What types of food are you stockpiling?

[2die4]

As of late I have been beefing up my food storage. I have quite a few Mre's stockpiled and am trying to give my food stockpiles a little diversity. The General wanted me to steer clear of MRE like foods(if that is even possible) such as canned chilis and beef stews. I know during a SHTF scenario it won't matter but this extra food stash is also to be used as a cushion in case of a financial crisis. I'm still collecting whatever I can, but I have been wondering, am I limiting myself with food storage choices?

Since I don't have canning capabilities yet, I wold like to know what you guys are picking up at the grocery store.

[Evolver]

As for store bought caned foods we've found that some last beyond there exp dates better than others like...

Peanut Butter
Honey
Caned fruits
Caned veggies
Tuna
Sardines
Vienna Sausage
Caned hams
Tomato sauces
It seems to be the things with the least amount of different ingredients tastes better longer but we still stock up on other stuff that we try to rotate faster like...
Soups (Caned)
Chili
Stews
Ravioli

We're heavy into canning but we still stock up on store bought also.

[prepguide]

I'm stocking up on what I normally eat. I have been increasing flavor stretching items like seasonings and gravy mixes to help further diversify what I stock. I've made sure to include comfort foods as well including a goodly number of Snickers bars as well as pie fillings.

[Echo2]

Think about it like this.....for every can of beef stew....you could buy 4 or so servings of rice......make it stretch.....cheaply.

We are at the point now we are stocking mostly staples....the big ticket items are being cycled through as needed.

We have found that it becomes more of a life style once you hit the 6 month mark....due to the fact that you have to start really watching expiration dates.

[ak474u]

Obviously with fuel in short supply during SHTF, and the possible need to cook indoors with little to no smoke, one pot meals are really nice, so stews, rice dishes with proteins, pastas with sauces containing proteins and some veggies, etc. are kinda our plan. I'll be depending on a peak camping one burner stove if I still live in an apt. in the event, so... Unless its safe to go use the BBQ grill, it's one or maybe 2 pot meals, and after a short while, boiling water with the same stove. Good thing it'll run on gasoline I guess.

[Evolver]

Rice, grains, beans and corn is defiantly the best way to go from long term storage (SLT) for the cost. The second would be freeze dried but it come with the cost. It all depends on your plan. We like to try to have all the bases covered, in a nut shell without writing a book this is what we're doing.

Short term, (5 years or less) Bought caned goods/Home caned goods including all meats and boxed mixes that are foods that we normally eat and are rotated.
Semi Long term, (5-10 years) Like non-mylared and O2ed Rice, Grains, Beans, Corn, Oats or MRE's stored above 80F that are on a slower rotation.
Long Term, (10-25 years) Like mylared and O2ed Rice, Grains, Beans, Corn, Oats, freeze dried goods or MRE's stored below 75F that are even rotated slowed or not at all and put away.

Short term foods is our food that we can rely on if we both end up out of work or get laid up due to sickness or injury and like PG said don't forget the comforts of spices and sweets, any of the combinations above can be use for bugging out as well but the Freeze dried or MRE's would work out better.

[Echo2]

I love group buys....



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Got Milk?

[ladyhk13]

As said before...STORE WHAT YOU EAT! We hate beans except for green ones. So we would never store beans of any kind no matter how cheap they are - we simply wouldn't eat them. Nare a lima bean would pass these lips! I love Beef A Roni, dh hates it so I stock up on it for me and go heavy on soups that he likes to make up the difference (plus soups that I like). I did notice that the Progresso Lite soups are terrible compared to the regular soups and even shortly after expiration have the metal taste so we won't be buying those anymore.
I love canned potato's so I get those to fill in to use in order to save the ones I can myself for later use. I also have #10 cans of wheat so I can grind it later to make breads or pasta, I bought hone when I found some on sale but since we plan on getting bees in the spring I will be harvesting our own next year. We do have MRE's and some other non military meals but those are not my first choice - they are to be used in emergency situations for when we can't use regular food.
I have to admit that since JustA taught me how to can I have gone crazy and I buy foods that we eat and my LTS is filling more and more with things that I have grown and canned or purchased (meats, fruits, veggies) and canned myself. It lasts so much longer than anything that I can buy in a can and it tastes so much better too.

[Gunfixr]

We have some MREs, mostly for when we just cannot cook at all, and need something fast for on the run.
We have some freeze-dried stuff, simply because it will outlast store bought canned, and travels lighter than store bought canned. Yes, you need water, but if you don't have water, no amount of food will save you.
Mostly, we have store bought canned. We store what we eat, so rotation is constant without having to go way out of the way. It's also the cheapest, so it can be "bought cheap and stacked deep".
The canned stuff can be simply heated on virtually any heat source, and most can be eaten cold.
Since we will most likely be staying in place, the plan is to use the store bought, then go to the freeze-dried, with the MREs being used if there are times when we cannot use anything, or cannot devote any preparation time.
Hopefully, it will all last long enough to find or start a more sustainable food source.

[Stormfeather]

Cant really add anything that everyone else hasnt said.

1- store what you know what you will eat.
2- buy cheap, stack deep.
3- rotate continually
4- plan on a little bit of loss in your foods, be it from spoilage to donations. plan accordingly. I get extra cans of salmon and fish due to the longevity.

And to echo Echo. . .group buys are your friend!