....yep.....still 27 years left on the best-used-by date.....

    I feel better now. :D
     
  14. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    I've decided to eat people.
     
  15. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Naw, Way to salty..... but a Nice Moose Steak..... now, you're talk'en....
     
  16. mysterymet

    mysterymet Monkey+++

    Soylent green is... People!

    Yes recipes are good and I usually do ok with them if they don't require much cooking skill. Unfortunately I'm one of those who can hardly boil water. If it weren't for my husband I'd eat microwavable meals every day!
    I have a couple cases of saved from deployment mre's. There is some interesting phenomenon about mre's. Some of them will stop you up like a cork and some will clean you out. I recommend balancing these out!

    I was buying freeze dried stuff like normal and just noticed that the lead times seem to longer than normal to get it.
     
  17. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Moose are in short supply around here, but there seem to be plenty of wallyworld waddlers.
     
  18. hedger

    hedger Monkey+

    Order Fulfillment Has Slowed WAAAY Down

    My wife and I were discussing this today. I called to check on the status of our latest order and within an hour, I got an email stating that my order had been delivered to the shipping company.

    I like to think that patience pays off but it seems that the squeaky wheel got the grease, today.
     
  19. Disciple

    Disciple Monkey+


    Wallyworld waddlers huh......You mean the kind that wear spandex thats two sizes too small, have a muffin top thats so big it would make a suffle jealous and smoke camels like there going out of style. Wow............ myself i'll fight al-queda by myself rather than be..........Never mind
     
  20. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    There is this recipe . . . JUST kidding...or am I? :D
     
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