Food Storage on $5 a week

[MorelCabin]

Well start posting ladies...let's make a $5 list...you have to put some thought into it though, post why it will be useful (what will you use it for?)

I'll go first...dried soup mixes from the bulk bin. These are indisposable! They are a mix of beans and rice and sometimes dried vegies that you can simply add beef or chicken to.

 

[patandchickens]

Cream O' Raccoon----Hmmm...
(I just don't know about this..HA HA)

I would have to be pretty hungry to eat Cream o' raccoon casserole I think. Well unless I had a can of those scary-but-wonderful so-called fried onion bits to put on top. Then I'd be fine with it

LOL,

Pat

 

[FarmerChick]

LOL-LOL Pat---could the crispy fried onion bits help??? LOL-LOL

 

[Cassandra]

Yeah MC, not a dis. I DO like the idea of just spending a little at a time. It's much more reasonable than dumping $1000 on beans and flour and then not having the cash to pay your electric bill.

Cassandra if you're not going to share neither will I. I bet I have some cool stuff on my list that you never thought of though

Oh, SNAP!

To be honest, I am just embarrassed to say what I think my family would eat mass quantities of.

(wondering where I can get pallets of cheese curlz and Kool-Aid)


Ummm.... beans. Seriously. All kinds of dry beans. (though my oldest son hates them.) And Ramen noodles. (he likes Ramen)

Cassandra

 

[patandchickens]

I think what I'd stock up on would be largely dried beans/peas/lentils (of different varieties), plus the pantry stuff I listed on the "recipes with just a few ingredients" thread (flour, cooking oil, salt, etc).

As well as, probably, anything that I happened to see on Really Big Sale that I know will store well. For instance I have about 12 boxes of bakers chocolate in my cabinet at the moment, because about 3 yrs ago some store (a little convenience-store chain, oddly enough) had them as a loss-leader at 65% off. They are still there in the cabinet because of course I keep forgetting they are there and buying more but if I am wrong and others are right, and we really do sink into an era of massive across-the-board food shortages, I figure I have good currency for barter...

Pat

 

[FarmerChick]

3 year old bakers chocolate....wouldn't that go rancid??? just wondering cause it doesn't seem like an item that has a long, long shelf life to me. never checked..LOL

 

[FarmerChick]

dried mixes is a great idea....they are so versatile and give great flavor options.

dried beans and such is a great option.

What about spaghetti and egg noodles? A few dozen boxes can be spread a long way. If flour and such is used for bread, then making fresh scratch noodles might hit into the resources for the bread....so that store bought dried pasta might be a saving grace and feeds alot. 2-3 extra boxes when on sale or buy 1 get 1 free deal would be under $5.

 

[keljonma]

3 year old bakers chocolate....wouldn't that go rancid??? just wondering cause it doesn't seem like an item that has a long, long shelf life to me. never checked..LOL

Actually, it will last for quite a long time if stored properly. Old baker's chocolate may develop a bloom, which is a powdery, grey, whitish or tan film on the surface of the chocolate. When this happens, the chocolate loses its gloss. The bloom is caused by improper storage or changes in temperature. This makes the chocolate look unappetizing, but does not alter the taste or safety of using the chocolate.

 

[keljonma]

Here is one site for calculating the minimum amount of food to store for your family. This is based on the LDS Church's Home Production and Storage manual. The figures you get will be recommendations and are basic year supply minimums only. Also, it doesn't allow for special diets, so you can't get it to recalculate if you remove one item.

http://www.thefoodguys.com/foodcalc.html


I like this article by Alan T. Hagan in Backwoods Home Magazine: Start Your Food Storage on $10 a Week. The pricing may be a bit dated, but his writing is clear and easy to understand, and I think he has great ideas.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/hagan59.html

 

[patandchickens]

3 year old bakers chocolate....wouldn't that go rancid??? just wondering cause it doesn't seem like an item that has a long, long shelf life to me. never checked..LOL

Nah, it lasts for years and years... as keljonma says, it will get whitish on the outside but that is totally ok and does not affect its use as cooking chocolate.

Eventually maybe I will remember to use it to make brownies or sumpin'

Pat