Indulgences?

I've thought about Feel Good/Comfort Foods in a SHTF Scenerio.

If the Grid goes down or some kind of disaster hits then stress levels will skyrocket so comfort foods just might help keep us sane.

So with that in mind I bought Freeze Dried Apple Sauce, and Freeze Dried Peaches (Its like Peach Candy, its great). I'm still looking into Freeze Dried Ice Cream but the price scares the daylights out of me 🙂 Will this stuff work as comfort food in a high stress EOTWAWKI situation? I'm hoping so, but if all goes well I'll never have to find out 🙂

Our major indulgences are popcorn -growing our own and storing a good amount. Chocolate -can't grow it, but store a fair amount but do grow a lovely chocolate mint so that I can produce the flavour in dishes or drinks.

Otherwise, I really would not want to be without butter/sour cream/yogurt for cooking, which is why I have the milk critters, and have worked hard to learn how to do things with the sheep milk, I might not be able to keep a cow if push came to shove but I can keep a small flock of my sheep going.

For what it costs, freeze dried fruit is a whole lot of feel good. I have a lot of healthy goodies stashed away, plus nuts, nut butter and chocolate, mostly for my wife who would have much more trouble mentally accepting real hardship.

Mmmm ... I need to store come chocolate/chili peppers ...and get onto dehydrating some fruit . Other then that, I have popcorn, coffee, tea which are my main indulgences.

Good point paintergirl. Must get more tea. Not quite as good with powdered milk but better than nothing. Thank you.

For me it is pesto. I love it, eat it at least once a week and last week it was on sale at Wal Mart for $2 a jar plus I had a coupon for $1 off so I grabbed a bunch. My favorite meal ever is a teaspoon of pesto tossed over some pasta. Hot or cold I love it! (I know I can make it but pine nuts are insanely priced! A lot cheaper to buy it at that price)

~Iz

Raw sunflower seeds make an excellent substitute for pine nuts....also if you have freezer space, home made pesto freezes well. Basil grows ok in containers if you have no garden, not great but some fresh basil is better than none if you a place to container garden.

LOL We grow herbs indoors all year. My son took horticulture for 2 years in school and his teacher actually sends stuff home with him still. He did basil, thyme and parsley, we put them in the kitchen window (just a deck board between the 2 cupboards to keep it out of the way) and we have fresh herbs all the time.

I will definitely try the sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts! Thanks for the tip!! 🙂

I let quite a bit of basil go to seed. It's a damn weed now, growing everywhere. We just take washed bunches and freeze it.

Basil is so versatile (well to us anyways). I make a lot of Mediterranean & Thai food and lucky basil is used in a lot of it 🙂

Good point paintergirl. Must get more tea. Not quite as good with powdered milk but better than nothing. Thank you.

I have lucked out lately, been finding coffee ( drip and instant) on sale everywhere... a nice comfort drink! Bought a couple of those big canisters ( 1 kg?) of coffee mate at the Great Canadian Warehouse for $4.98 as well...

I was thinking more about this.
In the old days they used to put a high value on flavored drinks both hot and cold, made all kinds of teas and coffee substitutes. Something that bears remembering.
Powdered drinks are so cheap and store forever- you could have quite a supply. I don't mind powdered iced tea. Or sun tea and lime gatorade powder (yum) to sweeten.
I don't mind instant coffee either. It's better if you mix it cold and just bring it to a boil.
Winter nights would not be the same without cocoa, the ultimate feel good.

As far as food goes my 'indulgences' at this point in my life are the comfort foods of my youth.
Friday supper was ''wieners and beans" because my mom wanted a super easy meal to make, that and a veggie on the side, it was always looked forward to.
Another favourite is kraft dinner and ground beef with gravy, mushed together, and the required veggie on the side.
I like a refreshing cuppa Earl Grey tea, decaf if possible. (sometimes I have trouble with even the slightest amount of caffeine, so I've given up chocolate. I know, THE HORROR, but I'm much better without it, like a reformed addict, finicky nervous system.)
WINE, I guess would be a real indulgence. I've collected a couple of glass gallon jugs and bungs with air-locks, champagne yeast and other stuff.

In my youth I aspired to have and try the great looking stuff other people did, but now I am grateful for the mundane: hot and cold running water, indoor toilet, a warm place to call home at the end of the work day.

I cancelled cable tv about a year ago, but I have quite a collection of dvds. I'm all about the $5 bin. At Christmas I always ask my kids for a box set or one of the latest movies (with Bruce Willis, the hokier the better.) So my idea of an indulgence in a grid down situation would be able to watch a movie. They have always been my little two hour vacation from the crap that surrounds me.

I cancelled cable tv about a year ago, but I have quite a collection of dvds. I'm all about the $5 bin. At Christmas I always ask my kids for a box set or one of the latest movies (with Bruce Willis, the hokier the better.) So my idea of an indulgence in a grid down situation would be able to watch a movie. They have always been my little two hour vacation from the crap that surrounds me.

He he... I am a book hoarder who may need an intervention... I struggle furiously to keep them to a manageable level...no stacks on the floor or anything but my shelves are jammed full! (Just got a copy of Encyclopedia for Country Living- what a great book, covers it all!)

I admit, I have books stacked on the floor.
I have stocked piled reference, fiction, nonfiction and craft books. I never thought of it as a stock pile til right now. :-
oops! lol