I'm getting close to getting the bare minimums recommended by the church (I had a baby, and that requires adding to the supply). However, once I have the basics I want to get some extras, such as canned cheese. What do you think would be the most valuable additions to a basic food supply?
__________________
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
In addition to basic staples, I would store some canned foods that require minimal cooking. Some convenience or fun foods can help make life seem more normal in an emergency situation. Plus, if you shop sales and stock up, rotating is easy if you are actively eating these foods.
Canned chili, tuna, chicken & beef for protein.
Canned fruit and vegetables (rotate as your family uses them)
Spaghetti sauce & tomato sauce if pasta is stored
Canned soups
Vitamins
Jellies/Jams
Butter powder, Egg powder, Cheese powder
Macaroni & Cheese (or just macaroni if you have cheese powder)
Ramen noodles (must be rotated within 4-6 months, sooner if stored in a warm place)
MREs - they may last forever, but they are NASTY! Seriously. If I had to eat MREs I would lose weight because of the gag factor.
Have you actually used powdered shortening? What about powdered butter? I have used powdered eggs (good for cooking, fair to poor for scrambling), and of course milk.
It depends on the MRE, I guess. I've had some that are quite good, and some that are--as you say--nasty.
I use powdered shortening for making a kind of Bisquick mix. Powdered butter goes well on veggies--especially potatos. I've used the powdered eggs in baking (they smell really gross, and I can't help imagining I taste that smell afterward...). I haven't used them, but I hear they make a different kind of powdered scrambled eggs that actually do scramble well. Or there are huge tins of MRE scrambled eggs and ham.
You're right, some MREs are decent enough to get them down. But there is this aftertaste that builds and strengthens with each bite.
I used to rely on MREs for 72-hour kits. When it was time to rotate (after 5 years) all the entrees had changed and so I bought one of each to sample. Took them home and surprised my poor husband with an MRE dinner. Everybody had a taste of everything, and we identified one or two that we liked. But as the meal went on, appetites waned, until everyone was looking at their plates with a kind of despair. We were still hungry, but not for THAT.
After that experience, I realized that MREs were just not going to work out. Maybe my taste buds are more sensitive than some; I'd be willing to concede that. Perhaps there are a lot of people who love MREs. I'm just saying that before you invest heavily in them, you would be wise to have a meal--not just a taste-- to see if they're right for you.
"What do you think would be the most valuable additions to a basic food supply?"
Don't forget the means to prepare the food. Without a grain grinder, your wheat is pretty much useless. Can anyone make bread? If your utilities go out, no gas or electric ovens will be working. Got access to firewood? Got a place to burn it?
I sure don't have all the answers, but we used to have "Food storage Tuesday", and try to accomplish dinner using only food storage. It was very illuminating, and helped point out some issues to deal with.
You can put a little sugar or peanut butter on them and eat them as cereal. You can put them in a dish to replace or stretch meat. You can add veggies and soy sauce and stir fry them. You can throw them on the grill and...oh wait, probably not that one...
And yes, the blender wouldn't work with the power out...but then neither would the fancy grain mill. And the hand mills are a pain in the neck to get any large amount of flour. Trust me, I have one. It took me at least 1 1/2 hours to grind enough wheat fine enough to make 2 loaves of bread.
Heat does significantly speed up the wheat berry process, but in a pinch...
As to the MRE's, Remember Bok, they are extremely high calorie, so your method of testing them had one major problem.
I find that when I'm just at regular training and get issued one, if I even open it, I won't eat much of it. But if we've been training hard out in the field, I can down the entire thing.
A better test would have been to try the portions in small amounts over a few weeks.
Oh and I've occasionally opened up MRE's that were over a decade old and they still tasted fine (for an MRE that is)
The thing with MREs is that they store a long time in brutal conditions and are still safe to eat. If you are hungry you will eat them. For 72 hours they are great. If I had to do it for a year I would probably go crazy. One thing that we have in food storage that we could not live without is the canned chicken. It tastes good and my wife makes it into enough different things that it easilly rotates out. Much better than puke berries. I'd rather eat the cat than those wheat berries. Anyone for chinese?
