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| Photo courtesy of The American Preppers Network |
I have always kept a list of items to forage for in the event of a true emergency; sort of a shopping list for a last-minute WSHTF excursion to the grocery store before hunkering-down and sheltering in place -- things to buy while everyone else is fighting over bottled water and dented cans of Hormel chili. Salt is and always has been at the top of that list, so I've always been aware I needed to have some tucked-away.
One way in which I differ from a lot of Preppers (and it is mostly a money issue) is that I have no real intention, in harsher times, of cooking in the same ways as we do now. I store grains (mostly oats). Me and mine can survive for a long time on oatmeal, as long as there is some variety available as to how it's "dressed-up." I store honey, sugar, brown sugar, and various dehydrated and freeze-dried fruits (see here and here as well) for this purpose; some canned butter will probably be added next.
Bread is not a big issue for us. The wheat we have will be mostly eaten as warm cereal. I realize that there are those of you out there who would have a really difficult time with that kind of diet, but we're Scots-Irish; porridge and potatoes are in our blood. As far as bread goes, I have stored a quantity of Bisquick-like mix, which makes a nice bread without having to add any additional yeast or baking powder. This is not sandwich-type bread, of course, but more like cornbread, and it is very good, especially with dried-fruit baked into it. Other unleavened options abound. It is even possible to make a very nutritious, unleavened oaten bread called a bannock (which can also be made from wheat or barley or all three grains together -- there are so many different recipes that none of them are wrong).
Here's an unleavened bannock with a decidedly Hawaiian flare (dude added SPAM and crushed pineapple), but this should give you an idea of what's possible:
Here's the recipe from the video above, just in case it ever gets taken down:
"Basic recipe
2 cups of flour- i used wheat
3/4 cup sugar - i used raw cane
1 tb baking soda
1 tb baking powder
1/4 c milk powder
salt to taste
add water to desired effect around 1 c. less for bread/bisquits or more for pancake style
Here I added very little water since the pineapple has alot of liquid.
And added spam.
Hawaiian Bannock enjoy"
Here's another recipe from the other link above, and this one uses no baking powder or anything:
"Scottish Bannock
This Old World recipe produces a delightfully good bannock.
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup barley flour
1 cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons fat of choice
Water
Mix dry ingredients. Cut fat into fine particles using a fork. Add enough water to make bread-like dough, form into a ball and dust with flour. Flatten to fit into a 10-inch greased skillet. Bake over coals until both sides are golden."
Beyond that, I'm a big fan of dehydrated and freeze-dried storage foods, in general. Sure, it's more expensive, but the increased shelf-life allows you to amass a deeper larder before having to worry about rotating your stock constantly.
What do you think?
I think it is important to incorporate the foodstuffs you are storing for a SHTF scenario into the every week meal menu for a few reasons, which I will get to... And it is vitally important to have long term, mid term, and short term food supplies along with not on the ability but practice of growing your own food.
ReplyDeleteLong term food food supplies of course are dehydrated and freeze dried foods. For those of us on a budget and looking for bulk foods this is 25 pound bags of beans and rice. I am single and have 50 pounds of rice and 50 pounds of pinto beans at all times. 12 pounds of dried pasta, pounds of spices, 6 pounds of salt, etc.
Mid term food supplies are canned goods. Pasta sauces, beans, soups, corn, peas, etc. Not very portable but do not take any time to cook, just heat and serve.
Short term supplies are the food stuffs I eat on an every day basis, but purchase so I will not have to purchase them for a month, two weeks, etc. I have 2 months of coffee, two weeks of half and half, 2 months worth of cheese on hand. I have 10 pounds of froze bacon, and steaks in the freezer. I keep 2 weeks worth of eggs at all times, and have a friend I can get fresh eggs from if need be.
Every week I cook three cups of dried beans in a crock pot, which is a pound of dried beans. This gives me a side of protein for every dinner meal, and gets me accustomed to eating beans on a regular basis. I us some of the bacon from the freezer to flavor the beans, and spices to change it up each week.
It is important to incorporate your long term, and mid term food supplies into your weekly food menu so when the SHTF the menu is familiar not only for your body to digest but also the psychological need for some normalcy. If I lost my job tomorrow and had to only eat from the food I have stored, it would not be much of a change from my current diet.
I have been growing a garden every year for 7 years now, first at my home which I owned and lost to foreclosure, now on the ranch were I live in exchange for work. Last year I grew a garden which fed me fresh vegetables for 7 months. I had a surplus of vegetables which I traded for fresh eggs, freshly caught fish, and gave away which gained me favors with friends. I continue to eat from the vegetables I froze, even though it is mid winter where I live. I saved seeds from last year, and have started to sprout them for planting in March. If the SHTF tomorrow and I was forced to stay on this property, not have a job, and not leave, I would have food for the next year, with seeds for the year after... After the first year my canned goods would run out, my beans and rice would run out, but my gardening skills would keep me going in the long term.
This is great, Wheat is the staple of my food storage as i can grind it for flower, eat it as cereal, or sprout it for greens. Though i keep no shortage of rice and beans. I do have to admit i have not yet added extra stores of baking soda, yeast, salt, and baking powder. im a felon on a budget so i do what i can. jesse
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