disclaimer: i've worked 4x 12 hour shifts and i haven't slept after my last night shift!!!
food storage. . .
food storage should be simple, eat what you store, and STORE what you eat.
i eat some canned foods, so i've stocked them. canned food will last years passed the date listed on them, i finally got through all my two year old ketchup (don't think that i don't eat a lot, i just stock a lot more then i can eat in a year lol, ii've had brown beans, corn, soup, all that were way over two years old. i made chili from tomato sauce, and beans over two years old. (two years on my shelf, i don't really care about the date stamped on them) the food was good, and while some of the nutrition might be less, i had a full belly.
i keep two chest freezers full of things. my vegetarian food will keep more then a year frozen with no special packaging. no problem with taste or texture. bread will freeze for up to a year (tested) without much more then the occasional hard spot on the crust.
i keep a large stock of freeze dried fruits and veggies, i buy most of them from http://www.bauly.com/Site/Home_files/NewBaulyPriceList.pdf but have been buying some #10 size cans of freeze dried stuff from http://www.providencesupplies.com/
there are advantages and disadvantages to freeze dried, they are pricey, but the keep a long time, hold nutritional value, and with a little water taste great. (food storage has two goals in my mind, full belly and nutrition, this provides both)
i also stock large amounts of wheat, rice, pasta, beans, and oats. i keep bulk amounts of sugar, salt, honey, cooking oil, powdered milk, baking supplies and many spices. these along can keep a person alive for a long time, with very little cost, preparation to store, and preparation to eat. . . it's not fine dining, but it's a full belly.
MRE's never owned one. . . i have some high energy bars (3200 cal and 3600 cal/day bars) but i've also made my own MRE's for bags and trips.
i find mine do take more prep to get ready, and cooking, but they taste better.
instant oatmeal, mix in some powdered milk, sugar if needed, seal it with a food saver, add hot water and eat.
side kick meals. (usually pasta or rice dishes) seal in a bag with milk powder and butter powder, add too boiling water and your good to go. high energy, tasty food. really not that expensive. . . i also add some of my freeze dried fruits and veggies, just had hot water and wait, fruit works great with the oatmeal, and veggies work great for soups, or with the side kick meals.
MRE's are one meal at a big cost, and they don't taste that great from what i'm told. that money can be spend on other things that will last longer and provide better. i'm not against having them, if i found a good deal on them i'd likely jump on it but don't plan to eat them for a year . . .
with the adding of land to my life, and a fair size garden, i've grown a whack load (that's an old Hebrew measurement 😀 ) of tiny tim tomatoes, as well as big beef tomatoes. . . while i'll can some later one, i've dried some of the tiny tims, very sweet, and i wish i had some preppers for sauces or to add to pizza . . .MMMMMM
so my garden will give me fresh stuff, canned stuff, maybe frozen stuff, my fruit will keep well in fruit racks for a while, my barn will be a temp root cellar until i get one dug. . . i can't grow all the food i need but i've got a start to growing a lot. and i can save it all (this of course takes money for dehydrator, canner, jars, lids etc. . . all worth it in the long run)
because i garden, i've learned to save some seeds, (need to learn to save more types) but i've also started stocking seeds. it'll be years before i buy some seeds again and if i get better at saving them, i may not need to every. (which is the goal)
i've also learned that soil is more important they we care about, in 1906 grade 3 (or 6 can't remember) had classes on keeping your soil healthy, because back then that was very important. . . it meant you'd live another year.
so i've learned a lot about soil, it can be simple, but it can be done better too. so i've started growing cover crops, storing the seeds for them, and later i want to be able save my seeds from some, use some for food (buckwheat, oats, wheat,) or feed (clover) and keep my cover crops self sufficient and even provide a little for the family. i don't have animals now, so green manure is the way i'm going, there are more benefits then what i want to go into in this post. . . i also store organic homemade fertilizer, alfalfa meal, seed weed meal, lime, cal, mag, and phos. to add to my growing goodies.
LDS food storage recommendations have changed over the years. now they say having a stock of the basics, wheat, honey, salt, milk will keep you alive. . . but having the foods you eat will help keep your sanity while living off of food storage. food storage isn't for the end of the world, it's for when you're world is not working normal.
100+ years ago, the LDS recommendation was to have 7 years worth of food, plus seeds for 2 (or 3) growing seasons. this of course was wild west pushing the group into new lands times, but the ideas stand up. you might have one bad growing season but two is less likely. (oh yeah, this was before the 1930's though, good thing they had 7 years of food on hand)
but i don't plan to live off wheat alone, i'll have my canned foods, my freeze dried foods, and my garden foods. . .
of course all this planning means that i plan to stay put! so my other preps revolve around that!!! (i can't move all my food in one trip with what i own)
tools of food storage:
food savers, wheat grinders, juicers, strainers, dehydrators, canners, mylar, food grade buckets, lids, 0xygen absorbers, etc. these are valuable tools that should be saved for and bought when you can afford the best bang for your buck. i paid more for my gear and i have never worried about it. quality is the goal.
food storage takes time, it doesn't have to be done over night, and while there are some bigger investments to be made with it, they come when it's time. if you're storing wheat, you better have a grinder, but you better have your other every day eat foods in your pantry first. but store what you eat and eat what you store, rotation, rotation, rotation. . . with stored foods location, location, location matters too! store spices, salt, sugars, because some of the long term stuff will need it, and please learn to grow food and take care of your land.
this all took me years to build up. . . a lot of money. . . but it's a goal worth having.
adsum. . . aut viam inveniam aut faciam
Good job on the post! I live in more or less the same fashion.
I think when I started prepping I bought the food and stored it. Then I realised that processing it myself was a better deal and more healthy. Then I realised that growing my own made the most sense of all because with the right planning it's a renewable resource.
I have moved away from trying to "buy" my food storage per say. I want to grow it and process it and eat it as we go - keeping in mind poor crops and bad seasons. I have a long way to go to be able to produce most of what we eat but I am aiming high!! Moving to the farm has been part of the change in thinking I have experienced.
I too have many of the tools you have listed. I bought most of them slowly over time and paid good money for them. The good stuff doesn't let you down!
All of this can seem so overwhelming for a newbie prepper. Just see it as a challenge if your heart is to move in this direction. Take small steps. Get someone to teach you how to can or sprout seeds or make sauerkraut. I would never have guessed my life would look like this 10 years ago. My only regret is worrying so much!
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*´¨`•.¸¸Anita <>< *.•´¸¸¨`*
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Quack, Cluck, Moo, Hee-Haw, Meow and Baaaaaaa from Shalom Engedi Farm
http://adventures-in-country-living.blogspot.com/
... i'll can some later one, i've dried some of the tiny tims, very sweet, and i wish i had some preppers for sauces or to add to pizza . . .MMMMMM
Entropy, laughed very hard at the Freudian Slip...preppers for sauces 😆 I feel your Shift Work wonkiness!
I do alot of the same at our house but haven't started any freeze-drying or dehydrating yet, but freeze, can, & store. Our gardens are a constant work in progress, working getting dirt into soil. Our house is a converted turn of century schoolhouse (hence my name) and it was apportioned off farm to the east of us...since this was the school the land has never been worked, it is heavy clay that I have to use a pick ax to get thru, so we use raised beds with soil amended up the wazoo and add more each year. I want to start with grain next year but need my neighbours aid via tractor to even stand a shot. We started with chickens & ducks this year so our compost will be from their pens (off which there is a ton!) and our own compost. I've been seed saving basics for years now, easy ones like peppers, tomatoes, beans, peas but have not attempted more difficult plants. I've never had an MRE, not opposed to them just would rather real food, or at least food I find recognizable.
Good post!
I understand and support the idea of what you all do in terms of growing -> storing your own food. It's definitely a goal of mine. Something I hope to be able to do one day. I can't do it now though, and I suspect that based on shear demographics that most people are like me.
I've discovered that it is not cost effective to buy fresh produce to can and store it. Thus, I am left with having to buy food I can store.
Of course there is logic in the "eat what you store & store what you eat" concept, and I've found that works to a point - but not entirely.
I've found it to be unrealistic to have that much soup, pasta, cereal etc... around and try to rotate it. So, I've decided to catagorize my food prep.
Category 1: Bug-Out Food - MRE's and other easy to prepare foods, enough for 1 week for my family
Category 2: Rotational Food - Here's the everyday food items, just more of them. Soups, etc... for 1-2 months
Category 3: Long Term Food - Here's all the wheat, rice, beans and such. The stuff I'll likely never eat unless the SHTF. Now, I've recently begun ordering the GoFood line of dehydrated foods. Light weight, tasty meals with a 15-25 year shelf life. I'm focusing on that stuff now. At least I would eat the GoFood product line.
It's the best someone like me that can't grow food right now can do.
Just an example of the economics of growing your own food.
This year we cheated and bought 2 flats of tomatoes for a total of $7.00 which gave us 24 plants.
Let's say we got 100 lbs of tomatoes from those plants, which is actually on the conservative side...
So that works out to $0.07 per lb.
This week's flyers are advertising tomatoes at $0.89/lb.
100 lbs would be $89.00
That means I saved $82.00 on tomatoes alone this year...like I said, 100 lbs is conservative and they are still coming in.
Add on the savings from other crops that I grew and it adds up quickly...enough to pay for a dehydrator, canner, jars, etc.
Even if I spent all my savings this year on storage equipment, then next year's savings are pure profit, less a few consumable supplies.
disclaimer: i've worked 4x 12 hour shifts and i haven't slept after my last night shift!!!
...pretty impressive, despite your lack of sleep! You and Anita both talk about investing in the best equipment you can afford...so i have a question in regards to wheat grinders...so far i have not found a store that carries them, in order to see how they work, and/or compare different ones...do you have any recommendations on a particular brand? I have never used one, or even seen one for that matter...
I am also looking to purchase a food sealer...one that can be used for jars...so far i have not been able to find one in the stores here...and one last item that is on my list is a food dehydrator...i would just love to hear your thoughts on these items, as i prefer to listen to the voice of experience as opposed to marketers...
...any advice in these matters will be greatly appreciated! Thank You!
"Much to learn you still have...”~YODA
disclaimer: i've worked 4x 12 hour shifts and i haven't slept after my last night shift!!!
...pretty impressive, despite your lack of sleep! You and Anita both talk about investing in the best equipment you can afford...so i have a question in regards to wheat grinders...so far i have not found a store that carries them, in order to see how they work, and/or compare different ones...do you have any recommendations on a particular brand? I have never used one, or even seen one for that matter...
I am also looking to purchase a food sealer...one that can be used for jars...so far i have not been able to find one in the stores here...and one last item that is on my list is a food dehydrator...i would just love to hear your thoughts on these items, as i prefer to listen to the voice of experience as opposed to marketers...
...any advice in these matters will be greatly appreciated! Thank You!
all the books i've read talk about a few different wheat grinders. they all have good and bad about them. the one that stands out, and everyone says "if you can afford this one is the best" is the one i bought. "Country living mill" i bought it from their website. youtube it. grinding wheat (beans, corn, or anything) is not an easy job, but the Country living mill makes it a little easier. it can be hooked to a motor (you can pay a lot for their motor, or if you're handy hook up your own. . .i'm not) i bought the power bar, the just in case kit and the bean auger for mine. the quality is better then the price tag!
http://www.countrylivinggrainmills.com/
my friends used "food saver" brand sealer, the black one that stands up has a tube that hooks to it and you can buy attachments that lets you dry seal mason jar lids, it sucks the air out and vacuums the jars. great for many things. . . i bought the attachments on ebay, the food saver at crappy tire on sale, and i watch for the bags to go on sale. (i hear costco sells them at a good price but i don't shop there) http://www.amazon.ca/Foodsaver-Advanced-Design-Vacuum-Sealer/dp/B0048BPWGY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1347499552&sr=8-4 this is the model i have. the canister came with it, but it's a piece of junk. . .
i bought the excalibur food dehydrator, i paid a lot for it, i got the big 9 shelf model but i wish i got the one with the timer on it. . . . i can use a wall wort timer for a lot less cost. . . but none the less, i love the dehydrator. i used it last week for the first time. quiet and efficient. the air/heat is designed to blow evening over everything and not from the bottom throw everything. the design from as far as i can tell works as described, the the center ones finishing a little sooner then the top or bottom (but i haven't used it enough to back that claim up fully)
http://www.providencesupplies.com/Products.php?view=productPage&product=236&category=107
i'm not a big brand name guy, most of stuff is no name stuff, but my gear, the stuff that counts is the best. . . come to think of it, most of my stuff is brand name because all i really have anymore is the stuff that counts lol.
hope that helps
adsum. . . aut viam inveniam aut faciam
deleau - a wheat grinder is very difficult to see "in person" unless you know someone who has one. I had the great fortune of travelling past Lehman's in Ohio last winter and was able to try out almost every model available anywhere. The Country Living Grain Mill is an excellent mill and it uses NO electricity. It is the best grinder for the most reasonable price and it's still $400.00 ish. I eneded up buying a Diamant - MUCH more expensive but a pleasure to grind with and it will last forever (my kids are already fighting over who gets when I die!) I also have an electric grain grinder than I happened across at a yard sale. It's old and loud and the price was right $10.00. ANY grinder is better than no grinder if you are storing grains - I've read many good reviews on the Wondermill but I haven't tried it myself- $269.00.
My preference in vacuum sealers is the Food Saver - you can purchase it at Walmart and Canadian Tire too. Make sure you get one with a "port" and the jar sealer attachments for sealing canning jars to make it really worthwhile. I've never seen one at a thrift store - usually they carry the cheaper ones - but you never know!
The best dehydrator on the market (IMHO) is the Excaliber. One of the reasons it's the best is because the fan blows the air across the trays instead of from the bottom up or top down as is the case in some models = more even drying and no need to switch trays around. I've never seen an Excliber in a store either - except maybe a specialty health food type of store.
I put the word out to friends and family that I am always looking for canning jars so many of mine have been free. I talked to a guy who owns a junk removal company tonight and he says he comes across boxes of canning jars on a regular basis - might be worth a phone call to a local guy to see if that's a source of cheap of free ones for anyone concerned with the cost of canning.
(`'•.¸(`'•.¸ ¸.•'´) ¸.•'´)
*´¨`•.¸¸Anita <>< *.•´¸¸¨`*
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¸.•´
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Quack, Cluck, Moo, Hee-Haw, Meow and Baaaaaaa from Shalom Engedi Farm
http://adventures-in-country-living.blogspot.com/
ha ha - it seems we agree on every single one!!
(`'•.¸(`'•.¸ ¸.•'´) ¸.•'´)
*´¨`•.¸¸Anita <>< *.•´¸¸¨`*
(¸.•'´(¸.•'´ `'•.¸)`' •.¸)
¸.•´
( `•.¸
`•.¸ )
¸.•)´
(.•´
Quack, Cluck, Moo, Hee-Haw, Meow and Baaaaaaa from Shalom Engedi Farm
http://adventures-in-country-living.blogspot.com/
ha ha - it seems we agree on every single one!!
Diamant i've seen pictures, but i've never seen one. . .forgot about that one!!! thanks
hey while i'm thinking about it, i need to find one of those "things" they look sorta like a mill, but they remove corn from the cob. . . you spin the handle in the same way you do a mill but the corn and cob are shot out the bottom no longer attached. not sure what it's called. . .
adsum. . . aut viam inveniam aut faciam
Well Entropy it would seem that many of us are on the same page so to speak. I agree with everything you have said and have taken the same path except for the wheat grinding. I guess that will be the next thing that I have to investigate.
The point that Denob made about the economies of growing food is very true. This year I purchased six chickens. Not a lot but more than adequate for our needs. I have kept careful track of expenses vs. feed cost and I have calculated that it works out to about 80 cents per dozen. That's better than $3.29 at Walmart plus know that mine are really fresh. I could reduce that price buy selling a dozen or so a week but up to this point I have been just giving them away. It is amazing how far good will can take you.
A note on MRE's. I too don't have any and I agree that they are expensive. You also have to take into account that as they are not now part of your diet to stock up on them you would not be "eating what you store, and storing what you eat" which is a very sound philosophy.
However I do see a place for them and plan to buy some (not a lot) sometime in the future. Should the SHTF I will almost certainly be bugging in. After a number of days, to be determined by the circumstance, I would want to reconnoitre the closest town to my location. Due to terrain etc. the return trip would be at least one day. Carrying a couple of MRE's in this situation would make sense. The lighter one could travel the better.
MRE's could also make excellent barter items if you had more than you required. However I can think of many other less expensive items that would serve you just as well for this purpose.
I think some have misunderstood me. I'm not saying it's more expensive to grow your own food, I"m saying that for any number of reasons there are a lot of people out there (myself included) that don't grow their own food. A number of you folks dismiss "store bought" prepping as somehow being the ugly kid sister to the prettier "home grown" prepping. I understand that. I'm just saying for those of us that have to buy the food we store, it is not practical or cost effective to buy fresh and preserve. It's better to buy already preserved foods, and under those circumstances it is best to buy foods that are preserved specifically for long term storage.
I think some have misunderstood me. I'm not saying it's more expensive to grow your own food, I"m saying that for any number of reasons there are a lot of people out there (myself included) that don't grow their own food. A number of you folks dismiss "store bought" prepping as somehow being the ugly kid sister to the prettier "home grown" prepping. I understand that. I'm just saying for those of us that have to buy the food we store, it is not practical or cost effective to buy fresh and preserve. It's better to buy already preserved foods, and under those circumstances it is best to buy foods that are preserved specifically for long term storage.
I agree with you to a point. There are just somethings that are cheaper for me to buy already processed however there are a few things that are not. I guess I am lucky enough to have local farmers for some of the things. It cost me on average $10.00 a bushel of tomatoes. Most of that I turned into salsa(I love salsa lol). I figured out with buying all the supplies it was about $1.13 a jar to make, cheaper then the grocery store. Canning fruit like peaches or pears would cost me close to double what it does in the store. The same goes for most meats and soups.
I think some have misunderstood me. I'm not saying it's more expensive to grow your own food, I"m saying that for any number of reasons there are a lot of people out there (myself included) that don't grow their own food. A number of you folks dismiss "store bought" prepping as somehow being the ugly kid sister to the prettier "home grown" prepping. I understand that. I'm just saying for those of us that have to buy the food we store, it is not practical or cost effective to buy fresh and preserve. It's better to buy already preserved foods, and under those circumstances it is best to buy foods that are preserved specifically for long term storage.
Funny, I just wrote a post on my blog outlining the economics of growing food. My numbers support this statement 100%.
You can check out the post here...
http://thepreparedcanadian.blogspot.com/