How do you start stocking up on food?

We eat mostly fresh meat also and canned was a challenge for us to get used to. For the canned meats that we store it usually is used in casseroles, stews, sauces and rice dishes. Store some spices to help. We went through a number of different meats before we found several we liked. Tuna is always an easy one. They sell flavored packets of tuna now that are good.

If you are only looking at a couple of weeks that should be pretty easy to come up with. Figure 4 or 5 different recipes for lunch and dinner. Keep them simple so there isnt a lot of prep time and one pot so there isnt a lot to clean up. Not sure what you like for breakfast but oatmeal is always quick and easy as are things like instant pancakes. Make sure you have stuff like PB and jelly also as those are quick and easy. Keep some treats like M&Ms or other candy around as a morale booster.

I would look at storing more water. If that is a no go with the boss I would at least look at getting some of those 5 gal collapsible water jugs to have just in case. Fill them when a storm is coming and then just fill the washing machine with them after the passes and nothing happens. I am guessing you are on city water so chances are you will have pressure but better safe than in a FEMA line.

Odds are that if a storm does a lot of damage in the Northeast it is going to be a winter storm. If the temps are cold enough out you can throw all your refrigerated items in a cooler and leave it outside. Will keep the stuff cold and give you a chance to use it up before it spoils.

Biggest thing I can stress is try it out. Spend a weekend eating only that stuff and cooking on the grill. You will quickly figure out what works and what doesnt.
 
Ross, I learned alot when we first moved into our house it was spring, we had no power or phones for 4 days. I had an electric stove, no power meant now well, no water. I live next door to my in laws and we were able to cook there with a gas stove. I had a few oil lamps at the time, and we borrowed a generator to keep the freezers and fridges going.
Since then we have several generators, plenty of food, water, and I also have the motor home to cook in.
Just because we live in the stick, and the grocery store is not around the corner, I have plenty of food stored just in case we get a bad storm and can't get out, or what ever is thrown our way.
It has been a learning experience and each outage I have learned what I needed more of.
 
Well, most of our meals come off of that grill from springtime through the fall (this fall was an exception with my broken ankle [sad], so I know that I can do a LOT on the grill.

That 18 gals was a MINIMUM - I just had 35 gallons delivered (we REALLY don't like the taste of Marlboro water; it's potable but that's all) so I have a bout 50 gallons in the garage right now. We do have a chest freezer but haven't been making much use of it but I want to start making some stews that I can freeze (and I need to go nag my friend for her killer chili recipe, now that I think of it...)

Speaking of which... I want to go prep a stew for tomorrow. TTFN.
 
this Is what I started

Doing, I have been buying four of everything or looking for the buy five get five free deal's When I get home I split everything up. 1/2 stay's upstairs and the rest goes in the basement in a food pantry. I take a sharpie and date all my Item's for rotation.
 
One of the things that should get everyone thinking about stocking up, is just look at the ice storms in OK, MO etc. They will be without power for 7 to 10 days. Now would you want to be in your own home or in a shelter? Personally I would rather be in my own home comfortable and warm, with plenty of food, so I wouldn't have to go out in it. [wink] Plus those of us with critters you should think about them also and their needs.
 
Hmm... let's see.
Sleeps on a down comforter at night so the humans can pet him when they wake up, check.
Gets a bit of lunch meat when the humans make their sandwiches, check.
Gets to lick the plates after dinner, check.
Gets to sit in laps when the servants humans watch TV, check.

He might be more spoiled...

Now... [offtopic]
 
I'm still figuring out my prepping plan, which is starting with what we take in during an average month, then selling my wife on the idea that we get enough so we don't have to go grocery shopping every single week (which she is happy to skip).

Another benefit keeping long term quantities of the staples you use is that you can start buying stuff only when it goes on sale. Supermarkets tend to rotate through what gets discounted about once a month or so, and will do a really deep discount about once or twice a year. (This is the best time to go for a couple cases of your favorite canned veggies).

Canning was actually invented around the time of the Napoleonic wars. They concept is that if you kill off every last bacterium in the food, and seal it from anything that might get to it, the food would keep indefinitely. And it works, until the container fails. What they then and do to this day, is to package the food in a hermetically sealed container (metal can, mason jar, etc) and subject it to high heat to kill off the bacteria. The pressure canners allow you to get the temperature above the normal boiling point of water, deleting even the most hardy of critters.

A couple of notes on freezing. Nothing grows at 2 degrees below zero. Freezing effectively halts the spoiling process in its tracks. Anything in the freezer is just as safe to eat on the day it comes out as the day it goes in. The thing that makes stuff "go bad" in the freezer, that thing called freezer burn. Moist foods, in contact with any air inside the freezer will, over time become a frost covered, dehydrated mass of stuff that nobody (except maybe the dog) will touch. That is where the vacuum sealer, or a diligent effort getting all of the air out of that ziploc bag comes into play. Once any air contact is eliminated, even the freezer burn process disappears and the stuff will last until it is thawed. I buy ground beef in lots of 10+ pounds, separate it into meal sized portions (1-1.5 lbs) and bag it accordingly.

Putting thermal mass in the freezer in the form of ice does slow down the thawing out when the power goes out. I personally opt for those 15 pound bags of ice cubes from Market Basket. The wife doesn't look at me funny when I put them in there (unlike the gallon jugs of water) because they double as cooler fodder on road trips.

John.
 
We actually have a Price Rite near us so stocking up for us is way cheaper than Big Y, Stop and Shop. Also Big lots, and Ocean State Job lot are also good places to look for food to stock up on. We also now have a super Wal Mart and check them out also.
We are planning on a bigger garden next year, so lots more canning and freezing for us.
Costco's if you really want to buy in bulk, like flour, sugar also, but you also need some way of storing it. Like 5 gal pails etc. Then you need oxygen absorbers, and so forth.
 
I don't remember if it was stated, DO NOT can anything with milk based products! If you are canning something that requires a milk based product (chowder), you'll need an alternative method where you can it without and add the milk later (usually evap milk or powdered in an emergency).
 
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MrsWildweasel said:
Plus those of us with critters you should think about them also and their needs.
Click to expand...

Ya know, it's strange I know a lot of people who have 1-1.5 year supplies of food storage for themselves and when I asked "What about the cats?" They looked at each other, and were like "Bugger, we've forgotten about the brats." I think if the SHTF they would probably let the cats out and live off the land, but they went out and bought 300 lbs of cat food the next weekend.
 
doobie said:
Ya know, it's strange I know a lot of people who have 1-1.5 year supplies of food storage for themselves and when I asked "What about the cats?" They looked at each other, and were like "Bugger, we've forgotten about the brats." I think if the SHTF they would probably let the cats out and live off the land, but they went out and bought 300 lbs of cat food the next weekend.
Click to expand...

Yeah lots of people forget about their pets. Which is why I wanted to remind everyone, because it also means storing extra water for them also along with food, etc.
 
doobie said:
I don't remember if it was stated, DO NOT can anything with milk based products! If you are canning something that requires a milk based product (cowder), you'll need an alternative method where you can it without and add the milk later (usually evap milk or powdered in an emergency).
Click to expand...
Is that just a really funny mispelling, or is "cowder" some New England delicacy I've missed in the last twenty years?
 
VG said:
Where do you buy MRE's?
Click to expand...

MRE Depot is the only place I will deal with now. They are great people to deal with, the shipping is fast, and they will send you some great deals in email.

Take a look at the "Survival Links" sticky at the top of this forum for a 21% off coupon code to use at MRE Depot!
 

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