Food staples for LTS

Discussion in 'Back to Basics' started by fritz_monroe, Dec 7, 2007.


  1. fritz_monroe

    fritz_monroe Guest

    First I guess this may have been covered before, but I haven't been able to find the threads.

    As some know, I'm a newcomer to preparedness. I'm trying to build my food stores. I have several weeks worth right now for the short term situation. I've started thinking about the long term now.

    I've done lots of reading lately about what to store and came across a page that talked about 6 or 8 staples that can feed a family for the long term, but it will be a boring menu.

    I know about appetite fatigue, but my thinking is I want to get us fed for the long term first. Then once I have the ability to feed the family I can add to it to help with variety.

    So, what would be the main staples that are needed for basic nutrition for the long term? I guess rice and beans are on the list. Probably sugar and salt as well. But what else would you consider necessary? And in what quantities per person?

    Thanks
     
    Zimmy likes this.
  2. annie

    annie Monkey+++

    Can't say this one often enough, Water, 1 gal per person per day. Most of us don't drink that much, so it might leave 1/2 gal for cooking cleanup, bathing. Oh and a way to purify that water, clorox bleach and other means as well.

    http://aldi.us/us/html/service/store_locator_ENU_HTML.htm plug in your state to search
    http://www.yellowmap.de/Filialfinde...ormatIn=&Radius=&Department=MD&QT=13&QTPoi=13

    don't know why that didn't wrap. the above are links are to Aldi grocery (bargain shopping) or find scratch & dent stores (railroad damaged goods they tell me)

    I am not a nutritionist, but choose from the following & to suit yourself & family.

    Tomato paste (that wonderful basic) to add variety
    Peanut butter
    Vanilla == Cocoa == pepper & other spices you enjoy
    Powdered milk Instant mashed potatoe (can also use to stop bleeding of open wound)
    canned cheese === canned butter
    cooking oil / lard / olive oil whatever you prefer
    pasta == macaroni, spaghetti (any that you can't make from scratch)
    canned vegetables (.39 at aldi x 12=4.68)
    canned fruits....... soups, stews
    canned milk --- use in gravies, mac & cheese, cake, drink if desperate =xtra vit D
    Oh, FLOUR can't say how much......... or better still......in future plan on a grain mill & grind your own flour......... one it's healthier for us, whole berries store better & longer.
    canned gravy....... have read that it can be good even cold, when heating not possible

    Dehydrated foods & do your own if possible
    Alternative cooking unit - coleman camp stove & fuel - white gas

    Hope this gives you a few ideas
     
    Zimmy likes this.
  3. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    My favorite idea on storage is the idea of 'stock what you eat and eat what you stock'. Basicly its just a mater of setting up shelving and putting a mini grocery store in the house thats stocked up with all the stuff you normaly eat. You can have a mont or so supply fairly easy in your kitchen cabnets then just have more a lot more of the same stuff in a back up location. Now when you use up whats in the kitchen cabnets refill them from the stores you have and replace it in the stores from newly purchased stuff. This way you rotate the food out and dont have to worry about it getting to old.

    Some extra dry goods could be added to strech this stuff further if needed but a SHTF situation would be hard enouph to deal with without trying to turn your diet on its head and create a whole new way of cooking.

    Now for the food beyond what you can store (say for a situatio that was permenant/semipermenant, IMHO the best if not only bet would be haveing renewable food sources such as a garden with heirloom varieties, and some livestock or if nothing else (especialy if in the burbs) edible landscapeing and possibly something like a few rabbits in the back yard and if possible for milk and later some meat a pair of goats that can make more goats for later meat. Even in town it wouldnt be hard to have say half a dozen dwarf fruit trees incorperated into the landscapeing in the front yard as ornamental trees and maybe a nut tree or 2 in the back, add berrie bushes along the fence rows, straw berry vines as ground cover in front of the house, etc and the ornamental landscapeing around the house can provide a noteable amount of aded food that comes back and replenishes the stores.
     
    Zimmy and 3cyl like this.
  4. annie

    annie Monkey+++

    FM, perhaps the best suggestion that could be made would be for you to examine the food preferences of your family. I like sardines --- once every 2 years or so, OTH salmon could be once a week & certainly more versatile in preparation. Growing children might require more than a sedentary adult, at the same time consider activities..work/walking.

    cookbooks published in the 60's & prior frequently have great info........ Need confectioners sugar ? put one cup granulated sugar into blender & add 1-2 tbspn corn starch & process on high. Haven't tried this, but it sure sounds cool !

    when ya get those chickens, store the extra eggs in salt water / brine. I envision this for cellar or winter (summer = anybody's guess).

    forgot these:

    barley --- oatmeal
    vinegar
     
  5. Blackjack

    Blackjack Monkey+++

    What are you considering "long term"? 6 months or 6 years?

    Spam lasts forever :)

    And have you considered a little backyard garden, or even a rabbit hutch? Something to help replenish the food stocks.
     
  6. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    The following thread link may contain some of the information you want,

    Food Storage
     
  7. fritz_monroe

    fritz_monroe Guest

    Thanks for the quick responses. That food storage link is great, but I'd read that here. This article was off site.

    I guess I should have explained my current situation. We now have about a month's worth of what we eat right now. However, we envision hard times for everyone in the future, I don't think it will be a teotwawki but will probably make food very expensive. So we want to have at least a year's worth on hand. We know of the benefits of storing ingredients, not finished foods. We are in the process of changing our eating habits over to from scratch and dried goods and basic staples types of ingredients, this is mainly because we are trying to eat better.

    We will be working the garden once things thaw, and I've been looking at the possibity of doing some growing inside this winter.

    Since I want to get at least a year's worth stored, I'd like to get the basics in place so if that situation happens, we can survive. Once we have the year's worth of the basics, we can stock up on more of the extras so we don't eat just rice and beans.

    Thanks again.
     
  8. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    I guess it is worth the mention. There is little point to storing things you don't use anyway, when the time comes to use it in a bad situation, you won't know what to do with it and chances are it will be overage anyhow. But you knew that, eh? Lentils are pretty good all around nutrition, store well --
     
  9. fritz_monroe

    fritz_monroe Guest

    Yep. Aside from eating a bit better, eating from what we store will keep us up on what to do with all those beans and rice. We've been doing various bean meals lately. I made a really good navy bean soup the other day. We also made a vegetarian meat loaf that was mainly lentils. And later this week I'll be making a lentil soup.
     
    3cyl likes this.
  10. <exile>

    <exile> Padawan Learner

    We've been making the rounds with navy beans lately, care to give what was in it and approx. amounts?
     
  11. ozarkgoatman

    ozarkgoatman Resident goat herder

    Eggs are easy to store, provided that they are not washed. They have a membrain on them that keeps air from going through the shell, washing removes this membrain (all store bought eggs are washed). We have left eggs on the counter in the kitchen for months in the summer with no problems. But they can NOT be washed.

    OGM
     
    3cyl likes this.
  12. fritz_monroe

    fritz_monroe Guest

    I got it from Food Network. Here's the recipe. We are putting together an indoor herb garden and plan on a garden this spring, so everything but the ham hocks and bay leaves I can take care of. That's what brought up my other thread about ham for LTS.

    I guess I also need to look into how to grow the plant we get bay leaves from.
    </exile>
     
  13. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Found this info re growing

    Laurus nobilis -
    Bay is a perennial, evergreen shrub in Zones 8-11. It can be grown outside in the ground only if the temperature does not go below 25 degrees, and even then, a young plant could die, if not mulched properly and protected. It's a great container herb however, so even those of us in the north can grow it indoors. It will grow to 5 foot, if kept pruned. In it's native Mediterranean climate it can grown MUCH larger. Unless you are a VERY adventurous gardener, you'll want to buy an established small tree. The seeds can take from 10 days to 6 months, or may not germinate at all. Cuttings can be taken, but even those may not root for months.

    Grow sweet bay in a potting soil mixed with a little sand. Don't let it dry out, but don't over water, especially in the cold months. Fertilize in the spring and summer lightly. It's considered an evergreen shrub, and will grow in full sun or slight shade. If your climate is especially hot and it's potted, you should give it shelter from the sun in the hottest part of the day. When brought inside give it a sunny location.

    It's important to make sure you are buying laurus nobilis as a culinary bay tree. Others in the same family may be toxic. Some plants are also called "bay" but may not be the correct plant, so always double check. Note that essential oil and any part of the berries should not be used by pregnant or nursing women. The berries have been used medicinally, but I would not advise this, since it could cause problems if not done correctly. The leaves of bay however, are soothing when added to a bath. Infuse a few leaves in boiling water for 15-20 minutes and add to your bath. You can also use the leaves to make an herb tea, which is suppose to calm the stomach.
     
  14. fritz_monroe

    fritz_monroe Guest

    Yep, googled it as soon as I posted my response and came up with the same write ups on a couple pages. I see that the laurus nobilis sells online for about $10-20 for a plant. I'll take a look at the local greenhouses to see if they sell these. Thanks for the info.
     
  15. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Something I happened to remember that a lot of folks dont consider is that its also important to picture how you will be living in the time you are storeing for. If you are looking at ties where there may be food shortages but you will be able to continue to work the same as you do now or you just plan to hunker down in the house and ride things out then it may not make a lot of difference BUT if you are looking at a situation where you are haveing to do a lot more walking everywhere, tending animals/garden, cutting/spliting a lot of firewood, and all the other manual labor involved in provideing all your needs then for most of us this will be a big increase in activity which will also increase theamount of food/calories you need. So basicly the life you are likely to lead in the situation you are preping for makes a big difference in how long the same volume of food will feed you, could easily cut the time in half or double it.
     
  16. DKR

    DKR Raconteur of the first stripe

  17. DKR

    DKR Raconteur of the first stripe

    Also-
    I sent a letter to a friend that has another site - the idea was 'what could you get for 100 USD for storage that gives a good $/calorie ratio. Several folks had replied 'beans' - not bad, but for 100 USD, you can have flour, cornmeal, rice, beans and other items like meat, sugar and honey/sugar.

    The idea is that with some basic items, you can make a wide variety of menu items, some with minimal cooking times. This is where knowledge part comes it.

    With these simple items, you can make flour or corn tortillas, bread, cornbread, pancakes, noodles, pasta and on and on. So part of the planning process should include recipes, ones you have tried and know your family will eat - and make that part of your overall planning > in turn driving your food choices.

    As noted in the post above 15# of beans and 25# of rice - with all the other items can form a basic unit - say for a month, allowing you to upgrade/increase your supplies in smaller units as your finances will permit.
     
    jcsok likes this.
  18. Illini Warrior

    Illini Warrior Illini Warrior

    there's any number of ways to preserve "FRESH EGGS" - non washed - but salt brining isn't one of them >>> you can hard boil & peel and then hot water can them in a brine for eating as is and some limited meal inclusion options ...
     
  19. Gray Wolf

    Gray Wolf Monkey+++

    In post WWII Germany, on the black market honey was worth 5 times the value of sugar. The most valuable item was something overlooked by many preppers, cooking oil. My family in the US used to save their bacon grease and sent it to our relatives in Germany. If you had cooking oil, you could trade for anything on the black market.
     
    chelloveck likes this.
  20. DKR

    DKR Raconteur of the first stripe

    chelloveck, 3cyl and Witch Doctor 01 like this.
survivalmonkey SSL seal        survivalmonkey.com warrant canary
17282WuJHksJ9798f34razfKbPATqTq9E7