30 Day Grid Down Food Prep Challenge.

[cigars]

As I approach the middle of my month long challenge, I have decided to make a few changes and come clean about a cheat. First off I started out making all my coffee with instant coffee and using shelf stable individual creamers. I cheated a few times recently by using the Keurig coffee maker. I have decided to switch over to Keurig for my coffee making chores again and I am also going to start using my sugar free non-dairy coffee creamer again.

The other cheat is going to be storing partials of opened canned meats in the fridge. Initially I was overeating the canned meats so they would not be wasted. In a real emergency situation there would be at least three of us in the house eating a can of meat so there wouldn't be left over meat to worry about. But the other family members are not interested in eating it now.

The main refocus is going to be a little more towards health. I bought quite a bit of junk food which I have been eating instead of canned foods and cooking. I am going to cut out most of the junk food and start eating the healthier foods I have on hand. I have barely put a dent in the canned foods and the grains I bought. I haven't touched the fresh carrots, cabbage or apples yet and only ate a few of the bananas which have barely ripened. Anyways that is my update.

The real challenge would be if the power was cut. Since it's not in this case, I wouldn't consider usiing the Keurig cheating anymore than taking a hot shower or using the stove would be. If there was no power for an extended time, then that's when our mettle would be tested. I think that you're doing great with this!

 

[A2theK]

I plan on getting a couple of cans of the canned cheese. Winco's store brand is pretty good and much cheaper than the name brand. I love block chesse though so I am going to buy a couple of two pound blocks and see how they hold up on garage shelf. I am also wondering how long I could store eggs on the garage shelf. They are pretty cheap these days and cook fast.

Oil the egg shells like the Pioneers did with vegetable oil and store in sawdust. Also store eggs won't last as long as farm eggs.

 

[41mag]

Thanks for the updates on your action packed experiment.

 

[arakboss]

Thanks for the updates on your action packed experiment.

Challenge has ended, I will give my final update in the next few days.

 

[arakboss]

I was surveying the piles of great deals I have purchased that are piled on my workbench and came across these Bagels. They are from my off grid food challenge I did early last year. I saw a video on youtube about preserving bread products with whiskey and decided to try it with these bagels. These have been on my bench since March of 2021. I saw no visible mold and did not detect any mold smells so I toasted up one half and put some cream cheese and jelly on it. I nibbled the first couple of bites and then took a regular size bite. So far no ill effects but we'll see how I am feeling tomorrow. This could be a fantastic way to have bread in a grid down scenario. Crazy but I am calling this myth, true.

I poured a couple of tablespoons worth of Dewar's in the bag, twist tied the bag and rolled the whiskey around in the bag. Then I put a second bag around the first and twist tied the second bag. I could not detect any of the Dewar's smell when I opened them today.

 

[arakboss]

I was surveying the piles of great deals I have purchased that are piled on my workbench and came across these Bagels. They are from my off grid food challenge I did early last year. I saw a video on youtube about preserving bread products with whiskey and decided to try it with these bagels. These have been on my bench since March of 2021. I saw no visible mold and did not detect any mold smells so I toasted up one half and put some cream cheese and jelly on it. I nibbled the first couple of bites and then took a regular size bite. So far no ill effects but we'll see how I am feeling tomorrow. This could be a fantastic way to have bread in a grid down scenario. Crazy but I am calling this myth, true.

I poured a couple of tablespoons worth of Dewar's in the bag, twist tied the bag and rolled the whiskey around in the bag. Then I put a second bag around the first and twist tied the second bag. I could not detect any of the Dewar's smell when I opened them today.



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I also had a large jar of Mt Olive pickles on the bench which I had open last year and left setting out there. They seemed to be fine as well but I did not taste them. They were not very crunchy from the start but I snapped one in half today and it appeared to be about the same as when I opened them last year.

 

[orygun]

I buy the large jar of Mt. Olive dill pickles, too. After I eat the pickles I use the juice to pickle a batch of hard boiled eggs.

 

[arakboss]

I buy the large jar of Mt. Olive dill pickles, too. After I eat the pickles I use the juice to pickle a batch of hard boiled eggs.

How long have you kept the eggs that way?

 

[Lilhigbee]

Since @arakboss has resurrected this thread I thought I would give an update on our egg storage, posts 28, 130 and 143. We just opened a jar that has been stored in our garage for one year as of January 20th. Our garage is insulated but not heated so the temperature follows the weather. The eggs are fine, no noticeable difference in taste. In baking bread it rises the same as with fresh eggs. The yolks are fragile, making soft-yolk fried eggs tough to accomplish. When boiling them the shells often crack. All-in-all this is an excellent method to store eggs long-term.

To store eggs long-term;
Acquire a sealable container suitable for the number of eggs you want to put up. I use half-gallon jars for 16-18 eggs.
For my jars I put 1/3C pickling lime in the bottom of the jar. GENTLY add the eggs, stacking them as closely as possible. Mix 1/3C pickling lime with 2C water and pour over the eggs. Add more lime/water if necessary to cover eggs. Seal and place in your pantry until needed.

 

[RJGIDD]

What was the final report out of your challenge from March 2021 ? April 3 2021...and then... Jan 2022 was your post on this thread.
Did I miss it ?

How did it go ? What would you have done differently ?
What did you like ? Dislike ?

 

[orygun]

How long have you kept the eggs that way?

Not super long, but maybe a 3-4 months cuz I like to eat them. Keepin raw eggs cool, but not actually in a fridge, they'll last 6 months or better. The last batch I hardboiled to pickle were pretty old, refrigerated eggs. they were likely well over 6 months old. They boiled up fine, but were kind of a pain to peel. My wife also made some pickled that we only refrigerate after opening the jar. I still have one unopened jar that's 4-5 months old.
For all of this stuff we're using eggs from our chickens, not store bought.

 

[arakboss]

What was the final report out of your challenge from March 2021 ? April 3 2021...and then... Jan 2022 was your post on this thread.
Did I miss it ?

How did it go ? What would you have done differently ?
What did you like ? Dislike ?

It went fine. I would depend on rice, pasta or some other carb source instead of bread. Even if you can find a successful storage method, bread takes up too much space. Trying to bake breads would take up a lot of fuel. You might be able to make some tortillas, roti or other flat type breads. Processed cheese last a surprisingly long time. Walmart canned roast beef is a rip off but their tuna is good. Eggs coated with mineral oil last quite a while, months. A 20lb propane tank will cook a lot of meals on a camp stove.

 

[Burpboxhero]

Beans and rice ftw, imho. Oatmeal, sugar, spices, and vegetable oil would round out the rest. Big bags available at restaurant supply store and dirt cheap. Water heater and toilet has potable water. Adapter to convert cannister stove to propane and to connect to 20lb tank.

 

[arakboss]

This grid down eating challenge I did came up in my weightloss meeting yesterday. I felt like there were to many cheats I allowed myself and the coolness of the weather provided an advantage over a grid down scenerio that happens during the summer. I also have considered that not everbody would have access to a campstove with a large propane tank, especially apartment dwellers.

In summer of 2023 I am going to attempt a part 2 of this challenge but without the propane campstove and minus most of the allowed cheats.

I am going to start thinking and planning way ahead on this Part 2 Grid Down Challenge and try to incorporate some of the meal ideas into my $3 a day eating challenge.

My initial thoughts are to eat a majority of the meals unheated. I will start looking for some affordable compact stoves that are safe for indoor use and could be used in an apartment. I might throw together a foldable solar oven too, that could be used on our deck.

I hate powdered milk but I might invest in some for my storage preps and experiment with it this summer. I will buy some more canned milk and evaporated milk too.

I had great success with the bagels I added liquor to and double bagged. I am going to try that again with some other types of bread.

Don't worry limited amounts of canned veggies and canned fruit will be on the menu.

If you have ideas for cheap, indoor safe, compact, non-electric food heating methods, please throw them out here.

It won't be the healthiest diet somebody could create but it will be sufficient to keep a person alive and functional.

 

[Lilhigbee]

If you are doing this through the summer a makeshift aluminum foil solar oven will get food too hot to eat in short order. If you are allowing yourself prep ahead of time (as one should have for just such an emergency as you are emulating) get to canning now!! There is an amazing variety of food that can be canned and stored. There isn't any reason to suffer through mediocre rations if you plan ahead.

 

[arakboss]

What was the final report out of your challenge from March 2021 ? April 3 2021...and then... Jan 2022 was your post on this thread.
Did I miss it ?

How did it go ? What would you have done differently ?
What did you like ? Dislike ?

It went fine but I agree with others who felt like there were too many cheats. I am going to repeat the challenge in summer of 2023 and with fewer cheats. The campstove with 20lb tank was a major advantage others might not have. I am going to attempt the next challenge with more cold meals that don't require cooking and use a smaller more compact indoor safe heating method for heating any food. I might ditch coffee for the challenge which would mentally mess me up. I could sub additional caffeine pills to make up for missing cups of coffee.

I might try hauling and filtering some water too which would add a whole nother level of difficulty to the challenge. It would be great exercise though.

 

[arakboss]

If you are doing this through the summer a makeshift aluminum foil solar oven will get food too hot to eat in short order. If you are allowing yourself prep ahead of time (as one should have for just such an emergency as you are emulating) get to canning now!! There is an amazing variety of food that can be canned and stored. There isn't any reason to suffer through mediocre rations if you plan ahead.

I think the canning would be too difficult for us living in an already overstuffed condo. While I am going to prepare ahead of time, I want to try and utilize more foods that I am going to be eating and storing on a regular basis. I have difficulty seeing myself canning on a regular basis. We have an instapot but no other canning supplies. My wife will have zero interest in canning and will be upset if I drag a bunch of canning stuff home. I like store canned meats myself except for the price.

 

[Yarome]

Here ya go. Good time to stock up. Limited quantity/deal at that price.... $2.50 a can

12 pack 12oz spam 25% less sodium

Many supers will sell you pre processed/packaged meats at a discounted rate ($1-$1.50/lb cheaper). Buy during a good sale and that pre packed discount really adds up quick. Trim and slice your own. Make steaks and cann the cubed trimming, or can it all! It's a great inexpensive way to preserve meat without breaking the bank and no refridgeration is required.

We also found that pre-seasoning meat in the canning process makes for some extremely tender and tasty stew/soup/gravy bits. We prefer it to cooking the same from raw meat and just melts in your mouth. YMMV

Pre packaged hunks typically come vacuum packed in sizes ranging 20-60lbs-ish. Obviously, stores that don't have a butcher department won't have them available.

 

[arakboss]

Here ya go. Good time to stock up. Limited quantity/deal at that price.... $2.50 a can

12 pack 12oz spam 25% less sodium

pretty good deal.

 

[arakboss]

Here ya go. Good time to stock up. Limited quantity/deal at that price.... $2.50 a can

12 pack 12oz spam 25% less sodium

Many supers will sell you pre processed/packaged meats at a discounted rate ($1-$1.50/lb cheaper). Buy during a good sale and that pre packed discount really adds up quick. Trim and slice your own. Make steaks and cann the cubed trimming, or can it all! It's a great inexpensive way to preserve meat without breaking the bank and no refridgeration is required.

We also found that pre-seasoning meat in the canning process makes for some extremely tender and tasty stew/soup/gravy bits. We prefer it to cooking the same from raw meat and just melts in your mouth. YMMV

Pre packaged hunks typically come vacuum packed in sizes ranging 20-60lbs-ish. Obviously, stores that don't have a butcher department won't have them available.

This is the one I usually buy and prefer taste wise. I think the macros are pretty similar to the SPAM brand product. $1.98 right now.

Robot or human?