3 weeks food supply for 2 people: input needed!
Posted by BecomeAGoldFish@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 27 comments
Hey Everyone! Thanks in advance:
My wife and I have just started our prepper journey and I would like to know from this community what you would change about our food supply! Anythibg to add diversity without breaking the bank and a long shelf life. Sorry of the order is weird i copy and pasted it from our spreadsheet and it’s organized by expiration date 😂
Mac and Cheese (Box) 206 G
Ritz Crackers Sleeve 89 G x 6
Corn Bread (Box) 240 G
Pineapple (Can) 800 G
Milk - Evaporated 378 G
Soy - Dehydrated 330 G
Peanut Butter 462 G x 2
Media Crema 270 G
Milk - Condensed Sweetened 100 G
Peaches (Can) 820 G
Carrot, Pea, Potato 410 G
Peas (Can) 420 G
Mandarin 312 G x 2
Carrot, Peas 430 G
Jamon Smeat (Can) 200 G
Lentils 450 G
Rice - White 900 G
Carrot, Pea, Potato 215 G x 2
Corn 220 G x 2
Kidney Beans (Can) 400 G
Electrolite Tube
Spam 340 G x 2
Vitamin C Tube
Apple Sauce 230 G x 2
Chicken breast 340 G x 4
Pasta 500 G
Garbanzo Beans (Can) 400 G
Black Beans (Can) 560 G
Carrots (Can) 230 G x 2
Olives 130 G
Salmon 100 G x 2
Tuna 270 G x 2
Tuna 90 G x 2
Vinegar 1 L
Honey 4 L
Olive Oil 5 L
Vegetable Oil 3 L
Flour 3 x 5 lb bag of flour
infinitum3d@reddit
Preparedness
**Fitness** and **Knowledge** are free, weightless, always with you and can’t be stolen from your bag.
Focus on getting healthy/strong. Walk. Climb stairs. Build endurance. Stretch. Eat right. Quit soda pop and choose water.
Make yourself valuable to a society.
Learn CPR, first aid, and basic life support. Maybe take a lifeguard course.
Learn what wild edibles you can forage. Every region has them. Get a local Field Guide to Wild Edibles and see what is near you.
Get a bike. If you have to travel, a bike is far easier and faster than walking. Learn how to maintain it and repair it when something breaks.
Get a partner, friend, buddy who has a skill you don’t. Then learn a skill that they don’t have. One person alone can’t do everything.
As for storage, you want a **Deep Pantry**. Any time you grocery shop, pick up one or two extra of whatever you usually eat. If you like canned soup and usually buy 6, buy 8 instead and stock up gradually. Especially when it’s on sale. For example, Progresso Soup often has their High Protein soups on sale for less than $2 USD. This is a meal-ready-to-eat even if the power goes out. Pull ring to open and eat it cold.
Don’t stress.
You got this.
Wonderful_Trifle_777@reddit
Make sure you freeze the flour before storing it in an airtight container or it will have weevils in it
premar16@reddit
Good list. For my pantry I like to do by meal. I made a list of 10-15 meals my household likes to eat. I get pantry ingredients based on what I need to make those meals at least twice. Then you can do math to expand it to 3 months+.
funke75@reddit
I agree! if were I to approach this question I would create a meal plan (figure out what specific meals you plant to make and eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks etc.) for 3 or 4 weeks then get the ingredients for those meals and rotate through those supplies on a regular basis.
it can help in a lot of ways:
Odd-Box816@reddit
What if there’s an EMP or we lose power for one reason or another? You’ll want to ensure you either have a portable stove or gas bbq (to be used outside) to cook all these “meals”. Remember that everything refrigerated or frozen would have to be eaten or cooked within days, so you won’t have these resources to rely on.
Suggestions? Get yourself a good portable solar powered power station, like Anker, a good crank emergency radio, water purification tablets that filter viruses, like Aquatabs as well as a darn good First Aid kit.
You’ll want to immediately order N95 masks and a good reusable respirator mask with extra filters. Pandemic-wise, it’s not IF another one’s coming. It’s WHEN.
You can find tons of videos on YouTube listing the kinds of foods you should stock up on to be prepared for… whatever.
mkim2959@reddit
Congrats on your start! Make sure you have a goal for prepping (ie. Aim for 6 months - 1 years worth of supplies). A few things I wanna ask. What ethnicity are you (not asking you to say it but this was just a factual question)? Each ethnicity has a different diet (its not a one food fits all). Its like comparing Asians vs Hispanics vs white vs black. Eat race eats different things (even if you've lived there your whole life). Weird. I know. But your body, taste, and lifestyle changes what your ancestors were (scientifically proven). What type of food lifestyle have you been living with so far (or planning to eat in the future)? If you're (Or planning on) eating carb heavy foods (ie rice, pasta, ect) then you should probably add in more of the such. If its more protein based, add more protien. Are all the ones that don't say canned, fresh (ie. Salmon, chicken, corn, mandarin, ect)? While you can freeze those for months or years at a time (depends on if you still want good flavor), it would be best to get dehydrated ones (you can make those yourself too). Dehydrated foods last longer then fresh obviously (make sure they are in food savers or jars with oxygen absorbers). How long are you planning on eating off of your food? Like if a mutant apocalypse (can't write the z word) happens and you have to live off your food for 1 week to 1 year, I dont know how much that list is supposed to last you two. 7 days? 30 days?
Look up foods that never expire. On your list (compared to what i have), there was no honey, dark chocolate (if the world ends, some chocolate would be nice), sugar, salt, ground coffee, vinegar, and soy sauce.
The way I prep (and the gold standard IMO) would be those emergency food supplies. It may seem expensive but: Pros- Food usually lasts 25+ without too much sacrifice on taste. (That means if you buy 1 bucket every year, you will have 25 buckets before you have to rotate). You save hours, days, or weeks to create the same amount as them. It saves space (no need to refrigerate or freeze them). Just put them in the back of some corner if the closest (or garage if cool enough). Cons- It's expensive (simply because they use really expensive machines, time, and effort to make the food). FYI: A $100 bucket averages around 3-7 days worth of food for one person (depending on brand. Mountain house has really decent tasting food but $$$). You can't control the quality of the taste. Portions may be smaller that what you're used to.
You are essentially trading time and effort for money (like with all things).
What I do is I buy those 7-30 day packs (from different brands cause only then can i really appreciate mountain house) and supplement with other things that I would naturally enjoy (in my case, I buy way more rice, some canned goods, and different seasonings). I also get the emergency cans of powdered eggs, vitamin mixes, and fruits (ie costco has those cans or amazon) that all last 25+ years.
TLDR: Have a goal. Try emergency buckets and compliment it with other things.
Docella@reddit
What are you prepping for? That will help you in building your food pantry. Do you have lots of space?. Dried goods store well and have a longer shelf life. Do you have a water source? Water is a priority Are you in a country that has flooding or a hurricane season? Devices for cooking and heating is essential. What do you like to eat day to day. Do not put something in you pantry that you do not eat.
Cottager_Northeast@reddit
I see lentils on the list, and I approve. Unlike other dried beans and legumes, lentils can be put in a sauce pan with adequate water, brought to a boil and held there for three minutes, and then taken off the heat, maybe with a towel thrown over the lidded pot. In an hour they'll be cooked just right, using much less fuel than the legume competition.
Spiley_spile@reddit
Just going to add, lentils have a toxin and need adequate heat for long enough in order to break down the toxin. Some people are more sensitive to it than others.
I dont recall the temp + timing off the top of my head.
So, OP, if you get the idea to cold soak the lentils, dont. Theres a reason they need to be cooked, beyond just the texture.
ronniebell@reddit
Hmmm… I hadn’t heard that about lentils. Only kidney beans; they need to be (hard) boiled for 10 minutes and then can be simmered. I’ll need to look that up. Do you have a resource?
Spiley_spile@reddit
The toxic compound in them is called Lectin. Which this 2021 article appears to suggest is a bit fiddly in lentils. The authors were not able to explain why in two separate studies, the lectin seemed to have inconsistent risk. (I did a quick scan and am losely ad-libbing. Highly recommend giving it your own, more thorough read through.) For safety though, it is recommdnded to boil lentils for at least 10 minutes to denature the lectins.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8618113/
BaldyCarrotTop@reddit
First; What meals are you planning to make from this? It's easier to meal plan and then work back from there.
2nd; Try and simplify a bit. Maybe get the list down to 20 items.
3rd; Items like the Mac & Cheese may be better as Pasta and different sauces.
4th; I see flour but no leavening agents. Maybe pancake mix instead? Pancake mix plus cornmeal makes cornbread.
wwglen@reddit
You need to decide on meals and what you need to go into each one.
You also need to add some “comfort food”. I have some leftover Halloween candy and protein bars stored in the garage refrigerator.
I also have a couple pounds of butter in the freezer and rotate them to the refrigerator when I finish up the one there.
Scared-Feature-3812@reddit
I think most people forget about comfort food During this time I’ve gotten into getting freeze dried treats like ice cream, ice cream sandwiches etc I’ve found a seller on ebay who sells them by the bulk for cheap and they taste delicious!
CartographerFit2011@reddit
I’ve only started with beans, Mac pasta, rice, and oats. I need to step my game up.
Soff10@reddit
Is anything dry and need to be ground up? If so grinder. Water or other drinks and garbage bags to store waste.
No_Albatross7213@reddit
Just buy two boxes of 30-day food supply from Augason Farms.
But your stash needs salt, pepper, herbs and spices. Plus a good amount of water.
ExtraplanetJanet@reddit
Those pre-bucketed food supplies should be tools of last resort, not the first thing a person gets. They’re calories, yeah, but they’re expensive and terrible. It seems like OP is thinking mostly in terms of supply disruption disasters, in which case deep pantry prepping is the easiest and most useful way to go. I do agree on the spices though, this list would not be much fun to eat without some flavor added.
certifiedintelligent@reddit
While it’ll be edible for 30 years, those boxed food supplies taste terrible.
ExtraplanetJanet@reddit
Those Ritz Crackers and Mac and cheese are not going to do well in the long shelf life department, but if you eat them regularly and rotate the ones in your emergency supply, they’ll be fine.
I can’t really speak to the rest of your supplies because I’m much too lazy to convert grams to measurements I’m familiar with but I’d throw some more rice and pasta in there, and maybe some sugar unless you absolutely cannot eat it. I see you have a huge amount of honey in your supply for a sweetener, but sugar adds some versatility and easy calories. Have you got a long-term storage plan or are you going to just have a deep pantry and make sure you have at least this stuff on hand at all times?
JRHLowdown3@reddit
+1
Definitely.
The "list" reads like mostly standard grocery store type items. He will need to stay up with rotation if he plans to go with a lot of short term products.
certifiedintelligent@reddit
Under a month? Just get more of what you already eat and ensure you rotate your pantry.
Over a month? Dry long-life staples, particularly rice and beans, will stay a long time when properly packed and provide decent nutrition on their own.
WhereDidAllTheSnowGo@reddit
No, don’t do that
Deep Pantry:
Buy more of what you eat now
Eat what you buy
Quit buying when you find you can’t eat a thing before it expires (which is quite different from Best By dates)
Buy sales or bulk to save $$.
All this includes holidays; turkey-cranberries-stuffing can be a monthly thing.
The really hard, individualized part is making rotation simple, easy, automatic. Hints: think of flow - things should go in one side and out the other… which isn’t how most shelves are built. Others use schedules
Only long after this is done & stabilized think about LTS
hailene02@reddit
Condiments: hot sauce, soy sauce, ketchup, mayo, mustard, ranch, chili crisp.
Tomato/Tomato products: marinara sauce, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste. Not sure if you are planning on making your own marinara (its easy) but I understand the convienece of premade. Tomates are used in alot of popular cuisines such as italian, mexican, and indian. Even American chili. Could also use them to make homemade salsa.
Spices. Big universal ones: salt pepper cumin paprika garlic powder onion powder cinnamon, hot pepper flakes, msg, dried parsley, oregano, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves.
More cuisine specific: coriander, garam masala, ginger powder, fennel (also good for upset stomac), za'atar, ras al hanout, nutmeg, mustard, chinese 5 spice, taco seasoning, white pepper, italian/French herb blends. Dried mint, dill, sumac, cilantro.
Also consider pickles, they last a long time. Canned coconut milk (used in indian/SE asian cuisine), shelf stable nut milks (almond/soy/ etc).
Dried fruits, nuts. Insta mashed potatoes or boxed potato products. Consider boxed cake/cookie/brownie mixes to a mood booster. Grain alternatives: quinoa and couscous.
Baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, brown sugar, white sugar, yeast (keep in freezer).
jazzbiscuit@reddit
Salt, pepper, and any other spices/seasonings you regularly add to your food to increase variety. Rice seasoned differently two days in a row is a lot more interesting than plain rice two days in a row - the same goes for most other staples.
Spiritual_Elk_9076@reddit
Coffee, Thea? How are you going to cook? What do you do if your primary method fails? Would also increase the amount of rice. Cheap and if you store with oxygen absorbers a rally long shelf life. You also need some comfort food, like sweets and candy bars.
KTeacherWhat@reddit
It looks like most of your beans are canned. If you have access to water, which is also not listed here, then I would definitely add some dried bean storage to your supply. The canned peaches and pineapple give a good dose of vitamins that can be missing from dry storage. If you can add some types of tomato, either with pasta sauce, or tomato paste, that would help there too, and add some variety to your cooking. For extra drinks besides water, I also personally can apple juice, if canning it yourself is not an option, some bottles of juice would be good to add.
Make sure you have salt. I also keep beef, chicken, and vegetable boullion around for both adding needed salt and getting a variety of flavors in cooking. They're small enough that they don't take a ton of storage space.
I know I already mentioned water but it's probably the most important thing in an emergency. Having some way to treat water will help, but water storage is also very important for the first weeks, because setting up systems takes time.