31 Days of Preparedness: All about Food @MamaKautz
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empty shelves

I really don’t want to ever have to go to the store when this could be the possible scenario.

Just last week my niece had to go to the Commissary the day before they were going to close their doors due to the government shutdown. Talk about CHAOS!
This is what I have learned in the last 18 months of prepping.

  1. Calories should be biggest bang for your buck
  2. FEMA says 3 days of food and supplies.I saw at least a month’s worth.
  3. Beans, Rice, Oats…food for more than just dinner or breakfast
  4. Condiments. Hot sauce etc. Helps when you are on yor 15th bowl of rice.
  5. High energy snacks. Peanut butter, Lara Bars, and trail mix
  6. Don’t forget seasonings, yeast for bread, baking supplies
  7. Protein. I pressure can my own.
  8. Comfort food. Chocolate, popcorn, etc.

My Staples 

    I get these in bulk at Costco. Pick up a bag every trip and they add up.

  • Beans (All types)
  • Rice
  • Salt
  • Oatmeal
  • Honey (I buy local only, not at Costco)

I have many different types of food prepped.

  • Canned foods from the store.
  • Self canned food. Fruit, meat, veggies.
  • Dehydrated at home
  • Long term food storage

Variety is the key.

If you have to dip into your food stores for any length of time, due to an emergency or maybe job loss,  you don’t want to have 500 packets of top ramen (which, incidentally, I don’t prep) you will get bored.
I have heard there is nothing worse that food boredom.
Another key thought? Prep what you know you will eat. If you don’t eat sardines then don’t prep sardines.

I recently cleaned out our freezers. Yes, we have 2 medium size chest freezers. We inherited one from mom and rather than sell it we filled it with food. Now looking at these two full freezers I cringe at the thought of losing power for more than a couple of days.
The next go around of Zaycon chicken I will most likely can it all like I have in the past. We also have a pig that will be heading to the butcher soon.

I have been able to acquire canned food via couponing. I don’t like to prep a ton of it because you are supposed to rotate your food and we don’t eat a lot of canned food.
I prefer to dehydrate fruit and veggies that we have gotten through Bountiful Baskets. I also dehydrate frozen veggies that I get at Costco. Super cheap compared to other stores. The nice thing about frozen is you can just put them in the dehydrator. No need to blanch them first.

There are many brands of long term food available.

Each company has different criteria for calories per serving and serving size.
Some servings vary by size (1 cup vs ⅓ cup) or preparation (dry serving vs prepared serving).
In an emergency situation you will be burning more calories than, say, a day sitting on the computer. You really want the most calories for the smallest serving.

 

Do you preserve your own food? What is your favorite way?

photo credit: circulating via photopin cc

5 Level of Preparedness
Acronyms
Apps
Bug Out or Bug In
Communications
Cooking
Dictionary
Family Plan
Farm Animals
First Aide
Food
Got Power
Got Shelter?
Kids or No Kids
Op Sec
Practice What You Preach~Power Outage Practice
Resources
Sanitation
Skills to Have
Tools
Urban vs Rural
Water

Mama Kautz31 Days of Emergency PreparednessPreppingPrepping*This post contains affiliate links* I really don't want to ever have to go to the store when this could be the possible scenario. Just last week my niece had to go to the Commissary the day before they were going to close their doors due to the government shutdown. Talk...