Food storage

It's easy to say, "Have X days worth of food set back." Actually doing it? A bit harder, but nowhere near as complicated as some would like to make it.

First off: Walmart.com has dropped prices on Augason Farms food. It all comes in #10 cans (unless it says otherwise, the "daily use" versions are smaller), with a lid to close it back up. I think the shortest shelf-life stuff is ten years in proper conditions (cool and dry), and some is up to thirty. A quick sampler of prices - dry milk, $8; potato flakes, $5; corn muffin mix, $8 - and so on. Orders over $35 ship free.

I took advantage of it. I ordered a few cans of dry milk, some potato flakes, shortening, and the almond-poppyseed muffin mix*.

If you've absolutely NO food set aside, consider something like their 30-day pail. $90, ships free, and provides a livable daily intake (1800kcal) for a month.

If you do have some set aside already, think about slowly increasing. Next time you're getting groceries and see that canned whatever is on sale, grab a few extra cans. A couple bucks in the weekly grocery budget can go a long way. A 20-pound bag of white rice is $15-20, and makes an easy "filler" under chili or shredded chicken.

I try not to doom-and-gloom this blog, but I have SERIOUS concerns about where we are going to be as a society within the next few years. Peter has a long history of noting such things, and I don't think he's wrong. I hope he is, but...

Carteach has been playing with SNAP-budget cooking, and has come up with some good stuff.

So you've got the food stored, but are you using it? Seriously. Use it. Replace what you use, but get in the habit of using it in your everyday life. Mix a quart or half-gallon of milk from powder (let it sit in the fridge overnight for best results), make potato pancakes from dry taters, mix up a batch of muffins.

MrsZ and I (OK, mostly her) canned a tremendous amount of venison and beef and vegetables and fruits and preserves of all types over the last couple years. I don't buy salsa at the store anymore - there's flats of homemade in the basement. Maple syrup from our own trees. Peaches and variations thereof galore. Tomatoes in all forms.

I have no idea how much food is actually down there - but I don't think we'd be hungry for a LONG time.

(* - the muffin mix has an oxygen absorber packet within. Locate and remove before mixing. Also, it STICKS to muffin papers. Just grease the tin well and skip the paper. Otherwise, they're delicious!)