Got food?

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by stimpy117, Nov 23, 2006.


  1. stimpy117

    stimpy117 Monkey+++

    Got food? Updated 11-27

    Thanks Monkeys!
     
  2. stimpy117

    stimpy117 Monkey+++

    So far;

    Sam Andy Foods.

    Time-

    We bought a few cases on sale back in 96-98.

    Outward appearance-

    Cans(19oz) were bright and unmarked. No rust was visible.
    Note- all foods were stored in what I could call good conditions. Cool, dry(controlled) and side by side. Off the floor and out of the light.

    Product-

    Spanish Rice & Mountian Stew. Part of a "72 hour kit". 12- 19 oz cans(small). Other items in kit are- vegie's, fruits and breakfast foods.

    Well I'm glad I've started this testing before I had to rely on preparing and eating these foods. While both of these entree's are somewhat good and almost tasty( TVP is TVP is TVP) what has disturbed me the most were the cooking directions for both. "Bring water to a boil and simmer for 15-25 minutes......! In looking at the direction on the rest of the cans I see the same directions. Corn, fruit etc.

    I would have been out of fuel in 3 days. In restocking my food storage I'll look for "no cook" foods or "heat and eat", "add boiling water". If prep directions aren't listed in the cataloge I'll ask. I don't blame Sam Andy Foods, I should have asked about cooking. While these foods would be good to leave at your deer camp or a retreat where one had the time and BTU's to cook, "let simmer for 25 minutes" for me isn't acceptable.

    Added this AM;

    Well stopped crusing the porno sites long enough to try the;

    Sam Andy egg mix.

    Outward appearance-

    Can top was blotched with a discoloration of some kind. I had to open the bottom instead.

    Product-

    Egg mix- 19oz can. Sounds safe enough, right? Mix with water until smooth, easier said than done. When mixed it turns a light brown color but still smelled OK. Cooking was easy but burned to the pan.
    Taste? Bad. Texture was that of wall paper paste. I'm going to remove this product from any further testing and chuck the rest.
    Again, with the taste being so bad and the fact I now have a pan to wash out this item has no place in my preps. Mountian House has egg mixs that are cook in the bag and taste a lot better.

    Note- Should a can of food be dented or rusted thru or have an off smell it dosen't get tested.

    Next up- SafeTrek.




    Safe Trek is going to wait.

    Mountian House;

    Product-
    Mountian House Chili & Mac.

    Outward appearance-
    #10 can was bright w/ no rust(date unknown) Instructions were dead on for mixing. Servings per can is moot because we're guys and we eat too much anyway.
    This item was/is a pure joy to eat and prepare. Just add boiling water and wait 10 min( In doing this testing I've made a note to lay in a supply of 16oz foam cups w/ lids and plastic flatware, again not wanting to spend the BTU's to wash plates and cups should TSHTF.) Taste was intense but not spicy and actually looked good too! Real meat, no TVP crap.
    Mountian House has been a good Co. to use. I've carried their products many miles in my backpack and I am going to re-place my out of date foods with MH products. There, I said it.

    So that being said, I'll add that I've eaten some really bad MH foods. Some of the egg mixs come to mind. When I started testing I had a pouch of a noodle w/ beef dish in my backpack. Couldn't have been more than 6 years old and I whipped it up. The smell said something was wrong but in the name of science I countined.........right to the garbage can, nasty! I don't know if the pouch was pierced or what but if this had been my only meal on the trail or in my pantry I'd have been pissed.
    So stuff happends.
     
  3. TailorMadeHell

    TailorMadeHell Lurking Shadow Creature

    I personally don't have any info on this for you, though I am glad to see that it is info that I can use. Good to know what to look for in foods. I'm sure that I won't have much of a place to cook so knowing this stuff will save me a lot of future headaches. Another thing I have to look at is what food can I survive off of and how to prepare foods that I can eat without chompers. Long story though needless to say that unless I learn the art of making dentures, in a SHTF world, I'll be eating lots of gruel. Haha. Thanks for the post.
     
  4. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Mountain House- A+

    You can pick it up through JC Refuge who posts here, at Cabela's, Bass Pro, and Gandermountain.
     
  5. prepareordie

    prepareordie Monkey+++

    Agree with your Mountain House rating. I have a 3 months supply for two in number 10 cans - good for 20 years. Use it a lot for backpacking and fishing trips. You can also order direct from Mountain House and get free shipping on larger orders - ordering direct you get the freshest products. www.mountainhouse.com
     
  6. JC Refuge

    JC Refuge Emergency Essentials Store Vendor

    Actually, Mountain House in #10 cans is rated at a 30 year shelf life.

    As for where to buy it, don't buy it from Mountain House directly. Some folks don't understand that they really don't like to sell directly to consumers, so they offer their product only at full price. They would rather sell to their distributors who in turn can sell at greatly discounted prices and still make a profit (we have it dropshipped from MH, so it is as fresh as can be).

    I'd be happy to give you some of the best retail prices you'll find anywhere ... go to www.safecastleroyal.com For a one-time lifetime membership fee of $19, you get those discounted prices on Mountain House and on everything else we sell.

    An example of the MH food prices: 8 cases (48 #10 cans) of the eight best-selling foods of 2005, 522 servings ... club price of $799, shipped anywhere in the lower 48. Here's the eBay listing for the package: http://cgi.ebay.com/48-Mountain-Hou...Z003QQcategoryZ106996QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem
     
  7. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    I think I'm at about $4K in MH with JC over the last year. IIRC, another $5K came out of some of the other Buys with him here.

    My wife makes me dig around under the house at times to grab another case of Spagetti when she gets the craving....
     
  8. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member

    Just be aware if you order the 150 can deal, it's a pallet load.....this is it minus 6 cases that came UPS later ( this came motor freight line )

    [​IMG]
     
  9. JC Refuge

    JC Refuge Emergency Essentials Store Vendor

    Melbo - did I mention that your 2006 investments with Safecastle LLC qualify you as a major shareholder? ;)

    TN Andy - offloading your delivery was obviously a piece of cake! :) But just so others know, fork lift or tractor is not required equipment to take delivery of even the mega-orders.
     
  10. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    The beauty of freeze dried JC... Light as air
     
  11. prepareordie

    prepareordie Monkey+++

    Thanks for the info - I am getting ready place an order so will consider your offer.

    So 48 #10 cans for $799 + a $19 one time fee + free shipping - Correct? Not bad. Which 8 best selling foods do you get? I assume you get a case of each. What will be the manufacturing/processing date - 2006?

    Regards Prepareordie
     
  12. JC Refuge

    JC Refuge Emergency Essentials Store Vendor

    Prepareordie, click on the link in my earlier post for the description of that package. Short and sweet, here are the cases in that 48-can package. Substitutions are fine, but may require price adjustments.

    7 entree cases
    Rice & Chicken
    Spaghetti
    Chili Mac
    Hearty Beef Stew

    Beef Stroganoff
    Lasagna w/ Meat Sauce
    Chicken Teriyaki

    1 breakfast case
    Precooked Eggs w/ Bacon

    Note that we also list a 25-case/25-variety package for $2499, shipped. And that we also put together custom packages at the same discount rates. Yep--all the foods are freshly made--certainly this year.
     
  13. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    So the 150 can feeds two for a year correct?
     
  14. JC Refuge

    JC Refuge Emergency Essentials Store Vendor

    Quigley, the 150 cans bring almost 1800 servings, as measured by Mountain House. I always tell folks that, for an adult, you need to plan for two of these servings per meal. And even at that, you ought to have supplemental high-cal/high-fat foods (peanut butter, chocolate, or pretty much anything else that suits you) to dip into as well.

    That said, I figure the package is good for 900 meals ... or 300 3-meal days. For two folks, that works out to 150 days (or 5 months).
     
  15. TailorMadeHell

    TailorMadeHell Lurking Shadow Creature

    So for about a grand, you can feed two people three times a day for five months. And if the SHTF, you could very well have to plain for several years until your 'society' got to producing. So if you were in a group upwards of like 20 people, ah geez my brains hurts. Too early to be doing math. It boggles the mind though.

    This is what gets me. How can you come up with that type of money and survive at the same time while paying taxes, rent, mortgages and all the other good stuff. Sheesh. I'd need to win the lotto.

    Sounds like a good plan if you have or can afford to set aside the dough.
     
  16. JC Refuge

    JC Refuge Emergency Essentials Store Vendor

    Actually, to be clear, the 2-people-for-5-months package is $2499 at our member pricing. MSRP is $4068.

    Obviously, not everybody can shell out the money for the big packages. But a lot of people do feel there is real value to be had in MH food. Figure how much you spend every week on groceries for two people or however many folks are in your household. Multiply that out to five months worth, and I bet you're not too far short of that $2499 price.

    The value comes in the fact that the stuff does not spoil ... for all practical purposes, ever. It does not need to be rotated, you do not need to discard it after a few years. And you can consider that over the years, the cost of regular food will continue to inflate. So that when the time comes for you to eat the stuff, it will likely be not only a Godsend as far as its availability, but it will likely show itself to have been a bargain price given what similar food would cost you in that indefinable future.
     
  17. TailorMadeHell

    TailorMadeHell Lurking Shadow Creature

    I've no doubt it's a great product and worth every penny. It's recommended by the monkeys so I know it's good. I'll just have to work my budget a little harder and see what I can come up with. It just boggles a poor boy mind to think of what could happen and how much to prep for it. So far it's prep for this or prep for that, I don't think about overall cost though I should. I'd be amazed at how much everyone needs to put into their preparedness. Maybe my road would need to lead to a one man gang, don't know.
     
  18. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    To be honest, the only two reasons that I've not bought a bit of MH stuff is the quantity. I live alone, rent, and the place is too small to store a lot. The main thing is the #10 cans which would have me eating the same thing for days on end to prevent waste. Even filet mignon would get old at that rate (I think, would like to try.) :eek: I'd be a whole lot more interested were the same stuff available in smaller batches. Or is it, and I missed something?foosed
     
  19. JC Refuge

    JC Refuge Emergency Essentials Store Vendor


    I hear ya' ghrit. But it really would not likely be the issue you think it would be. Consider that you are talking about 5 meals in each can. Once you open the can, they're good for two to three weeks. So you could have 10-12 different cans open and rotate thru them and finish them up in time without them going bad.
     
  20. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    Thanks JC for clearing that up, making plans.
     
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