FOOD Stock up advice

Macgyver

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Ok so you all up my doom meeter.

Wife's not around on Sunday so I'm going to make a restaurant Depot run. Then slip it in before she gets home.

Probably one of my biggest issues is we buy almost no canned anything. Nothing really premade either.
I do tomatoes, apple sauce, pickles etc.
All my veggies are frozen, probably 50 bags in the freezer. Is there something I'm missing that I could add that's not corn, carrot, or bean.
Although I've contemplating canning corn and myself.

Another thing people always talk about are dried beans. That's something I never eat. Maybe some little white beans for a Portuguese soup I make. And I can't remember the variety.
What do you non been eaters like to store?

I'm definitely going to pick up a couple hundred pounds more flour.
More rice
Instant potatoes
Sugar
Salt
More pasta
Maybe more vinegar, I think I have 10 gallons of white and apple cider.
Some spices.
Definitely meat, that will get vac packed and frozen.

I have plenty of canning supplies so anything can be canned quickly if need be.
 
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Dennis Olson

Chief Curmudgeon
_______________
Bear in mind that you should stock canned products that would cover for being unable to get fresh food. What do you eat that’s fresh? Then stock up on those things in cans. Don’t count on frozen either. Three days without electricity and you won’t have any fresh/frozen food.
 

WalknTrot

Veteran Member
I probably wouldn't appreciate the way you eat, and you probably wouldn't appreciate mine.

Some people can't make themselves gag down commercially canned veg, meat, fruit or even dried pasta.
If you are looking for store-bought substitutes for always eating fresh, you will have to experiment to find shelf-stable food you will eat.
 

helen

Panic Sex Lady
During the Depression, a worker went to the homes of people who applied for aid. The family had to stand outside while the worker looked over, under, and through every possession, every room, and every outbuilding to make sure they didn't have so much as a can of peas.

The worker told me it was the most shameful job ever, but they had kids to feed too.

Same concept, you get it?
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Question. What will happen to your stash of foods when wifey finds out about it?

OC and I are on the same page when it comes to prepping. We have a combination of fresh, frozen, dehydrated, and canned. I have maybe 18 different types of dried beans, four types of lentils maybe more, two types of dried split peas. Should do a viability test on some of those beans since some of them are from 2011.

we have wheat berries, three different types of wheat, flour, yeast (three types), sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, and low fructose corn syrup. Plus that maplene crap I hate for making fake pancake syrup.

We also have probably a hundred different types of herbs and spices so I can cook anything from chinese to mexian to italian to northern eurpean, and your typical american fare.

Due to my citrus allergy we probably have a dozen plus different types of vinegar, five types of soy sauce (there are many more varieties than what we have but space is limited), tamari, braggs aminos, coconut aminos, and other ways of adding acid to food.

Salt. You need salt. Canning salt, kosher salt, sea salt (there's probably a dozen varieties out there now), peppercorns (there are several varieties), vanilla both in liquid and bean form.

Cocoa, chocolate... need I say more?

Dried fruits.

Coffee, tea (there are many varieties), powdered creamer, evaporated milk, condensed milk, shelf stable milk, powdered milk.

Mac and cheese because life is short! :xpnd:

Bullion: chicken, beef, pork, veggie. Miso - fermented soybeans, can't speak highly enough of this super food!

Black garlic. Can't speak highly enough of this super food! But then again I'm a seaweed eater!

Garlic, onion, chives, both fresh and dehydrated.

The list goes on and on. Whatever you eat on a daily basis you want in fresh, frozen, dehydrated, and freeze dried... that'll make your life more enjoyable when things get really tight.

Candy... because like mac and cheese life is just too short.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
I probably wouldn't appreciate the way you eat, and you probably wouldn't appreciate mine.

Some people can't make themselves gag down commercially canned veg, meat, fruit or even dried pasta.
If you are looking for store-bought substitutes for always eating fresh, you will have to experiment to find shelf-stable food you will eat.

This^^^

Buy one or two cans of a product, not cases, and see if you actually like it, if so then go back at your earliest convience and buy more. I bought a single can of the Ranch Style Beans to see if we would like them, we did, so we went back and bought more... plus several other brands of prepared chili beans that we know we like. We bought a can of Glory's Seasoned Cabbage and did not like it, I'd eat if if I was starving but there are other things I'd eat first, like beans.
 

TxGal

Day by day
Definitely buy some canned foods, that would be my suggestion. You may not like them much, but if this really drags on into and through next year, and there are multiple power failures or Murphy pops into your home in some other way, you will have food that is safe and ready.

Back-ups to backs-up to back-ups is probable the safest way.
 

Macgyver

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I'm not against cans it's just something I usually don't consume, so I kind of always look at the rotational issues.
I can use a lot of flour in a year. But even then if I have to chuck a 50 pound bag it's only 20 some bucks.
Store the flour in the freezer or it could turn.
How long does it take flour to go bad? I've stored and used stuff 5 years old. Its only kept in a tote in the basement.
 
Last edited:
Ok so you all up my doom meeter.

Wife's not around on Sunday so I'm going to make a restaurant Depot run. Then slip it in before she gets home.

Probably one of my biggest issues is we by almost no canned anything. Nothing really premade either.
I do tomatoes, apple sauce, pickles etc.
All my veggies are frozen, probably 50 bags in the freezer. Is there something I'm missing that I could add that's not corn, carrot, or bean.
Although I've contemplating canning corn and myself.

Another thing people always talk about are dried beans. That's something I never eat. Maybe some little white beans for a Portuguese soup I make. And I can't remember the variety.
What do you non been eaters like to store?

I'm definitely going to pick up a couple hundred pounds more flour.
More rice
Instant potatoes
Sugar
Salt
More pasta
Maybe more vinegar, I think I have 10 gallons of white and apple cider.
Some spices.
Definitely meat, that will get vac packed and frozen.

I have plenty of canning supplies so anything can be canned quickly if need be.
Get some can beans anyway and lots Ramon noodles and dry pet food if ya got pets and oatmeal. You should try eating beans. Rice & beans good for Protein. Aldi has cans for 49 cents.
 

dioptase

Veteran Member
Canned chili. Garbanzo beans: cook with spices, tomato, onion, carrot, serve over rice. Canned bbq beans and refried beans. Use canned garbanzo and kidney beans in a pasta salad. Canned (glass is better) pasta, pizza, tomato sauce. Pasta. Yeast and flour for bread.
 

Macgyver

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Question. What will happen to your stash of foods when wifey finds out about it?
It's not quite like that. Last time I went to Costco I came home with 12 cans of coffee, she looked at me and I said it was on sale. No issue because she knows we use it.
She doesn't care that I get stuff in bulk. I just try to camouflage some of the bigger "odd" items.
She knows flour is in huge bags in bins in the basement, ap bread etc. The "extra" bags are elsewhere in the cellar.

I've also convinced her the 2 is one 1 is none.
 
Store the flour in the freezer or it could turn.
I had flour in a bucket in the house and it was good a year later.
During the Depression, a worker went to the homes of people who applied for aid. The family had to stand outside while the worker looked over, under, and through every possession, every room, and every outbuilding to make sure they didn't have so much as a can of peas.

The worker told me it was the most shameful job ever, but they had kids to feed too.

Same concept, you get it?
OMG I Never knew that.
Question. What will happen to your stash of foods when wifey finds out about it?

OC and I are on the same page when it comes to prepping. We have a combination of fresh, frozen, dehydrated, and canned. I have maybe 18 different types of dried beans, four types of lentils maybe more, two types of dried split peas. Should do a viability test on some of those beans since some of them are from 2011.

we have wheat berries, three different types of wheat, flour, yeast (three types), sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, and low fructose corn syrup. Plus that maplene crap I hate for making fake pancake syrup.

We also have probably a hundred different types of herbs and spices so I can cook anything from chinese to mexian to italian to northern eurpean, and your typical american fare.

Due to my citrus allergy we probably have a dozen plus different types of vinegar, five types of soy sauce (there are many more varieties than what we have but space is limited), tamari, braggs aminos, coconut aminos, and other ways of adding acid to food.

Salt. You need salt. Canning salt, kosher salt, sea salt (there's probably a dozen varieties out there now), peppercorns (there are several varieties), vanilla both in liquid and bean form.

Cocoa, chocolate... need I say more?

Dried fruits.

Coffee, tea (there are many varieties), powdered creamer, evaporated milk, condensed milk, shelf stable milk, powdered milk.

Mac and cheese because life is short! :xpnd:

Bullion: chicken, beef, pork, veggie. Miso - fermented soybeans, can't speak highly enough of this super food!

Black garlic. Can't speak highly enough of this super food! But then again I'm a seaweed eater!

Garlic, onion, chives, both fresh and dehydrated.

The list goes on and on. Whatever you eat on a daily basis you want in fresh, frozen, dehydrated, and freeze dried... that'll make your life more enjoyable when things get really tight.

Candy... because like mac and cheese life is just too short.
glad you mentioned salt and tea. Making a run Thurs. Getting extra dry pet food in a few minutes. Am out anyway.
 

summerthyme

Administrator
_______________
For all you buying canned goods
Do
Not
I repeat
Do not buy cans with the pop top lids for extended storage
The seals will give way and you will have a big and smelly mess
This I know for a first world fact
And yet... I bought pop top cans of fruit (peaches, pears and fruit cocktail) at Aldi in 2014... we used the last cans in 2020... never had a failure.

I do suspect they wouldn't tolerate much rough handling or drops without compromising the seal. But I was surprisingly happy with them.

Summerthyme
 

Sicario

The Executor
How long does it take flour to go bad? I've stored and used stuff 5 years old. Its only kept in a tote in the basement.
White flour should last in good quality for about a year if stored at room temperature, and two years if chilled in the fridge. Indefinitely if in the freezer. Whole wheat flour will retain its quality for only about 3 months, 6 months if chilled in the fridge and about a year if frozen.
 

Milkweed Host

Veteran Member
It's a luxury to stockpile the food that we currently eat on an everyday basis.

However, I may purchase some cheaper food products that have a very long shelf life,
and set on the shelf. It's cheap long term insurance. Some of these food products I may
end up throwing out into a burn pit. They served a purpose just like term life insurance.
I figure that if I'm starving, I'll eat what's left.

I do prefer frozen veggies over pressure canned, but this year I canned most everything.
I filled one freezer with melons so my daughter can make her smoothies and bypassed
the thermostat on another freezer with a different thermostat and turned it into a refrigerator
to store my grandson's potatoes. So I run out of freezer space.

I also pressure canned 40 pounds of ground beef a couple of months ago.
 

Seeker22

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I'm not against cans it's just something I usually don't consume, so I kind of always look at the rotational issues.
I can use a lot of flour in a year. But even then if I have to chuck a 50 pound bag it's only 20 some bucks.

How long does it take flour to go bad? I've stored and used stuff 5 years old. Its only kept in a tote in the basement.

Light and heat will make ground grain go rancid much quicker. The other thing those attract is Kitchen Wevils. There are many ways to keep them out of your flour and meal. Learn every one of them and here again- back ups to backups to backups. Your food is your life. Don't let vermin destroy it.

Do you have a Dehydrator? If so, dehytrate some of your veggies. Lighter, more portable, doesn't need electricity. Cooking with dried food isn't hard. Just put water in, put it on the stove and stir a little until it rehydrates. People make it too hard.

I have several dinners I premix and pack in Pint Mylar bags with O2 absorbers. Meat, seasoning, veggies, rice, noodles. All in a Pint Mylar, ready to pop in a frying pan and add water. Instant eats.
 
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nomifyle

TB Fanatic
Miso, I need more miso, I love the stuff.

Packy, many good suggestions.

I have a good bit of dehydrated vegetables from frozen and fresh. I vacuum seal them in mason jars and store in a dark pantry.

God is good all the time

Judy
 

West

Senior
Uhgg....

Snip...

"The boiled bones, though, are different shades of yellow, suggesting they were cooked at low heat with colorful ingredients like annatto, pipián, or chilis. These spices are full of carotenoids, which can dye food, clothing, and even hair and bone. The authors conclude that “the differences in colour have to be attributed to the cooking recipes used in Mesoamerica.”

From...


Not that I suggest this or would ever condone it. But it is what it is.

Off to buy some anatto or pipian. Maybe it make our goats taste better?

:D
 

GL10mmx15

Contributing Member
Question. What will happen to your stash of foods when wifey finds out about it?

OC and I are on the same page when it comes to prepping. We have a combination of fresh, frozen, dehydrated, and canned. I have maybe 18 different types of dried beans, four types of lentils maybe more, two types of dried split peas. Should do a viability test on some of those beans since some of them are from 2011.

we have wheat berries, three different types of wheat, flour, yeast (three types), sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, and low fructose corn syrup. Plus that maplene crap I hate for making fake pancake syrup.

We also have probably a hundred different types of herbs and spices so I can cook anything from chinese to mexian to italian to northern eurpean, and your typical american fare.

Due to my citrus allergy we probably have a dozen plus different types of vinegar, five types of soy sauce (there are many more varieties than what we have but space is limited), tamari, braggs aminos, coconut aminos, and other ways of adding acid to food.

Salt. You need salt. Canning salt, kosher salt, sea salt (there's probably a dozen varieties out there now), peppercorns (there are several varieties), vanilla both in liquid and bean form.

Cocoa, chocolate... need I say more?

Dried fruits.

Coffee, tea (there are many varieties), powdered creamer, evaporated milk, condensed milk, shelf stable milk, powdered milk.

Mac and cheese because life is short! :xpnd:

Bullion: chicken, beef, pork, veggie. Miso - fermented soybeans, can't speak highly enough of this super food!

Black garlic. Can't speak highly enough of this super food! But then again I'm a seaweed eater!

Garlic, onion, chives, both fresh and dehydrated.

The list goes on and on. Whatever you eat on a daily basis you want in fresh, frozen, dehydrated, and freeze dried... that'll make your life more enjoyable when things get really tight.

Candy... because like mac and cheese life is just too short.
Can you tell me a little more about black garlic?
 

Bridey Rose

Veteran Member
For all you buying canned goods
Do
Not
I repeat
Do not buy cans with the pop top lids for extended storage
The seals will give way and you will have a big and smelly mess
This I know for a first world fact
Bought a couple of medium-sized cans of Dinty Moore beef stew with the pop top lids at Walmart. Stacked one on top of the other to conserve conveyor belt space only to find that the lid came off a can when the checker was checking me out. What a mess! Plus I noticed she charged me for both cans when I got home and checked the receipt!!
 
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Tweakette

Irrelevant
Canned goods have always been a bit of a quandary for us too. We mostly eat fresh/frozen meat and vegetables, but are aware that that might not always be available.
Because of the low amount of calories in them and the (to us) subpar taste we've pretty much given up on buying canned vegetables except for tomatoes which we use during the winter.

What we focus on instead are canned goods that will keep us alive in a disaster, not make us super happy LOL.
For us that is anything with protein and fat in it, particularly protein.
Corned beef hash, peanut butter, tuna, chicken, canned stew are all what we try to target.

Whole grains sound great in theory but don't last - they go rancid pretty fast unless you refrigerate or freeze them.
I just tossed a bag of brown rice I got at the beginning of the pandemic (while expecting exactly what we are facing now - supply chain disruption) . It smelled really ungood lol.
We rarely eat rice but I'd bought it as I didnt think we'd been seeing any new food come around for awhile and was going to use it to stretch the protein rations.
 

AlaskaSue

North to the Future
Consider oils, pbutter, Mayo, ghee, tallow, bacon grease, even crisco…Fats are hard to store but you do need them.

I don’t have hot weather issues so your storage may need a different plan than mine. I have space in the house but I also have a 40’ conex…..and other places. If you have a pressure canner, you could can up some meats, veg, meals. Or learn to dehydrate some of those frozen veg (in a dehydrator or in your oven) to store ahead.
 
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