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Neighbors have chickens? If they've started laying there is usually an excess to be had for cheap. But if we're going for cheap, protein dry beans are probably the biggest bang for your buck, skip the meat other than a little flavor.
Cooking dry beans is a huge energy suck. I will include some canned beans but I am trying to keep cooking times to a bare minimum.
 
Never thought of it along with low energy use (cooking) as a factor.

Seems like hydration would be a thing to do, because rice and beans are both cheap and stable. The dry kind. Soak them for as long as necessary before cooking. Cooking is chemistry, the heat changes things, but I imagine that cooking time would be reduced considerably if they started out hydrated.

Do a root cellar set up, cool, dark and dry area. Vegetables, root vegetables and some fruits last weeks in such an environment.

My wife is big into oats, don't know why lol but she says they're a great grain. Oatmeal.

Protein will be where the money goes, I imagine. Sausage may be a way to go. Any smoked/dried meat really. But $$$.

Have oils. Will easily keep a month.

Thanks for doing this, I'll be following your progress!

Last thing - if you don't know spices/herbs and such learn them. Amazing things happen to bland food.
Energy for cooking is a huge deal when everybody else is fighting for the same fuel. I live in a condo (AKA apartment with a mortgage), so I don't have room for root cellar type activities. I don't care for veggies anyways (they don't care me either).
Oats are great and if you get the quick cooking ones, they don't take much energy to prepare. I have some and may get a few more. I am going to buy a big bag of potatoes and see how many I can get through before they start sprouting. I have to figure out a fast way to cook them though, maybe shredded like hash browns.
 
If you were one of the unlucky ones who was without power how did you prepare food at home without any electricity? What type of foods did you eat?
fired up the generator which runs the whole house/ have mostly gas appliances :D

im interested to see how this goes for you, i have a lot of mountain house food at my place that only requires boiling water.
 
Huh, thinking about quick cooking thought about pressure cookers. They do exist for use over flame.

Of course, it is a pressure cooker. The wife is scared of them. :D
 
Huh, thinking about quick cooking thought about pressure cookers. They do exist for use over flame.

Of course, it is a pressure cooker. The wife is scared of them. :D
I have an old one I picked up at Goodwill for use at my cabin (I keep it down there). It is the weighted style rather than the rocker style my mom has I have used it on my propane camp stove and it works fine. It would work great for potatoes. I might see if I can find another one for a good price.
 
Cooking dry beans is a huge energy suck. I will include some canned beans but I am trying to keep cooking times to a bare minimum.
Overnight water soak with some salt will cut the cooking time down, that and an old school straw box or solar cooker depending on your situation. If your going to rely on processed foods remember to add some vitamins to the mix.

I had an idea once to create 5 gallon sealed bucket that would hold all the basics of starch, fat and protein in some balanced raito for meals, along with the means to process them... Maybe someday.....:confused:

EDIT Just, saw @Soli post looks like he got there first. :)

Its a solid exercise no matter the outcome, keep us updated for sure!
 
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Overnight water soak with some salt will cut the cooking time down, that and an old school straw box or solar cooker depending on your situation. If your going to rely on processed foods remember to add some vitamins to the mix.

I had an idea once to create 5 gallon sealed bucket that would hold all the basics of starch, fat and protein in some balanced raito for meals, along with the means to process them... Maybe someday.....:confused:

EDIT Just, saw @Soli post looks like he got there first. :)

Its a solid exercise no matter the outcome, keep us updated for sure!

WinCo 's used to sell Mylar bags and O2 absorbers where the bulk stuffs are. That's the safest and simplest way to bulk store in 5gal buckets. Don't know if they still do.

Amazon (unfortunately) is the next "easiest" source.

If you have a clothes iron or hair straightener, that's all that's needed to seal them. And an appropriate station / board for such if need be. Cut down 2x4 works great.

2L pressure cooker (again, Amazon tho.)


Bed bath & beyond, Wal-Mart may have similar.

Edit, adding: fats by there nature simply do not long term store well. Best LTS'able is coconut oil & ghee (clarified butter).

Some do reasonably well in a chest freezer long term. Have to have a plan to keep the freezer on line, else the clock starts. Some oils are as short as 6 months, most 18 months or so.
 
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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.
Loving that Jake and Elwood are in the mix lately.
Seriously though, if you're legit going for simulating power outages, you can't just take running water for granted.
Cheese in a can is way too much salt for the nutrients you receive. Salt intake leads to higher hydration needs.
Those retort pouches of flavored tuna are salty as well, but with much higher protein value.
 
I'd include quinoa, peanut butter, tuna, wax covered cheeses, basic camper kitchen tools. Make sourdough. Lotsa root Veggies. Various teas. Cast iron cookery over outdoor flames. Cowbiy coffee. One pot meals. Sounds challenging in urban setting.
Keep us posted.
I do an overnight soak of wild rice, brown rice, qunioa, millet, barley, black/turtle beans, chick peas and fava beans. Then boil / cook them the next day for ~30 minutes. Toss in whatever root veggies are near their last gasp, cut up some pepperoni or spicy sausage. Lotsa salt, pepper, turmeric, cardamom and chili pepper. We call it jimmy-mash, and one batch will sustain the family for a week.
A sourdough seed starter is a great idea.
I'm told that my wife's Grandparents stored apples by burying them in sawdust. I don't know if they wrapped them individually, like the woman in this video is doing.
That's a fantastic idea. I forgot that sawdust, in decomposition, produces a lot of CO2, which preserves apples really well. Wonder how it does with pears. You could also create a root cellar, filled with loaves of oak sawdust & the mycelium of mushrooms like chanterelles, morels and sparassis (all high protein). That will produce enough CO2 that it may be dangerous to spend much time in the root cellar.
I am going to give it a go. I love Tillamook or Bandon medium cheddar, we rarely have less than two unopened blocks in the fridge at any given time. I might buy one sharp for March as I heard it sweats less.
Blocks of romano or parmesan just wrapped in a beeswax cheesecloth. It softens without refrigeration, but doesn't fall apart or rot like softer cheeses.
 
I am thinking about buying evaporated canned milk because I can't stand the smell or taste of powdered milk especially at room temp. Any ideas on how long a can of evaporated milk would last on the shelf after opening?

Don't know the answer to your question about canned milk. BUT.....my mother loved the Carnation Brand powdered milk. She even had me find it and buy it for her here in WA. Then.....I had to send it to her in Hawaii.

Aloha, Mark
 
If you were one of the unlucky ones who was without power how did you prepare food at home without any electricity? What type of foods did you eat?
Just did this for a week (not by choice). Cooked on propane camp stove.

Breakfast - dry cereal, fruit.
Lunch - PB&J and tuna sandwiches, or pork and beans, canned soup.
Dinner - Canned soups or spaghetti/ravioli, canned fruit cocktail for desert.

Real world experience: Since we did not have a generator, the biggest challenge in meal preparation was not finding things to eat, it was trying to prepare and consume refrigerated or frozen food before it spoiled. Admittedly a short term scenario consideration, but something to think about for such events in the future.

Lesson learned: My trusty Coleman propane lanterns consume way too much propane for long term use in a power-down situation. Go with LED lanterns running on AA or AAA batteries. They provide lots of light with little power requirement. Ditch those D-cell powered flashlights for compact LED flashlights with AA or AAA power for the same reason. Standardization of all battery powered appliances (radio, lights, other devices) to use the same class of batteries (I prefer AA) simplifies logistics.
 
Loving that Jake and Elwood are in the mix lately.
Seriously though, if you're legit going for simulating power outages, you can't just take running water for granted.
Cheese in a can is way too much salt for the nutrients you receive. Salt intake leads to higher hydration needs.
Those retort pouches of flavored tuna are salty as well, but with much higher protein value.
Living relatively close to the willamette river we have an unlimited supply of unfiltered water. For this challenge I am focusing on food. Next challenge I might add water situation to the mix.
 
Energy for cooking is a huge deal when everybody else is fighting for the same fuel. I live in a condo (AKA apartment with a mortgage)

Can you run a generator on the patio or balcony?

We picked up a 3500 watt propane and gasoline generator/inverter before this covid started. My wife can run her Instantpot off of it to cook a meal in 5-20 minutes.
 
My first thought is:

If you won't use electricity for anything food related for 30 days, what are you going to do with any of the food that is already in your fridge and will likely go bad if in 30 days it is not consumed?

Edit: wife and kids will eat food, ok I get it now.
 

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