Food preferences

[brokenarrow]

Looking at all the varieties of freeze dried foods and would like to know what others use. Meaning benefit from the abundance of knowledge available here!

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[erudne]

My experience has been with Mountain House, they have a yearly sale on the large cans. Their website lists their most popular menu items, #1 is Stroganoff, the powdered sauce mix can be bought in bulk at restaurant supply grocers. Many veggies don't do well when freeze dried, dehydrated are just as good. As for meats I have found that canned meat is less expensive.
What I used on the PCT was dehydrated spuds or stroganoff with freeze dried string beans and FD'd meat run through a blender, while dry then measured and sealed in a vacuum sealed bag. Not that tasty but it saved space.
http://www.mountainhouse.com/

 

[lowly monk]

I like mre's

 

[John Gault]

Mountain House Spaghetti and Lasagna are King... I believe Costco has some Mountain House items at better than 30% discount now.


http://theepicenter.com/mre_freeze_dried_dehydrated_foods.html

Epicenter.com has a sale now ongoing and I've had great luck with them on delivery and pricing. They sell MRE's also.

 

[chemist]

The household preferences hereabouts are Mountain House New Orleans rice w/ shrimp & ham, and their Breakfast Skillet.

 

[tfbit]

I initially stocked up near the end of 2011 when Thrive/Shelf Reliance had their Black Friday sale. Costco also used to have some really good sales on some of the Thrive/Shelf Reliance stuff though I haven't seen many good sales recently when I've looked. The Ready Store also seems to have some pretty good specials on a variety of stuff. Recently ordered some cans of beef and chicken broth and a Aquamira for the best prices I found. They also have flat rate shipping based on the dollar amount of the order, the highest shipping price being $12.

http://www.thrivelife.com/
http://www.costco.com/all-emergency-food.html
http://www.thereadystore.com/
http://www.thereadystore.com/shipping-policy

 

[brokenarrow]

I initially stocked up near the end of 2011 when Thrive/Shelf Reliance had their Black Friday sale. Costco also used to have some really good sales on some of the Thrive/Shelf Reliance stuff though I haven't seen many good sales recently when I've looked. The Ready Store also seems to have some pretty good specials on a variety of stuff. Recently ordered some cans of beef and chicken broth and a Aquamira for the best prices I found. They also have flat rate shipping based on the dollar amount of the order, the highest shipping price being $12.

http://www.thrivelife.com/
http://www.costco.com/all-emergency-food.html
http://www.thereadystore.com/
http://www.thereadystore.com/shipping-policy

Thanks for the good information. It really helps.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

We like Mountain House also. We have Thrive, Wiseman and the Morman case foods. That is with an extensive selection of canned foods, vitamins, minerals. Oh yeah! Some MRE's too, I like them! I ate "C" rats in the military. Dated 1943-44, so all this stuff is pretty tasty to me!

 

[SheepDog223]

I like rice and beans. Cash and carry or winco carries them by the 25# and 50# bags. $220 will will a 55 gallon barrel that will provide 2500 meals. That's 883 days of three meals 1200 calories per day. 441 days for two people and so on. Rice and beans are a balanced meal less vitamin C.
I would rather have food I'm used to but even more than that, I'd rather have as much food as I can afford.

 

[Hayshaker]

I like rice and beans. Cash and carry or winco carries them by the 25# and 50# bags. $220 will will a 55 gallon barrel that will provide 2500 meals. That's 883 days of three meals 1200 calories per day. 441 days for two people and so on. Rice and beans are a balanced meal less vitamin C.
I would rather have food I'm used to but even more than that, I'd rather have as much food as I can afford.

The problem with rice & beans is you need heat/water. Both could be hard to get in a shtf situation. Also the aroma is a invitation to scavengers/hungry people.....That can cause BIG problems

 

[mjbskwim]

OK I'm seeing all these preferences and wondering what y'all think about the 300% daily allowance of salt in those meals
Isn't this of any concern?

 

[Sgt Nambu]

^^^^ Nope! Doesn't bother me at all!

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

Gluten free organic, fresh venison, fish, & birds is what I "shoot" for.

Reconstituted jerky and canned goods...

But in a jam, I like Mtn House and MREs.

 

[Goosebrown]

Do you all think in even the worst SHTF situation that Starbucks will be out of commission? I think they're like cockroaches, they're going to survive anything... Of course the lines will be long.

 

[mjbskwim]

Do you all think in even the worst SHTF situation that Starbucks will be out of commission? I think they're like cockroaches, they're going to survive anything... Of course the lines will be long.

One of the drugs the gubment won't mess with.Some need the caffeine and coffee is their drink of choice.Or the fufu drinks
This will be one of the places left alone to keep the hoards in control

 

[SheepDog223]

I'm not an expert but all of these ideas seem to be very first world and American. If s does htf it won't be long before hunting will not be a reliable option. Heck, its not a reliable option now, who can go out and shoot a Deer once a month? Now try poaching a deer once a month with fellow hungry woodsman such as yourself hearing the gunshot.
How about the MRE and freeze dried yummy food guys? How much of that stuff are you going to stock up on? And have you?
I'd much rather eat on your ideas than mine but I just Dont think that they are realistic in a newly created third world environment of a shtf scenario.
But, if the power goes out for a week you guys Dont have to worry about loosing a pound.

 

[mjbskwim]

People will decimate the deer elk population in quick order.You will need to concentrate on rabbits and birds.Only good thing will be the geese won't be pooin all over the parks any more
For these reasons,city folk will be looked down on when they come out to the country.The folk will not want them taking their animals they were planing on taking.

 

[The Heretic]

I like mre's

The problems with MREs are:

1) They are much heavier than FD food.
2) They don't store as long, especially if exposed to heat. I recently ate a Mountain House FD meal (in a pouch) that I had bought 30 years ago - it was fine.

I keep a box of 10 to 12 MH FD meals in each of my vehicles. If I get stuck somewhere (injured by going off the road) or I have to walk out of the woods due to a breakdown or get stuck in the snow or mud (each of these has happened to me), then I have my GHB, water and food and shelter for several days. I don't have to worry about any of those things going bad as they store indefinitely (longer than I expect to live in old age).

Mountain House FD food is a known quality and they are a local PNW company (Oregon) - I used to drive by their plant all the time when visiting my parents.

 

[The Heretic]

Heck, its not a reliable option now, who can go out and shoot a Deer once a month? Now try poaching a deer once a month with fellow hungry woodsman such as yourself hearing the gunshot.

I can sometimes shoot deer off my porch (but I don't):



I don't poach, but I could if I had to. A bow and arrow would be sufficient, or I could use an expedient suppressor with a rimfire rifle.

Or, I could take a rabbit or deer on my patio. This is a photo I took while sitting in my recliner in my living room about 10 feet away:



I have had deer in the very same place. Where I live I see deer quite often. If my neighbor would keep his silly dog inside I would see them a lot more often - and yes, if SHTF, I would insist he keep his dog on a "tighter leash".

Granted, in a PAW this wouldn't last for long until things "equalized" after a few years, but I wouldn't pass up the meat either.

How about the MRE and freeze dried yummy food guys? How much of that stuff are you going to stock up on? And have you?

I figure I have about 3 months worth of FD food for one person, or about one month for 3 people (I prepare for myself and for my daughter and her husband). I have about 50 meal pouches and six cases of #10 cans of FD ingredients (fruit, veggies and eggs, etc.).

Whenever Costco or Amazon has a sale on MH FD food, I pick up another couple of boxes of meal pouches. This happens about once a year.

The FD food is for emergencies where we need light food that will store a long time. I and my "kids" keep a box of meals in each of our vehicles. I live at what I consider my current BOL on 20 forested acres on a mountain, about 30 miles away from the large city I work in. It isn't ideal, but then neither is the hour long commute each way every day - but the job pays the mortgage, living expenses and for my preps.

I also have a pantry with quite a bit of canned goods and dry goods. Whenever I shop for groceries, I buy whatever is on sale or at a good price, and I usually but quite a bit more more than I need - until I run out of room (which is where I am at right now). I also have a large chest freezer in my shop with various frozen foods I buy when on sale (a lot of meat in there) I figure I have about three months worth of food for 3 active adults.

My preferences are a little bit of meat mixed with some dry staples; mostly chicken with Basmati rice, slow cooked with Indian spices (curry, ginger, garlic, etc.) as I like Indian food. I mix in some canned veggies. I prefer dried lentils and split peas over dried beans; the lentils cooks faster and easier and both lentils and split peas keep longer and have more nutrition, and are easier to digest.

The rice provides carbs, is relatively cheap (Basmati is more expensive but I like the flavor and texture a lot more) and is very easy to cook.

I also pickup dried fruit and jerky - expensive, but it keeps a long time and tastes good. I also get various bulk dried food - especially dried corn and nuts, etc. (as tasty treat in a "trail mix" that can be consumed without preparation, but the corn and nuts can be mixed in with other cooked foods), corn meal, various dried ground grains for hot cereal, which I make for myself on weekends with dried fruit mixed in.

I also have various canned meats, canned chili, other canned meals (stew, soup, etc.). I have frozen marinated salmon filets I buy on sale (about $3 to $4 per pound) that I have about once a week as a break/treat from my regular meals.

Most of this stuff, except for the FD food, I consume regularly and rotate through my stores, but except for the frozen foods, most of it will store for a few years, and I would consume it before it goes bad.

I have a generator (my house is wired for it and I have the fuel) so my frozen and refrigerated foods would not go bad before I consumed them.

I am not a big believer in a PAW scenario - I just don't think it is all that likely - way down on my list of probabilities and things I prep for. So I don't have years worth of stored food. At my age and with my health, I probably wouldn't last long in a PAW anyway, even if I had the food.

Rather, I prepare for short term emergencies; earthquake, wind storm, volcano, floods, etc. - all of these things have happened during my lifetime, and I have survived them and "normality" has always resumed.

In about 5 years when I retire and I don't have to commute to work, I will move further out to the edge of the coastal mountain range where I can have a little more elbow room and a better more self-sufficient setup.

Long term, I believe we are already in the middle of a long term slowly increasingly worse SHTF situation right now - and that this has been already happening for decades if not almost a century; i.e., we are reaching "peak carrying capacity" for our environment - if not already past it.

In the oncoming decades this will become increasingly apparent and worse. Energy, food, water and arable land will all become increasingly expensive. It doesn't take a genius to see this happening; just some open eyes and an open mind willing to see past the lies of the corporations who don't want us to react to it because it cuts into their next quarter profits.

I will probably die before it gets really bad, but it is already causing deaths and conflict. My preps are more for my kids to survive this than for myself. I currently am more good to them alive than dead, because I take this more seriously than they do, and I prepare for it every day. If things go as planned, after I retire I will have an even better BOL with more preps and I can spend more time preparing while still enjoying my retirement.

YMMV

 

[Hayshaker]

How are you going to keep your freezer going W/O power. Gens won't last long and gas supplies will dry up fast.